Points in the Paint

» September 1, 2009 4:32 PM | By Brandon Hoffman
  • David Kahn says Ricky Rubio had a deal to join the T-Wolves, but then changed his mind at the 11th hour of negotiations. On the FanHouse, Tom Ziller assesses the situation:  “More than 90% of the statements and decisions NBA team executives make are devoted to protecting their job. And this is fine. Job security is a top concern for most Americans — not just NBA GMs. No one begrudges Kahn his self-defense. I do wonder, however, whether it is the best step to take here. I mean, are Wolves fans expected to rally to Kahn’s side now? Is getting snickerdoodled by an 18-year-old the best impetus for sympathy? Losing Rubio to Barcelona after striking a deal for Ricky’s freedom does not speak of success. It speaks of failure. Is the statement meant to paint Ricky in a bad light?”
  • Ken Berger of CBSSports.com:  “Say what you want about Kahn — and plenty have and will continue to — but he didn’t budge from his draft night premise that he was willing to wait a couple of years for Rubio. So Rubio will mature and get better — albeit against sub-NBA competition — and Kahn’s team will begin the rebuilding process with a very capable point guard in Flinn. Can the two play together in the same backcourt in 2011-12? Time will tell. But in the meantime, Kahn moves forward with a formidable asset in Rubio. Even if he never plays a single game in Minnesota. Kahn is quickly becoming the most mysterious executive in the NBA, tearing a page straight from the book written by his mentor, Donnie Walsh. He is humorless and needs to brush up on his people skills — despite the fact that he’s a former member of the media. (Maybe this explains why he is a former member.) But I’ll give him credit for this much: It took a certain amount of gumption to welcome a controversy like this with the very first and most important decision of his regime.”
  • A very good scouting report on Derrick Rose, that includes this observation:  “What Rose did not display in his first NBA season was a lot of creativity. Rose isn’t particularly good at creating offense on the fly (like, say, Steve Nash) or thinking one step ahead of the defense (like a Chris Paul or Jason Kidd). He runs plays. He hits the open man. He doesn’t throw many careless passes. Those are good things. But to become a truly great point guard, Rose must see the court, anticipate player movement, and see openings before they appear and the defense can adjust to them.”
  • Forgive me the heavy Michael Jordan focus lately, but with Jordan set to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame next week, the web is abuzz with great tributes. Toni Kukoc shares his foremost memory of MJ:  “The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Michael is how impressed I was with how he came to practice. With someone that good, you would think every once in awhile he would take a day off or not have that motivation when it came to practice. But with Michael, that was never the case. Every single time, and every single day, he would come to practice and it would be a war. You would quickly realize why the guy was as good as he was. He never took a day off and always wanted to get better. He practiced like that and he played like that, and it made everyone around him want to do the same thing.” ESPN’s J.A. Adande remembers Jordan’s “flu game”:  “Of all the great performances this is the one that the rest of us can duplicate in some way ourselves. We might not be able to score 38 points in an NBA Finals game, but each of us can summon the will to fight on even when our own bodies provide our greatest opposition. Any one of us can provide the same explanation he gave when asked how he kept coming through: ‘Somehow I found the energy to stay strong.’”
  • John Schuhmann on the Wizards:  “Offensively, Saunders’ top priorities are taking care of the ball and making the extra pass. Defensively, he wants to contain, contest and rebound. Of course, with all the offensive talent on his roster, it will be difficult to get everyone the shots they need. And this team has never been consistent defensively. Chemistry will be critical. The talent and depth is there for the Wizards to be one of the four or five best teams in the Eastern Conference. It’s just a matter of staying healthy and playing together. But even though the Wizards are somewhat starting from scratch, Saunders likes what he’s got. ‘You always worry about guys playing together,’ he said. ‘But the No. 1 thing is having the right people. You can have a team that’s been together for six years, but if they don’t have the talent or the versatility, they’re not going to win games. I’m not going to say something I don’t believe. And I believe if we’re healthy and play together, we can compete with anybody in our conference.’”
  • Eric Woodyard of SLAM:  “Ben Gordon’s workouts are legendary. They’re an integral piece to his success. They’ve been documented in just about every major basketball publication and airwave. He flouts the same off-season dedication as his Airness and the Black Mamba. He wants to be that good! This season should be no different… In fact, my girl Holly MacKenzie (…Canada stand up!!) just completed a story on his ‘Summer Vacation’ in the latest edition of Hoop, where Gordon touched on this situation. ‘I think everyday things are based around what I do on the court,’ Gordon said. ‘So every day [I practice] shooting, ball handling—whatever I’m working on in my game, you know, at that phase or that period. Everyone can shoot the basketball,’ Gordon added. ‘I take pride in taking big shots with the game on the line, knowing my team can rely on me. I attribute that to how I train during the offseason.’”
  • Casey Jacobsen, who played four seasons with the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies before heading overseas, explains the differences between the NBA and European basketball. Here’s an excerpt:  “NBA plays 82 regular season games in six months, European leagues play 40-60 games over eight months. In Europe, you practice a lot more. Often, you have two practices per day throughout that eight-month season. On average, European teams only play twice a week. In the NBA, you are playing 3-4 (and sometimes 5) times per week, which doesn’t allow a lot of time for team practicing. This might be one of the biggest differences, from a player’s standpoint.”
  • Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman:  “One of the ways Thunder general manager Sam Presti, 32, quickly climbed the NBA ladder was by studying the feats of greats who came before him. It’s a long list that Presti will tell you extends beyond the sports realm. But on the playing fields, Presti most admired Bill Russell, Bill Walsh and Cal Ripken — a trio he says helped quench his thirst for knowledge and quell his hunger to better himself. It was Russell’s sense of team and trailblazing courage, Ripken’s toughness and preparation and Walsh’s innovation, commitment to philosophy and teaching and managerial skills that set them apart. And all displayed the consistency Presti adores. They all are different in some ways. But I think they all demonstrate a fortitude and a belief in process that was seen throughout their playing or coaching careers. The focus was always on doing the work, controlling what you can control and allowing the outcome to be predicated on the job you do every day.”

Category: Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Points in the Paint, Washington Wizards

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