Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle: “Nine months ago, Stephen Jackson announced that with his new contract extension, he fully intended to be a Warrior for life. Nobody believed that, of course, but the news of his desire for death came a little faster than expected. Jackson told Dime magazine on Friday that he wanted to be traded, either to Cleveland (gee, I wonder why), any of the three Texas teams (at least there are playoff aspirations) or maybe even New York (and the team so nice that for every win, it loses twice). Jackson could not be reached Saturday, but he told the magazine, ‘At this point, I’m 31 years old. I have four or five years left,’ Jackson said. ‘I want to be in a situation where I can continually be in the playoffs and get another ring. So that’s where my mind is at now.’ How this means going to the Knicks is anyone’s guess, unless the guess is this: It doesn’t matter to him as much where he goes as where he leaves. He got his three-year, $28 million extension from Li’l Bobby Rowell 18 months before it expired to stay happy enough to be the heart of the de-Baronized franchise, and he now has asked for the check and a cab.”
Alan Hahn of Newsday: “The only holding out on David Lee’s mind right now is mainly the hope that his contract status will be resolved fairly soon. In fact we’re hearing through a source tonight that there are ‘are a couple of sign-and-trades still being considered before a one-year deal is negotiated.’ We can’t tell you what these deals are because it is sensitive information that, if it were to go public would be detrimental to either happening. In other words, we don’t really know the exact principles of either deal that has been discussed. And why we don’t know is because our sources won’t tell us for the reasons stated above. What we do know is that if neither deal is accepted by the Knicks — and we’re told that Donnie Walsh, despite wanting to keep Lee in the fold, is taking serious consideration into any reasonable S&T for Lee — then Lee and his agent, Mark Bartelstein, are prepared to negotiate a one-year deal to remain in New York for the 2009-10 season. He will then become an unrestricted free agent in next summer.”
Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “After 14 years in the NBA, Joe Smith is prepared to play the role of wise sage. ‘That’s just a part of the equation when you’ve been around as long as I have,’ Smith said and then laughed. That’s in addition, of course, to playing his role in the Hawks’ playing rotation, which should stretch 10 players deep. Smith, who signed a one-year deal for Earlier this summer Hawks coach Mike Woodson said the team had a hole behind Josh Smith at power forward. Smith closes that hole and lends some depth at small forward in certain situations, while also being able to guard some centers in the league. Still, one of the more valuable aspects of having him around is the influence he can have on young big men such as Smith and Al Horford in the locker room and in games. ‘There isn’t much I haven’t seen during my time in the league,’ said Joe Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 NBA draft out of Maryland. ‘Honestly, the time has gone so fast that it’s hard to believe draft night was so long ago, but that’s why you have to take the things you’ve learned along the way and be ready to pass them on. I’m ready to do that on this team.’”
Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer: “Talked to coach Mike Brown recently and he is thrilled with the additions of Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon. He pushed hard for some taller, athletic wing men who could be used to defend the perimeter. After the season, the coaches and front office studied not just films of the loss to Orlando in the Eastern Conference finals, but also tapes of other teams that gave them trouble — the Lakers, Rockets and Celtics. The problem was the same: the Cavs were too small and not quick enough at shooting guard and small forward when LeBron James wasn’t on the court. Brown said: ‘When LeBron went out, we had no one to guard Paul Pierce, Ron Artest or some of those guys [Rashard Lewis, Hedu Turkoglu, Mickael Pietrus] with Orlando. Parker and Moon can get out and defend the 3-point line, and you have guys who are 6-6 and 6-8 coming after you with their arms up. That will help us a lot, and enable us to rest LeBron more in some games.’ Another factor in signing Moon and Parker is that they don’t need the ball to be effective. The Cavs say with Mo Williams, Delonte West, Shaquille O’Neal and James, who do need possessions and shots to underline their strengths, it was key to add players who do the little things away from the ball.”
Eddie Sefko of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “The fancy stuff might come later for Roddy Beaubois. For now, he’s going through what has been affectionately termed ‘Mavs University’ by owner Mark Cuban. It is roughly one month until training camp opens Sept. 28. Many of the Mavericks — new and old — are making use of this time to relax, get the kids back to school or preschool, or take NBA-sponsored trips. Dirk Nowitzki is headed to South Africa next week, and Jason Terry has been to China, both as part of the league’s Basketball Without Borders initiative. The majority of players will be in Dallas by mid-September. For Beaubois, the summer has been much more intense. After being taken with the 25th overall pick in the NBA draft, he went through the summer league and is into his second week of Mavs U, which will continue up until a few days before camp opens. One of the key elements of the daily drills is film work, something new to him. ‘We’re watching a lot of my summer-league games,’ said Beaubois, a 21-year-old native of Guadeloupe. ‘I think it’s good to see yourself because you can watch what you didn’t do and what you’re supposed to do. So it’s good. It’s the first time I’ve really watched myself. It’s strange to watch yourself.’”
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: “With official reporting day still 29 days away, all but three of the 13 Suns who will be on the team have returned for workouts with Goran Dragic and Leandro Barbosa busy playing for national teams and Jason Richardson expected to arrive after Labor Day, when informal pickup games usually commence. There has not been so many early arrivals in Phoenix since 2004, the last summer that followed a non-playoff season. That year, a coach who took over during the prior season with an increased tempo was having his first camp as a team aimed to exceed expectations. And here the Suns are again. ‘We’re not supposed to achieve anything,’ Suns Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin said. ‘The guys all like each other. They’re here early. We’re going to be in great shape. We’re going to play a way they’re comfortable with and the fans are used to watching. It’s going to be an exciting year and I can tell the players believe that. If they didn’t, the first group here would’ve watched what’s going on, got a feel for the energy here and called the other guys to say, ‘I’m bailing. I’ll be back in September.’ They’re calling other guys to say, ‘Get out here.’”
Travis Heath of HOOPSWORLD: “A common response to what happened with Michael Beasley is that teams have to educate their players on ‘the dangers’ of social media. While responsible and direct communication is always a good recommendation, social media or otherwise, the issue with Beasley was not his use of Twitter. Instead, it appears that he has been battling some personal demons and needed some assistance, with the content of those demons simply being communicated via Twitter. This does not make Beasley weak. In fact, getting help when one is struggling is a great sign of strength, especially in the testosterone driven world of the NBA where such help can be covertly, and sometimes even overtly, frowned upon. Thing is, it never should have come to this. NBA teams in general do a mediocre job (and that’s being kind) monitoring the psychological well being of their players. The attitude is often one of ‘we can handle this in house.’ This notion is as misguided as an owner, GM, or member of the PR staff performing surgery on a player after he suffers a torn ACL. That’s laughable, right? Well, it should be just as laughable that NBA organizations don’t attend to the day-to-day mental health needs of their players until a crisis occurs or until they are forced into it.”
Frank Dell’Apa of The Boston Globe: “The interest in Michael Jordan’s induction into the Basketball Hall of Fame has caused ceremonies to be moved from the Hall’s 1,200-capacity Center Court room to Springfield Symphony Hall, with seating for 2,611. And Hall president John Doleva believes the bigger venue could be used in future years, as more high-profile players are inducted. ‘No question, people see this as a special class,’’ Doleva said. ‘This is the next step in the evolution of the Hall. In this era of Hall inductions, so many recognizable names will be eligible and enshrined. You are eligible five years after retiring. In the ’60s and ’70s, we had Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, and Bob Cousy. Then, Larry Bird and Julius Erving and Magic Johnson took it to another level, and then Michael Jordan. You had so many recognizable names in the ’90s.’’ At least 50 Hall of Famers are expected to participate in this year’s ceremonies, according to Hall vice president Paul Lambert. ‘There is a lot of emotion in being inducted into the Hall of Fame,’ said Lambert. ‘Families, teammates, classmates from school will be there. It’s one of the rare times they step back and look at the entire reach of their life, the arc of their life to date. It’s not a singular accomplishment, like winning a championship, it’s a lifetime achievement.’”
