ESPN

(Read full post)

• Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News: James Worthy has one concern about Kobe Bryant, and it has nothing to do with whether he will recover from a torn left Achilles tendon. Worthy, who won three NBA titles with the Lakers during the Showtime Era and is an analyst for Time Warner Cable SportsNet, openly wondered if Bryant will adjust his aggressiveness out of health and personnel concerns. “One of the biggest challenges for Kobe this year is, can he step back?” Worthy said. “He’s been in the league for 17 years, has a lot of miles on the body and has had a lot of injuries. Can he find a game that will allow other guys to flourish?” Bryant has steadily progressed on his injured left Achilles tendon, but has yet to resume basketball-related activities.
• Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: Kobe Bryant continues to move forward in his rehabilitation from a torn Achilles' tendon, though theLakers are unwilling to put an updated timetable on his exact return. "He's progressing well and has met all the targets and milestones of his rehab, and we expect him to make a full recovery," Lakers spokesman John Black told The Times on Monday. "One of the key issues is to make sure he builds up strength and endurance not only in his Achilles but also in his legs, knees, back and core." Bryant's initial timetable called for at least six to nine months of recovery after he was injured April 12 against Golden State. The more optimistic part would put him in play for two Lakers exhibition games in China next month, though Bryant is expected to miss the Lakers' entire eight-game preseason schedule that ends Oct. 25. The Lakers begin the regular season Oct. 29 against the Clippers. It is unknown if Bryant will be back in time. "We're going to avoid giving a target return date until he's doing full weight-bearing running and on-court basketball activities, at the earliest," Black said.
• Howard Beck of The New York Times: Ten months from now, Anthony will probably opt out of his Knicks contract, sign a five-year deal for $129 million and happily resume his role as the basketball prince of Broadway. Anthony loves New York, and New York loves Anthony, playoff failures notwithstanding. He has every reason to stay: the money, the market, the chance to be the savior who ends the Knicks’ 40-year championship drought. It was only two and a half years ago that Anthony forced the Denver Nuggets to send him here. It seems unlikely he would leave so soon. But a lot can change in 10 months, and the specter of Anthony’s free agency will shadow the Knicks all season, just as the threat of his departure loomed over the Nuggets three years ago. … New York is still New York. But there is another city that can offer heady doses of fame, fortune and brand promotion, and it happens to be home to the N.B.A.’s most glamorous franchise. The Los Angeles Lakers will have millions in salary-cap room next summer, and a powerful recruiter in Kobe Bryant, one of Anthony’s closest friends. Per N.B.A. rules, the Lakers could offer Anthony only $96 million over four years. But they can offer something the Knicks cannot: a tradition of success, a knack for acquiring and building around superstars, and a habit of staging parades in June. Maybe Anthony isn’t going anywhere, as he asserted last week. But verbal commitments and loyalty are malleable concepts in professional sports. Nothing means anything until the contract is signed.
• Fred Kerber of the New York Post: From Russia with … nothing shady. That was the finding of a “thorough” NBA investigation into the Nets’ summer signing of free agent forward Andrei Kirilenko, multiple league sources told The Post. The league, after getting complaints from at least one other team that suggested improper agreements, examined the signing and found nothing against the rules. Kirilenko, who made roughly $10 million in Minnesota last season, opted out of the final year of his Timberwolves’ deal and took the Nets’ $3.1 mini-midlevel exception. In doing so, he triggered a wave of anger and suspicion. Rivals owners and executives intimated under-the-table deals existed between Kirilenko and Russian countryman Mikhail Prokhorov, the Nets’ billionaire owner. At least one owner – possibly more – complained to the league. “When there is a formal complaint, the league will look into it,” said one league official who spoke in generalities and refused comment on the Kirilenko issue.
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: The closest Goran Dragic gets to NBA help is Rasho Nesterovic serving as a mentor in the program. Beno Udrih is not playing. Dragic’s brother, Zoran, was a Houston summer-league player last year. Spain, second only to the U.S. in world basketball, threw Rubio, Sergio Rodriguez, Sergio Llull and Rudy Fernandez at Dragic in waves to wear him down. Slovenia won 78-69, with 18 points and seven rebounds from Dragic. “Every punch they threw at him, he had a counterpunch,” Chris Thomas said. “We’ve had stretches where he’s put the entire team on his back and carried us, especially offensively. “We look to him a lot for those bailout shots at the end of the shot clock or where we just have to get something going. We throw the ball to him and expect him to create. The ball just finds its way to him.” As Slovenia’s tempo increased in recent games, so did Dragic’s scoring. His temperament has been different, too. The cordial 27-year-old who once lacked confidence became surly in a pre-tournament exhibition when he was ejected for shoving a Turkish guard for some post-whistle contact. “I don’t know if it’s the pride of putting on a jersey with your home country on it or if he’s turning the corner as far as being that feisty, gritty, gutsy guy that I know he is now, but hopefully he’ll bring it back to Phoenix with him,” Thomas said.
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: But Jose Calderon is willing to try. And while he joins the Mavericks as a B-lister who has been functional but not dynamic throughout his career, he’s a point guard in the same mold as Nash and Kidd – one who has the ability to lead the league in assists and who can make a shot when defenses disregard him. And he brings a wealth of knowledge, both at the NBA and international level, while also being still in his prime. He will turn 32 later this month. … What Calderon does best is take care of business – and the basketball. While he’s probably a little more conservative when he’s running the point than Nash or Kidd, Calderon had an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.11 last season. Only Chris Paul at 4.26 had a better average and no other player in the league was better than Jason Kidd’s 3.28 assists per turnover. Calderon’s average last season was right on his career norm of 4.13 assists per turnover. … Anyway, it’s clear that there are numbers to support the Mavericks’ hope that Calderon will be the sort of stabilizing influence they want at the point. He’s almost always at the top of the league in assist-to-turnover ratio. Most importantly, he’s going to have to show that he can run a quality team that is adamant about getting back in the playoffs, something the Mavericks missed last season for the first time since 2000. It’s worth noting that Calderon has only one playoff start in his career and his teams have missed the postseason the last five years.
• Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: It is highly unlikely that center Greg Oden or forward Michael Beasley will be central to the cause, and moderately unlikely that either will play even a peripheral part. Still, there is intrigue in their additions, especially at the cost – a combined $1.9 million for the 2013-14 season, with only Oden’s deal even guaranteed. There is intrigue because of what they were (first team collegiate All-Americans) and what they were supposed to become (with Oden picked No. 1 overall in 2007 and Beasley chosen No. 2 overall in 2008). There is intrigue because of the way each has fallen short, the oft-injured Oden through much less fault of his own. The masses love a comeback story, and many will find their updates more interesting, especially in the preseason, than anything that James, Wade and Bosh do. There are many questions, none with entirely knowable answers. Still, if Riley can take a shot on these two guys, certainly we can take a shot at some predictions. What are the chances that both make the team? Good. In Oden’s case, it’s nearly a guarantee, unless he gets so frustrated with his rehabilitation that he calls it off himself. Miami is committed to the long game with him and, even if he doesn’t show early progress, he will get one of 15 spots. Beasley will be on the court from the start, barring complications from his legal issues, and his skills are sufficient to earn him a slot over someone like Jarvis Varnado.
• J. Michael of CSN Washington: The Wizards made its off-season, front-office reshuffling official Monday with the key move being the promotion of Tommy Sheppard to senior vice president of basketball operations. Sheppard already was a vice president of operations along with Milt Newton, who recently left the Wizards to become general manager of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Newton was over personnel. … Sheppard's responsibilities have expanded to include salary cap management, draft preparation, college and pro talent evaluation, statistical analysis and recruitment of free agents and handling day-to-day basketball operations. The other promotions: Ed Tapscott to vice president of player programs; Pat Sullivan to assistant coach; Brett Greenberg to director of basketball analytics/salary cap management; Bryan Oringher to video coordinator; and Ryan Richman to assistant video coordinator. The latter two are in their first seasons with the organization.
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: No one knows if the introduction would have eventually happened. But it was Mark Aguirre who introduced Mark Cuban to Ross Perot Jr., thus leading to the ownership change of the Dallas Mavericks. That meeting occurred in the latter half of 1999. By Jan. 4, 2000, Perot’s sale of the Mavericks to Cuban for $285 million was finalized. … What made Aguirre even think Cuban would be interested in purchasing the Mavericks? Before winning NBA titles with Detroit in 1989 and ’90, Aguirre was a three-time All-Star with the Mavericks from 1981 until being traded to the Pistons on Feb. 15, 1989. He had witnessed Cuban’s enthusiasm for the Mavericks since Cuban had season tickets near courtside at Reunion Arena and was always one to voice his opinion. “When somebody is that enthusiastic and you see them night in and night out, you can’t help but remember them,” said Aguirre. “So I knew him.” When asked about the importance of Aguirre’s introduction to him buying the Mavericks, Cuban said: “It was everything.”
• Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: When the news broke that the Pelicans had signed a free-agent guard, it seemed as though it was the last position New Orleans needed to bolster. The Pelicans had acquired Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans earlier in the summer, to go along with a trio of returning guards in Eric Gordon, Austin Rivers and Brian Roberts. But Morrow's career statistics would indicate his long-range shooting accuracy would be a perfect backcourt complement to the frontcourt deep threat of Ryan Anderson, giving the Pelicans a potentially dynamic off-the-bench duo that could either stretch a lead or provide the firepower to play catch-up. Morrow, a career 45 percent shooter (.424 from beyond the 3-point line) has also played some small forward, an area in which the Pelicans can desperately use an offensive upgrade.
• Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee: Partly because of the intense interest – for obvious reasons – in the Kings' regular-season opener Oct. 30 against the Denver Nuggets at Sleep Train Arena, the team and KXTV Ch. 10 came up with a unique format for the 2013-14 tipoff: a commercial-free telecast. The opener is the first of 11 games Ch. 10 will telecast this season. Comcast SportsNet remains the Kings' primary broadcasting partner and will televise 70 games, with ESPN taking the remaining game – Nov. 15 against the Detroit Pistons at Sleep Train Arena. "Opening night is going to be such a celebration, a new chapter in the journey," Kings president Chris Granger said. "It's going to be a sellout, so we have been thinking about ways to include more people. This (commercial-free telecast) seemed like a way to do that, and fortunately, News10 was more than willing to partner with us."
• Dan Nakaso of The Oakland Tribune: Even before the basketball season begins, the Golden State Warriors are winning -- off the court. The team already has sold more than 14,000 season tickets, a franchise record, and will set another franchise record with 17 appearances in nationally televised games. And in guard Stephen Curry, they have one of the league's most marketable stars, one who stokes the team's fervent fan base and gives the Warriors a great shot of winning on the court as well. "The Warriors may be young and up-and-coming, but they've already proven that they can perform in the playoffs," said Amy Brooks, a former Stanford guard who now serves as senior vice president for marketing and business operations for the NBA. "The Warriors have historically had a very loyal and passionate fan base. Their recent success has just driven this to a higher level."

ATTILA KISBENEDEK/AFP/Getty ImagesDallas Mavericks newcomer Jose Calderon has thrived by finding a new opening in Spain's backcourt.

(Read full post)

(Read full post)