- Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer: Q: Hey, Mary: I know it's too soon, but I have a few questions regarding LeBron James. Do you think LeBron will ever return to the Cavs when his contract in Miami is finished? Would the team/Dan Gilbert accept him back? Also, will the Cavs ever retire his jersey? A: Hey, Michael: You are right. It's too early. My personal belief is that LeBron James will not return. But many other reporters think he will. I know time heals all wounds, so perhaps the team/Gilbert would accept him back if they felt it was the best business decision for the team. I am not willing to even take a guess at whether the Cavs will ever retire his jersey.
- George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel: Dwight Howard’s open letter to Orlando Magic fans in Sunday’s Orlando Sentinel made me think of a classic shtick by the late Sam Kinison, titled “Love Song.” He wrote a tune about getting dumped by his girlfriend, who reached out and asked if they could still be friends. After a soft mellow introduction on the piano, (“I wrote her this song and it goes like this..”) Kinison goes into his usual ballistic rampage: “You used me! You never loved me! I hope you slide under a gas truck and taste your own blood! DIE! DIE! DIE! I want my records back! I want my [bleeping] records back!” That’s how Magic fans feel about Howard, hopefully without the gas truck dying thing. The layers of betrayal cut deep. The difference between love and hate can often be a thin line, and Dwight crossed it big-time by botching his departure from Orlando to Los Angeles. ... His parting shot involves him posing with a Los Angeles Lakers uniform . And so it comes across as awfully awkward for him to say that “although my career with the Magic has come to a close, my love for the city and the people that make it beautiful will never end.” Sorry Dwight. It is now an unrequited love. Have a good day.
- Doug Robinson of the Deseret News: In 2007 — 11 years after Lindsey took the video job — he was named vice president/assistant general manager of the San Antonio Spurs. ... Five years later he has landed a GM job in Utah, where he will
work with a front office rooted in patience, stability and consistent success. As Dawson told his protégé, "Most of the time you're going to a team as a new GM cause someone has wrecked it. But they've got a good team. You've just gotta keep it going." Lindsey has been called a "fit" for the community and organization by various members of the Jazz organization. He's a religious, family man who says, "These jobs in pro sports can dominate your life and you can become selfish. With a wife and four children and a large extended family, I try to set aside time for them." ... Looking at the practical challenges ahead, O'Connor offers the last word: "Dennis is a key addition. We've added somebody who is really going to help us develop strategies in the long term, another pair of eyes on how to grow the Jazz. It's a friend we're going to get to work with." - Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: The ink might barely be dry on Serge Ibaka's shiny new contract. But that won't stop the expectations for the Thunder's fourth-year power forward from skyrocketing next season. Leading the league in blocked shots no longer will be enough for Ibaka now that he's about to take home a $49 million salary. He'll need to improve and improve in a hurry to live up to a deal that will pay him $12.25 million annually between 2013 and 2017. Given his incredible rate of development thus far, Ibaka should have no problem continuing his development. It helps, too, that most of the holes in Ibaka's game seem to be easily fixable problems that, if remedied, can take his play to another level. Here are five simple ways Ibaka can improve and transform his lucrative new contract from a good deal into a great deal. Catch the ball better ... Finish stronger at the rim ... Improve man-to-man post defense ... Rebounding with more consistency ... Play without fouling.
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: As much as anything, amid reported potential Heat interest in the likes of Darko Milicic, Chris Andersen, Josh Harrellson and Andray Blatche, is the reality that the small-ball Heat still very much have a post game. ... So as Riley has lamented the absence of the big men that had made coaching a much more straightforward exercise, players such as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Patrick Ewing, Mourning and Shaquille O'Neal, Mourning said it only makes sense now to see the possibilities of similar post play in smaller packages. "You can do that now," Mourning said, "because of the versatility of the game." Then again, Mourning certainly saw it during his early days with the Heat, when 6-foot (if that) Tim Hardaway stood as one of the team's most effective post scorers. Could the 2012-13 Heat benefit from additional bulk in the middle? Certainly. But do the Heat lack a post game? That, as Spoelstra, Riley and Mourning have pointed out tends to be overstated.
- Howard Beck of The New York Times: The Nets’ ongoing search for frontcourt depth has led them to Houston and a meeting with Andray Blatche, who was cut this summer by the Washington Wizards. Blatche, 26, has been working out in Houston with a number of other N.B.A. players, under the guidance of John Lucas. He was set to meet with Nets Coach Avery Johnson sometime this weekend, according to two people with knowledge of the meeting. It was not clear whether the Nets were prepared to make Blatche an immediate offer or were simply exploring their options.
- Michael Lee of The Washington Post: The Wizards have a mix of veterans and youngsters, with eight players on the roster – Wall, Beal, Jordan Crawford, Kevin Seraphin, Trevor Booker, Shelvin Mack, Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton – with two seasons or less of NBA experience. They have players who can attack the glass in Nene, Emeka Okafor and Booker. They have shooters in Beal, Webster and Martin. They even have a backup point guard in Price. But do they have enough to make the playoffs? After finishing with the NBA’s second-worst record last season, Wizards owner Ted Leonsis said his team was “bad – by plan – and now we plan to be GOOD.” On paper, the Wizards are a much better team than they were last season – in talent and professionalism – but they still have several teams to leap in order to break into one of the top eight seeds. ... Questions also remain about how all of the pieces will come together for the Wizards, if players will get used to different or diminished roles and if Coach Randy Wittman will be able to push the right buttons for an essentially new collection of talent. And, in roughly two months, the Wizards will find out if they have done enough this summer to go from bad to good – or at least become respectable again.
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: For the start of the team’s 10th season in Toyota Center, which will include the return of All-Star Weekend to Houston, the Rockets will unveil widespread upgrades to the arena, including the move to high-definition video screens billed as the largest in any North American arena. “We wanted to make sure we created a better experience,” Rockets CEO Tad Brown said. “We think this is going to put us on another level.” The entire project — from upgraded Wi-Fi to a new control room to run the video screen and game presentation — will cost roughly $15 million. The makeover, which was part of the city’s bid to host All-Star Weekend, is to be largely funded by the Houston Host committee, which received the money from the Texas Special Events Fund based on its obligation to provide upgrades for the NBA All-Star Game. The Rockets are fronting the expenditures and will be reimbursed only for a portion of the cost, with the money coming from the trust fund. The Rockets are expected to be reimbursed $8 million to $9 million, based on an estimated $150 million the event will generate for the local economy.
- Kirkland Crawford of the Detroit Free Press: The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Mike Berardino recently penned a column about Brandon Knight's latest trip to Sawgrass Springs Middle School in Coral Springs. (One of the lessons of the column was that Florida middle schoolers need to brush up on their Pistons history). As an aside to the column, Berardino wrote on the newspaper's website about on of Knight's bigger role models in the NBA. Would you believe it's Celtics guard Keyon Dooling? The well-traveled point guard, who was born in Fort Lauderdale and serves as vice president of the players assocication, has been a big help for Knight, readying for his second season in Detroit. "He's given me so much advice; I talk to him all the time," Knight told Berardino. "A lot of the davice he's gives me is off-the-court stuff, not necessarily basketball." But Dooling's guidance is also basketball related. He's what Knight said Dooling told him about hoops: "For me the biggest thing he's told me basketball-wise is just to take control of the Pistons, lead the team, and don't stand for nonsense."
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