Mike Jones of the Washington Times: “The leg looked like it belonged to someone who had been in a coma for a year, not a world-class athlete who a year earlier had signed a $111 million contract. Atrophy set in, signals weren’t being sent properly. The muscles in Gilbert Arenas’ left leg, in essence, had been switched to ‘off.’ Those were the findings of trainer Tim Grover when the Washington Wizards’ three-time NBA All-Star turned three-time surgery patient reported this summer to Attack Athletics, a Chicago training facility with a client roster of high-profile athletes. ‘A lot of things weren’t firing – his glutes, his hips, thighs,’ Mr. Grover said in a telephone interview Monday night. ‘I wouldn’t say his condition was the most severe, I wouldn’t say it was the best. … But if I were to classify it on a scale of one to 10 with 10 being the most extreme, I’d say he was definitely in the seven, eight category.’ And now, less than two weeks before the Wizards start training camp, Arenas and Mr. Grover say the guard is at full strength and better than ever – a claim that, if true, makes his decision to finally work with Mr. Grover look brilliant and, perhaps, career-saving. ‘Nobody could guard me before, and can’t nobody guard me now,’ Arenas, 27, told The Washington Times last week, breaking a silence he maintained since departing for Chicago in July. ‘If I hadn’t come up here, I’d be starting off the season with a 95 percent chance that I’d be sitting out more games. … [Mr. Grover] saved my career.’”
Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News: “The league announced that it has fined Stephen Jackson $25,000 for ‘public statements detrimental to the NBA,’ referring to Jackson’s late-August informal declaration that he wanted to be traded from the Warriors. And just as soon as the commissioner’s office can show me proof that Kobe Bryant was fined a single penny for his long, long, long loud public tantrum/campaign in early 2007 to get himself traded from the Lakers… I’ll say that the league treated SJax’s situation fairly. Or that the NBA inflicted any punishment on Larry Brown, when he negotiated with the Cleveland Cavaliers and maybe the NY Knicks while, at the same time, coaching the Detroit Pistons in the playoffs. Or that the NBA did anything, anything at all, to the NY Knicks management, before during and after its Isiah Thomas phase (until Donnie Walsh took over), for cartoonishly cloddy behavior. Or that Shaquille O’Neal ever got more than a gentle wrist slap for any of his various thunderous exits, from the Lakers (trade demand), Miami (trade suggestion) and Phoenix (who the heck knows what that was?).”
Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press: “There were many factors involved in Ben Wallace’s decision for a return engagement with the Pistons. But one of the main benefits of returning to the franchise — where he spent his most productive seasons as one of the NBA’s best defenders — is new coach John Kuester. Kuester, hired to replace Michael Curry, was an assistant on Cleveland’s staff last season. Wallace, who turned 35 on Sept. 10, was a member of the Cavs team that rolled to the league’s best record and the Eastern Conference finals and liked what he saw from Kuester, who ran the offense. And it wasn’t his X’s and O’s. ‘John Kuester is one of those guys that’s not a big screamer and not going to yell and get in guys’ faces,’ Wallace said last month at his news conference after he signed as a free agent with the Pistons. ‘He is going to talk to the player and talk his way through whatever situation that presents itself.’”
Jon Krawczynski of The Associated Press: “In Minnesota, the 6-foot-3 Sessions will play the point guard position he’s played his entire life, but also will move to shooting guard on occasion and pair with Flynn in a small, but dynamic, backcourt. ‘In the times that they do play together it’s going to be pretty fun to watch because of their ability of both of them to create for other people, to get inside the lane, either to draw a foul or find a teammate,’ Kahn said. Sessions got plenty of time at shooting guard last season after Olympian Michael Redd went down with a knee injury. He topped 20 points 11 times in 79 games, including a 44-point, 12-assist game against Detroit on Feb. 7. ‘This past year was really my first year playing off the ball and I felt really comfortable with it,’ Sessions said. ‘With Michael Redd going down in Milwaukee, that gave me the opportunity to show that I can off the ball a little bit so I’m definitely looking forward to that challenge.’”
Kate Fegan of the Philadelphia Inquirer: “Andre Iguodala said he’d like to play a little point guard this year for the 76ers. Yesterday, a few minutes before he and Lou Williams participated in the ‘What It Takes 2’ forum at the School District of Philadelphia headquarters, Iguodala talked about the coming season. … Iguodala also said he had been in the gym endlessly – specifically in the last month – working on various skills, including the ‘catch-and-shoot’ because of new coach Eddie Jordan’s pass-and-cut offense. Jordan’s system calls for a two-guard front, not necessarily including a traditional point guard, and there has been mention of Iguodala’s handling some lead-guard duties. Iguodala said he’d like that role. Williams, who played behind the now-departed Andre Miller last year, will likely start at the point-guard spot, but Jordan has said he’ll mix and match his ball handlers.”
Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal: “Allen Iverson’s whirlwind on the eve of his 14th NBA training camp continues. Less than a week after the Grizzlies introduced Iverson as the most significant free-agent acquisition in franchise history, the 34-year-old guard left Tuesday for Europe on an eight-day Reebok promotional tour. Iverson will make stops in Italy, Poland and Spain before returning to Memphis on Sept. 25. The Grizzlies’ media day is Sept. 28, and training camp practices begin the next day in Birmingham, Ala.’ Generally, these tours are not this close to training camp. The reason is this one had been planned so long ago, said Gary Moore, Iverson’s personal manager. It’ll work out fine. Allen is looking at this as the beginning of training camp. He’s going to be in a basketball environment and training with professionals most of the time.’”
Casey Holdahl of Blazers.com: “It’s still well over two months before the start of EuroBasket and Nicolas Batum is thinking of the little things as he sits behind a desk at his agent’s offices in Paris. He’s thinking about the wedding he’s going to be late for and the hellacious traffic in downtown Paris; the difficultly of finding a parking spot in the city; whether he’s close enough to make a quick trip on foot to the Champs-Élysées. But while flipping through basketball magazines with covers adorned by his fellow countrymen, Batum starts to consider the big picture. He’s pondering the future of basketball in France, a future he thinks could be much brighter depending on the outcome of EuroBasket 2009. The way he sees it, if the French senior national team, a squad thick with talent but thin on prior success, could come together just once, it could greatly enhance the popularity of a sport still considered niche by most in the land of the Franks. ‘If we do something great with the national team, I think basketball will be great in France,’ said Batum, ‘because now it’s just soccer and rugby. Basketball is not very popular in France, not very famous. But we’re going to make it great.’”
Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: “This Suns practice is brought to you by . . . The Annexus Group. The Suns will announce a multi-year agreement Wednesday with The Annexus Group, a Scottsdale-based annuity company that will pay a mid-six-figure amount annually to have its name on the Suns’ practice uniforms, coaching apparel and practice court at US Airways Center. This is the first year the NBA has allowed such sponsorships but the New Jersey Nets are the only other team to secure a deal, netting a low six-figure amount from PNY Technologies for sponsorship of their practice uniform and practice facility. The NBA limits a practice uniform sponsorship to two years but The Annexus Group’s court sponsorship is longer. ‘What’s great for us is it’s a locally based company with a growing business,’ Suns President and Chief Operating Officer Rick Welts said. ‘They are known for innovation and technology, which are things we think the Suns are known for, too.’”
Michael Wallace of the Miami Herald: “To soften the blow of massive employee pay cuts, Miami Heat president Pat Riley has granted one-year extensions to several members of the basketball operations staff. Riley, coach Erik Spoelstra and other key members of the front-office staff were among those in the organization who recently accepted pay reductions of up to 20 percent for the upcoming season. Riley told his staff nearly two months ago that cutbacks were necessary to avoid further layoffs. The Heat in May dismissed 20 employees from its business operations staff amid an economic downturn that has affected several professional teams. At that time, the basketball staff — which includes coaches, scouts, trainers and executives — was spared.”
Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: “Dwyane Wade said Paul has been updating his fans on Twitter regarding his golfing exploits, and that’s about the only scouting report on which Wade had to draw. ‘I’ve seen he’s been going to the golf course a lot after he works out in the morning,’ Wade said. ‘He said he’s working on it because he knows you guys (the media) are going to have those cameras on him, and he doesn’t want to look bad. This is the toughest sport there is. He asked me if I was going to hit. I told him I didn’t know. It all depends. I don’t like to embarrass myself, either. This is one of those sports where you’ve got to get behind the scenes and really practice before you get out here.’ It was obvious that although Paul still is learning many of the nuances of the game, he had learned about one aspect important to duffers and scratch players alike: the mulligan. ‘It’s very relaxing,’ Paul said, ‘but as an athlete, you always try to find new challenges. This has been the toughest one I’ve found yet.’”
Alan Hahn of Newsday: “The line wrapped around the building, from Fifth Avenue onto 46th Street. They came here Tuesday to see, as one man shouted, ‘The King.’ LeBron James could very well take the throne in New York as a free agent next summer, but before he contemplates signing with the Knicks, he spent 90 minutes signing copies of his new book at a midtown store. ‘I’m blessed that I’m even able to have the opportunity to do this,’ said James, who is promoting ‘Shooting Stars,’ co-written by Buzz Bissinger, author of ‘Friday Night Lights.’ James, who is keenly aware of the importance of achieving global status, toured in China last month and has been a fixture in New York lately. He has appeared on ‘Good Morning America” (with Chris Cuomo chanting ‘Knicks! Knicks!’ during the interview) and on ‘The Daily Show‘ (where host Jon Stewart presented James with an ‘I heart NY’ mug, a burger from the Shake Shack and a supposed tyrannosaurus rex vertebra from the Museum of Natural History). But there wasn’t much campaigning done by Knicks fans Tuesday. Only one person in line wore a Knicks shirt, and several came in Cavaliers attire. Plenty represented James’ favorite baseball team, the Yankees.”
