- The Bulls could use an additional long-range shooter for their wing rotation and, on the surface, Rudy Fernandez seems like a nice fit. So let's say the Bulls are able to acquire Fernandez from Portland in a deal. Could Fernandez reasonably expect more minutes in Chicago than he received in Portland? Matt McHale of Bulls by the Horns: "Look at Chicago’s roster: Derrick Rose, C.J. Watson, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, Luol Deng, James Johnson, Carlos Boozer, Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah, Kurt Thomas and Omer Asik. That’s a pretty deep team. How many minutes would Fernandez get in a backcourt that includes Rose, Watson, Brewer and (probably at times) Korver? Last season, Rudy became 'disgruntled' playing 23 minutes a game (down from 25 the previous season). How many minutes would he see on the Bulls?"
- Playing an all-out zone defense doesn't translate into much success at the NBA level. As Sebastian Pruiti demonstrates at NBA Playbook, many of the bedrock principles of the zone simply aren't available to NBA defenses because of the defensive 3-second rule.
- Assuming Kendrick Perkins isn't suited up on opening night, which O'Neal should start for the Celtics?
- Yesterday, Tim Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell wrote that it's just a matter of time before NBA teams will be examining the DNA of potential signees. Today, economist Tyler Cowen looks at a paper that suggests some populations are more genetically predisposed to collectivism and mutual cooperation than others. The researchers say, "Genetic association studies suggest that variation within the genes of central neurotransmitter systems, particularly the serotonin ... and opioid ..., are associated with individual differences in social sensitivity, which reflects the degree of emotional responsivity to social events and experiences." Cowen is rightly skeptical, but you can imagine how a credulous NBA organization might want to examine a point guard's serotonin level before entrusting him with running a team for five years.
- PistonPowered features a graph you don't see every day: Percentage of minutes played in 2009-10 by players acquired the previous summer.
- Deuce Bello is a freaky shooting guard out of High Point, North Carolina's Westchester Country Day. Count Kevin Durant among his admirers: "Do me a favor, when u get a chance go look at this high school kid Deuce Bello on youtube...most bounce i ever seen in high school..wowww."
- Yi Jianlian gets a fresh start in Washington this fall. David Thorpe, who has been training with Yi, offers Truth About It's Kyle Weidie this prescription for Yi's game: "I think he should play a game like Rashard Lewis ... Shoot the three, play a shot fake and attack game and spread the floor. He should be really, really effective in transition with John Wall because Yi is unbelievably fast."
- Sactown Royalty is tracking support in the Kings' small forward battle between Donte Greene and Omri Casspi. No word yet on Nate Silver's prognosis.
- Wizards owner Ted Leonsis once pitched a reality series he described as “The Apprentice meets Touched by an Angel.” A couple of years later he was asked to be a judge on "Shark Tank," but declined.
- Oh, you just knew it was coming. Gold's -- not the chain of gyms but the makers of horseradish found at most North American Passover seders -- is challenging Amare Stoudemire to ingest large amounts of the stuff on a piece of matzo to test his Jewish roots. Pun intended.
- Jerry Reinsdorf on the Bulls' six championships: "Michael couldn’t have done it by himself. The rest of the players and Michael would not have been enough. It took Scottie to put us over the top those six times.”
- SLAM recently published a piece on Steve Francis titled, "Where is the love?" A Vancouver Grizzlies fan weighs in with his answer at Daily Thunder.
- Rasual Butler is getting his reps in. He tweets that he went 500 for 598 from mid-range today.
- Want a quick video primer on each of the national teams competing in Turkey next month? Check out FIBA TV's video page.
Kevin Arnovitz
ESPN.com- NBA writer for ESPN.com since 2008
- Editor of the TrueHoop Network
- Former contributor and editor at NPR
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