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• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: Caron Butler donned a Suns uniform at a public unveiling of the new duds two weeks ago and that looks like it will be the only time he will be seen in it. The Suns have agreed to trade Butler, a Racine, Wis., native, to the Milwaukee Bucks for point guard Ish Smith and center Slava Kravtsov about seven weeks after they acquired Butler and hailed him as a veteran influence for the youthful Suns and part of the future. The Suns gain $5.65 million of cap space for any potential in-season trades but also save that money to make an expected costly waiver of Michael Beasley more palatable. Beasley would be owed $9 million of guaranteed salary. … “Much respect for the organization of the Phx Suns#staytuned,” Butler tweeted Wednesday night. … The Racine Journal Times first reported the trade talks Wednesday night. The deal should be finalized Thursday.
• Gery Woelfel of The Journal Times: But many NBA observers expected Caron Butler’s time in the Valley of the Sun to be short-lived. After all, the Suns are in a full-fledged rebuilding mode and are attempting to stockpile draft picks and young players for the future. The Bucks, meanwhile, are committed to trying to make the playoffs for the second straight season. After a flurry of offseason trades and free-agent signings, they appear set at every position except small forward, which is where Butler plays. Carlos Delfino, whom the Bucks signed as a free-agent in July, had been the projected starting small forward. But Delfino is still recovering from surgery for a fractured bone in his right foot. There are whispers that Delfino will miss the entire preseason and even a portion of the regular season. The Bucks also have two other young small forwards on their roster: Khris Middleton, whom they recently acquired in a trade with Detroit, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, whom they selected in the first round of the June draft. While the Bucks are excited about the futures of Antetokounmpo and Middleton, neither player is close to being ready to play major minutes next season.
• Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News: But here’s the thing: There’s no concrete evidence that summer hoops has a noticeably negative impact. Let’s look at the 52 players who have suited up for Team USA at the Olympics since 1992, excluding Larry Bird and Magic Johnson (retired) and Christian Laettner, Anthony Davis and Emeka Okafor (rookies). Of their combined 67 post-Olympic seasons: 34 played more or the same amount of games the following year. 33 saw their scoring averages increase. 40 improved or maintained their Player Efficiency Rating. Certainly there are players who suffered significant downturns, or fell apart physically. Robinson’s was the most dramatic case, limiting him to just six games. Then there were Alonzo Mourning (69 games missed in 2000-01) and Kevin Love (64 missed last season). Conversely, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, among others, all enjoyed perhaps the best seasons of their careers coming off Olympic play. Wade’s case is particularly noteworthy, with major improvements across the board after both Olympic campaigns — all the more impressive considering his general lack of durability. If anyone should break down after an extra slate of hoops, D-Wade would be among the top candidates. But not only did he survive, he got significantly better, improving his scoring average by 7.9 and 5.6 points, and his PER by 6.5 and 8.9. So what can we take away from all this? There’s no doubt long that as players continue to sandwich summers of international competition between marathon NBA seasons, a portion of them will continue to get hurt and/or worn down. But let’s be clear — this so-called wear and tear is not an automatic consequence of such a choice. As we’ve seen, there’s a strong case that the combination of experience and physical work — the latter of which every player engages in on his own to varying degrees — can actually be beneficial.
• Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press: The Wolves' Kevin Love, in town setting up residence for the coming season, showed up at Target Center this week weighing 240 pounds. "The lightest he's been since he's been a pro," Saunders said of the 6-foot-10 forward, who worked out at Target Center. "He's lost weight in his face, and his body looks leaner with muscle. He's really committed." Love was about 250 pounds last season.
• Jenny Dial of the Houston Chronicle: While things didn’t work out with forward Royce White and the Rockets, the NBA player (traded to Philadelphia in July) will have an everlasting mark in the Bayou City. On Wednesday morning, White announced a partnership with his non-profit organization Anxious Mind’s Inc. and Bee Busy Wellness Center to create the Royce White Institute of Mental Health on the city’s southwest side. The Wellness Center, which is a 17,000-square foot facility that will also have dental and primary care, is located at 6640 W. Bellfort and will open in January 2014. “When I met Royce White a couple of years ago, I knew we would do something special like this,” Bee Busy CEO Normal Mitchell said. “I think it will be a great thing for this community.” White, who has been open about his own struggles with an anxiety disorder, said that he thinks every city should have a center where free mental healthcare is offered. He started the Anxious Mind’s Inc. group while in college at Iowa State, and this is the organization’s first partnership. He said he hopes to see it grow. … He said he is looking forward to his chances of playing with the 76ers. “I was traded to Philadelphia and that’s where my career is taking me next so we’ll see what happens,” White said. “I am hoping I will be able to go there and produce.”
• Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman: The Thunder’s roster, like always, it seems, has very little makeover from last season. Kevin Martin out. Draft picks Steven Adams and Andre Roberson in. That’s about it. But John Schuhmann of NBA.com points out that the Thunder is in good company in keeping its roster basically intact. … Basing his list on minutes played, Schuhmann finds that the team most returning the bulk of its roster is the champion Miami Heat. The Heat is bringing back 94.9 percent of its minutes played from last season. The Thunder is second in the league, at 86.5 percent. And the Spurs are fourth, at 82.4 percent. Inexplicably, the woeful Charlotte Bobcats are third, at 85.3 percent.
• Staff of the Toronto Star: Tracy McGrady has thanked the fans of three of the NBA teams he played for, including the Toronto Raptors. McGrady, who announced his retirement earlier in the week, tweeted out Wednesday photos of himself when he played with the Raptors, Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets. “Thank you Toronto. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to begin my career in the NBA. You believed in me and there my journey began. This incredible city will always hold a very special place in my heart.” — Tracy McGrady. The message comes despite the fact that McGrady was the constant target of boobirds at the Air Canada Centre, even after a decade he left for the Magic.
• Staff of The Dallas Morning News: Tracy McGrady will be remembered as a player who went straight from high school to the NBA and became a dominant, two-way superstar. He will always be remembered, too, as a player who struggled with injuries. However, Mavericks fans likely will remember McGrady for different reasons, reasons former 7-6 Dallas center Shawn Bradley would probably like to forget. During the 2005 playoffs, McGrady and the Houston Rockets went up against the Mavericks. A McGrady dunk on Bradley in Game 2 put the poster in posterized. To be fair, Bradley was a shot blocker. He led the NBA in blocks in 1997 and had more than 2,000 in his career. With Dallas in 2000-01, Bradley blocked 228 shots. He finished his career with an average of 2.5 blocks per game. But, despite his height and wingspan, he also had a habit of getting dunked on violently - and often - by NBA stars big and small.
• Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com: Portland Trail Blazers free agent forward Luke Babbitt has agreed to a one-year deal with the Europe club BC Nizhny Novgorod of Russia, a league source informed CSNNW.com. The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the fact that no announcement has been made, added that the deal does not contain an NBA out clause. Babbitt's agent Bill Duffy confirmed the deal saying, “My take is Luke needs to play 30 minutes a game and play a more expanded role. We've had recent success with both Danny Green (of the San Antonio Spurs) and Patrick Beverley (of the Houston Rockets) getting an opportunity to develop their games in Europe and returning to the NBA. The NBA is a league of opportunity. We feel strongly this is the best move for Luke at this time.” Portland opted not to exercise the fourth year of his rookie contract before the 2012-13 season began, making him an unrestricted free agent this summer.
• Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun: Meanwhile, this Friday in Caracas, Venezuela, the Canadian men’s basketball team — a team that could turn this country on its ear at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics — plays its first game at the FIBA Americas Championship and hardly anyone seems to be paying attention — even though the event has huge implications. The bottom line is this: If Team Canada fails to finish in the top four in Caracas (and it’s no slam-dunk that they will, even with four NBA guys in the lineup), the program will suffer a significant set-back. With the hiring of NBA star Steve Nash as GM and Jay Triano as head coach last year, Canada Basketball pulled out all the stops in trying to attract the new generation of Canadian hoops talent to play for the national team, something that was never a sure thing in the past. There was a tendency for some of the young black players in Canada to shy away from playing on the national side, for a variety of reasons. Fortunately, that has changed over the past few years (including under former head coach Leo Rautins). However, if Team Canada should fail to finish in the top four in Caracas and fail to qualify for next summer’s World Cup in Spain, who’s to say if the impressive legion of young hoops talent would want to play for Canada down the road?
• Sid Hartman of the Star Tribune: Bobby Jackson, a great basketball player for the Gophers and for several teams in the NBA, is going to join the Timberwolves coaching staff as an assistant, according to President Flip Saunders. Jackson has a lot of familiarity with Rick Adelman, having played five seasons under him with the Sacramento Kings. Jackson started his post-playing career as an ambassador with the Kings and then as a regional scout working in player development. He became an assistant coach with Sacramento in 2009 and served in that role until June 5, when new head coach Michael Malone announced that the team would not retain any of the previous assistant coaches. Then there is the news that Saunders is going to hire Milt Newton to be the team’s general manager. Saunders and Newton agreed on terms of a contract after Newton spent this week visiting the Wolves. The two worked together for 2½ years when Saunders was the head coach of the Washington Wizards and Newton was the team’s vice president of player personnel. Newton held that role in Washington for 10 seasons before joining the Wolves.

• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: In one year Larry Sanders has gone from relative obscurity to becoming the centerpiece of the Milwaukee Bucks' rebuilding plans. Even he has a hard time digesting it. But the 24-year-old center said Monday he is ready to embrace his sudden leadership role on a Bucks team that has undergone a huge makeover this summer. … Last week he signed a four-year, $44 million extension that will keep him with the Bucks through the 2017-'18 season. "This organization has put so much trust in me as a person, as a player, as a worker, as a leader," Sanders said. "That's definitely the role I want to take. It's not a spontaneous thing. We've been working in this direction for a long time. Now, them investing this faith in me is awesome. But it comes with a lot of responsibility and I embrace that. I've had my mistakes; I've had my ups and downs. All in all, I keep pushing in a forward direction and it's allowed me to get here today. It's the same direction I want to push this team." Sanders went from a reserve role his first two seasons to a standout third season as he became the Bucks starting center. He ranked second in the league in blocked shots and averaged nearly a double-double (9.8 points and 9.5 rebounds), a showing that led to a third-place finish in the NBA most improved player balloting.
• Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press: This was always the thing about Chauncey Billups, of course. Toward the end of his time here, when he wasn’t hitting as many threes or keeping opposing point guards in front of him as easily, some figured his leadership role was overstated. I didn’t buy it. Not then. Not now. Few teams depend on player-led direction the way basketball squads do. Baseball can be a collection of individuals. Football relies on a patriarch and an encyclopedic playbook. Basketball, though, plays out as a near nightly improv in which the one who controls the ball becomes the central ad-libber. In Detroit, Billups filled that role, in ways both subtle and obvious. Richard Hamilton played with unending endurance and precision, but he couldn’t see two steps ahead. He needed Billups for that. He also needed him in the locker room. That dynamic, which helped propel the Pistons to six straight conference finals, showed up at the country club Monday. While Hamilton playfully jabbed at Billups, the point guard stayed in the moment. When he was finally done making his point to me, Billups acknowledged his buddy, “Aw, this clown right here?” He smiled. Then walked away. I got the feeling the scene had unfolded in dozens of ways on hundreds of nights in NBA arenas around the country, and that it will continue to unfold as long as the two hang out.
• Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun: There has been considerable ink spilled wondering what-if various things had changed the course of Tracy McGrady’s career. With good reason, McGrady, who retired Monday, was one of the most talented players to grace the NBA over the past 20 years. A seven-time all-star and two-time scoring leader, McGrady at one time also was an elite defender, passer and a steady rebounder, one of the most complete players in the game. Still, though he played a team sport, unlike some similar stars, McGrady will be remembered only as an individual. His squads never made it out of the first round of the playoffs while he was a main cog. … It’s impossible not to ponder how good Toronto could have been if he had stayed put, or, if the Magic would have taken Toronto’s place had Grant Hill been healthy (not to mention if Tim Duncan had signed there as a free agent). Or, would Houston have challenged for rings with McGrady and Yao Ming at 100% at the same time? We’re all left to wonder. Until the day comes that Toronto is even a quasi-contender, Raptors fans will always look back and try to imagine just how far the McGrady-Carter combo could have lifted the franchise. When he left, the NBA changed the rules, making it harder for emerging players to bolt from their first team. In the end, McGrady only played three season in Toronto, but he’s the best pick in the history of the franchise, a steal by Isiah Thomas at No. 9 overall.
• Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer: Seven-time All-Star and two-time NBA scoring champion Tracy McGrady announced his retirement from the NBA on Monday, but no one who saw it will forget one of the most memorable nights of his career. On Jan. 26, 2004, when he was with the Orlando Magic, he made eight 3-pointers in the first half of a game at then-Gund Arena, tying an NBA record for a half and setting a Cavs opponent record for a half, both of which still stand. The only thing that stopped him was aggravating a toe injury in the third quarter. After straining his right big toe while missing an alley-oop dunk attempt, he left midway through the period and did not return. He finished with 36 points, 34 in the first half. … Then coach Paul Silas said at the time, "Oh my God. I was just happy to see him out of the game. I’ve never seen that before. It was an amazing performance.'' Before injuries derailed his career, there were plenty of those kinds of performances.
• Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News: Details were extremely limited, but French sports daily L’Equipe reported that Spurs point guard Tony Parker is scheduled for an MRI on Tuesday after injuring his right knee for the second time in exhibition play leading up to next month’s EuroBasket tournament. The injury does not appear to be serious. Parker was hurt at some point during France’s 85-84 loss to rival Spain in Montpellier. He scored 26 of his 29 points in the second half, but missed a 3-pointer at the end. The injury was not referenced in a wire story about the game, nor did Parker address it in comments published by L’Equipe. EuroBasket will be held from Sept. 4-22 in Slovenia. Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah and Luol Deng are among the notable players who are skipping the tournament. The Spurs open training camp on Oct. 1.
• Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times: Pau Gasol is currently in Spain, working to rehab his knees after May procedures to help relieve tendinosis. On Sunday, Gasol sent out a short video clip of his workout. … Gasol has spent much of the last few weeks on the exercise bike, in the pool and the weight room. Although he isn't quite ready to return to the basketball court, the Lakers are optimistic he'll have a strong year — returning to his role as the team's primary inside option. Gasol still has two months to get ready for opening night on October 29 against the Clippers at Staples Center.
• Staff of The Dallas Morning News: In a chat with Dallas Mavericks fans on the team’s official app, Dirk Nowitzki shed some light on his life as a dad. When asked about how fatherhood has changed his life Nowitzki replied jokingly: “I gotta change diapers now. Never done that before.” On a more serious note, he also stated that he wouldn’t be opposed to having more kids. “I always wanted two or three,” he said. “We will see” Nowitzki continued the chat by answering questions about books and movies. But he was also asked about some of the additions made this offseason, specifically his former teammate Devin Harris. “Always liked DH,” Nowitzki said. “He is fast and smart. Hopefully he can get healthy and have a good year for us.”
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: Much of the good feeling about Miles Plumlee stems from his play at the summer league in Orlando last month. After logging more appearances in the D-League than the NBA as an Indiana rookie, Plumlee gave more credence to Indiana making him a surprise pick at No. 26 last year. In four games, Plumlee averaged 10.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks with only seven fouls in 108 minutes. Plumlee is tremendously athletic for a big man, bouncing off the floor well for a 6-foot-11, 255-pounder. Plumlee is no future All-Star center. He is too limited offensively for that, although he has a jump hook and will get Suns coach Jeff Hornacek’s expertise on fixing his shooting form. For $4.4 million over the next three seasons, Plumlee could prove to be a valuable big man because of how well he runs the floor, protects the rim and rebounds, particularly on the defensive end. Plumlee needs encouragement after an uneven rookie season that included days when he would practice with the Pacers and then drive two hours to Fort Wayne to play a D-League game. He is known for a tireless work ethic but also as a nice guy who could trust his skill set more and acquire a little P.J. Tucker constant aggression to cut out his niche. … Every team could use an unselfish, blue-collar player, especially one as big, smart and athletic as Plumlee.

• Brad Rock of the Deseret News: I believed this in June and I haven’t changed my mind: The Jazz didn’t have a lot of options. They knew where they were going with the Jefferson-Millsap approach – mid-to-low end of the conference. Better to roll the dice. It’s going to be painful and with what they have now, it won’t be smooth. They’re at least two All-Stars away from being serious, maybe more. In fact, Mehmet Okur, Andrei Kirilenko and Devin Harris were All-Stars and even played on the same Jazz teams. They didn’t go far. Neither will this team, as it stands. I know it’s early, but this might be a good time for Jazz fans to temper expectations. Sports Illustrated can see that from a distance. From up close, it might have looked better a couple of months ago than it really was.
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: Injuries almost have turned Malcolm Lee into an NBA stranger. Lee logged barely more games in two years with the Minnesota Timberwolves (35) than he did as a UCLA junior (33). He has undergone two surgeries on each knee and a hip surgery and was acquired in June by the Suns mostly because they had to take on his contract to move up one draft spot for Archie Goodwin. Lee, 23, is trying to make sure you have not seen the last of him. Or that you are about to see the first of him. He has been in Phoenix for the past month, working with Suns athletic trainers with the belief that he will be ready to participate when the team heads to Flagstaff for training camp on Sept. 30. He has a guaranteed $884,000 contract, but the Suns also will have 15 other guaranteed contracts with a maximum of 15 regular-season roster spots. The Suns believe in Lee’s talent, but it is a matter of the 6-foot-5 guard’s health and whether he can recapture his athleticism and show his defensive aptitude.
• Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times: Kobe Bryant continued to push his way back from a torn Achilles tendon, releasing a video of his workout via Instagram on Monday. The clip shows Bryant running on the Alter-G, the weight-bearing treadmill. While he has been walking on the Alter G for some time during his recovery, Bryant has clearly increased his pace. The Lakers All-Star guard was injured April 12 in a win over the Golden State Warriors. He had surgery the following day. While touring China, Bryant said he has "shattered" his recovery timetable, but more recently, Bryant said he's not sure if he'll make it back in time for opening night (Oct. 29). The original timetable for his recovery was six to nine months. Bryant also tweeted that he won't forget about what was said and written since his injury.
• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune: Q: Is this job harder than you thought it’d be? Flip Saunders: No. When I coached, I was always pretty active in the personnel side of things. Were there some challenges? Yeah, there were, challenges trying to change the culture — how we operate internally and externally — so all parties understand what you’re trying to do. Q: Anything you understand now about the job that you didn’t four months ago? Flip Saunders: I don’t think so. People talk about the importance of the agents and how they can dictate things; I believe my year with ESPN helped me tremendously in dealing with media and even agents. You understand these people have an agenda and you have to respect what their agenda is. It might not be the same as yours, and you might not like what they’re doing, but it’s not out of spite to you. It’s because they have a job to do. You have to respect that. I understand that more now, and I don’t take it maybe as seriously, to be honest, as I would have in the past. Q Any roster needs you still need to address? Flip Saunders: I don’t think we have any needs. Right now, talking to Rick, we feel comfortable with the roster we have. Not only is it balanced, but we feel we have talent at every position. I’ve talked a lot about this team and there are pretty good players out there we don’t even talk about right now: Derrick Williams, J.J. Barea, Dante Cunningham. When you put all those guys together with who we’ve added, you’ve got to feel comfortable.
• Gary Dzen of The Boston Globe: Based on this team's current roster, do you see them winning more than 30 games? This means last place in the East. Larry, Tallahassee, Fla. Have you seen the Bobcats play, Larry? In all seriousness, 30 is a good number to debate. Fans seem to be all over the place on where this team finishes, but I'm in the camp that the losses of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, as well as Rajon Rondo's recovery from knee surgery, leave the Celtics in a bad spot. Add in a new coach and a repetitive roster I'll go jus over and say the Celtics win 31 games. That leaves them out of the playoffs but maybe ahead of the Bobcats.
• Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com: We're in the midst of what is considered the slow time of the NBA offseason. It's a place in time where Ivan Johnson thought he would have had his next stop locked up already. But he isn't expected to be available past August. A source close to the power forward informed CSNNW.com that Johnson is issuing NBA teams a two-week deadline to come up with a reasonable offer. If no NBA offer presents itself, Johnson will bite on one of his several overseas offers. The source who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of these talks says, “Johnson will be fine either way, as long as he is playing the game of basketball.” The New York Knicks were one of the NBA teams inquiring about Johnson early on, however they have not reached out at the same regularity, another source told CSNNW.com.
• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Monday proved to be a day of minor details for the Miami Heat, both halfway around the world and halfway across the country. In Australia, Heat second-round acquisition James Ennis, the swingman out of Long Beach State, was introduced as the newest member of the Perth Wildcats. In Sioux Falls, S.D., Heat scout Pat Delany was introduced as coach and Heat Director of Player Personnel Adam Simon as general manager of the NBA Development League Skyforce, the Heat's minor-league affiliate. In addition, Heat player-development coach/advance scout Octavio De La Grana was confirmed as an assistant coach for Delany. To a degree, the events were related, with Ennis bypassing the opportunity to play for the Heat's D-League affiliate in favor of a more lucrative contract in Australia. Both Ennis and Perth coach Trevor Gleeson downplayed the opt-out in Ennis' Wildcats contract that would allow him to return to the Heat at any point if summoned this season.
• Ben Standig of CSN Washington: As for a return to Washington, it seemed highly unlikely even from the moment the Wizards acquired him (Jason Collins) from the Celtics in a deal for Jordan Crawford. It still does especially since there isn't actually a roster spot to spare after Al Harrington's signing brought the roster to full capacity with 15 members. It still would even if the team opened space by trading one of their frontcourt options elsewhere. Then again, the playoff-pushing Wizards would arguably be better off with a third center, even one with no scoring prowess, rather than a plethora of young forwards whose respective NBA roles remain rather undefined. Teammates last year praised Collins' ability to set screens in the context of helping the team produce points even if said points rarely came directly under the names Collins. Since many assume Nene will miss a chunk of the season at some point for some ailment, why not have another big man option. Until or if the Wizards make another move that opens up a roster spot, there is nothing to ponder. Even then, not so much, or even a little.
• Rustin Dodd of The Wichita Eagle: Thomas Robinson averaged just 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 15.9 minutes before the Kings shipped him to Houston in a late February trade. If the situation is Sacramento was untenable, the stint in Houston wasn’t much smoother. The Rockets had a logjam at power forward, and when the franchise had a chance to sign free agent center Dwight Howard this offseason, the team sent Robinson to Portland in a salary-dump move. “Up and down,” Robinson said, “rookie roller coaster.” For now, though, the ride appears to have slowed down a bit, and Robinson will have the opportunity for a fresh start with the Trail Blazers. He’ll join a young core that includes power forward LaMarcus Aldridge and point guard Damian Lillard, the league’s reigning rookie of the year. And most importantly, Robinson says, he finally feels wanted. “They’re constantly behind me,” Robinson said. “I’ve been up and down through my rookie year (with) two teams already. So for them to come in and make me feel like it’s gonna be a home for me is definitely a big deal.”
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban is certainly one of the most influential people in the Dallas area and when it comes to the NBA, he’s got lots of clout, too. On Tuesday, he’ll be unveiled as a mover and shaker in the world of mixed martial arts when USA Today names the “25 Most Powerful People in MMA.” Cuban checked in at 13th, along with Andrew Simon, who is his CEO of Fights at AXS TV. The pair turned then-HDNet into a home for MMA bouts back in the early days of the sport, seeing an opportunity. As two of the pioneers of giving the sport a platform for exposure, Cuban and Simon understood from the start the popularity that MMA would gain and gave the sport instant credibility. “If we weren’t going to be great at it, there was no reason to do it,” Cuban said in the special edition of MMAjunkie.com magazine, which produced a first-time print edition of 70 pages to chronicle the 25 heavyweights of the sport.
• Tony Bizjak and Ryan Lillis of The Sacramento Bee: Sacramento's arena war hit new levels of intensity this week after Seattle financier Chris Hansen was revealed as the secret source of money for a petition drive to put the city's arena plans to a public vote. Seizing on outrage at the news, arena supporters took to the streets Saturday, hanging more than 1,000 fliers on front doors asking residents who signed the petitions to withdraw their signatures. "Don't let Seattle money steal away our chance at 4,000 jobs for Sacramento!" the fliers urged. Arena backers, a group that includes many of the city's prominent business people and politicians, argue the Seattle funding offers proof that the two-month-old petition drive is really an attempt to derail the city's downtown arena plans and push the Kings out of town. Yet Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork, the group behind the ballot measure, insists it is a homegrown effort, aimed at giving voters a voice. Its leaders today vowed to come back fighting - possibly with a local fundraising effort.

AP Photo/Charles Rex ArbogastIn a tussle between the Bulls and Spurs, who comes out on top? Depends on whom you ask.

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