ESPN NBA

In a game that's in progress, Team USA is cruising vs. Angola.

• Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee: "During Team USA's training sessions in Las Vegas, player personnel director (and well-known international scout) Tony Ronzone broke down the competition, and he predicted that Spain would present the USA with its toughtest competition. In order, he ranked Lithuania, defending Olympic champion Argentina, and then Greece, the team that shocked Mike Krzyzewski's team in the 2006 World Championships in Japan. Given what we've seen thus far from the Americans -- and the obvious motivational factors going into Thursday's rematch -- I suspect Kobe & Co. will defeat the slick-shooting Greeks by 30 or 40 points, and as Ronzone indicated, have a more competitive game against Spain."
• Bob Finnan of The News Herald: "If fans choose to worry about LeBron James leaving the Cavaliers for another NBA team in the summer of 2010, go ahead and fret. But I'm guaranteeing right now James won't play overseas when he opts out of his contract after the 2009-10 season. The recent talk of James playing in Europe is preposterous. 'A source close to James' said the superstar would consider playing in Europe for $50 million a year. Well, duh. He would be a fool not to. But who is going to pay him that kind of money? According to an expert on the matter, the entire payroll for the upper-echelon teams in Europe might reach $25 million to $30 million a season. That's for their whole team."
• Bill Livingston of The Plain Dealer: "It would be unthinkable for a top-level NBA star to leave and play in Europe. (But if anyone did, it's not hard to imagine it would be LeBron James.) Just as it was unthinkable for an American Olympic team with NBA players to lose the gold. (Bronze in 2004.) Just as it was unthinkable for an international player to be the NBA's Most Valuable Player (Dirk Nowitzki, 2007) or to be the NBA's top draft pick (Yao Ming, Andrew Bogut, Andrea Bargnani). In an ESPN.com poll, 70 percent of voters, many of them perhaps prematurely despondent Clevelanders, said they expected a big NBA star to jump to Europe. Will it happen? Probably not. Is it remotely possible? Absolutely."
• Doug Robinson of the Deseret News: "For Larry Miller, and others like him, it's a double-edged sword. He needs rest, but he feels like he's only truly living when he's working. Like a shark (an otherwise poor metaphor for Miller), he has to keep moving to breathe. Not to work, not to achieve, not to solve problems, not to strive could be as unhealthy as doing all those things while neglecting himself. Miller on the sidelines is like John Stockton on the bench. He'll want in the game. Getting off the treadmill that has been his life for so many years will be a great challenge."
• Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune: "After returning to work Monday morning and checking my e-mails, I can assure you that questions involving Andre Kirilenko's future in Utah is the No. 1 topic among Jazz fans. I'd estimate that 75 percent of the questions I am getting these days relate to Kirilenko, possible trade scenarios involving Andrei and how the Jazz can possibly keep Carlos Boozer and Memo Okur if they don't rid themselves of his contract. ... Kirilenko has three years and $49.35 million remaining on his contract with the Jazz. ... By themselves, those numbers should tell you one thing: Kirilenko will be difficult to trade. Not because of his talent or all-around game, which can be spectacular, but because of the financial commitment any team acquiring him must be willing to make."
• Mike Baldwin of The Oklahoman: "Q: It appears the NBA might have slipped up last week when the schedule was released. For a few hours a URL directed anyone who clicked on Oklahoma City to a Web site entitled thunder. ... Clay Bennett: 'That surprised me. This is all part of this very unique experience that will never happen again. We're really building a new brand, a new franchise in essence. It's a fun time.'"
• Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times: "With the U.S. men's basketball team determined not to overlook anybody, what can the Americans come up with for tonight's opponent, Angola? How about: They don't discourage easily? With all the reversals the U.S. has suffered in recent competition, there was always someone it could beat (not to mention beat on). The Dream Team made its debut against Angola in Barcelona in 1992, winning, 116-48, although the 68-point margin isn't what it's remembered for. Nor was it because of the 46-1 run the U.S. went on with the score tied, 7-7, making it 53-8. If most Americans would prefer to forget it, it's remembered for the elbow Charles Barkley threw into the chest of a 170-pound Angolan forward named Herlander Coimbra."
  
• Celeste E. Whittaker of The Courier-Post: "It's the gym where hope was born and where hope continues to live for Dajuan Wagner, who still is fighting to get back to the NBA. After years of injury and illness, playing in the league is still his dream. He made it all the way back in 2006-07, when he signed a two-year deal with the Golden State Warriors, but the team bought out his contract after he'd appeared in just one game. 'There's nothing I can do about it, I just hope I can stay healthy and whatever happens, happens,' said Wagner, a 6-foot-2 guard who hasn't been playing in any leagues this summer. 'I've been working real hard and trying to get right. I'm just going to keep working out, go from there and let (agent) Leon (Rose) do his job -- he knows what's best for me. It doesn't matter where I go. I just want to play.'"