Scott Howard-Cooper of SI.com: “Without much public acclaim, without serious backing as a young star of the game, without a great deal of notice in the Twin Cities in a summer dominated by nonstop roster moves and wonder over the next Ricky Rubio development, Minnesota power forward Kevin Love has ascended into an ideal and legitimate candidate to join the Dream Team. Maybe as soon as 2010 for Turkey and the world championships, maybe with the slight delay of ‘12 and the Olympics in London, but it’s a real chance at some point. Love was always an ideal candidate, actually. His game and his makeup are too perfect for international play and for the USA Basketball bosses who want a few role players to mix in with the glamour: good shooter for a big man, great passer, a rebounder to start the fast break, advanced court sense. That’s the international game. It’s just that now he’s a legitimate candidate. Love had a good showing at the Team USA minicamp last month in Las Vegas — despite early foul trouble that kept him to 17 minutes in the one game — and reinforced his status as fundamentally sound, smart and the prototype international player, according to someone associated with the team.”
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports: “Never has there been a Cleveland Cavaliers game that LeBron James has played in that didn’t showcase him as the star of the show. That changes on Nov. 11 when the Cavs visit the Orlando Magic. Even James will be bumped to the marquee’s second rung to make room for the clash between Shaquille O’Neal and Dwight Howard. ‘That’s all everybody is talking about,’ Howard said in a phone interview recently. ‘People that hit me up on Twitter, that’s the first thing they say, ‘Are you ready for Shaq?’ ‘ For Howard, there’s no escaping Shaq now. After losing to the Magic in the Eastern Conference finals, the Cavaliers traded for O’Neal to help them better match up with Howard. The rivalry between the two centers escalated last season when O’Neal accused Howard of hijacking his Superman title and claimed he had already ‘invented’ everything Howard had done. O’Neal also took shots at Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, memorably labeling his former Miami coach the ‘Master of Panic.’”
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Times: “After straining his right shoulder last month during the NBA’s Summer League, Clippers forward Blake Griffin has practiced shooting while abstaining from any contact drills, according to Coach Mike Dunleavy. ‘Everything is moving forward probably even ahead of schedule,’ he said Monday at the Clippers’ training facility in Playa Vista. Griffin, whom the Clippers selected out of Oklahoma as the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, suffered the injury in the third game of Summer League. Doctors estimated on July 22 that he would be sidelined three to four weeks. Griffin averaged 19.2 points and 10.8 rebounds in five games this summer. Dunleavy doesn’t see Griffin’s injury as an issue and thinks his comprehension of the team’s strategies will help him excel during his rookie year. ‘I don’t think Blake was ever late for a rotation,’ he said. ‘If you’re not late for a rotation, that means that you get it.’”
Michael Obernauer of the Daily News: “‘If I was gung ho about money I would sign back (with the Heat) right now,’ Wade said. ‘It’s not really necessarily about that for me, it’s putting myself in a position where I’m successful and can win. I’ve tasted the top, I’ve tasted that feeling of winning a championship. I think when you’ve tasted it you’re a little more hungry than you are even when you haven’t won a championship. That’s what I’m trying to get back to. Going into next summer, if I become a free agent, my first mind is to sign with Miami, but of course we all know there’s steps to take to get to that point.’ Everywhere Wade travels, it seems, he faces questions about his future a year from now. For instance, he recently purchased a home in Chicago, where he grew up, that fueled reports that he was leaning toward signing with the Bulls. Last Thursday, he was at the Meadowlands to shoot scenes for a Queen Latifah movie in which he plays himself – and after filming, he spoke of how ‘there’s going to be a lot of chatter about the Nets‘ come 2010, when they and the Knicks will be among the NBA teams set up for a shopping spree.”
The Columbian: “Portland Trail Blazers president Larry Miller briefly discussed contract negotiations with Blazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge on Monday following a team press conference in Longview, Wash., at Mark Morris High School. According to Miller, negotiations with Aldridge are ongoing. ‘We’re going through the process,’ Miller said. ‘It’s just a process and it takes time.’ However, Miller was more direct when asked if the Blazers have an ideal timeline for signing Aldridge to an extension. ‘We’re ready,’ Miller said. ‘We’d do it right now if we could.’ Portland must reach an agreement with Aldridge before Oct. 31 or he will become a free agent following the 2009-10 season. Several messages left last week for Arn Tellem, Aldridge’s agent, and his assistant were not returned. According to a Wasserman Media Group receptionist, Tellem is on vacation this week. Aldridge, who started 81 games and averaged 18.1 points and 7.5 rebounds for the Blazers last season, is set to make $5.8 million this year. A $7.6 million qualifying offer has been set for the 2010-11 campaign.”
Arnie Stapleton of The Associated Press: “Carmelo Anthony is suing his former business manager, alleging he misappropriated more than $2 million of the Nuggets star’s assets. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Sacramento, Calif., on Monday, alleges Anthony’s former business manager, Larry W. Harmon, and employees of Larry Harmon & Associates P.A., breached their fiduciary duties by transferring $1.75 million of Anthony’s money without his knowledge or consent to a company formed by Harmon, most of it in 2008. Another $265,500 was discovered to have been invested in third parties without Anthony’s knowledge or consent from 2005-08, according to the lawsuit, which seeks recovery of the approximately $2 million, plus punitive damages. ‘I intend to aggressively represent Carmelo Anthony,’ said his Beverly Hills, Calif.-based attorney, Robert W. Hirsh. ‘The evidence which I have reviewed strongly suggests that Carmelo Anthony’s former business manager plundered his assets. It is reprehensible that professional athletes are so often victimized.’”
Richard Sandomir of The New York Times: “It should be simple to honor Michael Jordan with a fresh and innovative museum exhibit that celebrates his athletic brilliance and transformational impact on sports marketing. But ‘Becoming Legendary: The Story of Michael Jordan,’ which recently opened at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in advance of Jordan’s induction on Sept. 11, is a soulless exercise in corporate worship that was designed, installed, written, curated and paid for by the Jordan Brand, a division of Nike. When baseball players are inducted into their hall of fame, they often lend artifacts of their time. Jordan did not. Those six Chicago Bulls championship rings encased in plexiglass? He doesn’t own any of them. The wall of Air Jordans that looks like a display at Foot Locker? Jordan didn’t soar in any of them. A short video of Jordan’s feats, accompanied by his reciting basketball-oriented descriptions of ‘What Is Love?’ Well, that was a long Nike video from a few years ago that is easy to summon on YouTube. Not a jersey, a ball or a sneaker came straight from Jordan.”
