ESPN NBA

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz

• The Blazers have found an individual to accept their money. The Sixers drafted Jrue Holiday out of UCLA, but will clearly need to fortify things at the point.
  
• Will Big Ben return to Detroit and retire as a Piston? 
• Third Quarter Collapse notes that Matt Barnes listed Stan Van Gundy as one of the primary reasons he chose Orlando: "Are you hearing this? Are you believing this? Van Gundy, the man whom some Magic fans wanted fired after his team blew a 14-point, 4th-quarter lead to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, is now almost a big a draw for free-agents as Dwight freakin' Howard is." Whatever unfair stigma Van Gundy carried into the late spring, it's fair to say that label has expired. As Ben Q. Rock states in the post, Van Gundy has joined the ranks of elite coaches, and a difference-maker for guys exploring their options around the league.
  
• Nets owner Bruce Ratner -- now accepting investors. Dave D'Alessandro of the Newark Star-Ledger says that if and when a suitor legitimately emerges, the team is likely Brooklyn-bound: "So far, nobody's buying. But according to numerous officials throughout the organization, Ratner may soon find someone to help alleviate the team's crushing debt load and facilitate the construction of the Atlantic Yards project, and the candidates range from the former CEO of Yahoo to a billionaire industrialist from Russia -- each of whom would still move the team from New Jersey."
• Zach Randolph says that the Grizzlies are "embracing me like no other team had." I can't decide if this says more about Randolph or the Grizzlies. 
• Tim Donahue of Eight Points, Nine Seconds on the Pacers finally extricating themselves from Jamaal Tinsley, and turning the page on a rough patch in the franchise's history: "There is a sense of overwhelming relief flowing throughout the Pacer faithful. With Jamaal's departure, the team is rid of the last of the players identified with the utter embarrassment that has befallen this franchise in the five years since the infamous Malice in the Palace in November 2004."
• Basketball Reference has added transactions to each player's page. Hooray! No confirmation as to whether Tony Massenburg's page required BBR to acquire additional server space.
  
• Rajon Rondo's jumper: Not improving. The silver lining, according to Zach Lowe, is that Js represent a smaller slice of Rondo's overall shot selection.
  
• Smart post by Zarar Siddiqi of Raptors Republic on Toronto's point guard platoon of Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack.
  
• If you're keeping score at home, Basketbawful's epic Livin' Large series has a new flow chart.
  
• Video from day one of USA Basketball mini-camp [Hat Tip: Brandon Hoffman]
  
• First Blake Griffin strains his shoulder, and then he gets his first lesson in Los Angeles parking lot etiquette: "Don't u hate when ur waitin for someone to pull out of a parking spot and someone else comes and takes it? That just happened to me!"