- Jonathan Abrams of The New York Times: "Kevin Durant is one of the N.B.A.'s fastest-rising figures in a league in which a player's star power often develops before his maturity. Yet the 6-foot-9-inch Durant, last season's sixth-leading scorer, hides here in plain sight. Many predict Durant to evolve further this season, and yet he attends movies without being recognized. He parks and enters the team's training center, previously a skating rink, in the front instead of beyond layers of security. A run to the grocery store is usually the same as it is for a soccer mom. In the era of camera phones and athlete and celebrity obsession, the 20-year-old Durant is an anomaly. Some of it is based on where he is. Oklahoma City is the league's smallest market. And although this city may have accepted its professional basketball team -- the Ford Center had 18 sellouts last season, the franchise's first after a move from Seattle -- it is still discovering the players. Most of it, though, is based on who Durant is, a person with a quiet sense of humor and a demeanor so modest that it is as if he is a star who does not quite realize he is one."
- Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post: "The most important fact in the dynamic between Flip Saunders and Gilbert Arenas so far is that Saunders seems less concerned with Arenas's public persona than with his work ethic, which he clearly appreciates. 'I've never seen anyone that has the total 24-7 commitment that Gilbert does,' Saunders said, and this from a man who coached Kevin Garnett, the hardest working and most consummate professional in the league. The Wizards' audience will be relieved to hear that Arenas has been diligently reading through Saunders's sizeable playbook, studying tape and taking notes. 'He'll watch film and come in the next day and have six sheets of paper written up on drills that he's going to work on,' Saunders said. ... The really good coaches in the league can deal with ego, or temperament -- what they can't deal with is laziness. 'That's what I'm saying,' Saunders said. 'When everyone says these things about Gilbert, anybody who loves to play as he does, loves the game, I think that you got to respect him as far as that. We're going to have run-ins. If we don't have run-ins, we've got a problem. I'm not going to agree with everything he does and he's not going to agree with everything I do. At the end we've got to come to an agreement, we've got to agree to disagree, you know? And I think he understands that.' ... The bet here is that if Arenas stays that way, Saunders will find the right way to work with him -- and vice versa. 'I feel pretty confident with where we're at, where we're going," Saunders said. "We're not going to agree on everything. But when I say we're going to do things a certain way, that's the way we're going to play.' "
- Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "Seeking any advantage available, the Rockets looked for the most cutting-edge science out there in regard to athletic performance. They consulted with the best minds, considered the most effective methods, and hired Darryl Eto to implement the techniques he honed over years of working with world-class athletes in a variety of sports. So now, sometime during today's workouts at Toyota Center, Rockets players will play tag. ... There are greater goals in the Rockets' move to functional training than determining who is 'it.' In their tag-like drill, the offensive player can sprint; the opposing player must chase him with defensive slides as he would in a game. Many of the other new training techniques simulate specific basketball plays. Guards drive for layups while being slammed with pads to improve their ability to finish at the rim. Players take off on sprints while being held back by elastic cords to improve first steps on fast breaks or cuts to the basket. Players alternately slide and sprint between carefully placed cones to improve their quickness closing out to shooters and returning to defensive position."
- Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal: "Allen Iverson inked a one-year, $3.09 million deal after it became apparent that he'd run out of NBA options. Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley seemed unfazed by the circumstances and three-month pursuit, and agreed to add $600,000 worth of bonuses -- tied to team wins -- into Iverson's contract. "Allen is going to bring a lot of spirit to Memphis,' Heisley said. 'He's only interested in one thing: winning. We need to make these young guys understand that there is no substitute for winning in the NBA. If it's a good experience for him and for us, it might last more than one year. 'Allen Iverson is a walking Hall of Famer. …He's not going to interfere with our team. He's going to help develop our players and help us win.' Although the Grizzlies' interest in Iverson began with Heisley's strong insistence, Heisley contends he never would have sealed the deal without consent from general manager Chris Wallace and head coach Lionel Hollins."
- Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer: "Here is what we know about the Delonte West situation: The Cavaliers will be without their starting guard for at least a few games this season. West is likely to face a suspension from Commissioner David Stern for being arrested on weapons charges. He was carrying three different guns while riding a motorcycle last week in Maryland. In the recent past, Stern delivered a three-game suspension to Sebastian Telfair after the guard pleaded guilty to 'criminal possession of a weapon.' The commissioner suspended Stephen Jackson for seven games after the forward fired a gun in a parking lot. West may or may not face some jail time, depending upon how the legal system views his case. The Cavaliers will do everything within their power to help West, who has admitted to a history of depression and a bipolar mood disorder. With the blessing of the team, West missed 10 days of training camp last season when he went into a treatment center for his mental illness. The primary concern for Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, General Manager Danny Ferry and coach Mike Brown is to work with West and his doctors, creating the best environment for the 26-year-old guard to handle his emotions. What the Cavs don't know is how many games he can play, given the latest developments. They don't know if he will have another emotional setback, or how he will react to his arrest and legal issues."
- Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: "Training camp is less than a week away for the Milwaukee Bucks, and veteran guard Michael Redd figures it will be a critical time for the team's reshuffled roster. Gone are Richard Jefferson, Charlie Villanueva and Ramon Sessions, all of whom filled starting roles at some point last season. And in Jefferson's case, he started all 82 games at the small forward position. When the Bucks open camp on Tuesday morning at the Cousins Center, they will have seven new players acquired in free agency, via trades or in the draft. 'We just need guys to step u
p and play minutes they normally would not have played,' Redd said. 'We're very young. It will be interesting to see how we turn out.' ... 'I'm anxious to see how we do in pre-season,' Redd said. 'We've got to develop chemistry quick, in training camp and pre-season.' That process has been helped by the early arrivals who have been working out informally at the team training facility for several weeks." - Dave D'Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: "As usual, Lawrence Frank entered the room like he was on a six-latte jag ('I went to Greece and was introduced to Frappe -- it is soooo good') and spoke as if he were vaccinated with a phonograph needle. New year, same coach. In other words, the kids who occupy his roster may not be ready for this, but he's as ready as he'll ever be. Even if -- for the first time since taking over the Nets in January 2004 -- there are more wannabes than stars that will determine his team's success. 'We're getting away from this 'Big Three' bull,' said Frank, whose team opens camp Monday morning. 'Okay? We are going to be about the team. Now, if you're a bona fide Hall of Famer, you can be part of a Big Three. But we have to be about the team.' There are enough players to field one, anyway. And it doesn't bother him that his rotation figures to be just as young as last year's model, and everyone remembers how that turned out. Frank has an All-Star point guard (Devin Harris), a potential monster in the middle (Brook Lopez), an army of athletic and versatile wings (Courtney Lee, Keyon Dooling, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Terrence Williams), and a handful of serviceable veterans. With all that, he must turn the next four weeks into a very comprehensive chemistry lesson."
- Sam Amick of The Sacramento Bee: "Long after the balls stopped bouncing inside the Kings' practice facility Tuesday, the competitive juices were still flowing. They overflowed, in fact, into the digital realm. While Sean May and his veteran-laden team may have lost four out of seven scrimmages to the team's young guns during what could be dubbed pre-training camp, he wasn't about to let second-year player Donté Greene get away with trash talking. Especially since it was on Twitter for all to see. 'Just finish kill'n the vets. Me and (Jason Thompson) and the rooks … ' Greene wrote in his corner of the public forum. Six minutes later, May responded on his page. 'Killin? Really. Y'all won the series … but no killin was going down.' If anything can be determined about this Kings team before training camp begins, it's that it should be spirited."
- Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: "Intrusive media members won't get the unfiltered version of what players think about having replacement referees if the NBA and the referees' union cannot agree on a collective bargaining agreement before the season starts next month. The league is prepared to lock out the referees over what amounts to NBA chump change -- less than $1 million separates the two sides, according to several reports. The referees have accepted that they will have to make give-backs to the league. But they will only go so far. The players, for the most part, will adjust. 'It's going to be a work in progress for everybody if they can't work out the agreement,' Kidd said. 'Some guys will have the opinion that replacement officials are just as good as the old officials. One way to look at it is it'll be a fairer playing field for everybody because nobody will have an advantage. The officials will call what they see. I think veteran clubs will have the advantage just to keep your composure, play the game the right way and if the whistle is blown, it's a foul and you move on.' "
- Howard Beck of The New York Times: "Labor disputes can create strange alliances and even stranger quotations. Fourteen years ago, the N.B.A. locked out its referees, handed their whistles to an army of wide-eyed substitutes and watched the insanity unfold. The games got messy. The players got antsy. They wanted their old referees back - the same ones who, in any other season, would be the targets of their fury. 'They need five of these guys to equal one of the regular refs,' Charles Oakley, the former Knicks bruiser, complained in 1995. He described the replacements in one word: 'Terrible.' On the night the regular referees returned, after a 68-day standoff, some players could hardly contain their joy. 'The real refs are back?' the Washington Bullets' Chris Webber said. 'Hallelujah.' If history is any guide, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard may soon be pleading for the return of their favorite nemeses. The league has again locked out its referees because of a breakdown in contract negotiations and will begin training some 60 replacements this weekend. The preseason begins in eight days."
- Frank Dell'Apa of The Boston Globe: "Rasheed Wallace has been training with the Celtics in Waltham. But on this day, he was going for the full immersion tour of Boston, joining the youngsters on a Duck Boat ride. 'I don't know too much about the city, I don't know the best restaurants and all that stuff yet,' Wallace said. "But I'm pretty sure the guys on the team will tell me about that. I have no complaints. Everyone here has treated me with open arms. It's been a good experience, and as far as the guys in the locker room, we can't wait to get started.' Wallace is eager to plug into the local sports scene. He passed a quick quiz regarding the number of local professional teams. 'Definitely, guys are huge Pats fans, huge Red Sox fans,' Wallace said. 'They support their teams well up here and that's what a city should do. You have a whole lot of professional teams - there's five up here - and they're behind them 100 percent and that's good. That's what a community, a city, needs.' "
- Ross Siler of The Salt Lake Tribune: "As they prepare to open training camp this weekend, the Jazz also could be closing a chapter when it comes to two longtime favorites of coach Jerry Sloan and former teammates of Karl Malone and John Stockton. Veteran center Jarron Collins, one of only 10 players in franchise history to have spent eight or more seasons with the Jazz, said Tuesday that he will go to camp with Portland and attempt to make the Trail Blazers' roster. ... Also Tuesday, all indications were that the Jazz and Matt Harpring have determined that Harpring will not be able to overcome his ankle and knee problems to play this season, though no official announcement has been made. An 11-year veteran, Harpring has spent the past seven seasons with the Jazz but continues to suffer the effects from a devastating infection that followed ankle surgery last summer as well as from the multiple knee surgeries during his career."
- Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: "Suddenly, that Nuggets preseason game against Partizan Belgrade is a little more enticing. The Nuggets have acquired James 'Flight' White, a skywalking, YouTube dunking sensation -- who might have the versatility to make the team's roster. 'Looking at the roster, they have 12 guys now, so I figure that I have a good chance making the team if I go out th
ere and work,' White said by phone. On Tuesday, the Nuggets traded the draft rights of Axel Hervelle (who never played for Denver) to Houston for White, who has played in 10 NBA games. But last season, he averaged 25.9 points for Anaheim in the D-League, tying the league high. 'I'm definitely excited, and excited that the Nuggets were looking at me and inquiring about me,' the 6-foot-7 White said. 'I'm just a guy who likes to make plays on both ends of the court. I like to get out in transition, run the floor, make plays like that. And on the defensive end, get steals and try to defend the best guy that's out there.' " - Ray Ratto of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Based on Larry Riley's world view, Stephen Jackson never made his trade demand. Nothing's happened. Nothing's changed. Camp starts, and Jackson will be right on time, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and happy to be the captain of the Warriors. And why, you ask. Because neither Jackson nor his representative (or representatives) has ever repeated what he told an audience at a New York shoe show back in August while standing next to former Warriors forward Al Harrington, and logically when someone wants to play for another team, he doesn't forget to ask. 'That's what we're presuming,' Riley said from the general manager's office at Warriors Interplanetary Headquarters. 'Nothing has happened since (Aug. 28), and we've talked several times. I've talked to him, and I've talked to Mark Stevens, who is one of his representatives, and they haven't said anything about it since.' That doesn't mean that Jackson has changed his mind, or that the Warriors have changed theirs. It just means that nothing has happened, which you can all agree is a fairly apt metaphor for a lot of Warriors-based things."
Sort comments by: Most Recent | First Posted
Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
TRUEHOOP CONTRIBUTORS
Henry AbbottTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
J.A. AdandeTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Kevin ArnovitzTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Chris BroussardTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Chad FordTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
John HollingerTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Chris SheridanTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
Marc SteinTrueHoop ESPN Archive |
