Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: “Rockets center Yao Ming’s status and the prognosis for his recovery from extensive left foot surgery has not changed since his surgery July 21, Daryl Morey said Monday. Responding to an ESPN.com story quoting Morey saying Yao is progressing well and has not been ruled out to play next season, Morey cited his and Rockets doctors’ comments after Yao’s July 17 announcement that he had chosen to have the surgery. ‘The only thing new is that nothing has gone wrong,’ Morey said. ‘Everything looked fine. Otherwise it’s all the same stuff we’ve been saying, which is he is not ruled out for this year, although it is unlikely that he would come back and play. There’s nothing new.’ The Rockets have refused to put any timetable on Yao’s return other than that he is expected to be ready for the 2010 training camp and preseason. Yao, 28, had the cast removed for an examination several weeks ago and had a follow-up exam Friday, with no signs of complications showing in either checkup. Yao, back in the cast and walking with crutches, has not begun rehabilitating the foot but does go through upper-body workouts most mornings at Toyota Center.”
Julian Garcia of the Daily News: “No one ever blamed Courtney Lee for being hurt after the Magic traded him, Tony Battie and Rafer Alston to the Nets for Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson on June 25. However, we never really heard him say it. We were only assuming he was upset because his introductory press conference had the feel of a wake. Then Howard confirmed it. Lee said he’s now ‘over that’ before explaining what that was: ‘Any player that was in the situation that I was in, any player in a situation where they had a good year and was a starter on a team that made it to the Finals, to get traded out of nowhere, it would definitely be a shocker for them,’ said Lee. ‘I would say it definitely takes time. Being that I’ve had to get over it, that’s in the past and I’m moving forward now. This is home and I’m definitely going to make the best of it.’ There’s no denying that Lee’s situation would be challenging for anyone. But he does have a definite opportunity in front of him that he can either embrace or let slip away. ‘On the Magic, we were a good team – we made it to the Finals – but I was still the fourth option on that team,’ he said. ‘I come in here and have a chance to be option two or three. So that definitely motivated me to get back into the gym and get my game back to where it needs to be instead of sitting around thinking about if I was still with (the Magic). It’s over and done with, so you’ve got to move forward.’”
Adam Lauridsen for the San Jose Mercury News: “With Ellis back, Watson should ideally be slotted for only back-up minutes (meaning he’s fighting with Curry and Law for playing time). My nightmare scenario, however, is that Nelson responds to Ellis’ unproven playmaking ability by teaming him up for major minutes with Watson in the backcourt, under the theory that two tweeners might translate into a complete backcourt tandem. That strategy would not only be a defensive disaster (and likely do little to improve our ball movement), but would also force Morrow deeper to the back of the rotation. We don’t know how the rotation is going to shake out (or even if Ellis and Jackson are going to be around), so it’s still a bit early for too much hand-wringing over CJ’s potential minutes. That said, the ultimate judgment on CJ comes down to his one-year qualifying offer status. Watson will be an unrestricted free agent next summer — free to walk away from the team he expressly stated he wanted to leave earlier this summer. He’ll have a no-trade clause this year, limiting the Warriors’ ability to move him during the year to a destination he doesn’t like. It all adds up to a one-year rental of a back-up player — at the expense of the late first round pick Orlando was offering to take him off our hands.”
Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: “Marquis Daniels is set to become a Celtic. Finally. Sources told the Herald yesterday Daniels will sign for the bi-annual exception. The deal will begin at $1.99 million and can be for no more than two years. The 6-foot-6 swingman weeks ago agreed to join the Celts, but since then the club has been trying to work out a sign-and-trade deal that would benefit all sides. The Celtics were trying to clear some roster space while giving Daniels a contract that was longer and more in line with his value. But when they could not come to an agreement with Indiana, the team Daniels is leaving as a free agent, Celts director of basketball operations Danny Ainge went searching for a three-team transaction. With training camp a month away and all avenues to a trade seemingly at a dead end, the sides agreed to the simple free agent contract. Daniels will be expected to lessen the burdens on wingmen Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, while also playing a role in the point guard rotation. He will be a strong complement to the fast-break game.”
Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail: “Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh has never felt better about being in Toronto, a city he’s worked in for six NBA seasons but in some ways is just getting to know. ‘It’s kind of crazy, I’ve never spent this much time in the summer here, it’s great,’ he said. ‘I definitely feel closer to Toronto, I know that for sure.’ Ironically, he’s talking while packing to leave it far behind. This week, Bosh will be in South Africa as part of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program. During the mornings he’ll be helping coach at a camp in Johannesburg with the 100 top prospects from the continent, while afternoons and evenings are reserved for community outreach programs and some sightseeing. Bosh is on the trip with the likes of fellow NBA players Dirk Nowitzki, Dwight Howard and Carlos Boozer. ‘I’m curious about the world,’ Bosh said. ‘It’s so big. I’m from Texas and this is what I know, but I want to see what’s outside the norm, I want to go places and see how people live. … It’s a story to tell and that makes life a lot more interesting.’”
Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune: “If you were describing the circumstances by which an NBA team would spend $82 million in payroll this season, the Denver Nuggets instantly would jump to mind as past luxury-tax payers coming off a run to the Western Conference finals. And if you were describing the circumstances by which a team would sell draft picks, neglect to re-sign players and do everything possible to trim payroll, the Jazz would jump to mind after last season’s first-round playoff exit. Yet the Jazz and the Nuggets seemingly traded places this off-season, and although the Nuggets finished six games ahead of the Jazz in in the Northwest Division standings, the gap between the two seemingly narrowed this summer. The Nuggets re-signed Chris Andersen to a five-year, $21.2 million deal and drafted Ty Lawson, but otherwise have had one of the most mystifying summers in the league. They lost Dahntay Jones, who signed a four-year, $11 million contract with Indiana, as well as Linas Kleiza, who took the Josh Childress option as a restricted free agent in signing a two-year, $12.2 million deal with Greek club Olympiakos. Most tellingly, the Nuggets gave up their 2010 first-round pick if Memphis would take on Steven Hunter and his $3.7 million salary. That represented serious tax savings for Denver, but the precedent of trading away draft picks is a dangerous one.”
Timothy Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell: “The San Antonio Spurs are arguably the best run organization in sports. Amongst their distinguished accomplishments is the expectation that their players conduct themselves in a classy, virtuous manner. And despite all the talk of happy locker rooms, good citizenship and community involvement, I’m hard-pressed to recall a single reference to team policy. In other words, the team doesn’t rely on curfews, dress codes or iPod policies to keep its players in line. And they certainly don’t point to those things to convince us they’re a swell group of guys. The Spurs behave themselves, but no one would describe them as precious. Let’s not fool ourselves. They’ve known an occasional indiscretion. But the culture around the Spurs is not one of ostentatious display. They’re not going for the illusion of character; they aim for the real thing, however imperfect. Yet more curious is Gregg Popovich’s consistent desire to extend a benevolent hand to coaches on the disciplinary rebound.”
Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus: “From a marketing perspective, Rubio’s value to the Timberwolves is obvious, and that Kahn expended so much energy on the negotiating process indicates its importance to him. From a basketball standpoint, however, it’s hard to see this as a negative for Minnesota. Rubio, lest we forget, will not turn 19 until October. He is, in fact, a full month younger than highly-touted incoming Kentucky recruit John Wall, the presumptive No. 1 overall pick in next June’s Draft. Given all the hand-wringing we usually here about young players entering the NBA unprepared, how can it be considered a bad thing that Rubio will spend the next two years developing and maturing physically in Spain on Barca’s dime? When he does come over, Rubio will be better prepared to contribute immediately. He’ll also be (essentially) the same price. By waiting two years to bring Rubio over, the Timberwolves will get his age-21 through age-24 seasons on his rookie contract, as opposed to having to begin paying him market value at the age of 23.”
Steve Kyler of HOOPSWORLD: “Sources close to the Timberwolves say this news was not entirely unexpected, although there was optimism that David Kahn and the Wolves could get a deal done offering a long-term relationship with Joventut, at the end of the day the Wolves are comfortable letting Rubio groom in Spain and in 2011 he’ll be able to join the team. Rumors of a New York Knick trade offer that would include Nate Robinson and David Lee in a sign and trade seem to be baseless, although there is little doubt that the Knicks have interest in Rubio and that Rubio’s camp may change direction if he landed with the Knicks – that just don’t seem to be on the table according to league sources reached last night. Those sources said Joventut has accepted Barcelona’s buyout offer so backtracking now seems improbable. Wolves’ fans are now questioning the logic behind giving up Mike Miller and Randy Foye to obtain the 5th pick that drafted Rubio, but the reality is that move was about shedding contract dollars and changing the culture of the team, not as much about Rubio. The Timberwolves have just $35.8 million in guaranteed contracts next summer, and could be looking at anywhere from $15 to $23 million in cap space depending on how they handle their free agents and team options.”
