- Don Seeholzer of the Pioneer Press: "With an oral agreement but no signed contract, the Timberwolves didn't announce a coaching hire Sunday, but it won't be much longer. As owner Glen Taylor told the Pioneer Press on Saturday night, Los Angeles Lakers assistant Kurt Rambis is expected to sign what is believed to be a four-year contract worth more than $8 million today and be introduced at a Tuesday press conference. Until everything is completed, there's not much Wolves players and personnel can say about Rambis' imminent arrival, but Mark Madsen is under no such restrictions. Traded July 20 to the Los Angeles Clippers, the veteran forward played two of his three seasons with the Lakers while Rambis was an assistant coach there and said the Wolves are making a great hire. 'I think the Timberwolves and the state of Minnesota are very fortunate to have pried Kurt Rambis away from the Lakers,' Madsen said. 'First and foremost, he's a great basketball coach. The way he communicates and interacts with players, Kurt Rambis is the type of person that knows when to use the carrot and when to use the stick. He just understands how to motivate different types of players, different types of personalities.' "
- Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Two-deep rosters aren't strictly for NFL teams. Hawks coach Mike Woodson has a white board hanging from the back wall of his office with various scribbles on it, but it wasn't hard to make out the two rows of initials he jotted down one recent afternoon, or the glaring omission in one category. There was no power forward listed behind starter Josh Smith. And there is little in the way of depth behind Smith, starting center Al Horford and starting center Zaza Pachulia in a frontcourt rotation that looks dreadfully thin on paper. Seldom-used backup Randolph Morris is under contract but will have to make a major push in training camp to push his way into the rotation. 'We're in a bind right now,' Woodson said. 'When you see it up there on the wall, it really hits home where we're lacking right now.' ... One of the first to come in will be Augusta State 7-footer Garret Siler. The 305-pound Siler attended the Hawks' rookie/free agent mini-camp last month and made an impression. He has already been added to the training roster. Veteran center Jason Collins, another 7-footer, is also expected in for a look as early as this week. Johan Petro, Stromile Swift and Courtney Sims are other names believed to be on the Hawks' radar. 'We've got several guys we're going to take a closer look at,' he said. 'We have to find some answers, though, because right now we're not where we need to be.' "
- Israel Gutierrez of The Miami Herald: "We've officially entered Stage Three of the Miami Heat offseason. The first was the 'Umm, is trading for Chris Bosh really an option?' stage, and had it not been shot down so quickly it would have made this among the splashiest summers in franchise history. The second was the 'Oooh, maybe there are a few tricks left in Pat Riley's sleeve' stage, and had New York native Lamar Odom not sold his soul to SoCal long ago, maybe that would have been the final stage of the summer, with an Odom-Carlos Boozer tandem making the Heat elite again. Instead, we're stuck here in the third phase, the 'Eh, what's the point?' stage, which kind of feels like 15 minutes before last call and you're scanning the room for last-minute options. Hey look, there's Allen Iverson. Still available. Still interested. Still a mistake. If it is true that 'The Answer' remains an option for Riley, who has, to his credit, held strong to his word that 2010 is the time that he will strike and strike hard, it should be viewed as little more than a turnstile-turning opportunity. Given that the Heat has all but conceded that it won't truly contend with the Cleveland-Orlando-Boston power trio in the Eastern Conference next season, adding an Iverson at this point would essentially be bait to lure fans into AmericanAirlines Arena for six months."
- Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: "New Orleans' Chris Paul and San Antonio's Tony Parker aren't as tall as Derrick Rose, but probably qualify as role models for the Bulls' reigning rookie of the year. Last season, Paul averaged 22.9 points and shot 50.3 percent from the field. Parker produced 22.0 points while shooting 50.6 percent. The question is, how often does an NBA guard accomplish such a feat -- average at least 22 points and shoot better than 50 percent from the field? Go ahead and think about it. You have to go back more than 10 years and the answer is not Michael Jordan. Actually, it was the late Drazen Petrovic, who scored 22.3 points and shot .518 for the Nets in 1992-93, his final season before he was killed in a car accident. ... Many have blamed the 'Bad Boy' Pistons for the introduction of stifling, physical defense. But in 1988-89, the year they won their first title, the Pistons allowed 100.8 points per game. By 1993-94, 10 teams averaged less than 100 points allowed. The Pistons might have set an example, but Pat Riley's Knicks were probably more responsible for the NBA's descent into rugged, low-scoring games. A few years ago, the league tried to outlaw hand checks and last season's efficiency by Paul and Parker might be proof that the new rules are starting to take hold. That could be great news for the Bulls. Rose shot 47.5 percent while scoring 16.8 points as a rookie, and he should be ready to make a significant jump in his second season."
- Tom Halzack of the Connecticut News: "The throwing away of money on bad contracts in this league is legendary. Before someone starts thinking I'm against those hard working players, I'll add that much worse has been occurring in corporate America with numbers that make these players look like dime store robbers. White collar executives are getting bonuses for failures that would make the players' agents turn red with embarrassment, if not green with envy. But two wrongs don't make a right. They make everything cost more than they should for Joe Working Class. And I write about the NBA, I'm not in the business section. So, this summer has been a revelation of sorts. Call it the start of a market correction that will last for a few years, at least, hopefully. With the exception of a handful of early signers such as Marcin Gortat, Paul Millsap, Ben Gordon, Trevor Ariza, Charlie Villanueva, Chris Anderson, and perhaps Hedo Turkoglu, no other players would be considered over paid this off season. In fact, some big names like Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury are looking at far deeper salary cuts than what forced a starving Latrell Sprewell into retirement. That is, if and when they sign with anyone."
- Dave Dial of Mlive.com: "What can't be predicted, by any real statistical manner, is how many points per game the Pistons will give up. The conventional wisdom is that while the Pistons will score a lot of points, they will give up a lot of points too. We really can't judge that aspect of the game until we see how the team plays together un
der the new coach's defensive and offensive schemes. It will be exciting to see how this team comes together, and to watch a fast paced team score a lot of points. Piston fans should expect a transition year and their expectations should not be for the team to contend in the Eastern Conference. But fans should expect to watch exciting games and see how the players on their team play together. There is less than 2 months left until training camp, and besides all of what is discussed here, we will get to see how the young Piston draft picks look against NBA-level talent."
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