ESPN NBA

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz

• Ramona Shelburne of the Los Angeles Daily News catches up with Baron Davis. Money quote from Davis: "I sucked. I sucked last year. I admit it. What (else) should I say?"
• The Thunder have hired former Sixers and Blazers head coach Maurice Cheeks. How do the Thunder's corps of point guards measure up with Cheeks the Point Guard? Joe Newell of Daily Thunder takes a look. 
• Knicks general manager Donnie Walsh gives Darko Milicic an endorsement in the New York Post: "He was a very skilled player when he was drafted ... I think the thing that's held him back is he's been thought of as a guy that has to play with his back to the basket. And everywhere he's been, people have tried to do that ... I don't think that will be the case here ... The way [coach] Mike [D'Antoni] plays, the fact that he's a skilled, fairly athletic, long big man who can run the floor and can dribble the ball, shoot the ball, pass the ball, he might fit into this system better. That's what I'm hoping."
• More than I ever thought I could know about Joel Przybilla. 
• Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that Rob Kurz signs a non-guaranteed deal with the Cavs. I still think Kurz can be a serviceable stretch-5 in the NBA, and is a better defender than advertised. 
• Zach Harper of Hardwood Paroxysm reminds us that Jamaal Magloire was once an All-Star. No joke: "And the crazy thing was he played really well in the All-Star Game. He scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 21 minutes. In fact, he took 16 shots in those 21 minutes. 16!!!! Who does he think he is -- Von Wafer?"
• Since the collective bargaining agreement necessitates that we all need advanced economics degrees to cover the NBA, Eight Points, Nine Seconds has devised a smart new feature called "Cap and Trade" to help Pacers fans.
• MSG Sports: hemorrhaging dollars.
• If your significant other happens to be traveling to Hvar, you might want to furnish him or her with a pictorial Who's Who of famous Croatian ballers.
• Will the Quentin Richardson carousel come to a complete stop in Miami? If so, how does Q fit in with the Heat? 
• The Ministers of Teal are hard at work: vintage Hornets wallpaper. (Hat Tip: Hornets247)
  
• Don't mind the dust over at Queen City Hoops. Brett Hainline is in the process of installing some improvements that will raise the bar for smart, data-driven team sites, and he wants some help for his new player pages: "I do not have it in me to go through and come up with a witty ... one- or two-liner on every player in the NBA -- but I hope that through the power of the interwebs I can get it done ... So, here is what I am asking: Comment on this post with your player summary and you will be entered to win a $25 gift card to NBA.com."
  
• Know what I like about summer, other than hiking Griffith Park at twilight while listening to Vin Scully live on MLB At Bat 2009? Catching up on classic columns like Jim Murray's 1986 piece on Chick Hearn. (Hat Tip: Kamenetzky Brothers/Laker Blog). In a just universe, Clippers' broadcaster Ralph Lawler would also have a star on the Walk of Fame.
  
• Kevin Pelton, Ben Golliver, and Mos Def all in one place.