Britt Robson of Secrets of the City: “Team management 101 stipulates that if you think someone is the real deal, you do your best to procure his services any way possible. Kahn, who has stated that Al Jefferson is the second best player on a championship contender and that he’d prefer his top star to be a backcourt player given the current style of play in the NBA, is gambling that Rubio (and/or Flynn) is the goods. His judgment may be erroneous, in which case he’ll suffer the consequences, but his management approach is sound. And that, along with luck, is about the only rebuttal a perpetual loser in a cold climate can make to a glitzy big city franchise. Dumb management can screw up the best of circumstances, right, Knick fans? (Next year I’ll ask the folks in Phoenix.) And smart management can make a team in the least hospitable of environments compelling and desireable, as Sam Presti is demonstrating in Oklahoma City, and Pops has conclusively proven in small-market San Antonio. I have no idea how David Kahn’s big scheme will turn out, but dumping the need for future salary decisions on middle-of-pack role players like Foye and Miller for the rights to Rubio is smart management. Indeed, the level of scrutiny and criticism directed Kahn’s way over his Rubio pick, coupled with banter about how filch him for a bigger city outfit, proves it was a smart move.”
Marc Berman of the New York Post: “The agent for David Lee would not rule out the possibility of his client being an unsigned contract holdout when Knicks training camp opens Sept. 28. In the NBA, it is almost unheard-of for players of Lee’s stature to be camp holdouts. ‘I certainly hope not, but you have to have an agreement,’ agent Mark Bartelstein told The Post yesterday. ‘I never thought we’d be this far without a deal. It comes down to making a deal. You have to ask [team president] Donnie [Walsh]. All we’ve agreed is if we can’t do a sign-and-trade, we will work out a reasonable one-year deal,’ Bartelstein said. Walsh did not return phone calls. Bartelstein said Lee will not accept the $2.5 million qualifying offer and dismissed rumblings Lee has been offered a one-year deal between $5 million and $6 million. Bartelstein said there has yet been a firm offer but added Walsh is not pushing for Lee to sign the one-year qualifier. It would be a great embarrassment for the Knicks if they open camp with Lee unsigned.”
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “No matter how much Pat Riley talks about Dwyane Wade being the Heat’s “closer” at point guard, there is no way the team can take only two true point guards into the regular season. That’s what makes Wednesday’s shift of second-round pick Patrick Beverley to the Greek League significant. It leaves only starter Mario Chalmers and reserve Chris Quinn under contract at the position. Take all you want from Riley’s professed love for Quinn, but ask yourself this simple question: If Chalmers is injured, perhaps for a sustained period, is Quinn your first choice as the primary replacement? Granted, Chalmers didn’t miss a start last season. But the kid hardly is indestructible. Don’t expect another 82 for 82. Which brings the Heat back to where it seemingly has stood this entire offseason — in need of a veteran presence at the position. The job description, however, is what complicates the situation. Yes, the Heat needs someone who could start. But it also needs someone who allows the team to get a read on whether Chalmers is the franchise’s starting point guard of the future.”
Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News: “Do the players make the system or does the system make the players? More often than not, coaches implement systems, no matter the sport, with the belief that any type of personnel can make it work. Some succeed, others don’t. New Sixers coach Eddie Jordan impressed during his interview sessions with the team’s big wigs when he showed off his pro-style Princeton offense. It made first-time All-Stars of Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler in Washington, and helped form career years for others. But does this current Sixers roster have the right blend of players to make it work? ‘You would have to have talent first,’ said Jordan yesterday, before talking with a group of youngsters at the Betty and Milton Katz Jewish Community Center in Cherry Hill, N.J. ‘And if you have talent, the system will work. If you have guys who can’t dribble and can’t pass and who can’t shoot, it won’t work. And I think we have versatile talent, meaning our forwards can have perimeter skills and our guards can do things in the post and that’s what makes this work and that’s what we have.’”
Jeff Rabjohns of the Indianapolis Star: “Greg Oden doesn’t need to be reminded. He knows. He is aware of how critical this season is to his career. He knows how he’s viewed. And he knows he has yet to perform like a No. 1 NBA draft pick. The 7-foot center from Lawrence North High School is heading into his third year in the NBA, one that could be the most important basketball season in his life. After sitting out what would have been his rookie year following knee surgery, Oden endured another injury last season. He performed well at times for the Portland Trail Blazers, but did not dominate consistently as a top pick is expected to do. ‘This is going to be a big year,’ he said earlier this week before heading back to Portland to prepare for training camp. ‘Everybody comes in and has that first year, that get-used-to-the-league year. But you have to break out in your second year. You have to, and that’s what I’m looking forward to.’ … The first No. 1 overall draft pick from Indianapolis since Oscar Robertson in 1960, Oden spent the summer training at Ohio State, the team he led to the 2007 Final Four.”
Frank Isola of the Daily News: “Isiah Thomas is already stirring things up at his new gig. The former Knicks president and head coach received a verbal commitment from a top 10 high school recruit to attended Florida International next year. Now, Thomas has his name and school back in the headlines by threatening to pull out of the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament unless tournament organizers allow FIU to open with Ohio State instead of North Carolina, as the Golden Panthers had expected. Why the fuss, especially when FIU will be heavy underdogs against either team? I can think of only two reasons: Michael Jordan and Larry Brown. As any Isiah history buff will tell you, Thomas has been at odds with Jordan for years (Air Jordan kept Isiah off the Dream Team) and a few years back Thomas and Brown had a bit of a falling out. You may have read about it somewhere. Considering that history, do you really think Isiah wants to begin his college coaching career by getting blown out by 30, 40 or 50 points to the Tar Heels. Remember, UNC’s current coach Roy Williams is tight with both Jordan and Brown.”
Terry Foster of The Detroit News: “NBA owners are taking a hard line on cutting costs, which has resulted in staff reductions for some teams and could even trickle over to the court. They insist on slicing the referee’s budget by 10 percent, which could lead to a lockout next week when the five-year deal with referees expires. Chances are fans will see replacement officials at least during the exhibition season and perhaps beyond. The league wants to slice salaries, travel, pension payouts and other benefits. This will be a critical test because the big battle comes following the 2010-11 season, when the collective bargaining agreement expires with the players. The NBA is screaming that a sluggish economy has put a crimp in things and that teams need financial relief. … Pistons president Joe Dumars had budget restraints in hiring a coach and was not able to offer the type of money to lure Avery Johnson from the television booth. If the 60-odd referees agree to cuts, that could give the league more leverage when it sits across from players at the bargaining table.”
Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail: “By any realistic standard, it’s been a successful summer for Canada Basketball. With the men’s and women’s national teams getting ready to compete for spots in next year’s world championships, it could get even better. But even before the men start the process at the FIBA Americas Championships – they take on Mexico today; the women’s competition is next month in Brazil – the organization can already name its most valuable player. Playing an essential role behind the scenes has been Toronto Raptors senior vice-president of basketball operations Maurizio Gherardini, who was appointed the senior men’s national team managing director in December and has been a leader on previously rudderless ship since. ‘It’s been a tremendous,’ Canada Basketball executive director Wayne Parrish said. ‘Someone could have given us a million dollars and we wouldn’t have been able to extract the kind of value he’s provided.’ … Gherardini’s unique blend of experience means not only does Rautins have a GM-type figure to bounce decisions off, but Parrish has someone he can rely on for wisdom in areas where expertise simply isn’t common or easily gained. ‘I think it’s safe to say that I’ve learned more from him in six months than I would have learned in 10 years without him,’ Parrish said.”
Mike Jones of the Washington Post: “The year was 1979, and the Washington Bullets were a season removed from their only championship when owner Abe Pollin and franchise player Wes Unseld represented the first NBA team to visit China as part of both a diplomatic and basketball relations effort. Thirty years later a contingent of Wizards players, officials and former Bullets players Unseld and Gheorghe Muresan will return to China to commemorate that groundbreaking trip. And team captain Caron Butler hopes to use the journey as a springboard for greatness – to talk to Unseld and glean some of the Hall of Famer’s knowledge. ‘Whenever I’m around [Wizards assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr.], I’m always talking about [Unseld Sr.], his size and everything he was able to accomplish here in Washington,’ Butler beamed. ‘He always went hard on and off the court, and I’m going to be like a sponge, just soaking everything up, talking to him about his experience, his road to the championship. That’s something I’m trying to re-establish, and I think it’s possible.’”
Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports: “Flip Saunders has built up his frequent-flier miles this summer traveling to Las Vegas, Atlanta and Chicago. These aren’t vacation trips. They’re business. Hired in April as coach of the Washington Wizards, Saunders has spent the past couple months getting to know his new players. It’s something Saunders wishes he had done during his previous job with the Detroit Pistons. For all of the stops Saunders made during his get-acquainted tour, none was more important than his meeting with Gilbert Arenas. If the Wizards are to succeed this season, Saunders will have to build a solid relationship with the team’s talented, yet quirky guard. Washington has two other star veterans in forwards Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler, but to truly challenge Eastern Conference powers Orlando, Cleveland and Boston, the Wizards need Arenas to be healthy and willing to buy into Saunders’ system. So, whether it’s over stone crab at Arenas’ favorite Chicago restaurant, through text messages or watching Arenas in about a half-dozen individual workouts in Washington, Saunders has been putting in the time to try to get to know Arenas. There are a lot of people that think he is hard to deal with,’ Saunders said. ‘I’ve never had a problem with guys that had passion for the game. But what has surprised me is how open he is. We’ve had a lot of talks about everything, including his relationships with all the coaches he had from junior high to high school to college to the NBA. I have a better understanding of where he’s coming from.’”
