- Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: "Larry Brown said he'd enjoy coaching Allen Iverson again. But there are issues in the way of the Charlotte Bobcats signing former All-Star guard Iverson and those issues are 'major,' Brown said. 'One is the money; we wouldn't want to make him an offer that would insult him,' Brown said Tuesday. 'And with three small guards (Raja Bell, D.J. Augustin and restricted free agent Raymond Felton) already on the roster, he wouldn't get to play the minutes he deserves. Until one or both of those things changes, I don't see it.' Iverson, an unrestricted free agent, typically is among the NBA's top scorers, and the Bobcats finished last season at the bottom in the NBA in scoring. Iverson sent out several Twitter messages of late, suggesting the Bobcats are on his short list of preferred landing spots and that he anticipates signing with some team soon. As Brown indicated, the Bobcats have salary-cap issues; they're inching toward the luxury-tax threshold, which general manager Rod Higgins has said they will not reach. Felton being unsigned further complicates the cap issue."
- Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: "Everyone is tired of waiting for the Ramon Sessions situation to be resolved, and that includes the Bucks. When the Bucks acquired Croatian point guard Roko Ukic in the trade with Toronto this week, it indicated they were ready to move on with 19-year-old rookie Brandon Jennings, veteran Luke Ridnour and Ukic. Sessions still could return for the Bucks' $1 million qualifying offer, but he has little incentive to do that since he would remain a restricted free agent next summer. And he sure doesn't want to go through the endless waiting and uncertainty again, does he? ... Current Bucks player Charlie Bell went through the unpleasantness of unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2007, an incident that scarred him and led to a difficult 2007-'08 season. 'It gets frustrating as the summer goes on,' Bell said. 'He (Sessions) is doing a good job. I was frustrated; I had some issues going on. You want to get to whatever city you're going to get to, and get relaxed. It's a lot of pressure, it really is. Not knowing where you're going to be, not having a contract. You don't want to work out and get hurt, and something happens. It's stressful, it really is.' "
- Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "It has been reported in many places that Joe Smith has signed with the Hawks. According to esteemed colleague and soon-to-be mayor of Smyrna Sekou Smith, Joe Smith hasn't yet. It wouldn't bother me if he doesn't. Because Joe Smith, at this stage of his career, is just another guy named Smith. (Not that guys named Smith can't be big-time players. Josh Smith is. And not that a guy named Smith can't be the best beat writer in the NBA. Sekou is.) But Joe Smith is 34 and has already played for nine different teams. Last season he played for a bad team (Oklahoma City) and averaged 6.6 points and 4.6 rebounds and then went to a good one (Cleveland) and averaged 6.5 and 4.7. And for all of you who are shouting, 'But he's a big man! The Hawks need a big man!' … he's big only in theory. He's a power forward. He shoots little jump shots. He's no taller than Al Horford and considerably skinnier. Not to mention 11 years older."
- Paola Boivin of The Arizona Republic: "There's an interesting back story here, one that explains in part some of the fractured relationships that defined the Suns' struggles last season. Shaquille O'Neal stole Steve Nash's idea. Shortly after O'Neal was traded to the Suns in February 2008, Nash mentioned to his new teammate a reality show he was pursuing. It would feature the Suns point guard taking on professional athletes in their own sport. The topic didn't come up again until early in the 2008-09 season, when O'Neal boarded the Suns bus and told the team he would be starring in a new reality show in which he would be taking on, you got it, professional athletes in their own sport. 'You mean the idea you stole from me?' one Suns representative said he heard Nash say. Nash eventually sought out an entertainment lawyer, according to sources, which is why he now has an executive-producer credit and the compensation that comes with it. When reached Wednesday, Nash would not confirm the story. ... In reality, a source close to Nash said, 'Steve was pissed. He couldn't believe Shaq's lack of integrity.' "
- Marc Berman of the New York Post: "Aaron Goodwin, Nate Robinson's powerful agent, was taken aback by the tone of some stories related to his client's arrest for driving with an invalid license in The Bronx and found it preposterous this could effect the 5-7 ½ guard's Knick future. He's right. Contrary to what another blog wrote, the Knicks CAN NOT pull their $2.9M qualifying offer off the table. That ship sailed after July 23rd. They would now need Robinson's written consent and it's doubtful they'd get it since he doesn't appear to have any other strong long-term offers. I asked Aaron if he was confident Robinson will re-sign with the Knicks. 'It's a negotiation, so you're not confident until it's signed,' Goodwin said. 'But whether he remains a Knick will not be effected by a traffic incident.' Robinson, whose license had been suspended five times in 14 months, acted belligerent with the police officer, according to a Post story. 'In this day and age, reporters rely too much on anonymous sources,' Goodwin said. 'If you have something to say put your name to it, otherwise it's not worthy of a response.' "
- Tania Ganguli of the Orlando Sentinel: "The natural question about any point guard the Magic carry on their roster, given what happened last year with Jameer Nelson injuring his shoulder, is how that player will be able to fill in for Nelson. Rafer Alston was charged with that last year and did a great job for Orlando, starting at point guard all the way to the NBA Finals. I asked Stan Van Gundy if Jason Williams, who the Magic signed, can do that. He thinks so. He also said Williams and Anthony Johnson will battle in camp for the minutes. So don't be so sure Johnson is definitely this team's No. 2. 'I think there's some real similarities between he and Rafer in that I think you have guys that are in their 30s, veteran guys who are a little bit older, but have the type of bodies that are a little bit younger than their age. The thing that Jason's got that we really like he can play big minutes if needed, and that's what ended up happening with Jameer last year when he went down. Jason, as he puts in the work, gets back in shape, has the type of body and the type of energy that will allow him to play big minutes if we need that. We hope we won't.' "
- George Panagakos of the Washington Ex
aminer: "With center/forward Fabricio Oberto inked last week, Washington's '14 strong' might be the final cut this season. Here's a look at the current Wizards roster and the coaching staff that will lead the team in 2009-10. The buzz in Washington this year is the return of Gilbert Arenas. What's the difference? Just ask Wizards personality Dave Johnson. From the return of Arenas, Brendan Haywood, and DeShawn Stevenson, to the introduction of Mike Miller, Randy Foye, and Fabricio Oberto, Washington is treating this year as if they received a six-man addition. And why not? After all, over last year's 82-game regular season Gil missed 80 games, B missed 76, and DeShawn missed 50." - Julian Garcia of the New York Daily News: "Queen Latifah said she's been a Nets fan her whole life, which makes sense because she was born in Newark and grew up nearby. So we asked her what she thought of the possibility of the Nets moving out of her home state. 'I'm not happy about that at all,' she said between takes. 'I've been riding them a little bit about that. I'm like, 'Who's in charge here and how can we change it?' I'm looking forward to what they're going to do but I'm always going to be a Nets fan regardless of where they end up. But I just hope they don't leave New Jersey because they're our team, for God's sake. They're the New Jersey Nets and I want them to stay the New Jersey Nets. But it is business so you've got to do what you've got to do.' Here's an idea: Maybe Queen Latifah can get together with some other rich celebs who hail from the Garden State and buy the team from Bruce Ratner. In fact, I've got another Bruce in mind. That probably won't happen but it would be cool, no? It doesn't seem like Queen Latifah has any intention of doing that, though. 'I'm kind of curious and excited to see what's going to happen over the next two years, where they will wind up,' she said, referring to the possibility that the Nets will move to Brooklyn."
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