- Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "If the Miami Heat is being used for leverage when it comes to Lamar Odom's free-agent negotiations with the Los Angeles Lakers, it is safe to say it is a willing participant. While the Heat is limited in the bidding to its $5.9 million mid-level exception, which is roughly one-third of what Odom earned last season and two-thirds of what the Lakers are currently offering, Odom long has remained a favorite of Heat President Pat Riley. Odom, in fact, is coming off of the final year of the free-agent contract he signed with the Heat in 2003, before he was traded the following season to the Lakers in a package for Shaquille O'Neal. Caron Butler, another forward who was sent from the Heat to the Lakers in that O'Neal package, said many of the players who spent that 2003-04 season with the Heat have spoken about encores. 'It's a great spot,' said Butler, who now plays for the Washington Wizards. 'I had some of the best years of my life here. The work ethic that these guys have down here is second to none. So it was great to be down here. Miami remains in your heart.' "
- Ramona Shelburne of the Los Angeles Daily News: "Haven't we heard all of this before? Pulled offers? Angry owners? Hurt feelings on both sides? A breathless fan base hanging on every blog post and tweet? It's like a game of free agent negotiating Mad Libs. Take all the stories written about Manny Ramirez about five months ago. Replace Ramirez with Lamar Odom, replace agent Scott Boras with agent Jeff Schwartz, Dodgers with Lakers ... and continue with the story. It all seems rather dramatic right now, with Lakers owner Jerry Buss angrily withdrawing his contract offers to Odom just five days after general manager Mitch Kupchak told an L.A. radio station that "there is no replacement for Lamar Odom" and sources on both sides of the negotiations acting like the only thing left to decide was which day the news conference would be held. But the world hasn't turned upside down in the past five days. It only seems that way because both sides are hard at work leveraging their respective positions."
- Kerry Eggers of The Portland Tribune: "It has been reported that the sticking point on Brandon Roy's contract extension is the All-Star guard wants a player option on a fifth and final year. If that's the case and I'm Portland's general manager, I'm just fine with that. Here's why: Though maximum salary figures aren't known until the salary cap is set each year, this year's figure is at $13.4 million. If we use that as a starting point for a five-year Roy extension that would begin with the 2010-11 season, and give him the maximum 10.5 percent increase, it would get him to about $19 million the fifth year in 2014-15. In any market -- and right now the NBA market is a combustible one -- that's a lot of clams. Yes, Roy is the face of the Blazers, a good guy and the player most responsible for their upsurge. But in 2014, he'll be 30, with a lot more mileage on knees he has had trouble with in the past. Can you see why the Blazers might be at least a touch reluctant to make such a commitment?"
- Dan Steinberg of The Washington Post: "Andray Blatche came out for his NBA summer league debut Tuesday evening with the number 7 on his back, instead of the customary No. 32 jersey he wore during his first four NBA seasons. The switch is permanent, and it has a meaning -- and not just for the handful of fans who now own replica anachronisms. 'We've got a new coaching staff, we changed a lot, so it's time for me to change my whole style, my whole mentality,' Blatche said Wednesday afternoon. 'I'm wearing 7, and that means seven days [a week] of hard work, seven days of being focused. I'm all about business, and I've got a big opportunity I'm gonna take advantage of.' That opportunity came in several parts. The Wizards changed coaches this spring, and Blatche said he relishes the fresh start and words of confidence offered by Flip Saunders. The team also traded big men Darius Songaila and Etan Thomas to the Minnesota Timberwolves for two perimeter players in Randy Foye and Mike Miller, and while the Wizards are likely to add a veteran front-court player before training camp begins, the 6-foot-11 Blatche could be in line for an increased role."
- Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: "David Andersen was the best guy the Rockets could get without sacrificing that 2010 flexibility. The Atlanta Hawks had used a second-round pick on Andersen in 2002, but they apparently never made a real effort to sign him. Daryl Morey previously had attempted to acquire him to be Yao's backup. Atlanta finally was motivated to deal because Andersen was on the verge of a long-term contract that would have ended any possibility of his ever playing in the NBA. The Mavericks, Grizzles and Rockets were interested, and once more, Leslie Alexander stepped up. The Rockets owner did the same thing on draft night by shelling out $6 million for three draft picks who might not even make the team. The Rockets will give the Hawks $2 million and a future second-round draft pick, and Andersen will sign a contract believed to be worth $7.5 million over three years. The Rockets can now go to training camp with every position filled. Actually, more than filled. At last count, Morey had 15 players under contract, including 13 with guaranteed money. Those numbers don't include Von Wafer, who is an unrestricted free agent and apparently wants more money than the Rockets are willing to pay him. Morey is still exploring his trade options, but even if he doesn't do anything else, the Rockets are better than they were after Game 7 against the Lakers."
- Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: "Confronted with the same financial slump that has ravaged the coffers of nearly every NBA owner - just this week the league office announced that half its teams were in the red last year - Peter Holt could have decided to take his Larry O'Brien trophies and cash out. Instead, he bellied back up to the poker table, looking for one last score. Like most high-stakes gambles, it's a strategy not for the faint of heart. 'I'm not saying we're all not worried,' Holt said. 'There's no crystal ball when it comes to the economy.' In the face of a frightening horde of economic down arrows, Holt fell back on a business adage older than Forbes itself. You've got to spend money to make money. At the box office, there are signs his investment is already paying off. Holt says he's noticed a drastic uptick in ticket sales since the Jefferson trade on June 23. ... The Spurs' No. 1 fan seems re-energized as well. Leaning back in his chair at UNLV's Cox Pavilion this week, Holt was relaxed and confident, eager for the days to come. He had the look of a man who had pushed his chips to the center of the table, and knew he was sitting on a winning hand. 'We're ready to kick some ass,' Holt said. 'I couldn't be more excited.' "
- John DeShazier of The Times
-Picayune: "The silence has been deafening, the inactivity telling. All we can figure is that the Hornets didn't seriously intend to add any meaningful pieces in free agency, that their declaring a willingness to pay the luxury tax if it meant putting together a championship-caliber team was hollow. The franchise seems to have done everything in its power to make sure it doesn't add payroll this summer. ... If the Hornets can't or won't do what they have to do to catch the Lakers and to beat the Nuggets, Spurs, Trail Blazers, Jazz and Mavericks, then they shouldn't sell bluster, knowing full well that fans and players are going to call them on it. The lack of activity wouldn't be so glaring if the Hornets hadn't gone out of their way to sell the theory that they'd move boldly, swiftly and effectively to plug their holes. Instead, the teams that really were interested in getting stronger let their wallets do the talking. They roared; the Hornets haven't yet even mustered a whisper. Their silence if deafening, and their inactivity is telling." - A. Sherrod Blakely of Mlive.com: "Wherever Detroit Pistons forward DaJuan Summers has been, doubts about his game haven't been too far behind. Turnover-prone. No mid-range jumper. Poor ball-handler. Not productive enough. His game has been sliced and diced apart for as long as he can remember. But the 6-foot-8 forward quietly has gone about silencing his critics with a strong showing for Detroit's summer league team, which included a 26-point effort in Detroit's 96-73 summer league win against the New York Knicks on Wednesday. The Knicks, led by the 3-point shooting of Nikoloz Tskitishvili (12 points, 4-for-8 from 3-point range), hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the third quarter. Summers responded with a driving left-handed layup, and followed that with a 3-pointer that pushed Detroit's lead to 64-51. 'DaJuan has been what we thought he was, and even more,' said Joe Dumars, Detroit's president of basketball operations."
- Brian Windhorst of The Plain Dealer: "LeBron James has been selling out The Q since he was in high school, but the Shaquille O'Neal effect appears as if it may press interest in the Cavaliers to an all-time high. In perhaps the toughest economy in the NBA's history, the Cavs are showing a surge in season-ticket sales and experiencing a jump in ticket revenue. In an internal league memo prepared for this week's NBA Board of Governors meeting in Las Vegas obtained by the Plain Dealer, the Cavs rank first in several season-ticket sales categories. The Cavs have sold out 36 consecutive games and the trends indicate they will likely threaten to sell out the entire upcoming season. 'League policy prohibits us from releasing or confirming season-ticket numbers, but what we can say is that we are very fortunate to have the best fans in the NBA and we're very thankful for their incredible support,' Cavs Vice President of Communications Tad Carper said."
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