Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic: “Amaré Stoudemire’s competitive basketball play was back Tuesday and so was his eyewear. Going against a defender for the first time since a 42-point game on Feb. 18, Stoudemire played four-on-four, half-court games at US Airways Center with teammates also participating in voluntary workouts. ’Sometimes, I felt like it was going faster than I expected, as far as competition,’ Stoudemire said. ‘Other than that, I felt great. To finally be back out there with the guys and running sprints with them, I got my family back. It’s almost like you ran away from home for a while. Now, you’re back home and you feel how great it is to be around your family.’ He was aggressive in his play, facing teammate Lou Amundson. Stoudemire had a highlight-worthy spin move for a dunk, although Amundson’s team won four of five games. … Stoudemire knows he must use protective eyewear the rest of his career after the discovery of a detached retina ended his season in February. In a four-hour summer meeting with a New York optometry company, he worked out the design of a custom pair that will be ready in January. ‘They’re going to cover more of the structure of the eye,’ Stoudemire said. ‘They’re going to be tighter across the back and have a bigger frame. It’s going to be a mix between goggles and eyeglasses.’”
Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: “Bucks center Andrew Bogut could begin light contact work next week, which would be a significant step in his recovery from a back injury that sidelined him for the final 31 games last season. The 7-foot Bogut worked out on the floor with several teammates for about 35 to 40 minutes at the Cousins Center training facility on Monday, then spent 10 minutes working on post moves. He also hit the weights and did some conditioning work. ‘I’m going to really amp up my work load this week,’ Bogut said. ‘Hopefully next week I can start some light contact and then hopefully be ready. We’ll start getting the pad out and getting hit, getting used to all that kind of stuff. I probably could do contact straight away, but it’s very pointless. It’s more a matter of waking your body up to those hits I haven’t had for five or six months.’ Bogut said he thought he benefited from a three-day trip to Vancouver last week to consult with noted physiotherapist Alex McKechnie, who also serves as the athletic performance coordinator for the Los Angeles Lakers. McKechnie, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, has worked with numerous pro athletes and began his relationship with the Lakers in 1998 when he was enlisted to consult about an injury suffered by Shaquille O’Neal.”
Michael Lee of the Washington Post: “Antawn Jamison gets buckets, son (ask Pech), but he does so quickly and within the flow of the offense. He averaged 22.2 points on 18 shots a game last season and over his career, he averages 19.9 points on 17 shots. You need that sort of low-maintenance production on the floor more often than not. Jamison has averaged at least 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in each of the past five seasons in Washington. Do you know how many other players can make that claim? The list is shorter than you think. Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett aren’t on it (although they have each won championships in that span). Chris Bosh has done it four seasons in a row. Amaré Stoudemire has done it the past three seasons (and five of the past six). Dwight Howard has done it the past two seasons. Elton Brand had done it four consecutive seasons before missing most of the past two seasons with injuries. Carlos Boozer did it two years in a row before he got hurt last season. Pau Gasol has come close. So, who does that leave? According to Elias Sports Bureau, it’s just Jamison and Dirk Nowitzki.”
Dave D’Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: “Just to recap: After summer league in July, he took two weeks off at home in Seattle, went to Grgurich’s camp in early August, took a week off because he tweaked his knee (he’s fine), attended the Rookie Transition program (12th to 14th), and he’s been in the Nets’ gym ever since – every day, seven days a week. Until this week, all by himself. It’s been a lonely life. ‘At the end of the day, it may be lonely, but you work from 10 to 12:30 with a lift, then from 12:30 to 10 you’re free,’ the rook said. Actually, he’s not entirely free. He also came back at night to shoot.But no complaints. The kid is used to work. ‘It’s not like college, when you go from 6 in the morning to 7:30, sometimes you don’t get to shower if you have a class at 8,’ he said. ‘And after class you get done at 2:30 and practice until 5:30, then you try to see the girls. Now, here, you have free time to do whatever.’ Actually, free time is over, for the most part. The gym is now filled with guys who are raising the bar for him and making him stay later. Flattery tends to have such an effect. As we learned Monday, this is the kid everyone chooses first for pickup games.”
Langston Wertz Jr. of The Charlotte Observer: “Last week, I visited him at Time Warner Cable Arena where Curry, about to make good on his NBA dream, was working out with a diabolical trainer, who made him run sprint after sprint, dribble backward and forward, then run three quarters of the court and make 10 NBA-range 3-point shots in a row. Of course, if you miss, you start over. ‘This is what it takes,’ said Curry, a lottery pick by the Golden State Warriors this summer. ‘You’ve got to go to training camp at the top of your game and not use it to get in shape.’ Curry, now 6-3 and towering over me, is starting to look like a guy who’s spending extra time in the weight room. He talks confidently about averaging 20 points per game as a rookie. Curry, who recently signed a Nike shoe and apparel deal, speaks confidently of a goal to be NBA Rookie of the Year. But he’s also nervous about leaving home. Curry is 21. He’s lived in Charlotte all his life. He went to college at Davidson, just a short drive from Mom and Dad. Within a few weeks, he’ll report to training camp in Oakland, a five-hour plane flight from here and move into a three-bedroom condo about five minutes from his new home court. ‘It’s kind of weird to leave here,’ said Curry, who says he can’t avoid autograph-seekers at SouthPark Mall even though he wears a cap pulled low. ‘I’ll be a little nervous being away, but I’ll be so wrapped up in basketball that what city I’m in shouldn’t really matter.’”
Scott Howard-Cooper of SI.com: “When Stephen Jackson laughed in the Golden State Warriors’ face with a megaphone last Friday — about 2,500 miles away from team headquarters, in New York at a promotional event for his sneaker company that became more about self-promotion — the ineptitude of a management team was crystallized like never before. That was the real Jackson announcement: The Golden State power structure of owner Chris Cohan and president Robert Rowell can be toyed with. The message just happened to be delivered via an unexpected trade request. Relocation demands happen to most every team. Venting in a moment of frustration over wanting a championship that’s in the squinting distance happens to most every team. And bad contracts happen to most every team. But this was different because it was Jackson and because it was the Warriors. First, Jackson. He owed them more. Golden State — the people and coach Don Nelson’s system — helped rehabilitate an image that seemed in disrepair when he arrived from Indiana in January 2007 as part of a trade for Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy. … The best the Warriors can do now is hope Jackson walks his comments back at some point in the very near future, but even that will be too late. Desperate for a drama-free year, they just lost it before the season even started.”
Matt Steinmetz of FanHouse: “Pretty soon, we’re going to find out if C.J. Watson is a gambler or not. Apparently, Watson is considering making a very bold move, and quite risky, too. Various reports have Watson poised to sign a one-year qualifying offer from the Warriors worth $1.05 million. If that’s the case, it means Watson, just 19 months removed from a D-League call-up, is turning his back on a three-year, $5.4 million offer from Golden State — with a player option for Year No. 3, no less. That’s pretty gutsy. Late Tuesday night, both Watson’s agent and the Warriors confirmed there was no deal between the sides. But two days ago, Watson announced on Twitter that he was returning to the Warriors. Is it possible Watson is reconsidering that three-year deal? Apparently so. ‘Bottom line, unless he’s called (Warriors general manager) Larry Riley directly, he hasn’t made a decision yet,’ said Mike Higgins, Watson’s agent. ‘He hasn’t told me one way or the other. I know he’s weighing both as of today (Tuesday night), as of right now.’”
Frank Dell’Apa of The Boston Globe: “Marquis Daniels is buying into the Celtics’ intentions of going for the NBA championship this season. In fact, Daniels refused higher-paying offers, signing with the Celtics yesterday, according to his agent, Glenn Schwartzman. ‘It’s his best chance to win a championship,’’ Schwartzman said. ‘He played in the Finals in Dallas and he wants to have a chance to play for another one. He has a chance to play important minutes in a number of different areas for a team that has a chance to win the championship.’ The Celtics and Indiana attempted to work out a sign-and-trade deal after the Pacers declined to pick up the option on Daniels’s contract. Daniels committed to the Celtics in July after negotiating with Charlotte, Dallas, Houston, New York, and Orlando. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and coach Doc Rivers recruited Daniels as a backup for Ray Allen and Paul Pierce and also as a possible fill-in at point guard. ‘He was definitely offered more money, even without the sign-and-trade, with other teams,’ Schwartzman said. ‘But he felt strongly about Boston and the opportunity there. There were a couple other good situations, but Danny and Coach Rivers were most sincerely interested in him.’”
Frank Isola of the Daily News: “Knicks president Donnie Walsh is confident that both David Lee and Nate Robinson will re-sign with the club before training camp opens later this month. ‘Things are moving along,’ Walsh said Tuesday. ‘Nothing is imminent, but the talks have been good.’ Lee and Robinson are restricted free agents, and Walsh has said repeatedly that he wants to retain both players. Lee had hoped to get a long-term contract worth between $10 million and $12 million annually, either with the Knicks or another team. Instead, he’ll likely have to settle for a one-year contract with the Knicks worth approximately $7 million. Robinson’s one-year contract could be worth as much as $5 million. Those deals would allow both players to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. Despite Lee’s disappointment in failing to sign a long-term contract, he has been working out at the team’s training facility on and off for the past two months. It’s a sign that Lee knows he will be back. Robinson is also working out regularly at the facility.”
Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: “Jerry Sloan, who on Tuesday said he’s been thinking ‘a lot’ about the 2009-10 hoops year, is ready to welcome Carlos Boozer back into the fold. No hard feelings, no crying over milk on the floor, no ill will over his player’s professed love for other NBA franchises. ‘In order to win in this league, you have to have good players,’ Sloan said. ‘And he’s a good player.’ The soon-to-be-Hall-of-Famer — Sloan, that is — said that, knowing his power forward kicked up some offseason dust by opting into the final year of his contract with the Jazz and then going public with a claim that he’d be traded this offseason. ‘My job is to coach whoever’s here. That hasn’t changed,’ Sloan said. ‘If we lose 56 games, I’ve got to coach the same (with) the people that are on the roster. We’ll do everything we can to make it work. Now, will we be perfect? Probably not.’ It wouldn’t be the first time Sloan has had to coach a power forward coming off of a vocal offseason. ‘I could have had hard feelings with Karl Malone if I would have wanted to a few times,’ Sloan said, recalling some of Malone’s infamous offseason rants with former owner Larry H. Miller. ‘My job is to coach whoever walks across this line. That’s all we’ll do is do the best we can and hopefully be a good basketball team.’”
Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: “When David Robinson walks across the stage to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame next week, he will be accompanied by Larry Brown, his first Spurs coach, and George Gervin, the only other Spurs player in the Hall of Fame. Brown and Gervin confirmed they have been asked to introduce Robinson at the enshrinement proceedings Sept. 11 at the Springfield, Mass., Symphony Hall. Robinson is to be inducted in a class that includes former Bulls great Michael Jordan, former Jazz guard John Stockton and Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, and famed women’s coach C. Vivian Stringer. In recent years, the Hall has required that presenters be members of the Hall themselves. Gervin was inducted in 1996; Brown in 2002. … Brown said Robinson’s humility about his selection to the Hall of Fame is typical of a player who never expected acclaim. ‘David is so shy about it,’ Brown said. ‘I don’t think he even understands how happy he’s made a lot of people and how proud a lot of people who have been touched by him are. He doesn’t even understand how excited we all are to be part of this.’”
