- Pat Riley on LeBron James.
- Good thing somebody told Kevin Durant to stop playing center.
- The Blazers are reportedly down to two coaching candidates, Terry Stotts and Kaleb Canales. Canales could not have been more of a good soldier to this organization, years of working free or cheap, doing every thankless job, earning the trust of everyone. Then he stepped in to take the losses when the team needed a stop-gap coach. Here's what I wonder: If he doesn't get the job, will he stay? And if he leaves, will that set a strange example for other employees? I don't know the answers, but Canales, the finalist, comes with implications around the organization.
- Kyrie Irving feels like a Clevelander now.
- The Lakers still need a perimeter player, it would seem, to fill the Matt Barnes role. The irony is that whoever it is will likely have a huge season. When the defense is worried about Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, and Steve Nash is moving the ball to the open man ... this mystery dude could have some really fun nights.
- What Brazil can do against Team USA. Marcelo Huertas is the key. He's also somebody some NBA team might consider at some point in the future. Would need to be bought out of his Barcelona contract, where he plays on a good team with Juan Carlos Navarro. But in NBA terms, he's a free agent.
- What is hip, and can the Nets be that?
- Nicolas Batum with a nice block. And smart thoughts about France's defense.
- Raptors fans are tuning into Lithuania games to see incoming rookie Jonas Valanciunas, and a different Raptor, Linas Kleiza, is stealing the show.
- The best thing about the Olympics is how blatantly delighted the athletes are to hang out with each other, even including two Clippers teammates, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.
- This photo has very young Justin Timberlake hanging out with an even younger Jimmer Fredette.
- Some clarity, should you be concerned with Dirk Nowitzki's marital status.
- The NBA Geek says the Nets gave Brook Lopez the worst contract of the summer.
- Anthony Morrow tells SLAM's Adam Figman great tales about making the NBA: "I tell this story all the time where I was playing that game, and it was a point in that game when I was going back-and-forth with Cuttino Mobley. I couldn’t guard anybody at all back then, so I was going back-and-forth with Cuttino, and Cuttino was really good. I really loved his game back then. And I was scoring, and Coach called a play and I just went and sat in the corner, and was standing there, and Stephen Jackson broke the play up and was like, 'Nah, come back and post up! Go at him again!' And he was like, 'Don’t stop! Go at him again! Keep goin’!' And it was at that point where it just took off for me. You had Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette, those guys are behind me telling me they have confidence, they believed in me. That’s all I really needed to see. After the game I went in the locker room, took a shower, came back out, and I saw a bunch of cameras. I wasn’t paying attention, so I turn around and all of them were right there. They were like, 'Yeah, we’re here for you, man.' It was crazy."
Henry Abbott | email
TrueHoop, NBA- Senior writer for ESPN.com
- Founder of TrueHoop blog and network
- Began writing about NBA for magazines in 1999
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