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• K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said Derrick Rose sat out the scrimmaging portion of Monday's practice as part of "planned rest." "He did some, the warmup phase," Thibodeau said. "And we went shorter (Monday). We had a teaching segment that of course he participated in and the warmup phase. But the live stuff, we were planning on giving him (Monday) off." Rose, who sat out all last season after left knee surgery, had said he didn't want to miss any practice time or preseason games if the decision was left to him. By all accounts, Rose has looked dominant thus far in practice. "With all our players, usually the third day and fifth practice we’re dealing with heavy legs," Thibodeau said. "We just thought we’d give him (Monday) off. Mentally, he’s sharp so he did his conditioning off the floor. He’ll be ready to go (Tuesday)."
• Nakia Hogan of The Times-Picayune: For most of Eric Gordon's two seasons in New Orleans, the perception was that he didn't want to be with the organization. It also didn't help that last offseason he signed an offer sheet with the Phoenix Suns. But Gordon tried to clear some things up on Monday and said he has never been unhappy with the New Orleans franchise. "The only frustrating part since I have been down here is dealing with the injuries," he said. "That's the main thing. I know what I can do, and this team knows what I can do. Now I am going to finally get a chance to make it consistent." And now that the Pelicans have a new nickname, practice facility and a bevy of new and young talented players, Gordon finally seems happy. "I've always been happy," he said. "It's just with me individually I've always been dealing with injuries and so fort. But when you have a lot of talented guys where you can have a chance to grow together -- because we are all young guys and we have a chance to grow together – anything can happen. And we have the talent to be a playoff team."
• Greg Stoda of the Palm Beach Post: This was a cool LeBron James. This was a LeBron James at ease. This was a LeBron James as comfortable in his own skin as anyone could imagine. If the never-ending conversation regarding his potential free agency bothers him — he becomes eligible July 1 — James did a remarkable job of hiding it as the Heat met the media Monday at AmericanAirlines Arena. His situation will be a season-long topic of speculation as Miami seeks a third consecutive championship. “I’ll tell you right now how I’m going to handle it,” James said, “I’m not going to address it.” And then he talked about owing his team his focus and how his concern is winning another title and how mature the Heat is and how his potential opt-out (and Dwyane Wade’s and Chris Bosh’s, too) won’t be a distraction. Nobody has to explain himself, James implied. They have a professional goal, and the effort to achieve it won’t be sabotaged by after-the-fact business. The locker room won’t fracture. “We’ve got a veteran ballclub that’s heard everything and seen everything,” James said. “I know how delicate a team can be. I know how important chemistry and camaraderie are.” Here’s the thing: They’ll all probably opt-out, because doing so provides the player with flexibility. It’s the prudent move.
• Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times: The pleasantries quickly gave way to a more sobering discussion when Doc Rivers first met with Chris Paul. Topics of conversation did not include Paul's six All-Star game appearances, his unmatched ability to close out games or his status as possibly the best point guard in the NBA. "He pretty much told me I wasn't anything," Paul said Monday during the Clippers' annual media day. "He told me I hadn't done anything, and he was right." Welcome to life with the league's most painfully sincere coach. Hard questions can be asked. Perceptions of one's self can change. Feelings can be hurt. But here's the thing: Championships can be won. "I'm honest," Rivers said in the biggest understatement of the day. For a Clippers franchise that has never gotten to the conference finals, Rivers' candor is as alluring as the new light-blue alternate uniforms the team unveiled. His frankness grabs your attention like an open parking space in a dusty media lot suddenly overrun by reporters drawn to the buzz of the most captivating team in Los Angeles. "He's been straight-up, he's been very real and when he talks you can tell he has the attention of everybody," super-subJamal Crawford said. "Winning that championship, being there contending, he did it as a player and now as a coach. He has everyone's respect." Not that it's always fun to hear what Rivers has to say.
• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune: Timberwolves forward Kevin Love reported for duty with his surgically repaired knee and hand reportedly all healed and his body lean. He also made one thing abundantly clear: The past is in the…well, you know. “Last year is last year,” the two-time All-Star forward, uttering a line he used repeatedly during a 12-minute session with reporters at the team’s annual media day. He made it clear he has little interest in discussing a lost season in which he played just 18 games after breaking his shooting hand not once but twice. Love also wasn’t much interested in discussing his relationship with former President of Basketball of Operations David Kahn, who was replaced by Flip Saunders last May. “The past is the past and it’s great to have Flip on board,” Love said. “We’ve had great talks. … We all know what happened last year, and we just want to move forward and take care of unfinished business.” Love looked like he’s in the best shape of his career, even though he said he doesn’t know exactly how much weight he lost from last season.
• Tom Layman of the Boston Herald: The search parties were called off as Gerald Wallace emerged yesterday for the first time wearing Celtics garb with the No. 45 stitched on his jersey. Wallace knew there might have been some misconceptions about his whereabouts after the draft-night trade that brought him, Bogans, Kris Humphries and MarShon Brooks to Boston for Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Jason Terry. But, he said, he had a prior commitment with his basketball camp right when the introductory press conference happened, and like he does every summer, secluded himself in Alabama with his family. “The main thing that a lot of people have taken out of this is that I didn’t want to come, I didn’t want to be here, I didn’t want to be a part of it. That’s so far from the truth,” Wallace said. “I think the main thing is that I’m a veteran of 13 years and I’ve been traded three times in the past three or four years. This trade kind of caught me off-guard. I didn’t see it coming.” Wallace did say, however, that going from a team building toward being a major contender to one that is in rebuilding mode isn’t the easiest thing to accept. … Whether Wallace will be part of the rebuilding process will be figured out down the road. He has a contract that will be tough to move with three years remaining at roughly $10.1 million per, and Danny Ainge, Celtics president of basketball operations, said this is always a quiet time in terms of player movement. Ainge also said he doesn’t know what Wallace’s role will be on this team with an overcrowded roster at basically every position.
• Harvey Araton of The New York Times: It didn’t take long for Steve Mills to address his primary mission in assuming the Knicks’ top executive position last week, courtesy of his former and once again benefactor, James L. Dolan. On N.B.A. media day, Mills explained how the job opportunity appeared suddenly, announced the exercising of an option year for Coach Mike Woodson and then got down to the business of what promises to be a season of breathtaking pandering to Carmelo Anthony. He clearly is one of those superstar players that don’t come around very often, and the things he has done to make this team successful and to represent this city is something that’s very important,” Mills said. “So while it’s premature in the process, we’ve made it clear that we have every intention of making Carmelo a Knick for a long time to come.” Given a chance to declare it a mutual love affair and to say he couldn’t wait to put his Carmelo Hancock on a Knicks contract extension, Anthony politely abstained. “When the time comes, I’ll deal with that,” he said. “I’m not going to go through the season thinking about my contract.”
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: O.J. Mayo wanted to find a place to stay awhile. After spending his first four pro seasons in Memphis, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard was in Dallas just one year. When the Mavericks focused their off-season attentions on Chris Paul and Dwight Howard (failing to land either one), the unrestricted free agent Mayo could take a hint. So on Monday it was Mayo stepping up to a microphone wearing his No. 00 at the Milwaukee Bucks media day at the Cousins Center. Mayo, who was the third overall pick in the 2008 draft by Minnesota and traded to Memphis, knows big things are expected of him on this stop. And he's just fine with that. "I'm going to do whatever I need to do in order for us to be successful," Mayo said. "If I have to be the tough guy, if I have to bite, scratch, whatever we need to do." The Bucks signed Mayo as the replacement for Monta Ellis at shooting guard, agreeing to a three-year, $24 million contract with the former Southern Cal player. … But foremost on his mind is helping the Bucks. He understands his role will be a critical one on a team with a 21-year-old point guard in Brandon Knight and a young front line featuring fourth-year center Larry Sanders and second-year pro John Henson. "Last year (the Bucks) were the eighth seed but at the same time it was a losing season," Mayo said. "Hopefully we can get to a fifth or sixth seed this year and continue growing, show we're making improvements and strides."
• Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press: New Pistons coach Maurice Cheeks mentioned he talked with Jennings on Monday about the expectations for the young point guard. Cheeks was asked what he said, but he deferred and said he was more curious to hear Jennings’ recollection of the conversation. “Everything was just straightforward,” Jennings said. “He said the team goes as far as I go. He’s looking for a guy who can come in here with a positive attitude every day and a guy that’s not too high and not too low, but in the middle. “He said he is going to be on me every day, and he’s going to put a lot of pressure on me.” One of the things that angered fans last season was former coach Lawrence Frank’s limiting of rookie center Andre Drummond’s minutes. Cheeks said he isn’t looking to limit Drummond and expects big things in his second season. “I’m going to put him out on the floor for sure,” Cheeks said.
• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: In a bold and franchise-altering day seldom before seen, one thing has become clear. They will forever be the Raptors but they will never be the same. With a new “global ambassador” who appears to have as much passion for the organization as almost anyone employed by it and a new look and colour scheme coming in two years, the Raptors kicked off the official run-up to the 2016 NBA all-star game in decidedly glitzy fashion. Drake, the iconic Toronto music superstar and now the unofficial host of the all-star weekend, will be part of the process of “re-branding” the franchise that has missed the NBA playoffs for the past five years. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke said the process has already begun to change the colour scheme and logo of the team that’s entering its 19th year in the NBA. The name however won’t change, Leiweke said, and it will not be a quick process. Leiweke said the team has already engaged a Toronto firm to help with the process, they will make an effort to somehow involve fans but thanks to marketing and licensing demands, the new look won’t be unveiled until the 2015-16 season. And the NBA will be heavily involved.
• Jody Genessy of the Deseret News: Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey said Monday was the only time he’s going to address Corbin’s contract situation with the media this season. “The Miller family is known for their support for players, of coaches, of management. We’re going to stand by our record,” Lindsey said. “I think as you guys have seen with Coach Sloan, the internal promotion what we did last year and support of Ty and the staff with the Raja Bell situation, coaches here are very well-supported. Beyond that, the Miller family and the management team, we’re not going to comment past that point.” The Jazz’s expectations for Corbin this season? “Our expectations,” Miller Sports Properties president Steve Miller said, “are that he shows up, which he will, and that he does the job that we’ve hired him to do, and he will because he’s the consummate professional.” Lindsey said he has a “gentleman’s agreement” with the agents of Hayward and Favors to not discuss their deals in public, either. Utah has until the end of October to extend the players’ contracts. If that doesn’t happen, the Jazz have the option of turning them into restricted free agents next offseason. “As you guys can assume, we’re having active conversations. We’re hopeful,” Lindsey said.
• Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post: Nuggets center JaVale McGee is working to get better control of his asthma. He is awaiting lung capacity test results taken recently to be able to pinpoint which medication will work best for him this season. "It definitely figures out what medicines I need to take, if I'm taking too much medicine, if I'm not taking enough," McGee said. "So it's definitely a good thing." McGee averaged 18.1 minutes per game last season in a mostly reserve role. Those minutes are expected to jump considerably now that new Nuggets coach Brian Shaw has all but declared him the starting center. "Definitely inhalers," McGee said of required equipment. "And then practicing past my first wind. It's not a huge problem. It's just that once.”
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: Fatherhood can impact guys differently. A newborn in the house means many things change. For Dirk Nowitzki, it meant being a “full-on home dad” for the last two months. In case you are wondering, it will not impact his job. Coach Rick Carlisle had the most emphatic answer when asked if daddy Dirk seemed any different to him. “If you’re asking if he’s settling into fatherhood and not as into basketball, I’ll tell you categorically, the answer is [expletive] no,” Carlisle said. “It’s been a tough couple years for him. The ’12 [lockout] season was dicey with the knee thing, and then coming in last year, it seemed like it was OK and then the thing puffed up. So he takes it extremely seriously. … This is serious business, and his effort has been completely matched up with the level of importance.”
• Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle: While most fans have a guess as to who the Rockets’ leaders will be this year, head coach Kevin McHale says it’s just too early to tell who will do the leading and who, in turn, will do the following. “We have only had four practices so far,” McHale said. “Right now they are just trying to get through those.” While most fingers point to James Harden and Dwight Howard, McHale said the leaders won’t emerge for a while. “They all have personalities, and really, I don’t know if you can say, ‘This guy’s a designated leader,’ ” McHale said. “Players are going to follow who players follow, and they follow guys for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes there is the older guy they follow because the guy is full of wisdom and he helps them out all the time. Sometimes it is the high-energy guy they follow because they are just like, ‘That guy plays so hard.’ All that leadership stuff, as it always does, will take care of itself.”
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: If you thought Michael Kidd-Gilchrist didn’t play like a No.2 overall pick last season, then know this: Kidd-Gilchrist didn’t think so, either. The Charlotte Bobcats small forward recalls his rookie season with disappointment – not about the team’s 21-61 record, but rather that he didn’t do more to help. His numbers weren’t bad. He averaged 9.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and just under a shot-block per game. But he’s used to excelling, and this was well short of that in a class that featured rookie of the year Damian Lillard with Portland and stellar big man Anthony Davis with New Orleans. “I was disappointed in myself,” Kidd-Gilchrist said at media day, on the eve of training camp Tuesday morning at UNC Asheville. “It wasn’t the losses. I like all my teammates and we bonded a lot. I was mad at myself. I set goals and I didn’t reach any of the goals that I set. All my life I did that and last year I didn’t reach one goal.’’ Asked for specifics, Kidd-Gilchrist said he set out to be rookie of the year and failed. He set out to make first-team all-rookie, and failed.
• Monte Poole of The Oakland Tribune: Bob Myers has a fabulous job, with a salary that allows him to live anywhere he likes, visit any place he chooses. On this particular day, as soft clouds hover above the Bay Area, the Warriors general manager chooses state prison. He's not alone. Another member of the 1 percent club, Warriors coach Mark Jackson, a former NBA star, also arrives at the joint. These two are voluntarily rubbing shoulders -- literally -- with men serving time at this world-famous lockup on the north shore of San Francisco Bay. Myers and Jackson and Warriors assistant coach Brian Scalabrine, one year removed from playing in the NBA, are joined by other members of the Warriors organization, including assistant general manager Kirk Lacob, the son majority owner Joe Lacob. They all brave the morning commute to come here and play basketball with the inmates. So, naturally, this visit is about much more than hoops. "It's basketball, but, for the most part, this is about impacting lives," Jackson says.

• Marc Berman of the New York Post: James Dolan wore mostly a stoic look on stage, sitting next to commissioner David Stern and was joined by Nets minority owner Bruce Ratner and Mikhail Prokhorov’s assistant Irina Pavlova. Prokhorov was not in New York. Dolan took on his usual curmudgeon persona when the discussion turned to the meeting Stern brokered between Dolan and Prokhorov last season to quell any ill feelings — as first reported by The Post’s Fred Kerber. When asked what he got out of the meeting, Dolan offered the best line of the event, saying: “Free lunch.’’ Dolan has tried to get the All-Star Game ever since the Garden started its transformation. As reported by The Post in 2012, the Garden would have had the 2014 All-Star Game, but the NBA didn’t want to compete against the Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium. Dolan was more expansive on the rivalry being good for the teams on and off the court.
• Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News: Mikhail Prokhorov is a busy man, no doubt, but he still should have found the time to come to the biggest announcement involving his team since . . . well, there have been quite a few in recent months, starting with Jason Kidd’s surprise hiring as coach and then the introductions of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. The Nets have rarely gone into a season looking better than the Knicks and considered a viable championship contender. Like never, not as an NBA team, not even when Kidd carried them to two Finals. True, it might not work out. Kidd is an unknown as a coach, and when we last saw Garnett and Pierce, going out feebly against the Knicks in the playoffs, it didn’t seem as if they had another title run in them. But maybe Kidd will be a quick study in his new vocation, and maybe Garnett and Pierce will survive another marathon regular season, flourish in one more playoff run and get the Nets to the Finals.
• Greg Cote of The Miami Herald: Dwyane Wade and Kevin Durant are feuding in cyberspace, and it is silly and fun and stupid and great, all at once. It also reveals an underlying poignancy, which is the only reason the exchange is interesting in a larger sense and worth exploring. … All of this is noteworthy on the face of it, because it’s rare that one NBA star will publicly call out another, and Durant basically said Wade is overrated. The cynic might think the whole thing is an arranged feud to set up a sequel to the wake-from-a-bad-dream Gatorade commercial they did together, but I doubt it. It feels too real, and, on Wade’s end, too raw. This little feud is interesting mostly because it peels back a curtain on Wade’s mind and reveals how sensitive he is to his status as an elite player, and to that being questioned — let alone by a rival all-star. This isn’t cocky ego flexing itself in Wade. This is wounded pride. This is Wade being forced to confront where he is, career-wise, and where he is headed. … Wade wrote in that Instagram note that he wants to make Durant respect his “place in history.” But it isn’t about that. Wade’s place in history as a champion and future Hall of Famer is secure. This is about Dwyane Wade’s place in 2013 and ’14. This is about a great, proud basketball player trying to hold on to “elite” as doubters and time try to take it away.
• Michael Pointer of The Indianapolis Star: Larry Bird agreed the George signing gives the Pacers less financial flexibility. They have approximately $64 million committed to nine players for the 2014-15 season, leaving little room to re-sign Stephenson, who will be entering the final year of his NBA entry-level contract, and fill out a roster with a salary cap that will be a small increase from this season’s $70.3 million. Longtime team leader Danny Granger likely will become a free agent after this season. Bird and Pacers officials have made it clear they have no plans to pay the NBA luxury tax, so keeping a young Pacers team together for the long term could be a challenge. For now, those concerns are secondary to putting the best possible team on the court for this season, Bird said. “We’re going to play this year,” he said. “You never know about the future, but right now, we’re pretty satisfied with where we’re at.”
• Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: Sam Presti was peppered with 26 questions for more than half an hour Wednesday afternoon. The best was the fourth, the shortest and most significant. “How do you think the team has gotten better this off-season?” It was an inquiry that dismissed any preconceived notions and disregarded all pessimism that had been built by a relatively stale summer. And it forced Presti to think, requiring the Thunder general manager depart briefly from his script and spell out how exactly this team could be better when its inactivity primarily suggests it's gotten worse. “Well,” Presti said, “I think it all comes down to how you define ‘better.'” And with that, Presti spent the better part of the next 30 minutes detailing his definition during his annual preseason news conference. Along the way, he expressed excitement and extreme confidence in his club, choosing to view widespread question marks not as concerns but as opportunities.
• Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times: To date, the Lakers have not begun contract extension talks with Bryant, who is in the last year of his deal. Kupchak said he anticipates at some point this season a discussion will take place. "Kobe has made it clear that he intends to retire in a Laker uniform and I know as an organization, we feel the same way," he said. Kupchak did note he wasn't especially comfortable with Bryant's high dive, video of which he posted on Vine. "Not great judgment," admonished Kupchak. "He got out of the water and he looked like he was healthy, so I felt good. That was not great judgment." Bryant has been headstrong since the Lakers drafted him in 1996. "With Kobe you just try to manage who he is the best you can. Trust me, at 17 years going on 18, you're not going to change who Kobe Bryant is right now," Kupchak said. "During a game he's tough to manage." "I think the best that [Coach] Mike [D'Antoni] can hope for is to get to know Kobe better and maybe figure out a way to manage it the best he can," Kupchak said. "I think that's Mike's best chance. No coach has been able to control Kobe. No coach we've had since 1996 and that's not going to change."
• Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press: With the Indiana Pacers announcing a five-year max extension with swingman Paul George, it’s only natural for Pistons fans to wonder about the status of 2010 draft classmate Greg Monroe. But Monroe let everyone know today he doesn’t want his contract status to become a daily topic of conversation. “I want y’all to circulate this right now,” he said. “Everybody pay attention. I have an agent like everybody else in the NBA. He’s going to communicate with the front office. I’m here to play, and that’s it. I’m not going to talk about it. If you ask me about it, I’m gonna tell ya I’m not going to talk about it. I’m here to play, and that’s what’s going to happen. Circulate that to y’all friends.” Monroe, 23, is eligible to sign an extension before the start of the regular season. If not, he would become a restricted free agent next summer.
• Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle: Andrew Bogut finally deemed himself 100 percent healthy last week, and general manager Bob Myersand head coach Mark Jackson were on the verge of declaring the Warriors' center ready for a return to stardom this week. "He looks good. I mean, this is the player we envisioned when we traded for him," Myers said Wednesday. "This is the player you saw three or four years ago." With no limitations on his training, playing time or even back-to-back games, Bogut has been the highlight of the voluntary workouts that have been taking place at the downtown Oakland practice facility since just after Labor Day.
• Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times: Heading into his free-agent year, Luol Deng already is in the headlines. And he and the Bulls aren’t comfortable with the situation. Deng’s agent, Herb Rudoy, said the Bulls ended contract talks at the start of the month, leaving Deng no choice but to be a shopper this summer. Posturing by both sides? Definitely. But it’s a good decision by general manager Gar Forman. Rudoy’s asking price for Deng is too much for the Bulls to commit to, and the hope is the market — thanks to a less player-friendly collective bargaining agreement — will show Deng that the grass is not greener. The bright side is that Deng is a professional, and while all this is going on, he’ll remain a class act on and off the court.
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld and Coach Randy Wittman sat behind a podium Wednesday for a joint news conference to discuss an upcoming season that could either represent their final run as a tandem or the beginning of a long, sustainable franchise run as a playoff contender. Grunfeld is entering his 11th season with the organization and Wittman is set to start his second full season with the team, but their fortunes have been tied ever since owner Ted Leonsis gave them two-year extensions in 2012. And as both enter the final year of their respective deals, they understand the pressure that comes as the Wizards attempt to make the postseason for the first time since the 2007-08 season. “Well, that's what we want,” Wittman said when asked about the increased expectations. “We want to get to the playoffs. Do you think this is the first time I’ve been on a one-year contract? No. It doesn’t mean anything. Thirty years of being in this — and it’s just about going out and doing your job and doing it the best you can, and I feel if we do that, everything else takes care of itself.” Grunfeld then chuckled and said: “I’ve been there 36 years, for a couple under the same circumstances. So I have him by a couple of years on that one.”
• Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer: Royce White is participating in the workouts and will be on hand for media day on Friday. "He is slowly getting to a level that we want to try to bring him to," Brett Brown said of the power forward who was acquired in a July trade with the Houston Rockets. "It's exciting to see what could happen if the physical side of getting him in great shape can collide with his talents and all the other things that have gone on with Royce." The 16th overall pick in the 2012 draft has an anxiety disorder; he did not play in the NBA last season. The forward out of Iowa State last practiced with the Rockets on Nov. 10 and played 16 games with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League. White had been in a disagreement with the Rockets over how to deal with his anxiety issues.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: New Charlotte Bobcats coach Steve Clifford says he’ll be fair and open with his players. That doesn’t mean Clifford sees his job as making every player happy with his role. “Whenever coaches say every player has the chance for playing time, they’re lying to you,” Clifford said during a Wednesday luncheon with Charlotte media. “This can’t be like intramurals (where everyone gets in games) because guys stink when that happens. Some guys are going to have to play well with less minutes.” This is Clifford’s first season as an NBA head coach. It’s clear he has strong convictions. He and his bosses – front-office executives Rod Higgins and Rich Cho – believe this team’s biggest strength can be its depth. But that creates complications as far as players’ minutes expectations. Clifford said his job is to figure out which combinations maximize the chance to win a game. That isn’t the same as playing the most talented players all the time.
• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: So, the 2016 NBA all-star weekend bacchanalia is coming to Toronto? Saw the report Tuesday, don’t doubt its veracity, was kind of coasting and blowing off final days of vacation and made one call that couldn’t confirm it but there’s no reason to think it’s untrue, the process began months ago and I understand there were no other bidders. So . . . Sure, it’s a good thing for the hotels and the restaurants and the clubs that I wouldn’t be allowed into; the city and MLSE will most assuredly put on a good show and that’s great. For normal folks and run of the mill fans? Book your time on your couch now or expect to stand behind some barricade watching the swells go to all the big events. … It’s a good thing because it will open some NBA eyes to what the city has to offer -- February weather permitting, of course -- and if stalking celebrities and NBA players is your thing, it’ll be blast. But to think everything’s open and available to regular people and that you can rub shoulders with them? Guess again. Heck, last year you couldn’t even get into the players’ hotel without a credential and those security folks didn’t mess around with interlopers. It’s a fun weekend. For some people.

• Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star: The only real issue heading into camp is the Granger Question. Or Questions.Is he healthy? When will his game fully return? Will he start or come off the bench? How will Bird handle the fact that Granger is in the final year of his contract? The answers, in Cliffs Notes form, are 1) He’s getting there; 2) Eventually, although he’s a notoriously slow starter even when fully healthy; 3) He probably will start and 4) Stay tuned because this is going to get interesting. Bird made no bones about it: He likes his team best with Granger starting and Lance Stephenson leading the second unit as a point guard. “That’s what I prefer,” Bird said. “I’ve always respected Danny’s game. Like everybody else, I see his good and his bad, but I think the good outweighs the bad by a large margin. I like his toughness. And I’ve always said you never lose your position through injury; somebody’s got to beat him out. Now, if Lance comes in and he’s a better player, that’s (coach Frank Vogel’s) decision. But I think we’re a different type of team when he starts. ... I think Danny and Paul (George, who signed a long-term extension Tuesday) are interchangeable. This makes us a better all around team. We’ll score more points with Danny and it’ll take pressure off the bench.”
• Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun: The basketball world is coming to Toronto in early 2016. Multiple sources told the Toronto Sun Tuesday that the Raptors are on the verge of landing the 2016 NBA all-star weekend. An official announcement is expected within a week that will reveal further details of how one of the sport’s biggest weekends will tie into Toronto’s 20th-anniversary season. Tim Leiweke, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president and CEO, made it clear upon taking over the company that landing the prestigious event was one of his early goals. “Clearly the 2016 all-star game is a flag in the sand that we planted with the NBA. It is a must-have in my opinion and it will be the centrepiece of how we rebrand this,” Leiweke said in May. He also has said that Raptors fans “deserve a little bit of positive news.”
• Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman: Kevin Durant made the media rounds at ESPN today, joining SportsCenter in the morning and other appearances throughout the day. But his most interesting interview came on ESPN22s SportsNation show, where hosts Max Kellerman and former NFL defensive lineman Marcellus Wiley asked him interesting questions on a variety of topics. You’re known for having a lot of tattoos, but business tattoos on the torso and the back, but none on the arms. What’s up with that? Kevin Durant: “Nothing. I’m eventually going to get some on my arms. Having tattoos on your arms, does that make you a worse person? I don’t know, I guess. There’s nothing against getting them on my arms, I eventually will. But I guess it’s hardest to get them on your torso and back, they hurt the most, so I had to get them out the way.” … You picked up more technicals than ever before last year. What was going on? Kevin Durant: “Nothing. I was just getting upset a little more at stuff. But there’s nothing different for me, I’m sure I’m going to get more techs, maybe not as many as last year, but I’m sure I’m going to get some techs this year at some point. That doesn’t define who I am as a person. I’m just a feisty basketball player who enjoys competing at the highest level. Sometimes thing don’t go your way and I reacted more than I should have. I apologize to anyone who I offended by my techs, but I’m sure I’ll get a few more.
• Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald: Heat players have shown no sign of complacency off two championships. Wade indicated he was working out until 1:30 a.m. Monday night, Norris Cole has been shooting jumpers late into the night and Chris Bosh has been working hard on his game in California. A bunch of others, including Michael Beasley, have been doing on-court work at AmericanAirlines Arena. And Greg Oden, continuing to progress from his history of knee programs, has been doing work both on court and in the weight room. ### Add veteran NBA swingman Roger Mason Jr. to the list of players auditioning for the Heat. Mason, who's workout out for Miami this week, averaged 5.3 points in 69 games for New Orleans last season and shot 41.5 percent on three-pointers. Swingman Von Wafer was invited back to Miami for a second week of workouts but has been unable because of an injury.
• Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News: A national sports blog that shall remain nameless cited Tony Parker’s recent declaration of fatigue following EuroBasket 2013 as Reason A why Spurs coach Gregg Popovich isn’t enamored with his players spending their summers balling for their native countries. … But the passage, coming on the heels of reports that Spurs general manager R.C. Buford implored Parker to watch his minutes during the tournament, implied that Popovich and Co. take an adversarial stance to international competition. Nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, Popovich sounded less a high-powered basketball coach than a beaming father in his reaction to France’s historic triumph.I told him two things. First, I’m incredibly happy for you because it puts you on another level. To help your country win is more special than you. Now have a special place in the history of French sports. Secondly, I told him how proud I was of his development. … Despite the image he presents as the snarling, sarcastic curmudgeon from hell — much of which is grounded in reality — Popovich is also a renaissance man with interests ranging far beyond the basketball court. Be it good conversation over a vintage bottle of wine or helping his assistants develop into head coaches, he’s all about the experience. So how in good conscience could he deny his players, particularly one he’s spent as many years grooming as Parker, the opportunity to realize a lifetime achievement? Despite the inherent risks involved, that’s something Popovich simply won’t do. Contrast that with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, whose opposes international play in large part because the NBA doesn’t make any money off it. Who would you rather play for?
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: A low-post scorer like Al Jefferson can make Kemba Walker’s job so much easier. Higgins detailed Tuesday how central Walker was to successfully recruiting Jefferson, who signed a three-year, $40.5 million contract in July. At Walker’s exit meeting last season with Higgins and general manager Rich Cho, Walker was asked what upcoming free agent might be most helpful. Walker pulled out his phone, called up a list of those players, and said Jefferson was clearly his top choice. So Higgins reminded Walker that he and Jefferson share an agent, Jeff Schwartz, so it was Walker’s job to start the sales pitch, months before Jefferson officially became a free agent July 1. Walker went to work, scheduling a meal with Jefferson in New York City to express what a good fit this could be. The Bobcats followed up on that effort by immediately making a pitch at midnight the first day of free-agency. Jefferson flew into Charlotte for a visit, expressed his desire to sign here and the deal was done. What are the Bobcats getting from the largest free agent signing in franchise history? “Al addresses so many needs for us,’’ Higgins said, a week out from the start of training camp at UNC Asheville Oct. 1. “Once we decided to amnesty Tyrus Thomas, ownership gave us the green light to find a difference-maker. He is a difference-maker.”
• Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: Perhaps the only sense of normalcy in Jared Sullinger’s life right now is basketball, one reason the Celtics’ workout facility in Waltham has become something of a refuge for the second-year forward. Though Sullinger may still be prosecuted for domestic abuse stemming from a Sept. 3 incident involving his longtime girlfriend, the Celtics have no intention of distancing themselves, according to Danny Ainge. “He’s a good Celtic, and he’s a guy we have big hopes for,” the Celtics president of basketball operations said before yesterday’s annual charity golf tournament at Wollaston Golf Club. “He hasn’t done anything that we think is so wrong he shouldn’t be part of our team today.” Though the girlfriend, who has moved to Ohio, reportedly does not want to pursue charges, the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office may forge ahead. “The outcome is looking good, but we can’t talk about that,” said Ainge. “It hasn’t reached a conclusion. Jared has been in training camp every day working out. He’s taking care of everything in the exact right way that he should, and I think Jared is a good kid. This was a distraction, but I don’t think it will be a distraction now because he knows the story, and some day you guys will, but because of the legal proceedings it can’t be publicized. He can’t talk about it.”
• Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press: Back from a brief vacation in his home state of Louisiana, Detroit Pistons big man Greg Monroe was working with his teammates today, in preparation for training camp next week. Having worked out with U.S. Olympic basketball hopefuls during the summer, Monroe should be ready for a big season at both power forward and center under first-year coach Maurice Cheeks. “We’ve had discussions about me playing both positions,’’ Monroe said. As far as his stint at the Olympic camp, Monroe said: “I felt great at the trials. It allowed me to gain some confidence and get some good run. I don’t even want to say quality — it exceeds quality playing against the guys of that caliber. I got insight from NBA coaches, college coaches, (Mike Krzyzewski), one of the greatest coaches ever. I got a lot of midsummer insight that you wouldn’t get over a normal summer.’’ Surrounded by great players, Monroe and Pistons teammate Andre Drummond were able to glean things from the U.S. staff and players.
• Marcos Breton of The Sacramento Bee: As publicity stunts go, this one achieved maximum impact: Shaquille O’Neal blew into town as the unlikeliest of new Kings owners – a jaw dropper since O’Neal was the rival player most responsible for preventing a Kings championship a decade ago. He also infamously coined the phrase “Sacramento Queens” to mock the local team. But on Tuesday, O’Neal had attracted one of the best attended news conferences in recent memory and hoisted the first lady of California over his head. Yeah, strange bedfellows. I was still shaking my head from the Shaq show at the Kings practice facility Tuesday when suddenly there it was on Twitter. A shot showed O’Neal lifting Anne Gust Brown – the brilliant and powerful wife of Gov. Jerry Brown – like a paperweight over his head at a power dinner hosted by the new Kings owners at Zocalo in midtown. O’Neal had a huge smile on his face in the photo. The first lady? Uh, well, you couldn’t see her face. … We saw a whole new side of the first lady while Shaq and the Kings seem to have matters well in hand. On Tuesday, they gave a sneak peek of their vision of the new arena – “an indoor/outdoor” building billed as a dynamic public space instead of a big box taking up blocks of prime real estate. If it works, you’ll be able to make all your arena transactions – food, drink, foam fingers – with your smartphone. Ranadive said the Kings’ first game will be broadcast live in India, where he was born and one of the biggest untapped foreign markets for the NBA. “We want to rejuvenate Sacramento,” said O’Neal as Ranadive beamed. They seemed unstoppable.
• Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle: Stephen Curry took a cue from a players-only meeting when the majority of the Warriors arrived back in the Bay Area right after Labor Day and wrote a win-total goal on the board in the practice-facility locker room. Though he wouldn't divulge the precise number at the time, he did say that it started with a five - as in, at least 50 wins. But the exactitude of the players' consensus objective no longer seems to matter. Head coach Mark Jackson erased it. "I was wondering who put it up there," Jackson said to a gaggle of reporters Tuesday. "If you put that up there, that's a target. I don't want any limits. Anything could happen. That could be a great number, or that could be putting a ceiling on us." … Jackson wouldn't guesstimate the Warriors' win total for 2013-14, saying only that "I want to be a very good basketball team with a chance to win the whole thing." But he consistently talked about the importance of players who were lost, like Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry, and stressed the significance of the chemistry in last season's locker room.
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: Grant Hill had a myriad of options for life after basketball. There was speculation — and some mutual interest — for him to join the Suns’ front office and there were chances to get away from basketball with his involvement in politics, art, business, filmmaking and fatherhood. Hill is staying in the game, even after retiring in June from playing it. Hill, 40, will be the co-host of the resuscited NBA Inside Stuff, the popular half-hour sports and entertainment show that aired from 1990 to 2005, while also serving as an analyst for TNT and NBATV. Yes, that makes him the new Ahmad Rashad. But rather than Julie Moran, Willow Bay or Summer Sanders, Hill’s co-host will be Atlanta morning radio sports talk show host Kristen Ledlow for 26 weekly episodes during the season and special editions. The all-access show will start airing Saturday, Nov. 2, at 9 a.m. Arizona time on NBATV. The notion that Hill, a Phoenix Sun from 2007 to 2012, would join the broadcast side after an 18-year career seemed like a safe bet. He has the gift of gab, populartity, respect and a close friendship with Scooter Vertino, the NBA Digital vice president of content who previously produced NBA on TNT.
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentine:l Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders loves a good piece of art. Now he will get to play on one. The Bucks unveiled the Robert Indiana-inspired design for their new BMO Harris Bradley Center court at a festive event held Tuesday night at the Milwaukee Art Museum. Sanders and teammate John Henson did the honors of unveiling the look as Bucks fans, team employees and community members waited for the big moment. After the speeches, including one by former Bucks radio and TV announcer Eddie Doucette, fans had a chance to pose for pictures with Sanders in front of the floor model. "It looks really fierce," said Sanders, who loves to design skateboards and is a strong supporter of the local arts scene. "It has a sharp edge to it. Also it looks kind of simple, like we're here to do our job. We're here for business. "And it's green; it's not too colorful. It's not too distracting. I think it's awesome." The original MECCA floor which the Bucks played on at the Arena in the late 1970s and 1980s was more colorful. But this court has the M design (in hand-stained hard maple) running through it and has a few subtle touches, including the 1971 NBA championship trophy pictured in the center of one sideline.
• Mitch Abramson of the New York Daily News: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 66, made no mystery of his desire to replace recently fired Ben Howland at UCLA, carrying out a media campaign to rally support. He was passed over for former Indiana star and veteran coach Steve Alford. When the Bucks filled their coaching vacancy with Larry Drew, it seemed to signal the end of Abdul-Jabbar’s coaching hopes. “It didn’t work out and that’s the way it goes,” Abdul-Jabbar said on Tuesday, speaking before an appearance at the Barnes & Noble on Fifth Avenue and 47th St. Wednesday. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer was there to promote his latest book, “Sasquatch in the Paint,” loosely based on his upbringing in Manhattan. “I’m not going to ram my head against the wall. It’s time to move on. I’m not actively pursuing that,” Abdul-Jabbar said of looking for future coaching jobs. “Writing has been a nice thing for me. I’ve been pursuing that more so than anything else.” He’s worked as a special assistant for the Lakers for the past six seasons, but will not be back this season, according to a Lakers spokesperson. Despite his inability to secure another desirable NBA job - he’s also toiled with the Los Angeles Clippers and Seattle Supersonics - Abdul-Jabbar harbors no animosity toward a player like Jason Kidd, who was hired as Brooklyn Nets head coach shortly after his retirement. “That’s great for Jason,” he said. “I don’t exactly know how that situation evolved but obviously they thought he had some talent, so I’m happy for him, but I couldn’t explain to you what it’s all about. It’s impossible.”

• Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald: The first practice of training camp is next Saturday at the Berto Center. Derrick Rose hasn't played in an NBA game since tearing the ACL in his left knee on April 28, 2012. "I'm feeling good," Rose said. "Right now my legs are good. Just trying to stay positive and keep my emotions from exploding knowing that the season's around the corner." After such a long layoff, everyone will be curious to see if Rose will be back to his old self or if he will be rusty when he returns to the court. … Rose was asked about limitations and hurdles involved in his comeback. He brushed off those questions and looked forward to his preseason debut Oct. 5 at Indiana. "I wouldn't say (there are any) mental hurdles, but I think it's just going to be an emotional day," he said. "Just playing with (my teammates), being around them, being an active player in the arena, playing in front of people. I haven't had that in a long time. "My confidence grew as a player, and you'll see that when I play."
• Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer: Nerlens Noel's repeated grunts revealed that fatigue had set in. Yet, other than a water break, the 19-year-old's only rest came while walking to and from workout stations. With his body completely drained, it would have been easy for him to take at least a five-minute break. Most NBA observers believe the Sixers are jockeying for position in what is expected to be a talent-rich 2014 draft. And Noel won't play until December - if at all this season - because of the anterior cruciate ligament tear he suffered during his lone season at Kentucky. But resting on this day was not an option for Noel, who spent 51/2 months rehabilitating his left knee with renowned physical therapist Kevin Wilk and his staff before moving to Philadelphia earlier this month. The third of four children, Noel knows a lot about real pain and working past the brink of exhaustion. And he'll tell you this isn't it. American dream How to tell the story of a player expected to alter the direction of the Sixers franchise? It starts with his mother, Dorcina Noel, who grew up in the Haitian coastal city of Gonaïves.
• Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News: Garry Vitti called this routine “par for the course” as he enters the Lakers’ training camp beginning Sept. 28 in what will become his 30th year with the organization. He described the 2012-13 season differently, though. Vitti ranked it “the toughest year for me,” one that pales only to when Magic Johnson abruptly retired and announced in 1991 he had tested positive for HIV. … Still, with the Lakers far from championship favorites, Vitti believes any success this season goes beyond health. “If we get on the court and are fragmented as a team, it doesn’t make a difference that you worked that hard,” Vitti said. “You have to have a head coach and have guys buy into what he’s doing. We have to come together as a team, believe in each other and trust each other.” Vitti sounded encouraged the Lakers will have that attitude after seeing nearly everyone in recent weeks in the trainer’s room and informal workouts. The lone exception among the team’s 16 players involves Gasol, who trains in his native Spain each offseason. Save for a three-week vacation in August with his wife, Martha, to his house in Settefratti, Italy and a trip to Prague in the Czech Republic, Vitti’s schedule this offseason stayed busy. Players kept the trainer’s room full each day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. With the Lakers’ hope to field a healthier roster this season, Vitti encounters constant interruptions. That still beats the Lakers’ feeling last season when every trip to the trainer’s room became as enjoyable as most visits to the DMV. “It was a very difficult situation,” Vitti said. “We were all over the place. This year will be much different.”
• Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald: Coaches that win consecutive championships receive lucrative offers for speeches, book deals and more. But we hear the Heat’s Erik Spoelstra is turning down everything. As a friend said, at this point in his life, he wants to focus on winning championships. Spoelstra again has used a bit of his time this summer to study coaches and their techniques, including friend Chip Kelly in Philadelphia andPete Carroll in Seattle. (He also spoke to Seahawks and University of Tennessee players, and Russell Wilson raved about his speech to the Seahawks.)
• Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman: Three seasons ago, when the Thunder clinched its first Northwest Division title, it was viewed as a huge milestone for the burgeoning franchise. “It's great for our fans,” coach Scott Brooks said at the time. “It's great for our city to be division champs. It is definitely a step in our process.” Two years and two division titles later, the feat has become little more than a formality. Just a nice footnote in the season's bigger picture. This isn't the MLB, where playoff spots are fewer, or the NFL, where postseason byes are offered. So the importance of division championships in the NBA is dwarfed. But they still come with a guaranteed top-four finish in the conference and bragging rights within the division. And for the Thunder, which enters camp later this week in search of a fourth straight Northwest crown, the path has never looked easier.
• Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press: If the Pistons plan on being dealers before the February 2014 trade deadline, they have a glut of small forwards and guards to possibly offer, if that’s team president Joe Dumars’ plan. “We have a lot of flexibility,” newly acquired Josh Smith said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if guys played different positions in the backcourt or along the front line, depending on matchups.” Smith is expected to start at small forward and also see time at power forward. Also on the roster are Kyle Singler, Jonas Jerebko and rookie Luigi Datome, who made a splash overseas with his shot-making ability and athleticism. That’s four small forwards, and there aren’t enough minutes to play them all. Singler played out of position at shooting guard during parts of his rookie season, but currently the backcourt is overloaded. Jerebko could see some time at power forward to loosen the logjam if coach Maurice Cheeks wanted to go in that direction. At point guard there’s Chauncey Billups, Brandon Jennings, Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey. The team also signed rookie point guard Peyton Siva, who was drafted in the second round. …. Stuckey at shooting guard didn’t do well a year ago because of his struggles beyond the three-point line. One of the reasons the Pistons drafted 6-foot-5 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was because of his shot-making ability as a legitimate shooting guard. To deny him minutes if he earned them in camp would impede his development on a team that believes it has a legitimate shot at making the playoffs.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: Q: What, on a basketball court, is non-negotiable? Steve Clifford: “Transition defense. There are numerous areas we have to improve if we want a better record. But the thing about transition defense is all it takes is effort and organization. It’s not a talent area. You run back every time because it puts you in a better position to defend, or you don’t. It’s as simple as that. That’s something we have to take pride in.” Q: Anything else of particularly high priority? Steve Clifford: “I’m spending a lot of time looking at our rebounding game. Rebounding translates from level to level more than any stat. Guys who rebound well in college tend to rebound well in the NBA. If you look at our roster we have one guy (Kidd-Gilchrist) who is an exceptional rebounder by (position). The bottom line is we can improve offensively and improve defensively, but if we don’t improve in team rebounding, it may not matter.”
• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: Q: What is your expectation for Raptors this upcoming season? What are the areas that have been improved? What are the areas that still need urgent attention? Which player do you expect to have a breakout season? Which player would be the X-factor? A: Well, I think you probably know then that guessing really isn’t my bag, especially a week before we’ve even seen a practice but what the heck. My expectation is that they will be in the grey area between about No. 6 and No. 12 in the East and it will depend on if and when they come together, if they stay relatively injury free and depend a lot on what the other teams do. I think they need to defend better, I would imagine Jonas Valanciunas will be much better than he was last year so he might be considered a “breakout” player and I guess one big X Factor will be how Kyle Lowry plays. But I also have no clue if any of that is right or not and I’m kind of anxious to see what happens for real.
• Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune: No matter how painful the coming season becomes, Utah is committed to the idea of developing young players, accumulating assets like future draft picks and riding out what could be a 25-win storm. "We will not be going back on that philosophy," Dennis Lindsey promised. Clearly, the Jazz are now Lindsey’s baby, even if he doesn’t want to be considered the father. Executive vice president of basketball operations Kevin O’Connor is now more of an adviser than a decision-maker, and Lindsey recently hired his own assistant general manager, Justin Zanik. Still, suggestions Lindsey has become the lone pilot of this experimental craft that will take Utah into the next stage in franchise history do not sit well with him. "I’ve ever felt that way — when I was scouting, when I coached, when I played or now that I’ve moved up from assistant GM to the elite seat," Lindsey said. "Building a team, organizing a team, maturing a team, is a very collaborative process." Exhibit A: The Jazz’s decision to move up and draft Burke last summer. "There is a good chance Trey Burke isn’t here," Lindsey said, "unless we had Ty Corbin’s input."
• Ben Standig of CSN Washington: Factor in Nene's skills as a low post scorer and a high post passer plus his locker room presence, well, it's rather obvious how valuable the Brazilian big man is to the team's well-being. One simple reason he's not higher on the list, injury concerns. One simple reason it's hard penning the Wizards into the postseason, injury concerns Until we have a prognosis on Okafor, the worries stay largely with Nene, who missed 21 games last season largely due to foot injuries. He played only 39 games with Denver and Washington during the 2011-12 campaign. The irreplaceable debate likely comes up again during camp, especially if Okafor's timetable for return is lengthy. Obviously, the Wizards hope the discussion remains a purely hypothetical one.
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: What the Suns roster lacks in experience and playoff pedigree, the coaching staff’s credentials will work on making up some of that. New assistant coaches Jerry Sichting and Mike Longabardi each have NBA championship rings. New head coach Jeff Hornacek and assistant coach Mark West have been to the NBA Finals. There are 50 seasons of NBA experience among four coaches who played and that will form much-needed advice for a Suns roster with nine players between 19 and 25 years old. “I don’t think there’s going to be anything we haven’t seen or been through,” said new assistant coach Kenny Gattison, who played for the Suns from 1986 to 1989. “Staffs come together out of necessity. X’s and O’s, defensive principles and all that, we know. It’s not like we’re going to invent anything new. But as the season goes, you learn how to manage personalities, different combinations and, at the end of the day, our job is to make Jeff’s job easier so he can coach the team. If you relay his message and get the players to say what he’s saying, then you’re on your way. “It’s going to be a lot of preaching and teaching.”

Is being good at the layup as simple as getting to the rim? There’s rarely a distinction made between a player’s ability to get in layup range versus his ability to actually sink it. Perhaps that’s because “a layup” is also a metaphor for something easy, like a “gimme” putt in golf.

Whoever popularized the metaphor probably never tried to score over NBA giants, I’d hazard.

The layup also gets no respect because it doesn’t demand respect. Unlike the dunk, the layup fails to seize an arena’s attention with a sudden lightning bolt at the hoop. Instead, it takes an indirect route off the backboard before meandering along the rim, waffling on whether to finally be a basket already.

Incredible dunks look super intentional, as though a player’s life depended on forcing the ball through the rim at that moment. Incredible layups look accidental, as though a fouled Dwyane Wade thought “Why not?” while flinging the ball in the backboard’s general direction.

So the layup commutes between “you’re open and should always make it” and “you weren’t looking at the rim, that was total luck.” It’s hard to get recognition for being good at something when both the routine and the spectacular are so easily dismissed.

Well, no one is dismissing the mighty layup in these parts. The shortest bank shot is indeed a skill -- and an important one. Here are some players who, according to Basketball-Reference.com, have mastered the ancient art, along with some guys who could stand to do better.

THE BEST

LeBron James
Made 70 percent of layups, attempted 357

When LeBron stole Game 1 from Indiana with an off-hand layup, there was far less marveling at his steely reserve than there was criticism of Frank Vogel for letting it happen.

An open layup is a high percentage shot for anyone, but it says something that LeBron is comfortable with his off hand in a high-pressure moment like that. His ambidexterity is the foundation of his short-range arsenal.

Not only is LeBron better at getting to the rim than everyone else but he might be more accurate once there than everyone else, as well. Last season, LeBron shot 70 percent on layups. He attempted at least 200 layups more than anyone with a better layup conversion rate.

The aforementioned ambidexterity allows LeBron to explore any angle at any time. A favorite tactic of his is to shield the defender with his back while banking a no-look lefty. It’s a bit like a reverse lay-in that doesn’t finish on the other side of the hoop.

Isaiah Thomas
Made 67 percent of layups, attempted 151

Pound-for-pound (Copyright: Allen Iverson) the best layupper around. At a tiny 5-9 in socks, Thomas shouldn’t be able to hit 67.1 percent on these shots. He has had a lifetime of practice against taller players, though.

Thomas hasn’t mastered any one thing in particular. He just has the full layup repertoire. He’ll switch hands when it suits him. He’ll loft it high off the glass like Steve Nash. He’ll shield off contact with his back while scooping the ball forward. He has the up-and-under down.

Seriously, watch this guy at the rim. Better yet, record this guy at the rim, pause right before the layup happens and appreciate how impossible the feat looks. Water can’t find a way through cracks the way a Thomas layup can.

Tony Parker
Made 67 percent of layups, attempted 331

This is the defining Parker trait and always has been. There’s also a striking quirk to his game. Although Parker can use his left hand if the situation requires, he prefers to use his right, even on the left side of the backboard. I’d say the signature Tony layup is a right-handed scoop on the left side of the rim. That is, if the signature Tony layup isn’t an overhand try in which he’s leaning backward on an invisible recliner.

Marcus Thornton
Made 70 percent of layups, attempted 156

Look, I’d be lying if I said I could fully explain Thornton’s layup skill, but he’s been great two years running (69.3 percent on layups last season). He isn’t especially fluid with his moves, but he’s good with either hand. Thornton also doesn’t force anything around the rim. Most of his lay-ins come off assists.

THE WORST

Brandon Jennings
Made 50 percent of layups, attempted 281

Kevin Costner’s “back, and to the left” line creeps into my head whenever Jennings drives. Detroit’s new starting point guard has a tendency to lean backward off balance while flinging lefty prayers. Hopefully Jennings learned something from former teammate Beno Udrih, who shoots contested layups quite well.

Carmelo Anthony
Made 50 percent of layups, attempted 335

He’s even worse at contested layups when you consider how often he’s rebounding his misses for easy putbacks. But those putbacks might answer the question of why Anthony is so mediocre near the basket. Melo loves chasing his own shot, and the first try might be a careless prelude to the chase. He’s also not especially adept at using his left hand and thus forces a lot of action with his right.

Dion Waiters
Made 50 percent of layups, attempted 245

He’s the right-handed Jennings, although there’s more hope for Waiters going forward, I’d say. He’s stronger than Jennings (eventually my “Strongta Ellis” nickname will get off the ground, I just know it), taller than Jennings and younger than Jennings. I’m banking (OK, I’ll stop) on an improved Waiters near the rim.

Ramon Sessions
Made 49 percent of layups, attempted 290

Sessions was among the worst perimeter player on layups last season, but he hasn’t been this bad in the past. Last season could be a fluke -- or the result of a once-quick point guard slowing down. I’ve noticed he tends to go right when the path is blocked off.

Omer Asik
Made 48 percent of layups, attempted 145

I stayed away from listing big men because so many of their “layups” are really post moves or strained putbacks, but Asik deserves a mention. He converted 94.6 percent of his dunks, nearly 47 better than he managed on layups. From 3-10 feet, he shot 27.4 percent.

Few players better demonstrate the difference between grip and other kinds of fine motor skills. Asik is good at dunking; he has no issue putting his clamps on the rock and tomahawking it through the hoop. Once his hands try a more delicate layup, though, the ball flies off the window as if Asik’s playing handball.

Ricky Rubio
Made 45 percent of layups, attempted 164

I don’t want to judge too harshly, as Rubio was coming back from an ACL tear. This is his second season of poor finishing, though (48.4 percent on layups in his rookie year). It’s curious that Rubio struggles like this because he’s so well coordinated and so well aware of angles when it comes to passing. Perhaps the problem is his running balance. On drives, Rubio often staggers as if he’s in an invisible potato sack race.

IN THE MIDDLE

Russell Westbrook
Made 58 percent of layups, attempted 478

Westbrook might be the player whose facility at making layups simply means he gets to the rim a bunch. That’s not entirely fair, though, because Westbrook can and does finish with either hand.

You just wouldn’t expect the dynamic point guard to be a whole 12 percent worse on layups than LeBron, given Westbrook’s elite speed and hops. It appears, from the video clips, as if Westbrook flies into the lane with more desire than strategy, willing the ball toward what might be the hoop. That’s nitpicking because, even if Westbrook is only OK at converting layup attempts, it matters more that he is creating so many of them.

It's a wonderful time for the NBA, with young stars all over the league, an impressive collection of contenders and fascinating storylines from coast to coast. The one real downer, however, is that the game-changing talent of the 2014 draft is expected to inspire any number of teams to lose as many games as possible this season, in the name of the best possible draft pick. In the first post of a series, ESPN.com's HoopIdea explores tanking and its effect on the NBA.

Here’s a nice HD YouTube video, cued up to the moment when the world’s finest sprinters are lining up for a big race.

Eight of the best athletes the world has ever known, shaking muscles loose and then crouching into the starting blocks, poised to explode. They spend years getting to this level -- running fast defines these competitors. Yet they do their best at it only a few seconds a year.

This is that time.

It's fun to watch, even though the commentary is in German and it's a sport hurting for both celebrity power and highlight-worthy artistry. In fact, it's surely the simplest sport: It starts here and ends right over there. No turning. Not even really any pacing. Eight athletes in a row, each bound and determined to run faster.

We appreciate this on a deep level. "Wanna race?" is an ancient question almost every human has asked or answered. This trips a trigger. The rare delight of sports, in these complicated times, is to see eight crystal-clear agendas, so nakedly, completely and devotedly all in.

That’s competition, and that's part of us.

Screwing up a beautiful thing
Now imagine this. You’re the runner in Lane 4, hands placed carefully, heart racing, waiting for the starter. Three sprinting wizards to your left, four to your right. Everyone has had this date circled on the calendar all year. You’ve got glory to earn and a family to feed.

And you know there’s:

• $100,000 for first place
• $50,000 for second place
• And … $100,000 for last place

What?

Takes a lot of the fun out of the race, doesn't it? Knowing the competition’s big prizes are not just for winning, but for winning or losing.

A little weird, eh?

Of course, that's not what happens in track. But, oddly, it is roughly what really happens in the NBA.

Picture 30 teams trying to win
This season, one NBA team will work incredibly hard, make one smart decision after another, please the basketball gods and enjoy an NBA title in June.

Another team will turn the ball over a ton, play the wrong players and endure heart-wrenching injuries as the basketball gods look the other way. That team will trick the rulebook into an incredibly high pick in the draft of a lifetime with a good shot at a player who will change things for that team for a decade or more.

It's tough to say which team wins the bigger prize.

In other words: Every team would do its darnedest to give fans what they want -- real long-term strategy and real all-in nightly competition -- if the league would take its thumb off the scale. Thirty general managers are hard-wired to pull their hair out to win now and forever just like those sprinters -- if only the NBA didn't muck things up by giving a whole lot of those competitive people strong arguments to cut their competitive juices with the tonic water of tanking.

It's not that the league is forcing teams to lose. And rest assured we still get amazing competition. But the NBA is needlessly confusing things. You know what exits stage left when the priorities get cloudy? The beauty of clear priorities.

Give the big prize to the runner in last place, and it's just too much to expect everyone's best race after race, year after year. The race gets a little less fun to watch.

Maybe it’s not the biggest deal in the world. Maybe the sport can thrive despite this -- clearly it has.

And let's be clear: What I'm not alleging is that coaches or players are throwing games. I'm not even chapped at the owners or GMs who pursue losses by deciding to cut costs, keep bad coaches around, trump up injuries, trade away efficient players, play inferior players or save cap space for another day. They all should do what they think is in the long-term best interests of their teams -- I can't really call the Spurs idiots for the pathetic show they put on to get the draft pick that became Tim Duncan. Everyone should pursue wins, and more or less I believe everyone does. This isn't an ethical issue.

What's messed up is that the league has confused matters. When this season is over and teams like the 76ers, Suns, Kings, Magic, Bobcats, Celtics and Jazz have miserable records, did we learn those teams are dumb, or smart?

Losing badly in the NBA is no condemnation of the team. Which is a profound condemnation of the league. Whoever dreamed up that prize scheme simply got it wrong. It’s a strategy where you can more or less count on some competitors dogging it every time out. In casual conversation, I've heard NBA GMs mocking front offices in places like Houston and Milwaukee for "foolishly" trying to win season after season. It's all backward.

You want to see the most intense competition? You want every game to matter? You want maximum excitement? Well, duh. Stop rewarding failure. Stop creating the problem.

It casts a shadow over the NBA schedule. Maybe a third of the games feature at least one team that no doubt has players and coaches who are dying to win, but who have been intentionally handicapped by front offices that value losses. I don’t know who’ll win that Grizzlies versus Sixers contest, but I know the Grizzlies -- all of them, from the point guard to the president -- want to.

Meanwhile, we could, quite simply, with a wave of the hand from the NBA Board of Governors, have a league where all 1,230 games feature two organizations with all the naked competitive ambition of the sprinters in that video.

That’s what we’re exploring.

Why can’t we have that?

• Percy Allen of The Seattle Times: For one afternoon, Kevin Durant belonged to Seattle once again. It was as if the lanky basketball superstar stepped into a time machine and transported back to the summer 2007 when the Sonics selected him No. 2 overall in the NBA draft. There he was Sunday, in the city where his professional career began, and the 24-year-old looked just like he did when he played his last game in Seattle five years ago. However, instead of his old green and gold No. 35 jersey, Durant wore a red No. 7. And instead of an NBA contest at KeyArena, he turned a summer-league game at the Jamal Crawford Pro-Am into a must-see event that drew manic fans to Seattle Pacific University. The crowd overflowed out of Royal Brougham Pavilion and snaked around the corner onto Nickerson Street. When Durant walked through a side door, the place went bonkers. And when he stepped on the court, the crowd of 3,000 greeted him with a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. … Durant took 62 shots — making 26 — and scored 63 points. He drained three-pointers and flushed dunks. Conroy (33 points) set him up for a thrilling alley-oop slam. Durant could have penned a storybook ending, but he missed a potential game-winning midrange jumper in the final seconds. In the extra period, the team led by Crawford (46 points), Washington Wizards guard Martell Webster (25) and former UW standout Tre Simmons (26) pulled away for a 147-141 victory. However, the real winners were the fans. “I’ve had a fun time here in Seattle,” Durant told the crowd while holding the microphone at midcourt. “I miss you guys. Thank you for the warm welcome, man. I can’t wait to come back. Thank you. I appreciate it.”
• Bernie Augustine of the New York Daily News: There is clearly some Air left in his Jordans. Michael Jordan wowed campers at his annual Flight School camp in California over the weekend, showing that His Airness can still fly — albeit at a lower altitude — by rising up and dunking with one hand. At 50-years-old. In a pair of jeans and Air Jordans. “This still happens,” was the description accompanying the photo sent out from the Twitter account of Jordan’s camp, @MJFlightSchool.A YouTube video shows a young camper defending Jordan, and when he goes for the steal the Hall of Famer drives the lane and throws down the one-handed jam. Jordan takes the youngster to school one more time in the short clip, playfully backing him down before spinning away and sinking a running left-handed hook shot. Something has clearly gotten into the NBA stars of the 1980s and 90s this summer, as they’ve reminded a younger generation that they still have it. Or at last some of “it.”
• John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News: Let me start by saying, I think it's a bit ridiculous that it has taken new Sixers czar of basketball Sam Hinkie nearly 3 months to finally come up with a candidate worthy enough to offer his head coaching job. Even if we know that Hinkie's "analytical" approach to managing is the exact opposite of an "instinctive" one, 3 months is a long time for dotting all of the i's and crossing the t's. … Brown doesn't have the Sixers over a barrel, but if you're Hinkie and you've waited this long to come up with the right coach, can you afford to have him turn you down? How would you then sell the next guy in line as anything more than a temporary hire or a guy desperate for any head-coaching job? That would be a humiliating confirmation of how bad people think of the Sixers' situation. Still, I like that Brown has some kind of hammer over Hinkie because at the minimum he should be able to coax out a long-term commitment as the coach. … With the Sixers expected to lose anywhere from 55 to 65 games, a one-and-done scenario could definitely be in play for the next coach If I were Brown, I'd insist on a 4- or 5-year contract from the Sixers - one that gives management incentive to stick by me through some anticipated lean times. Honestly, the next coach getting a long-term commitment also would be best for the Sixers.
• Ethan J. Skolnick of the Palm Beach Post: “I understand,” Greg Oden said. “My body is not going to be when I was 18, able to run all day and jump over people. I can’t do that now. It’s just not going to happen. My knees, the wear and tear of the surgeries, I understand that. “But I’m going to play as hard as I can, and I’m going to try to jump over people, and I’m going to try to run all day. If my body lets me, I’ll do it.” In that sense, he is grounded. That is good. His comeback, however, could be grounded, too, by the slightest slip. It might not even take a touch. That’s how brittle he is. That’s how fragile this comeback is. That’s what Heat fans need to understand. Oden’s return to game action should not be based on anything that is occurring inside the team. Bosh is getting beaten on the boards? Doesn’t matter. Chris Andersen can’t sustain last season’s success? Doesn’t matter. The team endures a losing streak of some length? Doesn’t matter. All that matters is how Oden feels about his readiness, and how the Heat feel about that feeling. In fact, even when Oden clears himself for greater responsibility, Heat decision-makers should stall him some, just to make sure.
• Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: Kendrick Perkins himself admitted that he was displeased with his performance last season. And so he's dedicated this offseason to developing his skills and improving his game. … Perkins' motivation is twofold. The Thunder's second-round exit last season still is fresh in his mind, and he knows he didn't help the team as much as he would have liked to. As for the former, the basketball world now seems to be overlooking the Thunder going into the 2013-14 season, something that isn't lost on the Thunder. “They count us out,” Perkins said. “But at the end of the day we feel like each guy at the end of the season said we were going to come back better. So we feel like each guy just got to step their roles up a little bit more and step their games up and we feel like we can do that.” Perkins will be the first to say that he's starting with the man in the mirror. He's heard his critics this offseason, and while he isn't making any vows to shut them up Perkins is using their criticism as fuel. “One thing I learned, and I learned this from Kevin Garnett, is don't only read the good things about you,” Perkins said.
• Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: One could bill next July as the Summer of LeBron II. But as far as the Cavaliers are concerned, their most pressing need might be signing All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving to a contract extension. The Cavs can offer Irving an extension in July 2014, undoubtedly for maximum dollars. … "I know it's your job to ask about it, but I'm not really worried about that right now," he said. "I'm going to focus on my third year and worry about that in the summertime." … The 6-foot-3, 191-pound Irving said he's content in Cleveland. "Right now I'm a Cavalier," Irving said. "This is where I am. All that other stuff, I'm not worrying about it. I'm living in the moment right now. I want to work with the coaching staff and get to the playoffs. That's all I can do right now, give it my all. All that future stuff, I'm not really worrying about it." He wants to make it clear that rumors on Twitter last month about him not re-signing with the Cavs were false. "My job is to play basketball," Irving said. "That guy on Twitter that said that, (he's not) close with my family. I wanted to let Cleveland know those rumors were bogus and nothing to worry about."
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: “I’m so thankful for the position that I’m in,” Otto Porter said in a recent telephone interview. “There are a lot of guys who would love to be in my position, so just to see how far I’ve come in two or three years, coming from a small area to now I’m here in the NBA and it’s all happened so fast, it’s amazing.” From the moment he declared for the draft out of Georgetown, Porter has been flooded with information about what it takes to survive in a high-profile occupation. Last week, that information was condensed to a four-day session of seminars and workshops at the NBA’s rookie transition program in Florham Park, N.J., designed to educate players on the challenges that come with handling their finances, relationships and health. Porter and fellow Wizards rookie Glen Rice Jr. were among the nearly 50 players in attendance to receive frank instruction and personal tales of hardship and perseverance from former and current players such as Alonzo Mourning, Dikembe Mutombo, Jerry Stackhouse and Kyrie Irving and other experts in their respective fields. They also gained an understanding of the expectations that come with being part of a business that generates more than $4 billion in annual revenue.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: The roster makeover has been significant, and this clearly looks like a more competitive team than the one that bumbled its way to a 28-120 record the past two seasons. They drafted Indiana power forward Cody Zeller and signed free-agent center Al Jefferson. They re-signed shooting guard Gerald Henderson and power forward Josh McRoberts. In two lesser moves – but ones that fill needs new coach Steve Clifford identified – they’ve added veterans Jannero Pargo and Anthony Tolliver as third options at point guard and power forward, respectively. Tolliver agreed to a one-year, veteran-minimum deal Saturday. Once he formally signs, the Bobcats will have 13 guarantees for next season, with an NBA-maximum 15 roster spots available. The Bobcats also have power forward Jeff Adrien on an unguaranteed contract and have indicated they will work out guard Seth Curry, the Charlottean and former Duke star, who went undrafted in June. With 13 guarantees, this is pretty much the roster the Bobcats will bring to UNC-Asheville for training camp in October.
• Staff of The Dallas Morning News: Norm Hitzges: How long a contract do you suspect you'll offer Dirk once he gets into free agency this year and you start the re-up discussion. Mark Cuban: I have no idea. But I'll talk to Dirk about it. Pretty much whatever he wants. Dirk's got a no-trade deal, so whether it's one year, three years, 20 years, it really doesn't matter. He gets to sign and re-sign as often as he wants. The length of the contract is more about how long longer Dirk wants to play more than anything else. Particularly with a young kid, he's gonna want to spend time, but he's also going to want to get some sleep. I don't see Dirk walking away from the game anytime soon. Dirk really wants to come back and send a message to everybody that he's got a lot left. The thing about Dirk is he's skill driven. He's basketball-IQ driven, he's wins driven. He's not driven by athleticism. As long as he stays healthy, he could play for a long time.

Ethan Sherwood Strauss on who'll win the West, when the Lakers will be back in the Finals and which NBA player he'd pick to help decorate his home.

 

• Staff of the Houston Chronicle: After weeks of Lakers associates and fans making negative remarks about Dwight Howard, the Rockets center had some revenge yesterday via social media. First a fan warned Howard of his new surroundings. Being in Houston, he may have to turn to livestock for his social life. Howard gladly informed them that Texas isn’t the only state that has cows. … His most scathing comment was in response to a fan who said he would never win a championship. … Jaded fans shouldn’t read too much into Howard’s tweets. He brushed off his comments, saying that he was just having fun.
• Staff of The Dallas Morning News: Mavericks owner Mark Cuban joined Jay Leno on The Tonight Show on Thursday. Here are some highlights.Jay Leno on the A-Rod suspension ... was it fair? Mark Cuban: Horrible. I think it's disgraceful what major league baseball is trying to do to him. Not that he doesn't deserve to be suspended. He does. But they have policies in place, first-time offender 50 games, second time a 100. 214 games? That's personal. My experiences with major league baseball. It's basically become Bud Selig's mafia. He runs it the way he wants to run it. When I was trying to buy the Rangers, it was an open auction. I sat in there with my good, hard-earned money trying to bid and they did everything possible to keep me from buying the team. They had lawyers in there trying to change the rules, they had people trying to put up more money. For him to come out and attack A-Rod the way he did and do something totally outside the rules. Jay Leno on Dwight Howard? Mark Cuban: I like to go for the fences. And with the Mavericks, we're trying to get better. One of the best free agents on the market, obviously, was Dwight Howard. I thought we had a chance. We spent a lot of time putting together a really cool presentation. He went to the Houston Rockets, made a huge mistake.
• Mike Gavin of Newsday: During the offseason, J.R. Smith re-signed with the Knicks, underwent knee surgery and temporarily dyed his hair blond. The NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year was expected to miss three to four months after having surgery on his left knee in July to repair the patella tendon and fix a torn meniscus. He walked without a brace Thursday -- his hair now a very dark shade of red -- but said he's uncertain if he'll be ready for the beginning of the season. "It's still too early to tell from what I hear from the doc and all that, but I hope so," he said before The J.R. Smith Youth Foundation golf tournament at Eagle Ridge Golf Club. "I want to be there opening night. I want to start training camp off with my team and my new teammates." Smith, who averaged a career-high 18.1 points and 5.3 rebounds last season, re-signed with the Knicks in July for three years and roughly $18 million. Just days later, it was revealed that he would require knee surgery.
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: Bucks center Larry Sanders is eligible to sign a contract extension before Oct. 31 and there were indications Thursday that the process is moving along. Sanders sent out two tweets hinting at the talks. The first said: "Well let's get it done then! #Buck4Life And the second followed: "I love the city of Milwaukee and I will stay as long as you'll have me." Sanders is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie-scale contract and will be paid about $3 million next season. He is eligible to sign a four-year extension that would run through the 2017-'18 season. With the departure of point guard Brandon Jennings and the loss of other members of last year's Milwaukee team, it is clear the Bucks are building around the 6-foot-11 Sanders and 6-11 power forward John Henson. The Bucks have an entirely new backcourt including 21-year-old point guard Brandon Knight, acquired from Detroit in the sign-and-trade deal involving Jennings.
• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: With the Heat a day earlier announcing the signing of free-agent center Greg Oden to a two-year contract, Mourning found himself captivated by the possibilities of the 25-year-old injury-plagued center. "Extremely excited, extremely excited," he said by phone, "because I understand the potential that he has." Mourning confirmed that he was among those in the organization who helped recruit Oden in recent months. …. Asked if he plans to work directly with Oden, Mourning said, "I think we all, as an organization, are looking forward to working with him, developing him, so that he can be a part of this organization for years to come."
• Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press: When Steve Smith makes his first visit to the Palace for a Pistons game, he expects to see point guard Brandon Jennings getting the ball to Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe inside and thinking jump shot as a second option. The Oak Hill Academy coach has closely watched his former player since he left Mouth of Wilson, Va., to pursue a pro career. He believes, with the talent the Pistons have up front, Jennings’ game should reach a higher level. “He usually adapts pretty well to the players around him,” Smith said. “He has a good feel for the game. He’s dedicated to the game. It’ll be interesting because Josh (Smith) played for me, too. I’m going to have to come up to Detroit, because I have two Oak Hill guys playing there.” Smith says having Josh Smith, Drummond and Monroe in the lineup also will create more offensive opportunities for Jennings. “He has a great young player in Drummond to get the ball to,” Smith said.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: The Charlotte Bobcats are bringing back Jannero Pargo to serve as their third point guard and could soon add forward Anthony Tolliver. Bobcats president of basketball operations Rod Higgins told the Observer the team has come to terms with Pargo and has offered Tolliver a one-year, veteran-minimum contract. … New coach Steve Clifford said at summer league last month that adding a reliable third point guard was his top priority for the last couple of roster spots. Clifford said he also wanted to have a sixth option at the center/power forward positions. … Tolliver has reportedly also drawn interest from the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz.
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: The Wizards already have close to $70 million committed to 14 players and would only be able to sign a player on a minimum salary to stay below the luxury tax line. Owner Ted Leonsis said he is “willing to spend” but would probably want to have a contending team before making the Wizards a tax-paying team for the first time in franchise history — especially with the organization still on the hook for about $7 million to Andray Blatche. If they look to make trades, Ariza and Okafor are both in the final year of their respective deals and Chris Singleton and/or Jan Vesely could also become expiring contracts if the Wizards decline the fourth-year option on either player. Ariza already believes the Wizards have had an eventful summer after closing out the season by winning 24 of their final 49 games. “It is some interesting moves,” Ariza said. “I feel like it is a good team. Just got to pick up where we left off last year. I know they said that last year, but I felt like toward the end of the season, when everybody really was healthy and we found our groove, we had a good thing going. So if we can pick up from there and get better and continue to make the right moves, we’ll be all right.”
• Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News: Let’s take a look not only at the hot names to fill the Sixers’ coaching vacancy, but reasons for or against their hire. Michael Curry: He has dutifully been overseeing all the basketball operations since Doug Collins’ departure on April 18. While coaching the organization’s entry in the Orlando Pro Summer League, Curry certainly looked as if he was auditioning for the job as new general manager Sam Hinkie looked on. Curry has a year of coaching in the NBA on his resume (39-43 with Detroit in 2008-09) and is very familiar with the returning players as he was on Collins’ staff for each of the three seasons. Keeping Curry would most likely mean that Hinkie wasn’t overwhelmed with any of the other prospects and that moving forward (if that’s what you want to call what’s going to happen this season) with the staff already under contract (including assistants Aaron McKie and Jeff Capel) is the way to go. Brett Brown: The San Antonio assistant certainly would seem to be an enticing bet as he has learned under the best coach in the league in Gregg Popovich for many years, the past seven as an assistant. The 52-year-old also has a an international background, certainly something that would interest the Sixers, as he was the head coach for the Australian national team from 2009 to the 2012 Olympics in London. Popovich said of Brown to the Denver Post when Brown was a candidate for the Nuggets job: “We all know him as a lifer basketball guy who lives and breathes the game. He is an idea guy daily, just bubbling over and we all know that about him. But he’s also a wonderful, humor-filled person who is filled with kindness.” I’ve said all along that if you’re going to hire an assistant, there is no better place to pluck than San Antonio. If the Sixers do decide to go with Brown or another hot assistant, there will have to be an abundant amount of patience on both sides, as the turnaround is going to be a long process.
• Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun: Yes, Canada beat Jamaica 81-72 in the opener of the two-game Jack Donahue International Classic, but that was of little importance. The keys were getting a chance to battle against an opponent, instead of teammates. “We needed to play a game, we’ve been playing against ourselves in practice every day, and to find out where we are, it was good, I thought as the game progressed we got better so that’s a good sign,” said head coach Jay Triano, who started his second tenure in charge with a win. Triano’s nephew Brady Heslip led the way with 18 points, nailing four threes, including a pair in the final quarter when he shot 5-for-5 from the field. … Future key cogs Anthony Bennett and Kelly Olynyk were absent due to NBA commitments. All were reminders that there’s even more talent on the way to help further strengthen the program. For now, the goal is to perform well later this summer in Venezuela and earn one of the four berths at next year’s FIBA World Cup in Spain. On Thursday, Canada held out Joel Anthony, Carl English and Kris Joseph, due to various ailments and did not play a few others who Triano said likely would get looks on Saturday.
• Mike Tokito of The Oregonian: Since starting his Shake It Till We Make It fund-raiser in 2010, former Trail Blazers forward Brian Grant has been fine-tuning the goals of the event and the foundation that it benefits. The 2013 version will be held Saturday, Sept. 7 at the Rose Garden and will raise money and awareness to help those afflicted with Parkinson’s disease, a brain disorder that saps a person's ability to control his movements, often resulting in uncontrollable shaking and tremors. The Brian Grant Foundation, which aids patients negotiate day-to-day living, is putting a greater emphasis on exercise and nutrition. “I think in the past, we were still trying to discover what we’re trying to accomplish,” Grant said at a news conference Thursday.

• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: His September wedding in San Diego is the stuff of TMZ and People Magazine. His free agency next summer could eclipse the attention of when he previously entered the market in 2010. But, for now, LeBron James is asking for a little space. Please. At least that's the message from his Facebook and Twitter posts overnight. On his Facebook page, as Sunday turned to Monday. … Unlike during the Heat's playoff run to the franchise's second-consecutive NBAchampionship, when he self-imposed a social-media ban, also avoiding his cell phone and cable sports, James has again been active on his various accounts. But, apparently, enough was enough after a start to the summer that had him attracting massive crowds in visits to the Philippines and China.
• Perry A. Farell of the Detroit Free Press: As Rajon Rondo continues to rehab from a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament injury he suffered in late January, trade speculation involving the All-Star point guard will continue to have a life — possibly up to the trade deadline next year. … A story out of Boston said Celtics president Dan Ainge hopes Rajon Rondo is ready by training camp. Surrounded by a young team and rookie coach, the fiery Rondo clearly would be the leader of a team that isn’t expected to make the playoffs. One factor in the Pistons’ favor is Rondo is on good terms with Josh Smith, the team’s free-agent acquisition. Another factor is he’d have two big men to get the ball to in Greg Monroe and Greg Drummond. Ainge likely would wait until Rondo plays, see how his relationship with Stevens develops and what offers teams would present before deciding on moving Rondo. A surplus of guards and expiring contracts could get Ainge’s attention.
• Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer: The Charlotte Bobcats have had a disturbing tendency over the years to part ways with key players with not much compensation – either via trade or free agency. Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler, Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace – they were four of the most important players on the Bobcats’ lone playoff team ever (in 2010). None of them are here anymore. Gerald Henderson is here, however – the Bobcats held a press conference for him Monday after Henderson re-signed with the team. He’s guaranteed to be in Charlotte through the 2015 season, but his third contract year can be voided at his option. That’s not a perfect situation, but it beats the alternative. Henderson and Kemba Walker were the Bobcats’ two best players last season. They both will return, and the team has added several other key pieces – most notably first-round pick Cody Zeller and big man Al Jefferson, who was the most expensive free-agent acquisition in team history. Henderson spoke Monday of being “part of the problem” the last two seasons – meaning he signed his name to that combined 28-120 record (worst in the NBA the past two seasons) just like everyone else on those very forgettable squads. Now, the shooting guard said, he wants to be part of the solution.
• Michael Kaskey-Blomain of Philly.com: The Sixers and new GM Sam Hinkie have not forgotten to hire a head coach. … Atlanta’s Kenny Atkinson, San Antonio’s Brett Brown, Chicago’s Adrian Griffin, and Boston’s Jay Larranaga are scheduled to meet with Sixers’ ownership throughout the week in New York City. Portland assistant David Vanterpool, who interviewed for the position late last month, may be given a second interview as well. Michael Curry, who coached the Sixers’ summer league team in Orlando, is still considered a candidate. The Sixers have seemingly interviewed countless candidates, but this series of second interviews leads one to believe that the search may be coming to a close.
• J. Michael of CSN Washington: No one is expecting that transformation to happen overnight with John Wall and the Wizards, but for them to reach the next level –- the playoffs –- he has to make similar adjustments. He has the athleticism and capability at his position as a 6-4 point guard. Wall still plans to hook up with Gary Payton, a Hall of Fame point guard who was one of the best of his generation, in Seattle before returning to train with the Wizards on Aug. 20. Plus, he had ample time to watch the nuances of Tony Parker as he led the San Antonio Spurs to the NBA finals and the Memphis Grizzlies' Mike Conley, who helped his team advance to the Western Conference finals. “Footwork also, just like catching the ball and working on pivots and stuff,” Wall said about what he has done this off-season in addition to refining jump shot. “Floaters. Watched a lot of Tony Parker throughout the playoffs and I see how Mike Conley added to his game after I went to two of his playoff series." Wall also is going to lobby coach Randy Wittman to allow him to do something else. “Hopefully I’ll get an opportunity to post up this year,” he said.
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: Coach Rick Carlisle calls it an honor to play on Christmas Day, but for the second consecutive season, the Mavericks will be one of the have-nots in that regard. They will get to enjoy Christmas Day with family and friends, but they will have a home game the following night against the San Antonio Spurs. Call it a belated lump of coal from Santa Claus. The NBA will release its 2013-14 schedule on Tuesday evening. A few highlights leaked out Monday. The Mavericks will open the season Oct. 30 at American Airlines Center against Atlanta. As for the Miami Heat, the two-time defending league champion will visit AAC on Feb. 18, which should be the Mavericks’ first game after the All-Star break in New Orleans. They also will have an eight-game home stand in March.
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: Alex Len arrived in College Park, Md., not knowing the language or culture of America, let alone an American. Essence Townsend changed all that, forming the Twin Towers of a different sort when the 6-foot-7 center from the women’s team and New Jersey met the 7-1 center from the men’s team and Ukraine. It began innocently enough at an ice cream social for basketball players to start the 2011-12 school year. Townsend, a junior then, was just being social when she introduced herself to Len, yelling as people often do so that a foreigner can understand English. A teammate told her, “That’s going to be your future man,” and she got mad. Len friended her on Facebook. They high-fived in hallways. They rebounded for each other. “One day, I guess he finally got the courage to ask me to come hang out,” she said. That was 18 months and a few thousand English words ago. Len went from not doing interviews for his first year in America and talking to Townsend with Google translator to confidently and thoughtfully having English conversations this year. That helped him follow coaching, including the moves she showed him. “If I could give a suggestion of how to learn the language quickly, find a girl,” Len said. “That’s the best way to learn it.”
• Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: St. Mary's point guard Matthew Dellavedova has been invited to Cavs' training camp, a source confirmed. He caught the eye of the Cavs at summer league. Dellavedova, a native of Australia, is in the running to be the Cavs' third point guard behind Kyrie Irving and Jarrett Jack. Dellavedova averaged 2.8 points and 3.0 assists in five summer-league games.
• Michael Baldwin of The Oklahoman: Bill Self said never say never. One of seven people inducted in the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame on Monday night at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, the Kansas University men's basketball coach was asked if he would ever consider coaching in the NBA. “It hasn't really tempted me because I haven't had that many people talk to me about it,” Self said. “But at some point and time, sure, I think it would (tempt me). It would be great to be able to match wits with the best athletes in the world, but I'm certainly happy where I'm at. “I'm not saying I never would (coach in the NBA) but I'm locked in.” Since Self wouldn't owe Kansas a penalty if he leaves before his contract expires in 2022, would the ultimate job for the Edmond Memorial product be to coach the NBA team in the shadows of his hometown? “I wouldn't say the Thunder,” Self said. “They've done a remarkable job. They have a coach (Scott Brooks) who is one of the bright stars in all of basketball, at any level. That's not anything I would think about.”
• Mike Tokito of The Oregonian: In the first year under the new collective bargaining agreement in which the change was enacted, Toronto took Italian Andrea Bargnani with the No. 1 pick. Since then, however, every No. 1 pick but one -- the Clippers' Blake Griffin -- entered the draft after one year of college basketball. At least one major college administrator has had enough. Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott came out strongly in favor of changing the draft rules, the Arizona Republic's Doug Haller reports. "It’s crazy what’s going on," Scott said. "We’ve managed with the NFL and football to have a reasonable policy that allows kids to go pro at the appropriate time. We’ve managed to do it in baseball. Basketball’s the only sport where we haven’t managed to come up with a responsible policy and the blame is with the NBA, the NBA Players Association and the NCAA, so now’s the time to take ownership of it. We’ve got time." One-and-done was written into the 2005 CBA, and there were discussions about tweaking it during the CBA negotiations in 2011, but the urgency to end the lockout put such side issues on the back-burner. It's hard to blame Scott for wanting to change the rule.
• Tony Bizjak of The Sacramento Bee: Stepping up efforts to design and market a downtown arena, the Sacramento Kings have emailed an online survey to some 60,000 residents and businesses asking for opinions – and testing the waters for potential upscale ticket buyers. Team President Chris Granger said the team and city officials have not yet decided on basic arena elements, such as how many seats it will have, and is looking for clues from the public. "I want to hear what other people think about the venue," Granger said about the survey and other upcoming community outreach efforts. Initial estimates had put seating at 18,500, which is 1,200 more than at the current Sleep Train Arena in Natomas. Granger recently said that number may be too high. He said the facility has to have enough seats to attract most major concerts but should be intimate enough to boost crowd noise and excitement at Kings games.

• Bob Kravitz of The Indianapolis Star: They’re going for it. Not two years from now. Not eventually. Now. The Pacers gave up a pretty fair amount to obtain 33-year-old international player Luis Scola, but they brought in a player who is going to be a perfect complement to play behind David West at the power forward position. He is a massive upgrade on the guy who was there, the departed Tyler Hansbrought. He’s averaged 14 points per game throughout his career, including 12.6 last year with the Phoenix Suns. It’s amazing the Pacers found someone to take Gerald Green’s silly contract off their hands; his departure will be addition by subtraction. A good young man, but he has minimal basketball IQ. If you want someone to participate in the Slam Dunk competition, Green is your guy. If you want to win at a high level in the NBA, he isn’t that guy. … Everything the Pacers do is with an eye toward somehow unseating the Miami Heat, and staving off competition from the Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks and other improving Eastern Conference teams. This is a nice move, a move for NOW.
• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: The Rockets that Marcus Camby left were about to be so young, had he returned, he would have looked like a camp counselor driving the bus. He was in the first wave of last summer’s exodus from that team, leaving only a pair of rookies behind. Heading into his 17th season, Camby fit far better with a Knicks team crowded with players of his own generation than a Rockets roster that would become the youngest, least experienced in the NBA. Most of the Rockets he re-joined Sunday might not have been out of kindergarten when Camby’s NBA career began, but somehow, one season later, he fits. Camby, 39, signed a one-year, veteran’s minimum contract with the Rockets in part for the chance to return home. … Re-enter Camby. With Howard, Asik and Smith at center, there are not clear minutes waiting for him. With Camby coming off a season in which he played in just 24 games the Rockets would not consider Asik significantly more expendable than they did before signing Camby. Even if they are to eventually trade their backup center, it would still have to be much more about what they can get than what they got on Sunday.
• Shandel Richardson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Even though he is on cusp on a new beginning, Mike Brown can't help but avoid the past. With teams focusing on the future, the hottest topic of the 10-day event was the same from the summer of 2009. Where is LeBron James going to play next? … Despite James winning consecutive championships and most valuable player of the year awards, the talk remains on his next move. You don't hear any discussions about the Heat possibly becoming the first team to three-peat since the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002, no one is talking about James perhaps ending his career in Miami. Instead, there is only speculation of James playing everywhere from Dallas to Los Angeles to New York to even returning to Cleveland. … The speculation began early as last fall when a story appeared on ESPN.com saying the Lakers would pursue James in 2014. Those rumors have since only gained steamed as the season approaches. One Eastern Conference general manager called the speculation "foolish," but also said teams have to start preparing for free agency "three years in advance." "The way that free agency is happening right now, there's always going to be speculation," said the general manger, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
• Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer: Somewhere down the line, when their catch is fully examined, the Sixers hope to have found a few pearls. The history of the league suggests that what you usually find is oysters. This does not particularly deter Hinkie. "Any player we're investing in, we do it because we assume they're undervalued," Hinkie said. This is the true basis of any analytical approach to assembling a roster, whether it is Billy Beane's Moneyball theories in baseball or Hinkie's current dredge work in the NBA. Get rid of players who are actually less valuable than the consensus of the market indicates, and acquire players who are more valuable. It doesn't get any simpler than that. The trick, of course, is making sure your opinion of market value is smarter than the next guy's. That takes a while, and a lot of shucking, to find out. Ownership has bet heavily on Hickie's brains, but we are years away from judging the wisdom of that wager. … And anyway, the Sixers have no intention of competing this season. It would be counterproductive for them to do so. Hinkie's path for the franchise is the logical, analytical one to take in order to reach that elite level. In the interim, obviously, you might not like the 76ers very much. It is advisable, however, to acquire a taste for oysters.
• J. Michael of CSN Washington: By the end of this week, John Wall should have a full commitment from the Wizards. They’re expected to make him a designated player by extending him a five-year deal, in addition to the $7.45 million he’ll earn in the final year of his scale contract for the 2013-14 season, that will be worth more than $80 million. This is Wall’s commitment: “My whole goal, this is my fourth year, I need to be in the playoffs. There’s nothing more, nothing else needs to be said about that. I just need to be in the playoffs. Leaving the season early every year is not fun. It’s no excitement. Just go home and watch basketball.” Wall made those comments several weeks ago in Las Vegas as he watched the Wizards compete in summer league. That’s also when CSN Washington first reported negotiations were underway on his deal between Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld and Dan Fegan, Wall’s agent. The Wizards haven’t qualified for the postseason since 2008 and Wall never has won more than 29 games in a season since being drafted No. 1 overall in 2010. But everyone, from Grunfeld to Wall to coach Randy Wittman, believes the franchise is on the right track.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: Shooting guard Gerald Henderson confirmed by Twitter on Sunday that he has re-signed with the Charlotte Bobcats. “IT”S OFFICIAL!!! … I am a Charlotte Bobcat again!” Henderson wrote on his confirmed Twitter account ( @GhJr09). “I am glad to be back and am ready for another season in the Queen City.” Henderson, drafted 12th overall in 2009 by the Bobcats, became a restricted free agent at the start of this month. A knowledgeable source confirmed to the Observer on Friday that Henderson agreed to a three-year contract with a total value of $18 million. Henderson will have the option to terminate that contract after the 2014-15 season. He accepted less money in return for that player option…. It is possible the Bobcats will add a third point guard and a sixth big man – likely each signed for the veteran minimum salary – before training camp begins in early October.
• Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman: The 2013-14 pay scale suggests the 26th pick make $925,700 next season. Its maximum value is around $1.1 million. But Roberson will only bring in $740,560. On the surface, the move is a frugal one. Some have even grumbled that it was cheap, a small market franchise going against standard NBA thinking to save a couple hundred thousand dollars. But in the grand scheme, it's far more complicated and financially beneficial than that. Because this minor move, along with a few others during this penny-pinching offseason, may end up saving OKC's only professional franchise millions down the road. … So despite recent maneuvers that would suggest otherwise, Thunder management isn't opposed to dipping into the tax. They're just concerned about avoiding it this year. Because starting next season and for the foreseeable future, with the escalating contracts of its star players, OKC is all but guaranteed to violate that threshold. So if they can find a way to escape it in 2013-14, and despite being about $500,000 away it seems like they are desperately determined to do so, the franchise's “repeat offender” clock will be pushed back a year.
• Baxter Holmes of The Boston Globe: Celtics coach Brad Stevens has added another member to his staff, and again it’s someone with connections to Butler University, where Stevens was the head coach before the Celtics hired him in July. Former Butler point guard Ronald Nored, who most recently was an assistant coach at South Alabama, will reunite with Stevens in Boston, a league source confirmed to the Globe Sunday. Another league source confirmed that Nored’s role will be with player development, and that he’ll also be involved with the Celtics’ NBA Development League team. … Another member of Stevens's staff in Boston is 23-year-old Drew Cannon, a basketball analytics specialist whom Stevens brought to Butler, making Cannon the first statistics-based hire on a college basketball staff.
• Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun: Canada Basketball is set to open camp ahead of the 2013 Americas Championship for men. The event will take place in Venezuela and runs from Aug. 30 to Sept. 11. The top four teams qualify for next year’s World Cup in Spain. Canada will tune up for the competition with its camp, which runs from July 31 to Aug. 15 at the Air Canada Centre, and with two games against Jamaica at the Jack Donohue Classic on Aug. 8 and 10 at Ryerson’s Mattamy Athletic Centre. It’s not yet clear exactly who will comprise Canada’s roster, but NBA players Tristan Thompson (Cleveland), Cory Joseph (San Antonio), Kelly Olynyk (Boston) and Joel Anthony (Miami) will be on hand. No. 1 overall selection Anthony Bennett should make an appearance, but can’t play because he is still recovering from shoulder surgery. Canada’s top prospect, Andrew Wiggins, is preparing for his freshman season at Kansas and has not yet decided if he will attend any parts of the camp. …. Senior men’s head coach Jay Triano and general manager Steve Nash will meet with the media on Monday morning.
• Randy Hollis of the Deseret News: Many years ago, television and radio commercials told us that "Ford has a better idea." Well, when it comes to gauging the productivity of professional basketball players, there's a bright, insightful guy out there named Sotero Muniz who firmly believes he's got a better idea, too. Muniz, 81, is a Utah native who graduated from the University of Utah, spent a lengthy career working for the U.S. Forest Service and now resides in Polson, Mont. And, for the last dozen years or so, he's been busy perfecting a complex mathematical formula and methodology he calls "Basketball Productivity Ratings" — BPRs for short — that he feels could revolutionize the way NBA players are viewed and valued. Muniz was prompted to begin looking into a way to measure players' productivity several years ago, when he was watching an NBA game on TV and saw a coach make a substitution which, in Muniz's mind, made little or no sense. "Why is he putting that guy in?" Muniz recalls wondering at the time. Certainly there must be a way to evaluate a player's performance, he thought, which could aid coaches in knowing which players they would want on the floor in certain situations, thus providing a more rational substitution pattern and a logical way to determine and divvy up players' minutes. Thus, BPRs were born.

Seven-footers! There just aren't a lot of them. Of the few thousand people who are that tall, or close to it, on the entire planet, how many of them are any good at basketball? Five, maybe? Ten?

But every team needs at least one, and everybody knows that. So you do what you've got to do to get one -- even if it means passing up other, probably much better, players.

On draft night, I overheard somebody rattling off all the reasons not to draft Nerlens Noel. Torn ACL, no offense ... you know the arguments. The reply, from a former team executive, was on the money: "Yeah, but there are only two ways to get big guys. You have to get them here tonight, or you have to pay like crazy."

The struggle for big men is on the minds of every front office, every day. You might not like having to draft them high in the lottery. But you also won't like the other ways you can get them.

When I was a young fan, my thought was maybe we'll find a pretty good center for cheap, from some other league or something. That can happen with guards and the like. But with the truly big men, that happens just about never. That's just how it is.

So teams go to amazing lengths to get them, taking Greg Oden over Kevin Durant, for instance. (Notice the height of both players drafted ahead of Michael Jordan?) If you're huge, NBA teams will consider you.

Related: If I told you I know of an NBA player who can't dribble or shoot -- you know the rest, right? There is no other way. He must be tall as hell.

Meanwhile ... there is no denying that the league is changing. In a couple of decades the league has nearly quadrupled the number of 3-pointers. Small-ball lineups were killer for a lot of teams in the playoffs, including the champion Heat. Like LeBron James, Michael Jordan also won titles playing on teams without a notable center.

Which makes me wonder: What if some of those teams that can't find a decent value center just -- gasp -- went without?

I asked a handful of NBA experts to weigh in. I was wondering, if a team fully committed -- dedicating not just the minutes, but also the dollars -- roster spots and coaching strategies to playing a certain way, could it do well playing small ball essentially all season?

I assume the basic tradeoff would be: To what extent might you make up for getting killed in the paint sometimes with the better spacing, movement, 3s, dunks and other open looks that could result from having dollars that might go to centers instead go instead to more skill players?

Bottom line: Is it possible that a well-coached, carefully constructed team could do OK in the NBA going a whole season without a real center?

EASTERN CONFERENCE EXECUTIVE: Certainly a team could successfully navigate a season without a true center as you outlined, but it would have to be with a veteran rotation that adheres to pretty strict defensive principles.

Offensively, it's no problem. Most guys would much rather have space to work with and not have to dump it down to the wood, which means more shots.

The psychological barrier of not having rim coverage defensively is what needs to be addressed the most. The actual players on the court, particularly the perimeter guys, are ingrained to believe that the cavalry is there if they get beat, so the rotations will have to be dialed in and the backlash for getting beat will have to be minimized. The breakdowns in communication are usually when help comes and no one helps the helper. If the opposing team sees frayed edges in the defense, i.e., a reluctance for weakside help to arrive on time, a reluctance to give up self from help defense, it will attack that weakness all night.

Veteran players who are smart and can adjust rotations very efficiently will be able to manage adequately defensively while being able to create scoring at the other end with lots of spacing, and a draw-and-kick offense.

I think we will see it work in the future but likely the first will be when the natural center is injured and it occurs out of necessity. I don't sleep on the mental factor -- perimeter guys love knowing that someone will be there at the rim, and knowing that they don't have said someone at the rim may be problematic at first, especially for a rook.

I said too much, but bottom line, of course it will work with five players who have enough experience. I don't think too many teams are dying to be the first to try, but more and more, teams are wary of giving a roster spot to a 7-footer who can't play and opt for either a relentless rebounder or someone who can hit a 3.

It would take a coach with serious fortitude as well -- every coach I have ever worked with (and that's saying a lot) obsesses about length in the paint. An innovator will embrace this; traditional coaches will spit the bit.

DEAN OLIVER: Let me approach it from the perspective of trying to build a championship level team. That’s more than “OK,” but not in the world of a lot of owners, for whom the only “OK” is a championship.

A well-coached, carefully constructed team can get to the playoffs and can have a good defense, but the effort it takes to shut down an opponent without a big man who easily takes care of paint penetration -- that will wear on the players (see Charlotte with Larry Brown in 2009-10). Not only will it wear on the players, but the playoffs open them up for failure. The playoffs are when advance scouting means less because the players really get to know their counterparts on the other side of the ball, their strengths and weaknesses. They end up finding what their advantage is over the other guy. With a paint protector there, the list of possible advantages gets cut down just due to physical presence. If it is just a scheme to protect the paint, that scheme always has a weakness, and it’s a matter of intelligence and some luck to exploit it.

The exception may be the extremely carefully constructed Miami Heat, with three-plus Hall of Famers and Bosh being questionable as a center or paint protector (adding Birdman for the tail end of the season helped). Miami did have to double on the inside and had to recover a ton out of that, which is a weakness, but they survived. It’s hard to make them a standard blueprint, though, because there is just one LeBron James. And there are a lot of relatively cheap paint protectors.

DAVID THORPE: The short answer to your question is yes. Miami is the example. But they employ three spectacular talents, with two guys being ultra elite. "OK" is a bit ambiguous. Ironically, the evolving defenses that have forced teams to find more shooting are also the reason why your idea limits a team's ceiling hugely (absent ultra elite players). Teams can go big against small teams and zone up on defense. Over time the teams that get destroyed each night by paint buckets will just wilt away -- unless they are coached spectacularly

AMIN ELHASSAN: Not only is it possible, it has already happened multiple times in recent years. In fact, the Miami Heat have proven that you can win the title without a true center on the roster, as they prevailed with a rotation of Udonis Haslem (power forward), Chris Andersen (traditionally would be considered a power forward) and Joel Anthony (your guess is as good as mine) at the 5. Going back a little further, the pre-Shaq Phoenix Suns from 2004-2007 featured a center rotation of Amar'e Stoudemire, Kurt Thomas, and at one time, Boris Diaw. (Pat Burke and Sean Marks both graced the roster, but neither played significant minutes, and you can make the argument that neither are “true centers.” The lone exception might be Steven Hunter, who was a true center and played meaningful minutes in the 2004-05 season.)

The NBA is a copycat league, and had any of the other final four teams (Indiana, Memphis or San Antonio) won the title, the discussion would probably veer toward NEEDING a center in order to compete in today’s NBA. My philosophy has always been that the key to building a winner is to have the right mix of talent, game plan and execution, where the latter two factors rely heavily on the first. If that means having a power forward play most of the center minutes, that’s OK as long as you can address the potential pitfalls and the utility derived from playing small exceeds the cost. When I was with the Suns, our lineup analysis indicated that when we put Shawn Marion at the 4, we outperformed opposing lineups by a considerable margin, and that the mismatches created by forcing 5s to guard an extremely agile and mobile big like Stoudemire far outweighed our defensive rebounding deficiencies and scrambling defensive efforts.

The reason why teams invest a considerable amount of resources on true centers is it is easier to impact wins and losses from the center position than probably any other position. Think about players like Roy Hibbert, Brook Lopez or even Dwight Howard. I think we can all agree that they aren’t quite the type of “all-time great” talents at the center position in the same way we compare a Kobe Bryant or LeBron James to all-time great talents at the wing. Having said that, they all find a way to be incredibly impactful on the floor and command top salaries as a result.

But if you have devoted your scarce resources toward elite talents at positions other than center, that does not preclude you from being a winner. You just have to realize the challenges that await your undersized roster and plan accordingly (more aggressive on ball defense, more pronounced weakside help defense, need to have high rebound percentage players on floor, need to be more efficient offensively to make due without benefit of offensive rebound opportunities, etc.).

• Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News: The oligarch who blew up the NBA salary cap is unrepentant, even lighthearted about his monetary mischief. Mikhail Prokhorov says he wasn’t about to wait in line for a championship, and that he doesn’t mind spending $100 million in salaries and another $80 million in luxury taxes next season if that’s what it takes. “They’re still counting money in back office,” Prokhorov said Thursday, straight off a flight from Europe to greet Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry in Brooklyn. “I am hoping check doesn’t bounce. It’s not (my) way to wait 10 years for championship.” He is, in other words, a fan’s dream owner, an easy newspaper column, and something of a nightmare for James Dolan and every other league executive. Prokhorov is the closest thing we have around here to the late George Steinbrenner, now that the Yanks have turned into skinflints. Only he’s far richer, with an estimated worth of $13.5 billion. And with Prokhorov, we get only good humor without the nasty stuff, because the skeletons in the closet are 5,000 miles from New York. What happens in Moscow, stays in Moscow, or on his private jet. It won’t hurt the Nets’ interior defense. Prokhorov is giving a cast of canny, veteran All-Stars many monetary units to topple Miami, Chicago, Indiana and the Knicks. Especially the Knicks. He says this is a good business investment, because the value of the franchise has tripled since he purchased it in 2010.
• Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe: His emotions were on his sleeve, obvious despite his silence. Paul Pierce looked up at the videoboard at Barclays Center and saw a large photo of he, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry with donning Brooklyn jerseys, a superimposed image that surfaced when the trade to Brooklyn became official last Friday. But the moment was here. The moment Pierce held a mesh jersey that didn't read "Celtics." The moment that he realized that Boston was part of his past and Brooklyn was part of his present. He was sedate during the press conference introducing the trio while Kevin Garnett tried getting the audience riled up with a "what's up Brooklyn?" Thursday's introduction was more like a reflection for Pierce, who after 15 years in Boston was obviously moved by the reality of being gone.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: Years ago NBA commissioner David Stern treated Charlotte’s desire to get back the Hornets nickname as so unlikely it was a bit of a joke. Nobody is laughing anymore. By a unanimous vote of NBA owners Thursday, the Bobcats were given permission to become the Hornets after the 2013-14 season. “True-blue fans of the old Hornets said, ‘Give us our name back,’ ” Stern said at a news conference at the end of the owners meeting at a Las Vegas resort hotel. “There is something to it: The team will receive (positive attention) from fans who said, ‘This is what we were asking for.’ ” The logistics of a changeover in uniforms, logos and signage inside and outside Time Warner Cable Arena means even starting the 2014-15 season as the Hornets will be somewhat of a challenge. … Stern said he believes this is an opportunity for the Bobcats to widen their fan base to those who have not taken to the NBA since the Hornets departed in 2002. “They can grab fans in the region who have not connected with the Bobcats,” Stern said.
• Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal: Nine days after Andrew Bynum announced he would play for the Cavaliers, the team is finally ready to make it official. Bynum will be introduced at a news conference this morning after signing a two-year deal potentially worth $24 million. The lapse in time between Bynum’s decision last week and today’s official announcement was for a variety of reasons, particularly the language that had to be written into the contract to protect the team and the 5 p.m. Wednesday amnesty waiver claim deadline. By dragging out the Bynum contract, the team left itself with cap space to potentially make a claim on a player who was waived under the league’s amnesty provision. … Instead, within hours of the amnesty waiver claim deadline passing, the team announced today’s news conference involving Bynum. The preliminary plan now is for Bynum to primarily remain in Cleveland throughout the summer. His agent, David Lee, insists his client is completely healthy, but any remaining rehab work Bynum needs on his knees will be completed under the care of the Cavs. The deal, as previously reported, includes just $6 million guaranteed for this season. But if Bynum is healthy, he can be a game-changer for the Cavs. … Bynum’s signing will complete a stunning summer for the Cavs, which includes the signings of Jarrett Jack and Earl Clark and the addition of draft picks Anthony Bennett, Sergey Karasev and Carrick Felix. After three relatively quiet summers, the Cavs have positioned themselves to contend for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
• Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times: At first glance, the rebuilding Lakers will make you cover your mouth in shock. No Dwight Howard. No Metta World Peace. No Earl Clark. No new coach. No defined ownership. No clear plan. No Showtime. No Lake Show. No Bench Mob. No way in heck are you going to rush home from work on a Tuesday night in February to watch the fourth quarter of their game in Atlanta. But now wait. Look at what is left. Look at what has been added. If you really look at it, when you slowly remove your hand from your mouth, you might actually be smiling. In losing some of their hype and much of their hope, the Lakers gained something that has been missing in the three years since the final moments of Game 7 against Boston. These Lakers could actually be fun again. There is a little chance they will make the playoffs. There is a decent chance they will stink. There is zero chance they will play any defense. But with something to prove and nothing to lose, they are almost guaranteed to entertain. The theme will be Waiting for LeBron. The goal is still to get into position for a decent pick in one of the top drafts in recent history. The journey is still to nowhere. But it's going to be a blast watching the ride.
• Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press: It looks as if the Timberwolves might have gotten a bit of a break in their attempt to re-sign Nikola Pekovic. Surprisingly, the restricted free-agent center has not received a competing offer sheet from any other team, thus reducing his contract leverage. Teams that reportedly were interested in acquiring unrestricted free-agent center Dwight Howard, who recently signed with Houston, should seem to have at least some interest in the 6-foot-11, 290-pound Pekovic, 27, who last season averaged 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds. Those teams would include the Lakers, Golden State, Dallas and Atlanta. But none has stepped forward with an offer for Pekovic, perhaps because it's virtually understood that the Wolves intend to match any offer, as is their right. Pekovic is expected to soon re-sign with Minnesota for a four-year deal in the $48 million range.
• Tim Bontemps of the New York Post: Israeli president Shimon Peres is trying to recruit Amar’e Stoudemire to join Israel’s national basketball team. Peres hopes Stoudemire, who has traveled to Israel since joining the Knicks and has said he believes he has some Jewish ancestry, will be able to help lead the country’s basketball team back to the Olympics for the first time since 1952, when Israel made its only appearance. It would seem unlikely Stoudemire would be allowed to play for Israel because of his prior commitments to USA Basketball. Stoudemire was a member of the bronze medal Olympic team in 2004, and also played for Team USA when it won the gold medal at the FIBA Americas tournament in 2007. Once players have played at the senior national level for one country, they usually are tied to playing for only that country, except in rare instances.There’s also the legitimate question of whether Stoudemire, who has played in a combined 66 regular-season games the past two years, would be healthy enough to play internationally during the offseason at this point in his career.
• Kurt Kragthorpe of The Salt Lake Tribune: So now that the Jazz basically have netted Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Marvin Williams and Trey Burke for sending Deron Williams to the team now playing in Brooklyn, everybody can declare them the winners of that trade, right? Uh, they probably have to win a playoff game before we ever can say so. … Look, the Jazz would do this deal again, based on how they viewed their future with Williams. But to say that they’re better off now than they were in February 2011 is a huge stretch. It may become true someday, if Favors and Kanter develop into All-Stars and Burke becomes a franchise point guard. Of course, the Jazz once had one of those guys. Since trading D-Will, they’ve started Harris, Earl Watson, Jamaal Tinsley and Mo Williams at point guard and are about to launch their next phase with Burke, John Lucas III and Raul Neto. The Jazz do have an intriguing future, brightened by a recent trade with Golden State that gives them two first-round picks and more financial flexibility. Brooklyn has a potentially phenomenal present. Trading with the Jazz ultimately has put the Nets in a much better place. Here in Utah, we can only wonder when the Jazz will get there.
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: Owner Mark Cuban embraces the strength-in-numbers philosophy of winning in the NBA. But he also knows that superstars rule the day. That’s why he’s not trying to underplay the fact that the Mavericks started the summer by losing out on Dwight Howard. It’s a loss that hurt. And the long-term health of his Mavericks still is predicated on acquiring a superstar of the Howard ilk. But until the Mavericks can reel in a player good enough to make Dirk Nowitzki a sidekick, Cuban remains one of the best salesmen you’ll ever meet. And he believes his Mavericks are well-positioned to be better this season than they would have been with Howard. And the two-year rebuilding plan remains on target, if not ahead of schedule. “I was disappointed that we didn’t get Dwight,” Cuban said Thursday, clarifying and expanding on previous comments. “We went after him as our first option. But we also pursued him knowing that it was a two-year plan. If we spent all of our cap room on a single player we would have only been able to add minimum players to fill out our roster. Point guard and shooting guard would have been difficult to fill at minimum salaries.”
• Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: The NBA's Board of Governors on Thursday voted to reimburse the Thunder for a portion of the contract extension it signed Kevin Durant to in 2010. But the refund is nothing more than a gracious gesture, given three years too late and without the proper provisions to do any real good. The reimbursement, The Oklahoman has learned, has no bearing on the Thunder's team salary. Durant's larger-than-expected extension will continue to count against both the cap and the team's tax computations. Although the exact amount of the reimbursement is unclear, a league source with knowledge of the situation said it is not the full amount of the roughly $15 million in additional salary that Durant received. Durant signed a five-year extension worth approximately $89 million in July 2010. But the league didn't ratify its collective bargaining agreement until December 2011, and Durant was grandfathered in. Oklahoma City in 2011 protested Durant's inclusion to no avail.
• John Reid of The Times-Picayune: With the addition of guards Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans, New Orleans Pelicans forward Ryan Anderson said he’s anticipating getting plenty open shot opportunities this upcoming season. He said Holiday, Evans and Eric Gordon have the ability to drive to the basket, which will draw the attention of the defense and possibly allow more shot opportunities on the perimeter. ``Jrue, Eric and Tyreke really can attack the rim and are all great offensively,’’ Anderson said. ``They all demand attention from the defense. I can play off guys like that. It will be a great opportunity for us to have those guys to be able to attack the rim. If they don’t have a shot, they can kick it out to me. They can also draw my defender away. We’re going to have an opportunity to score in a lot of different ways.’’ Pelicans coach Monty Williams said earlier this week that he has already been meeting with his assistants to change a significant amount of their offensive sets from last season.
• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: All that fans are hearing these days from the Raptors is chatter about attitude and, dare we say, disposition, talk about a defence-first attitude, toughness, something bordering on defiance. It is a message coming down from on high — head coach Dwane Casey is mentioning it almost daily as the team rolls through the Summer League season — as it becomes the one skill-development issue that is being asked roster-wide. Yes, there is need for skill improvement from veterans and young players; the specifics of those needs will be clearly laid out, but the one consistent theme is that everyone has to be tougher. That’s tougher mentally and physically and it is getting through to one veteran who must be spending the summer working on his leadership skills. “I’ve been through the losing — it gets to the point where you get tired of it . . .,” DeMar DeRozan said. “You’ve got to do whatever you’ve got to do to win.”

• Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com: The camp for Portland Trail Blazers All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge arranged a meeting with general manger Neil Olshey in a Las Vegas hotel lobby on Sunday to suggest several trade scenarios, a league source informed CSNNW.com. According to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the situation, the meeting was described as being productive with both sides focused on doing what's best for both parties. Aldridge, 27, has two years and roughly $30 million remaining on his current contract and I'm told Olshey is in no rush to facilitate a deal at the urging of a player's camp, especially if the organization isn't getting equal value in return. Trading Aldridge for a collection of draft picks will not be an option.
• Michael Hunt of the Journal Sentinel: It's important to understand that both sides created this mess by overplaying their hands. Jennings refused to talk with the Bucks about an extension last October because he was certain another team would blow them out of the water in restricted free agency. After not entertaining a market-value contract from the Bucks of somewhere in the $8-million-a-year range, he is being virtually ignored by the market following his unsatisfactory performances in the second half of the season and the playoffs. Jennings overestimated his worth as well as the need for point guards in the restricted market. The Bucks erred first by saying they would match any offer for Jennings, thus limiting Jennings' options. Next, if they were that sold on Teague, they should have made a stronger offer that Atlanta could have refused, if also to avoid the situation they now have on their hands. But what's done is done, both by Jennings and the Bucks. If forced to live together for one more season, they could make it work. More than that, they'll have to make it work.
• Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune: One minute remained on the game clock and his team held a comfortable lead, so Royce White thought he’d treat the crowd to a showboat move. Alone on a fast break, White tossed the ball off the backboard and leapt to throw down a thunderous, one-handed dunk. Except his timing was a smidgen off, so he had to settle for a layup, drawing a mixture of laughs and wisecracks and a wry smile from White. It was 10 p.m. with about 200 people in attendance at a suburban Twin Cities gym. Facing a bunch of college players in the Howard Pulley Summer League, White was the main attraction and, at 6-8 and 260 pounds, he wasn’t hard to spot. He looked like Shrek on a basketball court with his imposing presence. He scored 24 points but could have finished with 80, if he wanted. He zipped one bounce pass from half-court through traffic to a cutting teammate for a layup. He made a deep three-pointer, played point guard and posted up whenever he felt like shooting a layup. Amid the oohs and aahs, I kept thinking to myself, hopefully this isn’t as good as it gets. White belongs in the NBA. He’s too skilled and too powerful to see his talent go to waste. But his future as a professional basketball player remains murky as he attempts to forge a career while remaining steadfast in his conviction that his mental health issues take precedence over everything.
• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: In an expected strategy shift from last season’s emphasis on young prospects, the Rockets are interested in veterans Marcus Camby and Mike Miller, a person with knowledge of the team’s thinking said Wednesday. The 6-11 Camby, who finished the 2011-12 season with the Rockets and had hoped to finish his career in his adopted hometown, reached a buyout agreement with the Raptors on Wednesday. Camby, 39, went from the Rockets to the Knicks last summer in a sign-and-trade deal when the Rockets chose to rebuild around young players. He was sent to Toronto in the New York trade for Andrea Bargnani with two seasons and $7.5 million left on his contract. The 6-8 Miller, who helped the Heat to consecutive NBA titles, was waived by Miami under the amnesty provision. He will be paid $12.8 million over the next two seasons by the Heat. Because the Rockets are over the salary cap, they could not put in a waiver claim, but if Miller clears waivers, they will seek to add him to their retooled roster. The Rockets are expected to offer veteran minimum contracts to both players. The Rockets do have their “room” exception, worth $2.652 million in the first season, but plan to keep that available should it be needed during the season.
• John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Daily News: The Pelicans had a news conference for Holiday, whom they acquired in a draft-night trade from the Sixers, last Thursday. Here in South Philadelphia, today marks a month since the Sixers picked up University of Kentucky freshman center Nerlens Noel, the sixth overall pick in the draft, for Holiday. But while we all know Noel is actually a Sixer, it might as well still be a murky rumor, considering how little effort the organization has thus far shown in promoting what happened. Noel could be the Sixers' most important draft-day acquisition since they selected Allen Iverson No. 1 overall in 1996, but he has yet to be formally introduced by the Sixers. But if hints coming from the Sixers are accurate, that could change early next week, when they will hold a news conference to present Noel to Philly. By then, president/general manager Sam Hinkie will be back from Nevada, where he is scouting players in the Las Vegas Summer League. Heck, the Sixers might even have a head coach by then and make it a joint presser. Still, this is merely the latest indication that the new Sixers' management does not yet have a solid grasp on the important role that publicity and the dissemination of information - just throw some bones, not any master trade secrets - can play in trying to restore the relevancy of this franchise.
• Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: It took some time and some patience, but the Dallas Mavericks finally got their center. Before Wednesday’s summer league game against the Los Angeles Clippers, owner Mark Cuban said his team had come to terms with free-agent center Samuel Dalembert on a multi-year contract. The 6-foot-11, 250-pound Dalembert helps salvage a summer in which the Mavs lost out on Dwight Howard, and also made overtures to Andrew Bynum. “It’s not ‘signed’ signed,” Cuban said of the contract with Dalembert. “But it’s agreed upon.” Cuban said adding Dalembert does not affect the Mavs’ hot pursuit of another center — Greg Oden. … Mark Cuban confirmed that free-agent point guard Devin Harris isn’t leaving the Mavs. Two weeks ago the Mavs and Harris had verbally agreed on a three-year, $9 million contract. But the Mavs discovered Harris needed toe surgery, so the two parties got together to work out a restructured contract to keep Harris after he returns from surgery. … Brandan Wright will sign a new contract with the Mavs probably by this weekend, Mark Cuban said. … Wright will likely receive a contract starting at around $4 million per year.
• Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun: Raptors fans will love this. Canadian hoops phenom Andrew Wiggins, expected to be selected first overall in the draft next summer, revealed Tuesday that, given his druthers, he'd like to play at home. After winning the Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year Award Tuesday, Wiggins told esnewsreporting.com he wants to win a national championship at Kansas, would love to play Kobe Bryant one-on-one and considers Michael Jordan the greatest ever, before talk turned to his preferred NBA home. "I would like to say the Raptors, I want to play for them," said Wiggins, who has been spotted many times sporting a Raptors cap. The team would need quite a bit of lottery luck in order to make Wiggins' wish come true, but there's always free agency down the line.
• Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon-Journal: The Cavaliers are 2-1 through the preliminary round of games and are seeded seventh entering the playoff format. They will face the San Antonio Spurs today at 4 p.m. Waiters is struggling with his shot through three games, but the focus right now is on defense. The Cavs’ perimeter defenders were among the worst in the league last season. Some of that can be attributed to youth, but not all of it. “I just locked in on one guy, that was my mindset,” Waiters said. “That was the biggest thing was falling asleep on the defensive end.” For that, Brown has set the alarm clock this week in the desert. The Cavs were a bad defensive team last season, allowing opponents to shoot a league-worst .476. That is expected to change with Brown back. “You can have a great defensive team if your guys give effort, if they communicate, if they trust that help will be there,” Brown said. “If you do all those things and you have some physical toughness and mental toughness, you can be a great defensive team.”
• Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News: Within the next couple of days, D'Antoni will add Kurt Rambis and Johnny Davis to his coaching staff, according to a league source familiar with the process. Rambis spent 10 seasons as Phil Jackson's lead assistant coach, had head-coaching stints with both the Lakers (1999) and Minnesota Timberwolves (2009-2011) and won four championships in his nine-year playing career with the Lakers during the Showtime Era. Davis has had several assistant and head-coaching stints over the years with the Philadelphia 76ers (1996-97), Magic (2003-05) and Memphis Grizzlies (2009). D'Antoni recently hired Larry Lewis and Mark Madsen to serve as his two player development coaches. Lewis spent the past two seasons as an assistant with the D-Fenders, the Lakers' Development League affiliate. Madsen was named the D-Fenders' head coach in May. D'Antoni's brother, Dan, remains the lone member of his original coaching staff last season.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: The NBA’s rubber stamp will hit the Charlotte Bobcats’ request for a name change to the Hornets at a Board of Governor’s meeting Thursday at the Wynn resort in Las Vegas. The Bobcats technically need approval from a majority of the league’s other 29 teams to take on the name of Charlotte’s original NBA team. But it’s clear there won’t be resistance, after the New Orleans franchise gave up that nickname to be called the Pelicans. Incoming NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said twice during visits to Charlotte that he is for this name change if Bobcats owner Michael Jordan wants it. And outgoing Commissioner David Stern advocated a name change, according to a source familiar with Stern’s thinking. The Bobcats will celebrate the anticipated name change at an uptown event coinciding with Alive after Five at the EpiCentre.

• Doug Smith of the Toronto Star: By using the amnesty clause on forward Linas Kleiza — effectively cutting him while still having to pay his $4.6 million salary this season — the Raptors cleared up a situation they didn’t want to have to worry about before the tax penalties are assessed a year from now. While it’s only the team’s salary obligations on July 1, 2014 that count towards the tax, and other ways might come up to shave salary during the season, there was a sense that getting it out of way before the amnesty window closed Tuesday was best. “We thought it was safer now to do it,” Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri said after Toronto’s 81-70 summer-league win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday. “Sometimes with those things it’s on your mind the whole time and you don’t want to end up doing something funny or losing something because you’re trying to get under the tax later on.”
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: Seeking additional salary flexibility in the future, the Milwaukee Bucks used the amnesty clause on veteran forward Drew Gooden, the team announced Tuesday. Gooden became the 20th National Basketball Association player subject to amnesty since the provision was adopted in the collective bargaining agreement signed in 2011. The 31-year-old Gooden still will be paid the $13-plus million remaining on the five-year, $32 million deal he signed in the summer of 2010. But under the amnesty procedure the Bucks will be able to wipe that $13 million from their salary cap, including $6.7 million for next season. Two years remained on the deal. … Even though he was undersized, Gooden battled Dwight Howard and other elite centers and held his own. Gooden averaged 13.7 points, his best number since the 2004-'05 season, and made 46 starts during the lockout-shortened 66-game season. But Gooden was lost in the shuffle of Bucks big men last season and rarely got playing time. The emergence of Larry Sanders, Ersan Ilyasova, John Henson and Ekpe Udoh kept Gooden out of the rotation.
• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: He converted seven 3-pointers against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the game that gave the Miami Heat the 2012 NBA championship. He started the June 20 Game 7 of the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs that gave the Heat their second consecutive title. And now swingman Mike Miller, the Heat's affable 3-point gunslinger, is gone. … Invoking their one-time right to waive a player through the NBA's amnesty-release program and alleviate their luxury-tax burden, the Heat made the move with the 33-year-old veteran nine hours in advance of Tuesday's 11:59 p.m. NBA amnesty deadline. Just four days earlier, Heat President Riley insisted the Heat would bypass the team's amnesty option, despite the millions of dollars such a move would save against the increasingly punitive luxury tax. The organization's tune changed Tuesday. "After many discussions internally and a sincere effort to explore the trade market, we made a very difficult decision to use our amnesty provision on Mike Miller," Riley said in a release. "Mike had an incredible impact on the Miami Heat, helping us to three finals appearances and winning back-to-back world championships." Riley had said that a final amnesty decision would come in consultation with owner Micky Arison. That collective decision led to Miller's release.
• Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press: Brandon Knight probably isn’t the happiest Detroit Piston right now. Mr. Big Shot’s back. The Pistons didn’t go through all the pomp and circumstance of staging Chauncey Billups’ return Tuesday in the Palace atrium unless they envision him as the likely starting point guard on opening night. And the Rajon Rondo rumors aren’t dissipating anytime soon. … The third component is a 2014 first-round draft pick. Charlotte owns that Pistons’ pick, but it’s protected through the first eight selections. Knight might think the Pistons are pushing him out the door. But if he’s smart, he’ll appreciate the challenge facing him with a steadily changing Pistons’ roster. If he’s a competitor, Knight will use the shifting currents as motivation to push himself harder. It doesn’t help Knight’s development as a NBA-quality point guard if he honestly believes there’s limitless time on that clock. He’ll get every opportunity to prove that he’s ready to assume the leadership responsibilities that come with the title of point guard. But it’s time now to prove it. Don’t pout. Just play.
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: The Mavericks’ flood of free-agent news has diminished to a trickle, which surely means something big is about to pop. Other than getting previously agreed-to deals official with signings, their chief order of business remains finding a center. They continue to work with the agents for Samuel Dalembert and Greg Oden. In the interim, they will make things official with their draft acquisitions — Ledo probably first since his deal will not tie up much of the salary cap. Ellis and Ellington will follow, but those deals could wait until final numbers are hashed out between the Mavericks and whoever they nail down at center. Last to go in terms of officially signing contracts will be first-rounder Larkin and Brandan Wright, with whom the Mavericks can exceed the salary cap to sign. They also are continuing to talk to Harris and, as mentioned in recent days, it’s still likely they will come to terms with him. But the money and years are likely to be different.
• Mike Imrem of the Daily Herald: Has Derrick Rose quit talking yet? The more he opens his mouth, the more even his admirers have reason to wonder all over again where he was when the Bulls needed him late last season. Rose told reporters this week in Spain or Serbia or Siberia or somewhere else that he expects to be ready to play next season whenever the Bulls are. Be still my heart. The only news here would have been if Rose blathered that his knee and head aren't a combined 500 percent healed yet. Look, don't blame Rose for the widespread media attention afforded his recent comments. He was asked a question and not answering would have been inconsiderate to the host country. Instead blame the attention on this being a slower period in Chicago sports than anyone could have imagined, starting with the White Sox' front office trying to win but they can't and winning not being a priority for the Cubs' front office so they won't.
• Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: There appears to be a logjam at power forward on the Cavs, with no less than six players who can play the position: Returning starter Tristan Thompson, Anderson Varejao, Kevin Jones, Earl Clark, Tyler Zeller and Bennett. Varejao was the starting center when he injured his knee last season. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Zeller. Cavs coach Mike Brown said he's devised a plan in order for Bennett to get minutes at power forward. "He's a ‘4,'" Brown said in a telephone interview from Las Vegas. "That's where he's going to play for us. Way, way, way down the road, we might try him at ‘3.' Now, he's strictly a ‘4.' " How is he going to get minutes at power forward? "I got it figured," Brown said. "His ability to score in a lot of different ways is intriguing. His explosiveness is intriguing. His standing reach is higher than lot of guys playing power forward in the league, including Kevin Love. He's got long arms. There's a desire to want to be better. He has a lot of upside."
• Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: With so many moving parts and the need to begin the regular season with a payroll at least $2 million below where it is now, Ainge is attempting to time every signing and deletion from his roster. Next up is a decision on whether to pick up a $1.1 million option on Shavlik Randolph’s contract by Aug. 1. Management would clearly prefer to bring back the center, who may be one of the best rebounders on the roster. But there is an outside chance that the team will have to pass up on Randolph’s fairly minimal contract, if it means getting under the $72.7 million luxury tax threshold. Complicating the situation are ongoing talks with Brazilian 7-footerVitor Faverani. The sides have essentially agreed to a three-year contract worth roughly $6 million, but the transaction has been delayed by all of the other considerations Ainge must work out.
• John Reid of The Times-Picayune: With an improved roster and higher expectations, New Orleans Pelicans coach Monty Williams is already meeting with his assistants to change a significant amount of their offensive sets from last season. Williams declined to provide detailed specifics, but he said they are looking to maximize the abilities of All-Star point guard Jrue Holiday, shooting guard Eric Gordon and guard/forward Tyreke Evans. New Orleans ran a significant amount of pick-and-roll plays last season. “We’re trying to come up with offenses we think will benefit the guys that we have,’’ Williams said. “When you have guys like Jrue, Eric and Tyreke, we’re going to be able to play a bit more faster.’’ With a young rebuilding roster, New Orleans ranked 25th in scoring with a 94.1 per game average.
• Joe Freeman of The Oregonian: When most of the Trail Blazers scattered across the globe to decompress from a disheartening end to the season, Freeland awoke in the morning, hopped in his car and drove to the team’s practice facility for a workout. He hoisted some jumpers and worked on his low-post game with assistant coach Dale Osbourne and went through a weight-lifting session with the strength and conditioning staff. Then he said goodbye to Joel Freeland. And hello to Nick Collison. … “They were talking about Nick Collison a lot, comparing me to him and stuff,” Freeland said of Stotts and Olshey. “It was: Nick Collison, Nick Collison, Nick Collison.” Near the end of the regular season, Freeland mentioned this to his European agent, Rafa Calvo, and Calvo dug up an article Collison had written for GQ Magazine in 2012 titled: “How To Survive in the NBA When You’re Not a Superstar.” During the final season of his All-American career at Kansas, Collison averaged 18.5 points, 10.0 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. But when he arrived in the NBA, he quickly learned he would need to create a new identity if he wanted to last.
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: Larry Jordan, older brother of Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan, is being promoted to the team’s director of player personnel, a team spokesman confirmed Tuesday night. The promotion of Larry Jordan, previously holding the title of director of special projects. Jordan, who would report to team president of basketball operations Rod Higgins and general manager Rich Cho, is in Las Vegas this week for the Bobcats’ participation in summer league. He’ll be doing various scouting assignments in this new job. Director of player personnel is a position last held with the Bobcats by Buzz Peterson before he left in 2009 for a second stint as head coach at Appalachian State. Peterson, Michael Jordan’s college roommate at North Carolina and a close friend, later left Appalachian State for UNC Wilmington.
• Ailene Voisin, of The Sacramento Bee: John Kehriotis isn't a very convincing villain. On most game nights these past two decades, the Kings minority owner could be found sprawled in his courtside seat, chatting with fans and chirping at referees, and noshing on some assortment of chips and dips. He is as familiar as the color purple, part owner, part fan, part coach, and always close to the action. These days, though, Kehriotis, who owns 12.2 percent of the franchise, is sort of the odd man out. His team lost. His competing bid to purchase the Kings and renovate Sleep Train Arena didn't exactly endear him to the new downtown-centric regime. But Kehriotis isn't selling and he isn't leaving. He hopes to overpower his skeptics and outlast whatever resentment persists. His most immediate plan, he says, is to convince Vivek Ranadive that he's one of the good guys, one of those who stuck around.