- Cam Inman of The Oakland Tribune: "New Warriors majority owner Joseph Lacob is ... Well, he is not the old Warriors owner, so he has that going for him in the bloodshot eyes of arguably the NBA's most desperate and loyal fan base. He also is not Oracle czar Larry Ellison, the world's sixth-richest man who lost out in the record bidding for Chris Cohan's Warriors. But Lacob is a Warriors season-ticket holder. Fans, surely to their surprise, have shared a foxhole with him the past decade during the Cohan Cold War. A teenage peanut vendor at Anaheim Stadium before striking it rich as a venture capitalist, Lacob is now the Warriors' front man. His ownership group splurged $450 million to rescue the Warriors from Cohan's 16-year, dreadful reign that, 'we believe,' featured only one playoff berth. Lacob's wingman is Hollywood movie mogul Peter Guber, who has a fascinating screenplay in the works thanks to this surprising snatch of the Warriors from Ellison's clutches. OK, so Lacob was not at the White House two weeks ago showing off the America's Cup to President Obama. Get over the fact Larry The Oracle Guy and Larry The Sailing Guy will not morph into Larry The NBA Guy. His billions will not be spent on the Warriors. Hey, maybe our America's Cup defense just got stronger."
- George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel: "Nice job, Rich DeVos. DeVos, the Magic billionaire owner, is not afraid to break out the piggy bank and spend an extra $14 million or so. That’s the expected NBA luxury tax hit the Magic are expected to take for signing backup guard J.J. Redick by matching the front-loaded $19 million offer sheet from the Chicago Bulls. That will happen today, says my trusted colleague Brian Schmitz. Tough luck, Bulls. And no, keeping Redick won’t give the Miami Heat a buzz kill over their recent signings (you may have heard…). The Axis of Evil remains alive and well in South Florida, chasing world domination. But the Magic will be in the fight to win the Eastern Conference. You can argue that the Magic have spent money unwisely, but at least the team has the guts and the gumption to spend money to try to field a team that can be as competitive as possible. Redick isn’t a primary piece, but he is important."
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "A week ago, LeBron James sat under those lights and looked almost empty, as if he tried to convince
himself he was happy and was losing the argument. That would change in the South Beach spectacle that followed, but flash forward to Thursday night in Buenos Aires. Luis Scola had come to terms on a new five-year deal to remain with the Rockets, and his mix of happiness, gratitude and relief was palpable as it came pouring over all the miles and through the phone. 'I feel great. I feel great,' Scola said. 'I going to be the place I wanted to be. I'm so happy.' ... Until Thursday, however, he became increasingly worried the deal would not come together and was trying to get used to the idea of taking an offer to return to Spain. 'I almost died,' Scola said. 'It was so stressful. If I didn't die of a heart attack this week, I think I'll never die. I never was a free agent before. I thought it would be less complicated. 'There were a couple days I didn't think it would work out. Waiting for an offer was really stressful.' " - Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune: "Dismissed by the Heat for a blue-light special price so it could complete the most sudden, glamorous franchise makeover in league history, Michael Beasley introduced himself during a funny, seemingly honest news conference with an opening hello and happy-to-be-here and a closing, 'I just want to play basketball. That's it.' In procuring Beasley one day and shipping out Al Jefferson the next, the Wolves added a young player whom team boss David Kahn calls a 'rare talent,' but one with enough questions about his maturity and attitude that he was available during the wildest and wackiest summer in league history for only two second-round draft picks. 'I feel there's a lot that the world don't know about me,' he said. 'A lot of my game hasn't been shown, a lot of my personality hasn't been shown. I'm just ready to start my life.' "
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "There is no way to get around it: The Heat essentially traded Michael Beasley for Mike Miller and two second-round picks. The second-round picks came from the salary-cap dump of Beasley on the Minnesota Timberwolves. ... The salary-cap space gained opened the door for the Heat to sign Miller away from the Washington Wizards. In the Heat’s new win-now reality, Miller provides more of a ready-to-go presence, especially with Beasley’s confidence so beaten down in South Florida these past two seasons. ... Today, Mike Miller is the better player, especially for a contender. But tomorrow? It is a debate that certainly will be worth revisiting, as Miller pushes through his new, five-year Heat commitment."
- K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune: "If he had chosen, Vinny Del Negro could have holed up in his home outside Phoenix, worked on his near-scratch golf game, hung out with his college-sweetheart-turned-wife and collected $2 million from the Bulls. 'That's just not my personality,' Del Negro said. 'I enjoy the challenge of coaching and trying to make young players better.' And so just more than two months after the Bulls fired him, here Del Negro is, sitting courtside next to Clippers owner Donald Sterling, ready for his next act. Del Negro insists he didn't point to his two-season Bulls stint during his interview process to land the Clippers' job, saying that was for Clippers management to review. But in his first interview with Chicago media since reading a short statement outside the Berto Center on May 4 after he was fired, Del Negro certainly sounds as if he had his resume ready. 'I really believe in my concepts and philosophies,' Del Negro said. 'I'm very proud of my staff and myself with what we had to deal with and what we accomplished. The Bulls' organization is in a much better position now than it was before I got there.' "
- Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun: "He tried to be diplomatic about it, but Raptors president/general manager Bryan Colangelo is clearly perturbed with the way the Charlotte Bobcats ended trade talks earlier this week. Biting his tongue somewhat during a wide-ranging FAN 590 interview with Jack Armstrong and Eric Smith Thursday, Colangelo shed some light on the failed deal that was to send Jose Calderon and Reggie Evans to Charlotte in exchange for Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler. 'I think the safest answer is a deal’s not done until it’s done but I’m obviously a little disappointed that it didn’t go through,' Colangelo said. 'I felt like we were moving down that path, in fact further than just moving down the path, to the extent that, unfortunately, I had some communication with Jose’s agent that something was going to take place and it’s unfortunate that it happened that way.' The complete details will likely never be revealed, but both Bobcats owner Michael Jordan and head coach Larry Brown have been fingered as the culprits for kiboshing the trade after an agreement was basically in place."
- Ronald Tillery of The Commercial-Appeal: "O.J. Mayo ended his two-game point guard experiment with great disappointment. However, he is not deterred. The Grizzlies third-year player knew that he wouldn't make a seamless transition from the shooting guard position to running the point. But Mayo hoped for a more credible showing. Mayo committed 15 total turnovers and handed out just six assists after volunteering to play in the Grizzlies' first two NBA Summer League games. The 6-4 scorer didn't have trouble putting the ball in the basket. However, his ballhandling and decision making left a lot to be desired. Mayo's flirtation at the point left this impression: While he's not exactly a lost cause, Mayo needs more repetition and a better understanding of what's required from him in that role. 'There are certain nuances that you can tell somebody, but they have to go out on the floor and figure it out,' said Griz assistant Damon Stoudamire, a former accomplished NBA point guard. 'He has to slow down and see everything.' Mayo flunked himself after the experience. Yet he deserves credit for a few things: He entered the process with great humility. He accepted brutally honest coaching. He tried and wasn't delusional about the results."
- Joe Freeman of The Oregonian: "According to those within the Blazers organization who have scouted him for years, Elliot Williams is an exceptional athlete, versatile defender and intelligent player. He needs to improve his jump shot and ball-handling, but the Blazers believe they landed a player who is perfectly suited for the NBA. 'Elliot is a freaky athlete,' said Chad Buchanan, the Blazers' director of college scouting. 'He's got to learn some tricks at his position and tighten up his handle a little bit. But he's ready to step in and make some plays from Day 1. For certain guys, the NBA game comes easier for them than the college game. Elliot's that type of guy.' The Blazers were so high on the 6-foot-5 combo guard, they rated him the second-best athlete in last month's NBA draft behind only No. 1 overall draft pick John Wall. Before the draft, during an individual workout in Santa Monica, Calif., Williams registered a 48-inch vertical leap. The highest mark measured at this year's NBA draft combine was 40 inches. As a precaution, the Blazers have made Williams sit out summer league scrimmages and games because of an injured right knee, which he suffered during a predraft workout in San Antonio. But Williams said he can play and occasionally squeezes his way into five-on-zero practice work and noncontact drills. At the Blazers' shootaround Thursday morning, Williams sprinted down court on a five-on-zero drill and emphatically hammered down a windmill dunk."
- Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: "The Spurs' 3-0 start to the summer league has coach Mike Budenholzer in line for a highly prestigious -- albeit completely mythical -- honor. Summer League Coach of the Year? That was the running joke Thursday after Budenholzer -- devoid of a single guaranteed NBA player on his roster -- guided the Spurs to an 80-71 win over the Lakers. The Spurs' summer league roster is more notable for those who are not playing than for those who are. DeJuan Blair is sidelined with a sore right calf. Garrett Temple has a sprained left ankle. First-round draft pick James Anderson is recovering from a hamstring strain. James Gist is out with a wrist injury. 'When we saw who all was hurt, we thought, ‘Oh my God, we're going to get our butts kicked every day,' ' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after watching Thursday's game from the bleachers at UNLV's Cox Pavilion. 'When DeJuan went down and Temple went down and neither of our draft choices were coming, we thought, ‘Oh man, we're wasting our time out there.' ' "
- Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press: "It’s a safe bet that the Detroit Pistons aren’t headed to Las Vegas -- and that was even before the NBA denied a newspaper report that an investment group has an agreement in place to purchase an NBA franchise and move it to Nevada if public money is used to build an arena. 'We categorically deny that there is an NBA team under contract,' NBA spokesman Tim Frank told the Free Press today. The Las Vegas Sun reported in its Wednesday editions that Chris Milam, CEO of International Development LLC, said he has an NBA team under contract and that all that stands in the way of pro sports coming to Vegas is Clark County's funding for a new arena. The article speculates that the Pistons could be in play, considering owner Karen Davidson has the franchise up for sale. Several other NBA teams reportedly could be available, too. The Pistons released a statement this afternoon: 'While there is no substantive news to report regarding the sale of the Detroit Pistons, our ownership group has absolutely nothing to do with any proposal that would move the team to Las Vegas. As stated since the beginning of this process, the preference is to find an ownership group that is committed to Detroit and the surrounding area.' "
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