Rob Miech of the Las Vegas Sun: “It wasn’t just a middle-of-the-summer pick-up basketball game with some friends and a few acquaintances to Rudy Gay. Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center, the former Connecticut star and forward for the Memphis Grizzlies showed how much he wants to be part of the U.S. senior national team. He scored a game-best 27 points in 27 minutes, but that didn’t soothe him after his White squad squandered an eight-point lead in the first half and lost a Showcase scrimmage, 100-81, to the Blue team. ‘I’m still mad we lost that lead,’ Gay said. ‘We had a pretty good lead but couldn’t finish it. Things happen.’ Trailing 81-69 in the fourth quarter, he tallied 12 consecutive points to get the White team within 87-81 with 2 minutes, 47 seconds remaining. However, a crowd of 6,427 didn’t see Gay’s team score again. ‘We were down, man,’ he said of his flurry. ‘I was trying to get us back in it. Whatever it takes.’ Gay might have convinced USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo and Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski that they should take him along to Turkey next summer.”
Sam Smith of Bulls.com: “Derrick Rose played well in the two days of drills and scrimmages, but wasn’t particularly sharp in Saturday’s game. ‘It was fun,’ said Rose. ‘Too bad we lost. I’ve got to get back in condition. The big thing for me was pushing the ball, trying to play defense and getting my teammates open. I have to become a better leader, be more vocal. I think that comes with experience.’ Rose admitted he’s had some issues with tendinitis in his knee, like last summer, but that abates as he plays more. ‘The coaches were telling me to pick up on defense,’ said Rose. ‘It’s kind of hard for me now because when I start getting back in condition my tendinitis starts to hurt a little bit because I’m not in condition. When I first start back it hurts a little bit. Then when I start getting back in condition it gets back right.’ But Rose clearly played hard.”
Steve Perrin of Clips Nation: “It may be that Eric Gordon just isn’t brash enough for this type of event. In the equivalent of an under 25 All Star game, many of the other players are going to get their shots before he does. In the Rookie Challenge game at All Star weekend, EJ started the game hitting everything, making his first 6 shots. But he only ended up with 8 FG attempts, fifth most on the team. Mayo went 5 for 12 while Michael Beasley managed to hoist 22 (!) shots by simply shooting every time he touched the ball. That’s not in EJ’s nature. So likewise in Vegas, he was a little deferential, taking only 4 shots in 15 minutes. Unfortunately, none of those went in, and he’s not really the type to shoot his way out of it. It’s a characteristic that is at once admirable and problematic. He doesn’t force things on the basketball court – but there were many times during the season last year, particularly during the stretches when so many other players were hurt, that he NEEDED to take over.”
Geoffrey C. Arnold of The Oregonian: “Greg Oden shouts ‘take him,’ as he sprints down the court trying to help slow a fast break during a scrimmage. Later, Oden yells ‘pick, pick right,’ to a teammate. A few possessions later, Oden attempts his version of Hakeem Olajuwon’s ‘Dream Shake’ move — a series of shoulder fakes — on the baseline before taking a jump hook shot. The Trail Blazers’ young center is rediscovering the joy of playing basketball, as was evident last week as he participated in USA Basketball’s minicamp with 20 other rising NBA stars. ‘I want to have fun this year,’ a smiling Oden said. ‘I’m going to try and enjoy playing.’ Oden, glad to have his rookie season behind him, is looking forward to the 2009-10 season. The injuries and inconsistent play of last season continue to fade. The moodiness that surfaced after listening to criticism throughout the season is giving way this summer to a happy, more relaxed Oden.”
Scott Cacciola of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has a message for anyone who thinks the team’s decision to cut ties with Hakim Warrick late last week was designed to free up additional funds for Allen Iverson. ‘Absolutely not,’ Heisley said Saturday. ‘Iverson wasn’t even part of the conversation.’ Instead, by renouncing their $3 million qualifying offer to Warrick, a restricted free agent, the Grizzlies continued to stock up on the one commodity they have valued more than any other over the past two seasons: cap space. Heisley acknowledged as much. ‘I think we decided we wanted some flexibility,’ Heisley said by phone from a business trip in Lebanon. ‘But the idea that there is a target is completely false. As for Iverson, I think he’s trying to get with a team like L.A. (Clippers) or Miami or someone like that.’”
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “Riley’s thinking remains this: If there is any chance, as meager as it might be, to land LeBron James or Chris Bosh next summer, how can he possibly move in any other direction? For argument sake, say there is a two-percent chance of luring LeBron next summer and a 10-percent chance of bagging Bosh. Do you sacrifice that 12-percent chance of something special to add what otherwise would equate to a shorter-term boost? The lesson from the Lamar stalemate is that you can’t rush free agency, especially not in July, especially when you won’t play a game that counts for another three months. Is Lamar headed back to South Florida? Probably not. But as long as there is a sliver of a chance, you can’t cut into that mid-level exception to entice the likes of an Allen Iverson or Jamaal Tinsley. So you wait. And hope.”
John Reid of The Times-Picayune: “Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower continues to say discussions are ongoing between the team and several targeted free agents. Meanwhile, 15 of the 16 teams that made the playoffs last season have extended an offer sheet to a restricted free agent, made a trade, kept a key player they could have lost in free agency, or signed an unrestricted free agent. The Hornets, who were eliminated in the first round by the Denver Nuggets after advancing to the second round in 2008, are the only playoff team that has not pushed in with the same urgency since the free-agent signing period began July 8, and the only team with no signings. The Hornets’ lack of activity could be a result of the the prospect of having to pay the luxury-tax penalty next summer for the first time in franchise history.”
David Lord of DallasBasketball.com: “Dan Fegan is considered one of the top three or four player reps in the entire NBA. Unlike Duffy (the dastardly deed-doer in Steve Nash’s depature), Fegan has a great working relationship with the Mavs. That fact shifts this signing of Gooden from ‘rather unexpected’ to ‘so much to-be-expected that we should’ve seen it coming.’ How much do the Mavs like to do business with Dan Fegan? His long list of clients with Dallas ties entering this summer already included several Mavs: Erick Dampier, Jason Terry and Matt Carroll, for instance. There have been others in previous years, too. (Austin Croshere, Maurice Ager, Eddie Najera, Antoine Walker and more.) But now, check out the list of freshly-minted Dallas Mavericks: Quinton Ross, Kris Humphries, Shawn Marion, Nick Calathes, Drew Gooden. Guess what? Dan Fegan represents them all! It’s an eye-opening list; more than half the members of the Dallas Mavericks are represented by the same agent.”
Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Bill Duffy, a member of Jim Dutcher’s greatest recruiting class when he coached the Gophers, is now one of the top-rated agents in the NBA, representing players such as Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns and many other top players. Duffy is also a great judge of talent, according to former Timberwolves chief Kevin McHale. So when Duffy says he didn’t have Ricky Rubio, the team’s top draft choice, rated as fifth in the first round, you listen. ‘To be honest with you, the other kid, Brandon Jennings, who played in Italy, ranked higher,’ said Duffy, referring to his client, a point guard who was picked 10th by Milwaukee. ‘I had three other first-round point guards, but I didn’t have [Rubio] ranked that high. I think he is pretty good, but I think he might be a little hyped up. He is a flashy guy and he is young, but I think it is a lot of hype. I mean, he will be a good player, but they are trying to compare him with my guy Steve Nash or John Stockton — I don’t see that.’”
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports: “About three weeks after the Bulls were eliminated by Boston, Rose was in Santa Monica, Calif., working on his jumper, conditioning and other aspects of his game with trainer Rob McClanahan. McClanahan said Rose had problems with consistency because he often shot flat with his palm on the ball. Not enough lift on his shot left too many of them hitting the front of the rim. McClanahan challenged Rose to shoot for the back of the rim. When Rose missed, McClanahan was quick to remind him. ‘No short shots,’ he’d say. Or, ‘finish the shot.’ Rose now reminds himself. ‘I don’t know if it was ever that bad,’ McClanahan said about Rose’s shot. ‘He just needs to be consistent.’ Rose takes about 500 jumpers six days a week when he and McClanahan are in the gym with other players like Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook(notes). When they’re alone, that number doubles. McClanahan said he’s seen Rose gain more confidence. Del Negro has noticed a change, as well. ‘When you put in the time and the effort, good things usually happen,’ Del Negro said.”
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “Beyond the curious simply checking into Marbury’s chat, the way they would slow down for a car wreck, he’s tapped into an audience. He’s the anti-star now, the outsider, the rejected and maligned cartoon character. Apparently, this has an audience. He still thinks he can sell his Starbury sneakers to his flock. As it turns out, $15 a pair is still one of his greatest contributions to American society. If nowhere else, that’s where he bested Michael Jordan. ‘I’m building them out, all over the world – little Starbury stores,’ Marbury declared. Get ready!’ Everything is an epiphany for Starbury; everything a grand realization. Everything is a turning point in a life that never changes, that just gets spookier with the passing of time. Once, he cared deeply about basketball. He was going to be a point guard for the ages, but a warped sense of self and reality left him forever making promises he could never keep in life.”
(Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein NBAE/Getty Images)
