ESPN NBA

Posted by Kevin Arnovitz

• An interesting account of what went on in the Pacers' war room the night of the 2001 draft, and how the team landed the then-coveted Jamaal Tinsley. (Hat Tip: Indy Cornrows)
  
• The final post in a series of pieces of how the Grizzlies can get from here to there: "It opened with a blog defining what people should think about in regards to the team's record. Second I discussed Zach Randolph and his role in in making the season a success. Part 3 looked at Rudy Gay and what he needs to accomplish this season. Part 4 dealt with the three headed alien monster known as the Grizzlies Centers."
• Bret LaGree of Hoopinion notes the tonal problems in LeBron James' autobiography: "Now maybe LeBron James has been enrolled in a mediocre Creative Writing program quietly working toward an MFA in the off-season and perhaps I'm making my own assumptions about class and race but these passages (and there are many, many more like them throughout the book) lack verisimilitude. I don't doubt that Akron's decline was visible to a child nor that young LeBron rode his bike a lot nor that Swensons made a tasty burger and kids like drive-ins. None of this, though, is expressed with any sort of immediacy or authenticity."
• The Knicks have kept their powder dry this offseason in anticipation of next summer's free agent bonanza. Howard Beck says that's put a crimp in their prospects for success in 2009-10. 
• Michael Wilbon writes about a former NBA player serving in Iraq: "[Tim James] enlisted in the Army about a year ago at the age of 31, having fulfilled one dream, the one of playing in the NBA, but still looking to fill the second, the dream of serving his country."
• Both Teams Played Hard is up to No. 13 in its logo-ranking project.  
• Off-season optimism followed by disappointment in New Jersey -- a familiar sequence in New Jersey. Nets are Scorching catalogs past seasons when bullish Nets fans were let down mightily.
  
• The 1996-97 Philadelphia 76ers -- what could've been.
• The Nets become the first NBA team to sign a sponsorship deal for their practice jerseys. Brett Yormark, president of Nets Sports & Entertainment, says: "This is an integrated deal but it is not a day-of-game type of deal ... It is an upsell of an existing partner but does not include any arena assets. The branding is not between 7 and 9:30 p.m. at the Izod Center."
• Rip City Project is the first media outlet to report that Jeff Pendergraph will undergo hip surgery. 
• Could this be Geoff Petrie's final season in Sacramento? Tom Ziller asks: "My central questions in this matter: has the game passed Petrie by? Can the Kings do better?"
• Ziller also finds an awesome picture of Fugazi's Guy Picciotto performing a show upside-down through a basketball hoop.