- Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times: "With all the recent talk about Andrew Bynum's contract status, little attention has been paid to Kobe Bryant's possibilities after this season. Talk about options. Bryant has many, all of which lead to a win-win financial situation for him. First, the hard facts: Bryant will earn $21.3 million this season and then have two years left on his Lakers contract for an additional $47.8 million. Now for the interesting part. He could play out the remaining years on his contract and become a free agent in July 2011, the most doubtful scenario because he'll be closing in on his 33rd birthday at that point. He'll want some end-of-career job security before then. More likely, he will terminate his contract next July and become an unrestricted free agent who can sign with any NBA team for up to five years."
- China Daily: "Bereft of local icons like Houston Rockets all-star center Yao Ming, New Jersey Nets forward Yi Jianlian, or Team USA standouts LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, the two games between Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks in Guangzhou and Beijing were not as successful as expected and did little to expand the NBA's foothold in increasingly prosperous China. According to a public poll by leading Internet portal Sina.com, 34 percent of respondents paid no attention to the games. For those who bought tickets or watched on TV, 26 percent described the games as 'boring', 23 percent bemoaned the lack of Chinese players and only 17 percent commented positively on the experience. Some local media even went so far as to dub them the 'Three No's', referring to the lack of stars, Chinese players and ultimately, the lack of significance."
- Chris McCosky of The Detroit News: "Rasheed Wallace has shot better than 47 percent over his 13 NBA seasons. He is considered one of the best perimeter shooting big men to play the game. So if you think he's sweating his .236 shooting proficiency during the exhibition season, forget it. 'I am not worried about that at all,' said Wallace. 'I can't hit them all the time. These are just some of the woes we all go through.'"
- Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Tribune: "Two weeks ago, I asked Derrick Rose about walking the fine line between being an assertive point guard and being a 20-year-old rookie who has to defer to older, more experienced teammates. From the vantage point of his 30-point, seven-assist performance Tuesday night, I see now that the question was about as relevant as a Ralph Nader candidacy. If you had the pleasure of watching Rose take over that exhibition game in Dallas, then you know he's a force who wipes out any distinction between rookie and veteran. He's just Derrick Rose, with all that implies."
- Michael Lee of The Washington Post: "Friday night's game is the first meeting between the Wizards and Cavaliers since their hotly contested six-game playoff series in April, which featured one suspension, six technical fouls, three flagrant one penalty fouls, one flagrant two penalty foul, one ejection, a $25,000 fine for DeShawn Stevenson's 'menacing gesture' and a hip-hop feud involving rapper Jay-Z. Several Wizards tried to play down the preseason matchup. Forward Caron Butler said the preseason isn't the time to exact revenge. 'I look at it as just another game,' Butler said, but added that 'it might get different once the game starts.' 'Talk to me at Christmas,' point guard Antonio Daniels said, referring to the teams' first regular season meeting in Cleveland."
- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "Twenty months later, Shaun Livingston is back. One of the most inspiring stories of the 2008-09 NBA season wound up taking place one week before the start of the season. In a college gym, out of television view, during an otherwise meaningless exhibition, the former prep prodigy completed his climb from a gruesome Feb. 26, 2007 knee injury when he took the court for the Heat in Thursday night's 100-80 exhibition loss to the Hornets. 'It's special just to play again, considering where I was,' the 6-foot-7 playmaker said."
- Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "If the preseason was any indication, the days of worrying about stability at point guard are over. Starter T.J. Ford was an assist and three rebounds shy of a triple-double in the Pacers' 114-91 victory Thursday over the Dallas Mavericks in their preseason finale. 'I was just trying to be active and with this system coach wants us to be aggressive,' said Ford, who had 19 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. 'He wants us to get our hands on the ball and get out on the break.'"
- Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: "Nuggets guard Allen Iverson is comfortable with sacrificing preseason games if it means he'll play in all 82 games of the regular season. 'When guys get older, they tend to get a lot of injuries as their career comes to an end,' Iverson said. 'I feel good about my training staff and about the way I've prepared myself to be able to play all of those games.' Iverson has played in all 82 games during the regular season twice in his career, in 2002-03 with Philadelphia and last season with the Nuggets. 'That was a big thing of mine, I thought about it all during (last) season,' Iverson said. 'Once I got to 70, I was like 'I can get through all of these, barring I stay away from injury.' I just want to be there every single game. Especially the fact that (Carmelo Anthony) is not going to be there the first two games.'"
- Jerry Brown of the East Valley Tribune: "Shaquille O'Neal sat out the second of back-to-back preseason games Tuesday in Los Angeles, and Suns coach Terry Porter said he may employ a similar regimen for the 36-year-old center during the regular season -- limiting minutes or sitting him out completely when the matchups are favorable. 'We may do a little bit of both. Of all the guys who have played that position, he's probably been fouled the most and beaten on numerous times,' Porter said. 'We want to be proactive in giving him enough minutes to stay sharp, but looking at the big picture and giving him ample time to get rest. He might go 28-30 minutes (in the first or second game of a back-to-back) and then the second night he might be limited or not play.'"
- John Reid of The Times-Picayune: "For the first time in franchise history, the Hornets closed out their preseason schedule with a 7-0 record. ... After winning a franchise-record 56 games last season, Chris Paul said they have championship aspirations and just making the playoffs is not good enough. 'I feel we win and learn at the same time, whether it's preseason or the regular season,' said Paul, who had six points and 15 assists. 'We don't want to lose and we don't care what the situation is, so we can get that personality. Befo
re camp, we emphasized never approaching it like it was a preseason game, we're trying to get better now.'" - Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: "The players are clearly looking forward to the ring ceremony, which is being treated like an Olympic torch-lighting ceremony. The rings have an official sponsor: Southwest Airlines. Considering that Southwest flies into Providence, and not Logan, the rings will be delivered to Celtics legend JoJo White on the T.F. Green Airport tarmac on Tuesday. The rings will be protected in a special case. Lucky the Leprechaun and the Celtics Dancers will be present. Limo service and a security escort have presumably been arranged. Players are generally anxious to move beyond this kind of hoopla, but the allure of quality bling is different. 'I'll enjoy every bit of it,' said Paul Pierce. 'It will be great to raise the banner, get my ring, and then put it behind us.'"
- Alan Hahn of Newsday: "Donnie Walsh laughed not because the question was preposterous but because he knew his answer would be considered as such. What do you mean you can't buy your way out of bad, unwanted contracts? What in the name of Jalen Rose, Maurice Taylor, Shandon Anderson, Jerome Williams, etc., etc., etc. are you saying? 'I don't want to shock you guys, but money is an issue in the NBA, in every situation,' Walsh said yesterday after the Knicks cut non-guaranteed contract players Dan Grunfeld and Allan Houston. 'I don't want to say that because it might be heresy here in New York.'"
- Peter Vecsey of the New York Post: "How many NBA fans think the league is better off without the Sonics in Seattle? No self-respecting former Brooklyn Dodgers or New York Giants fan, I can assure you. Not only has the Emerald City been abandoned by its original professional franchise in any sport, but the league has lost one of its greatest assets."
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