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• Scott Cacciola of The Commercial-Appeal: "Allen Iverson's abilities are a gift, which even he recognizes. In the same way that musical prodigies can just pick up an instrument and create a song, so too can Iverson grab a basketball -- without hours of practice -- and control a game. He always has been at his best when he improvises. He would clash with his high school football and basketball coaches for missing practices, but they knew he would excel when it mattered. It was impossible to bench him. ... Iverson, no longer a brash rookie, said he has grown to understand the importance of taking care of his body, acknowledging that his long wait for a contract this summer meant sacrificing some of his preparation. Then again, he has coped with injuries before. He missed 34 games during the 2003-04 season because of problems with his right knee -- 'Shaq kneed me in my thigh,' he said -- and his right shoulder. He missed 17 games toward the end of last season with the Detroit Pistons because of a balky back, though he also was upset about his role with the team. He sees his latest challenge as a temporary setback. He is unwilling to concede anything to age. In his mind, it is a fluke."
• Sam Amick of The Sacramento Bee: "Most of this season was taken from Francisco Garcia when the exercise ball on which he lay while lifting two 90-pound dumbbells exploded. The accident, Garcia said, is as surreal now as it was when it happened. 'Just a regular day, lifting weights,' he said. 'I was out there, on the PhysioBall. We've got an understanding that the exercise was good. We'd been doing that, and it exploded on me. ? I didn't have time to react or anything. It's crazy, man. I keep reflecting in my head. It's crazy.' Garcia said he hopes to travel occasionally with the team and maintain a strong connection. 'I want to be here as much as I can, be on the road as much as I can,' he said. 'I just want to be there with them, as a teammate, as a friend, as a leader. I think they really need me out there, even if I'm not playing.' "
• Scott Ostler of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Stephen Jackson renounced his team captaincy Tuesday. Captain Jack is now Captive Jack. Jackson has been stewing for weeks, making it clear and public that he wants the Warriors to trade him. Nice strategy, by the way: Clamor to be traded, thereby drastically decreasing your trade value. He returned to the Warriors on Tuesday after a two-game team suspension, meeting with coach Don Nelson and general manager Larry Riley before practice. When Nelson talked to a large group of media in the early afternoon, he was happy. 'The prodigal son has returned,' said a smiling Nelson. 'It's good to have Jack back.' Nelson also said, 'He's going to be the same guy.' But when it was Jackson's turn with the media, he seemed like a very different guy, not the positive and good-humored captain many of us have grown to know and like. To say Jackson seemed bitter Tuesday is to say that the day seemed a bit moist. I'm checking with sources to see if Jackson and Nelson attended the same meeting."
• Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "From a distance, Murphy comes across as a free-spirited prankster. It turns out that's not the case. 'Murph plays the Jersey goofball a lot, but he certainly knows what's going on, so we give him a hard time,' said Pacers swingman Mike Dunleavy, who has been Murphy's teammate for seven years. 'He knows all the things that are at stake.' Murphy regained his old form last season when he averaged 14.3 points and a career-high 11.8 rebounds. He's the only player in NBA history to finish in the top five in rebounding (second) and 3-point percentage (third) in the same season. He also had 48 double-doubles, a franchise record. Murphy averaged a double-double in three of the first five years of his career. 'He's always been a terrific rebounder,' Dunleavy said. 'He sort of went back to where he was in previous years and just seemed more focused and had it all together, and when he does that he's a pretty good player.' "
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: "Gilbert Arenas came back from the shower, put on his backpack and lowered his head. He was ready for the Q&Arenas. Here is the full transcript. Enjoy. Q: Do you have any comment on the fine you received today? Arenas: 'Nope.' Q: Do you think the game tonight was a sign of progress? Arenas: 'Yeah, both teams played hard.' Q: How are you feeling out there on the court? Arenas: 'I feel fine.' Q: What are your thoughts on Will Bynum? Arenas: 'He's coming along well.' Q: Anything else about tonight's game? Arenas: 'No.' Q: Do you feel good about the way things are going right now, feel good about the way you are playing, feel comfortable about the new coaching staff? Arenas: 'Yep.' Q: What can you say about Flip and how is he different than what you've experienced here before? Arenas: 'He's just bringing something different than the last coach.' Q: What in particular is he bringing that's different? Arenas: (Six second pause) 'What was the question again?' Q: What are your impressions of Flip? What has he brought to this team so far? Arenas: 'It's too early to tell. Maybe next month, I'll have a better answer for you' Q: Do you have anything to say about the fine today? Arenas: 'Nope.' Q: No comment? Arenas: 'Nope' The end."
• Mike Monroe of the San Antonio Express-News: "Kings forward Francisco Garcia suffered an injury when an inflatable exercise ball exploded. Garcia reportedly was lying on his back across a 'physio ball' while lifting dumbbells. When the ball exploded, the player fell backwards, fracturing the radius in his right wrist. He also suffered ligament damage. Garcia is expected to miss four months of play after surgery to repair the injuries. On Monday, the Kings sent a warning to the other 29 NBA teams advising them about the incident. Spurs strength and conditioning coach Mike Brungardt said the team has used exercise balls -- large, inflated balls on which players balance while doing assorted exercises -- for many years. 'We check them several times each season, and we've never had a problem,' Brungardt said. 'We'll continue to use them, but we immediately eliminated their use in some exercises after we got the report from the Kings.' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he could not recall a Spurs player being injured during any sort of off-court workout. 'No,' he said, 'but it made us all think. We all have all these different contraptions we're using. Odd things can happen.' "
• Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: "A significant decision awaits the Milwaukee Bucks by the end of the month, and it's not an easy one. Bucks general manager John Hammond faces an Oct. 31 deadline to decide whether to renew the first option year on forward Joe Alexander's cont
  ract. Alexander would be owed $2.76 million next season if the Bucks pick up the first of two option years on his rookie-scale contract. Complicating the choice is the disappointing performance turned in by Alexander during his rookie year in 2008-'09 and the injuries that plagued him in training camp a year ago and again during the current preseason. Alexander worked hard during the off-season at the Bucks' training facility and performed well in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, but on the first day of training camp, he was standing on the sideline due to a strained right hamstring. The 6-foot-8 Alexander has not been able to practice yet or play in the Bucks' first five exhibition games, a huge setback for a player trying to gain coach Scott Skiles' confidence and battle for time at the small forward position. Hammond declined to comment Tuesday on the Bucks' intentions."
• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune: "Jonny Flynn hasn't played a real NBA game yet, but already Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis knows his rookie point guard can run successfully the two-man pick-and-roll play at the sport's highest level anytime and anywhere he so chooses. That's why he's not letting Flynn do it. At least not yet anyway. Rambis wants Flynn to concentrate on skills he hasn't mastered -- and those his team needs most -- in a preseason that's two games old. 'He's learning the importance of the point guard in this league,' Rambis said. 'I need him to orchestrate the offense and get his teammates involved. They're counting on him.' Oh, is that all? At the age of 20? At a position Rambis calls the most difficult to learn in the NBA?"
• Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Five years into his NBA career, Marvin Williams has more than established himself in the league. The proof can be found in his numbers. For his career Williams has averaged 12.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and started in 209 of the 284 games he's played since being selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2005 draft. For all that, both Williams and Hawks coach Mike Woodson are convinced that there's much more the starting small forward can do. 'Marvin's come in every year since his rookie year in great shape and he's really been consistent,' Woodson said. 'But he's the one guy over the next two years that I think can really make the jump to become more of an elite scorer, mostly because he can put the ball on the floor and draw fouls. He added the 3-point shot to his game last season and I think that pushed his game to another level. Now, he has to take another step.' Does that mean folks can expect to see a more aggressive and determined Williams this season? 'I think so,' Williams said. 'I've never been one to try and do too much. I've always felt like I know my role and I try to play the best I can. At the same time, I think this preseason I've tried to be more aggressive. And it's worked out.' "
• Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News: "As the old saying goes, there is no 'I' in team. But there is a 'me,' and Sixers forward Elton Brand has had to concentrate on the selfish part of the game a little more than usual this preseason. Besides having to absorb the new offensive and defensive schemes that have been brought in by coach Eddie Jordan, Brand has had to make sure his surgically repaired shoulder and Achilles' tendon are ready to endure what he hopes to be an 82-game regular season. He also has had to find out whether he still has what it takes to be the 20-point, 10-rebound-a-night player he has been throughout his career. Sometimes that might take away from what Jordan is trying to accomplish. But for now, the coach is OK with it. 'I like that he's aggressive,' Jordan said of the player the Sixers signed in the summer of 2008 to a 5-year, $80 million contract. 'He's putting the shoulder down, he's really looking to be assertive in the paint area.' Then came the caveat. 'I want him to execute a little better, as far as spacing for his teammates, his cutting for his teammates, not for himself,' Jordan said."
• Frank Dell'Apa of The Boston Globe: "Rasheed Wallace, who had 20 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes, defended his prediction the Celtics are capable of winning 72 games. 'When you play with a high caliber team, whose goals are higher than other teams in the NBA, when you play with teams that want that hardware, then, yes, those records can be broken,' he said. 'But I think we can get that 72. If we overcome injuries, I think we can get it. Just imagine if guys didn't get hurt [last season], they definitely could have gotten it. That's what we're shooting for this year.' "
• Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun: "And now for your actual 2009-2010 Raptors. Halfway through the pre-season, the Raptors are poised for the first time to play a game with all five of their projected starters in the lineup. Hedo Turkoglu joins the recently returned Chris Bosh to the lineup giving coach Jay Triano his first look at a starting five that also includes Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani and, for now, DeMar DeRozan. And it all goes down in Hartford with the Boston Celtics providing the opposition. Triano will waste no time in getting Turkoglu involved. 'Does he deserve to start because of the amount he has practised? No,' said Triano answering his own question. 'But we only have four more pre-season games and I need to put him on the floor with guys he is going to play with for the majority of the time. I'm planning on starting him with Jose, Chris, Andrea and probably DeMar.' "
• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel: "Mario Chalmers' scholarship ended Sunday. Suddenly, for the first time since Chalmers was named last season's Miami Heat opening-night starter, there is legitimate competition at point guard with the signing of free agent Carlos Arroyo. Until the Heat made the move for the eighth-year veteran, Chalmers' competition had been limited over the past year to the likes of Chris Quinn, Marcus Banks, Shaun Livingston, Luther Head and current camp longshot John Lucas III. But now there is a veteran in the mix who has started 113 NBA games, one who has served as an understudy to the likes of John Stockton, Mark Jackson and Chauncey Billups. 'I think he's landslide better than everybody,' Heat forward Michael Beasley said of Chalmers' previous competition. Beasley, in fact, said it is apparent that the signing of Arroyo has motivated Chalmers, who made the surprise jump to starter after being taken in the second round of the 2008 draft. 'I think he's taking this move and really getting competitive with it,' Beasley said of his closest friend on the team. 'Everybody knows Carlos is a great player, a vet, a scorer with court vision. He can do it all. And 'Rio now got somebody not only to go head-to-head with, but somebody to look up to, somebody to learn off of.' "
• Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times: "When so little went right -- as it did for the Clippers and their fans last season -- the temptat
  ion is to go overboard when there are the slightest signs of promise. The incumbent Chris Kaman, veteran of those flickers, urged caution after back-to-back exhibition wins and a fresh air of hope in Clippers' training camp. It took one word to get that thought across: Fresno. 'Don't read into it so much,' Kaman said Tuesday after practice. 'It's basketball. See how it goes. It happened last year. We beat the Lakers in the preseason up in Fresno.' In fact, it was Oct. 9 of last year when the Clippers crushed the Lakers in Fresno, 107-80, in their exhibition opener. And you know the injury-marred rest of the story."
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: "Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown says the NBA game is flawed in ways that transcend whether replacement referees are making the calls. Brown will be relieved when this labor dispute is resolved and the veteran officials return. But he's seen a pattern the past few years -- too many whistles, too many contrived rules -- that rob basketball of its natural flow. 'Until we figure out a way to get more shots and have more of a flow up-and-down the court -- which is the beauty of the game -- it's gonna be tough' to entertain fans, Brown said. So if Brown were basketball czar, what would he do? 1) Standardize rules worldwide for the NBA, college and international games. 2) Move the NBA 3-point line in slightly. 3) Permit teams to play any defense they choose without violating some anti-zone rule. Brown believes those changes would both allow and compel teams to run more and shoot more, and that's what the game needs."
• Steve Politi of The Star-Ledger: "Bruce Ratner may have recruited Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov to bail him out financially, but money is not the only obstacle. You can only wonder how foreign it must seem to Prokhorov, coming from a country where the government gets what it wants, to see how one man can become a thorn to this massive project. The case is a long shot. 'The eminent domain issue is going to be very tough for them to win,' said William Ward, a Florham Park-based attorney who handles cases related to property seizure. 'The problem they have in my perspective is that the politicians are lined up against them.' Ward, who was once the lawyer for the Meadowlands sports complex, sees another legal victory for Ratner. But Goldstein and his allies, the underdogs from the start, still have hope that the Court of Appeals will see this deal for what it is -- the government taking property to line the pockets of a developer. 'The idea that the government would force me to sell to Forest City Ratner because this is some great public benefit offends me,' Goldstein said. 'It is not. If it were a benefit, I would not be doing this. I would have left.' Had he left, the Nets would have left New Jersey already, too. They are still here in part because one man dug in and decided to play some defense. Wednesday, he takes one final shot."

• Bret LaGree of Hoopinion on Larry Brown's ejection via replacement referee: "Larry got his 2nd T from Kevin Scott, who never got within 35 feet of Brown before, during, or after the call. Brown tried to engage any of the refs on the occasion of his ejection but none would speak with or possibly even look at him. Rather than deal with the issue directly, Scott walked to the opposite end of the court and appeared to attempt to enlist a befuddled police officer in asking/making Brown leave the court."
• The Knicks and Nets have both claimed to have the most cap space of any team in 2010. Who's right?
  
• The Bulls like each other.
• Dean Oliver, the Denver Nuggets' statistical consultant, and the case for drafting Ty Lawson. Also, I think Oliver is in a very small club of team stats experts: He gets to inform the front office on personnel decisions, and the coaching staff on game strategy. Also, Lawson was part of a Nugget lineup that played very well in Beijing.
• Hope in Philadelphia, where a 3-0 preseason has people feeling good. Elton Brand tells Philadunkia: "All the major injuries are totally behind me and I feel great. Plus Thaddeus Young and Andre Iguodala have gotten better over the summer as well as I so we're going to have a good formidable team."
• The Blazers -- one of those teams that has had a messed up cable deal that makes it hard for some fans to watch games -- say that by January they hope to have video of every game streaming live on their website, which would be an NBA first.
• Jermaine Taylor and Chase Budinger didn't get a lot of attention on draft day, but they're looking pretty good in preseason.
• Rasual Butler makes the Clippers better.
• Gregg Popovich has inspired winemakers, and now vegetable growers.
• Kevin Durant's one-game plus/minus in last night's OT victory over the Suns: plus-24. That's what I'm talking about!
• An old video clip of Delonte West and Paul Pierce, pre-Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett trades, talking about how good the Celtics are going to be.
• In my review of SonicsGate yesterday, I listed four goals of the movie. Producer Adam Brown adds two more: To preserve the history of the Seattle SuperSonics. Since that history is now officially owned by Clay Bennett, we needed to document some of the good times as well as the team's demise. OKC didn't celebrate in June 1979, and they didn't cry in May 1994. We did, and we deserve this document to remind us of that. Also, to get the issue back in people's mouths here in Washington with the primary goal of getting an NBA team back. Ultimately we have to convince our politicians that a 50% privately funded arena deal will create jobs and boost the economy while allowing us to regain this cultural asset."
• Malcolm Gladwell on the ethics of a gladiator mentality.
  

• A prediction this year's champion will come from the East, where David Berri's numbers say Orlando, Boston and Cleveland are far ahead of the rest of the conference.
• They asked all the Blazers which NBA players they respect the most. Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan tie for first with three votes each. 
  
• Chris Douglas-Roberts has the messiest locker of all Nets, and he doesn't like getting taped up for games, because the tape hurts the skin on the bottom of his feet. Also, word that Douglas-Roberts and Courtney Lee are locked into a "nasty" battle for playing time.
• The Madrid team's whole starting front line is injured for their exhibition against the Jazz this afternoon. Madrid's new coach, Ettore Messina, blogs about the slow work of integrating many new players.  On Sports.ru, he also writes about a player who won't be playing for Madrid: "As we agreed terms with [Pablo] Prigioni, a possibility to talk to Ricky Rubio came up. So, good offers were made both to Joventut Badalona and the player himself. After a week of thinking, Ricky decided that he wanted to spend the following two years (before leaving for the NBA) in Barcelona, close to his family and friends. At that point there was no way persuading him to come to Madrid. Though, obviously, we still wish him good luck." Worth noting that Messina has the impression Rubio will come to the NBA in two years -- even though it would make financial sense to wait for three.
• Antawn Jamison doing yoga.
  
• Sergio Rodriguez, for a moment, forgot which team he was on.
• I have a pet theory that long players who can hit open jumpers, pass and play D all over the court are super valuable to any team. Suns rookie Earl Clark could be one of those guys. 
• Weird thing: Dennis Rodman is one of the best players in NBA history, thanks to the fact that nobody has really ever rebounded like he did. That's what makes him great. Yet it's clearly not what people most loved about him. Here's how I know that: I just spent 20 minutes trying to find a really good highlight reel of his rebounding prowess. I thought it would be something we could all learn from, especially about recognizing and pursuing rebounds out of your area. And there are a zillion highlight reels of the guy. But as far as I can tell just about all of them are mostly dunks, fights, blocks, 3-pointers and clowning. It feels a little like we love those elements of basketball so much that even when we're celebrating a great rebounder, we won't actually do so with, you know, rebounds.
• It's getting to be just about time for Julian Wright to show what he can do. How did the young Hornet fare in a preseason game against the Hawks? Bret LaGree of Hoopinion was there: "Julian Wright has a great (I fear it may be an innate) ability to overcomplicate a situation, to try to squeeze three moves into a play where only one is necessary but that wasn't in evidence tonight. At the start of the game, he and Morris Peterson would spot up outside the arc, leaving the paint (extended) to Paul and West, maybe Sean Marks if he set a ball-screen for Paul. Wright would cut to the basket if his man helped defensively. The three he missed was in rhythm and as good a look from that range as he's likely to have. The 16' jumper he made on the baseline in third quarter looked very instinctual. He was far superior to the Hawks 2nd/3rd string in the fourth quarter."
• The assertion that if roles were reversed -- Will Bynum has been a first-round pick, and Rodney Stuckey had been undrafted -- Bynum would be the Pistons' starter.
• "More Than a Game" -- the LeBron James documentary -- is said to rank up there in the sports documentary world with the Muhammad Ali story "When We Were Kings." High praise, indeed.
• "We Believe" proved to be a bad tagline for the Clippers.
• Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "The officiating by the replacements was so atrocious that fill-in official Robbie Robinson could become the first referee to ever be fired twice by the NBA."
• Clark Matthews, writing for Daily Thunder, on the cheap seats in Oklahoma City: "Do we have to keep calling the third tier 'Loud City?' I know the Hornet marketing team, which did an excellent job selling the sport to this market, came up with the idea, and a lot of people have embraced this, but I've sat up there a lot. It isn't loud and it's not a city."
• Pacer rookie A.J. Price wore the wrong gear to practice and couldn't be in the team photo. Travis Diener, writing on the Indianapolis Star's website: "Those darn rookies. You've got to hold their hands through everything."
  

• Terry Pluto of The Plain Dealer: "It's still hard to believe, Shaquille O'Neal in a Cavaliers uniform. Then there's LeBron James, the league's Most Valuable Player -- and he's yet to celebrate his 25th birthday. And there's Mo Williams, an All-Star guard. Anthony Parker and Anderson Varejao, two respected role players who'd start for most teams. That was Tuesday's starting five: Parker, Williams, O'Neal, Varejao and James. As for Delonte West, he remains a question mark because of his emotional and legal issues. Obviously, with West, the Cavs are a stronger team. But even minus their starting guard, they are still loaded with talent. You could see it Tuesday night in the preseason opener, a 92-87 victory over Charlotte at Quicken Loans Arena."
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: "He sat in his corner locker room stall, headphones blaring the sounds of Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G., as he got himself prepared for his first preseason game in almost two years. As much as Washington Wizards fans have waited for Gilbert Arenas to return to the basketball court, the delay from the game he loves has been much more arduous and painful for Arenas. From a very brief flirtation with retirement this January, to pushing himself in the weight room for countless hours this summer with renowned trainer Tim Grover, Arenas has worked diligently to get back to play again on his surgically repaired left knee. Having already retired his Agent Zero and Hibachi personas last week, the three-time all-star hit the court against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday, simply to resume the career of Gilbert Arenas, the facilitator. Arenas had five points and 10 assists in 24 minutes in the Wizards' 101-92 victory and looked remarkably agile after three surgeries on his left knee limited him to just 15 regular season games the past two seasons."
• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "There were plenty of signs of how the Rockets want to play, starting with those 15 first-quarter fast break points. The point guards and power forwards look like the strength of the team, which is not much of a surprise when there aren't any shooting guards and centers (well, almost) on the team. More than all that, though, Chase Budinger just kept doing what he has been doing, holding his own in the battle of the 'how did he get into the second round' draft picks."
• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: "DeJuan Blair was a smash in his preseason debut, scoring a team-leading 16 points and grabbing 19 rebounds in 22 minutes. 'I did what they asked me to, and that's rebound,' Blair said. 'Everything else came off of that.' Only Gregg Popovich could keep Blair, a second-round pick out Pittsburgh, from becoming the first Spurs player to grab 20 boards in the preseason since Will Perdue in 1996. He sat Blair for most of the fourth quarter, choosing to look at other players. After the game, Popovich pronounced himself pleased with Blair's first-game performance. Before it, the coach had cautioned about expecting too much, too soon from the 6-foot-7 rookie. 'I don't want to denigrate anything he's done in the past, and I don't want to over-emphasize anything he's doing well,' Popovich said. 'I just don't know exactly where to put him yet, as far as what kind of impact he might make.' "
• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune: "David Kahn credits an epiphany for setting his franchise on a determined player-development course that brought former Timberwolves guard Chris Carr to practice Tuesday for an audition. Kahn's revelation last summer was that the Wolves can become league leaders in making their own players better. They already have interviewed several candidates for a sixth assistant coaching position, devoted solely to working with players on their skills. Former Timberwolves players Darrick Martin and Tony Campbell came to town before the team left for training camp in Mankato. Carr arrived Tuesday after a short crosstown trip from Hopkins, where he operates a basketball training academy for schoolchildren of all ages. The hire is another step in Kahn's effort to remake a franchise that hasn't made the playoffs since 2004."
• Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News: "Backing down simply isn't acceptable in the NBA. A young player must establish himself from the start, basically in each and every game. Reptuations are earned quickly, and unflattering ones don't go away easily. Weakness is noticed in this league, maybe more than any other sports league. Weaknesses will be exploited. It's early in the Pistons' season, but it's already apparent that no NBA bully is taking the lunch money of rookies Austin Daye, DaJuan Summers and Jonas Jerebko. Those were the indications from last week's training camp, and fortified Monday in the exhibition opener against the Miami Heat. 'These guys are fearless in the way they play the game,' coach John Kuester said. 'They play the game the right way.' "
• Tom Enlund of the Journal Sentinel: "New coach? New system? That's certainly nothing new for forward Hakim Warrick of the Milwaukee Bucks. After experiencing a revolving door on the coach's office during the first four years of his NBA career in Memphis, Warrick signed with coach Scott Skiles' Bucks as a free agent in July. Warrick is now playing under the fifth coach - or sixth, depending on how you count - since he entered the league in 2005. So it's easy to understand why the 6-foot-9 Warrick is looking for a bit of coaching stability. Warrick, in fact, had to stop and think for a moment when asked how many coaches he had played for in Memphis. 'I started with (Mike) Fratello, then we had (Tony) Barone, and then (Marc) Iavaroni ... and if you wanted (to count him), we had Johnny Davis for a game or two. And Lionel (Hollins). So that would be five in four years.' Hollins started last season as an assistant to Skiles but took the Grizzlies' coaching job in January."
• Dan Tomasino of the New York Post: "Jordan Hill is a quiet guy, but the amount of noise he makes on the court this season is of utmost importance to the Knicks' future. The first-round draft pick must prove he was worthy of such a high selection (No. 8 overall) to keep fans from losing faith in the drafting prowess of team president Donnie Walsh and coach Mike D'Antoni. And he must show he is a building block of a championship-caliber team in order to lure LeBron James to New York. The Knicks gambled on drafting Hill, a 6-foot-10 power forward, despite the presence of David Lee at the position and the team's obvious need for a point guard. In fact, Hill was drafted ahead of talented point guard Brandon Jennings, who greatly impressed scouts and executives with his Summer League performance. The Knicks selected Hill because they believe he has Amare Stoudemire-like ability. That'
  s the kind of player who would be a great complement for James, should the Knicks sign the superstar free-agent-to-be next summer. If Hill fails, The LeBron Plan could fail with him because Lee and Nate Robinson are on one-year contracts and Danilo Gallinari, 2008's lottery pick, so far has been a bust. The Knicks need to show James that they have some pieces in place and they aren't the toxic club they were made out to be when several free agents spurned them this past summer."
• Dave D'Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: "The likely starting backcourt tandem ended Tuesday's practice with only two good ankles between them, and if that wasn't enough to make Lawrence Frank reach for the nitroglycerin tablets, it's only because the Nets don't have another preseason game until Friday. Devin Harris rolled his left ankle and sat out much of the session, and just 10 minutes later, Courtney Lee turned his right ankle and was taken off for X-rays, which revealed a sprain. The unwitting instigator in each case was a guy who could actually benefit from their absences. 'Tazmanian Devil over there kind of knocked out two guys today,' Harris said, referring to rookie Terrence Williams. Harris was injured while he was backpedaling in a defensive transition: Williams stepped on his foot and 'My body went one way and the ankle went another.' Lee, who missed the last four days of work because of a bruised left foot, had the more serious injury. After colliding with Williams in a rebounding drill, he landed badly, his right ankle swelled. Though X-rays were negative, he could miss a few days."
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal: "Mike Miller, traded from Minnesota to Washington during the offseason, has moved around in the NBA more than he thought he would. Miller spent six seasons with the Griz and is now on his fourth team. He acknowledged being a bit surprised to see Iverson land in Memphis. 'Especially a great player like him, to see him move around,' Miller said. 'That puts some comfort in me because I've been moving around a bit. You see stuff like that, but that's the NBA, you find a place and you go out there and play as hard as they can. I know he's going to play hard.' Miller offered this advice to Iverson about the fans in Memphis: 'They love basketball. If they get out there and win some games, they are going to love him.' "
• Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: "With newly acquired Emeka Okafor out for this week's three preseason games, the first tonight in Philips Arena in Atlanta against the Hawks, Hilton Armstrong might have had yet another chance to impress Coach Byron Scott with his ability to play in the post. But a strained left thigh is jeopardizing that possibility, according to Scott, who said Tuesday he might rest Armstrong for the first two games. ... Already this season, pundits are predicting that Armstrong's $2.8 million salary will be the perfect trading-deadline number to erase from New Orleans' payroll to lessen the expected blow of a luxury-tax bill at the end of the season. Yet Armstrong, in his fourth year and the Hornets' first-round draft pick in 2006, has never been far from a positive assessment in the last week and half since the team convened for training camp in Lafayette. Almost every day, when someone asked Scott to evaluate the players in camp, Armstrong's name has been one of the first he has mentioned. Why? 'Two things,' Scott said. 'No. 1, his conditioning is fantastic. No. 2, he's just much more aggressive than he has been in the past. And No. 3 is probably his confidence level. Those three things have been pretty evident when you watch him out here playing.' "
• Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun: "It took the crowd of 7,213 at the John Labatt Centre about five minutes before they started chanting the name of their favourite new player, Reggie Evans. And Evans no doubt will become a fan favourite at the Air Canada Centre too. He brings a style of play -- toughness, rebounding, energy -- which the Raptors have lacked in recent seasons. Last night, in the Raptors' 107-98 loss to the 'host' Philadelphia 76ers, the energetic Evans lived up to his advance billing, firing on all cylinders right from the opening buzzer. In the first quarter, the former Iowa star picked up six points (despite missing a number of layups under the basket), three steals, two offensive rebounds and an assist -- prompting the chant of 'Reggie, Reggie, Reggie'. 'It was a cool,' Evans said of the crowd. 'But at the end of the day, we've got to get the fans a win.' "
• Sam Amick of The Sacramento Bee: "Tyreke Evans received the start from Kings coach Paul Westphal and didn't look likely to give it up anytime soon, finishing with 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting, two assists, five rebounds and just one turnover in 24 minutes. His play continued to be predictable in all the right kinds of ways, with no one mistaking him for a pure point guard but nearly everyone recognizing the sheer impact he can have on a game. 'He looked like a veteran out there,' Kings coach Paul Westphal said of the player taken fourth overall in the June draft out of Memphis. 'He fit right in. For a first game on the road in a place like this against a team like this, there were a lot of good things to take away from it.' "
• Elliott Teaford of the Long Beach Press-Telegram: "Derek Fisher worked out with Peter Park, who has served as the strength and conditioning coach for cyclist Lance Armstrong, during the summer. As a result, Fisher showed up for training camp, older, wiser and just as fit as ever. Maybe fitter. It was a clear signal to all concerned he was back and ready for a run at a second consecutive NBA championship. It also was a sign he wouldn't be content to fade into the background after winning the fourth title of his career. Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown, the heirs apparent, took notice. 'Fisher's been around,' the 22-year-old Farmar said. 'He's won four rings. He still takes care of himself. He still gets the job done, so I've got to continue to keep working and support him in practice. Shannon is going to be there, too. We're all going to keep pushing each other, and that's going to make us better.' Farmar also is in the final season of his contract, so he has a good deal to prove as he hopes to play well enough to secure a big payday next July. Pushing for more playing time, battling Fisher in practice is the only way to get a bigger and better deal."
• Marcus Thompson II of The Oakland Tribune: "The last few years in Warriors world, the atmosphere has been nothing short of volatile. Players often speak of the unpredictability of the Golden State environment. Then there's Andris Biedrins. The 23-year-old center is a picture of consistency for the Warriors, one of the few reliable producers. Perhaps his most important area of consistency is his steady improvement. Biedrins has increased his scoring and rebounding averages in each of his five NBA seasons, and he has expanded his presence in the locker room. Can the Warriors expect more from him? He thinks so. 'I can always get better,' said Biedrins, who at one point last season posted a triple-double in 17 consecutiv
  e games, one off the Warriors' record. 'You want to keep adding stuff to your game.' "
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: "Vince Carter executed the beginning of the pick-and-roll perfectly. Carter drove past the defender who had been guarding him, sped into the lane and threw the basketball to Dwight Howard. Problem was, Howard wasn't expecting the ball. 'Man, I didn't know you were going to pass it,' Howard said. 'I thought you were going to score.' That sequence from a recent practice -- and described to reporters by Carter -- illustrates perhaps the biggest challenge the Orlando Magic face this preseason: The addition of so many new players means the defending Eastern Conference champions must build team chemistry all over again. The chemistry experiment will continue tonight when the Magic play the Miami Heat at Amway Arena. 'I want us to have an understanding season from Day One,' Carter said. 'We're trying to make our way through, instead of just feeling our way.' "
• Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: "While all Green eyes are certain to be on Kevin Garnett tonight when the Celtics take the floor in Hidalgo, Texas, for their preseason opener against the Rockets, Doc Rivers doesn't see this as a grand opening. 'No, it's just another day,' the coach said after yesterday's practice. 'I'm sure it'll be billed as that though. You know, he's back on opening night as far as I'm concerned. Right now he's just going to play basketball.' The Celts will continue to try to manage Garnett through his comeback from right knee surgery, though both the club and player reiterated there is no trouble with the repaired area. But Rivers noted he'll keep KG out if the shin splints and calf problems persist."

• Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle: "Perhaps the setting was fitting, a reminder of how far Tracy McGrady must go. But for the first time since microfracture surgery last spring, McGrady, 30, practiced with the Rockets on Sunday. He went through a few stints of the scrimmage, moving well and without pain in a small, but significant step in his comeback. His first participation in training camp did not alter his schedule. General manager Daryl Morey said it was 'part of the process.' The Rockets expect McGrady to be out at least until an MRI scheduled for Nov. 23. Still, he played and all reports were that he played well. 'He looked good, real good,' forward Trevor Ariza said. 'He was real poised, real confident. He may be a ways away, but I think he looked good.' McGrady was less enthusiastic. He had been going through occasional five-on-five workouts in Chicago, though the Rockets were more encouraged by his energy and intensity Sunday than in those workouts. But McGrady seemed to have the steps to be taken, rather than made, in mind. 'It's another steppingstone toward making progress and trying to get back on the basketball court,' he said. 'I'm feeling pretty good. We just have to take our time on it. We'll see how I feel tomorrow and talk about it with the trainers and see what they want me to do. This is what I expected, to take caution, come out one step at a time and gradually ease my way back in to it. This is the first time I went up and down with the team. I still have a lot of work to do.' "
• Marcus Thompson II of The Oakland Tribune: "The Warriors, I'm told, were really close to officially picking up Brandan Wright's option. They were definitely going to do it, but were waiting as a matter of safe practice. But once he came into camp looking good, it was a no-brainer. Now, not so sure. Of course, this is the very reason they waited, for the just in case, I think. Do you pick up his option? If Wright misses six months, he won't return until March. And even then, he won't be 100 percent. He will certainly be out of shape and rusty. So you can count this season as a wash. Which means, you are going into 2010-11 with the same questions/concerns about Wright that exist this season, and that's assuming that shoulder is ever right again. Do you pick him up for 2010-11 under these circumstances and hope he recovers fully? Or do you cut your losses now and pick up the extra cap space next summer?"
• Drew Sharpe of the Detroit Free Press: "Allen Iverson should shut up and move on with his life. But he just can't. He threw another dagger into Michael Curry's already decomposed coaching carcass, telling ESPN that the former Pistons coach lied to him about never having to come off the bench. Iverson referred to his one year in Detroit as 'the worst year of his life.' Can someone give the poor man a Kleenex? It's nonsense like this that kills the NBA's reputation, furthering the perception that its stars are little more than whiny, self-absorbed millionaires with little regard for the concept of team."
• Dave D'Alessandro of The Star-Ledger: "The pressure he faces is unlike that of the typical NBA player, and for the first time, Yi Jianlian seems ready to acknowledge that. Because you wondered: Does he feel it at all? An inane premise, as it turns out. Anyone whose every move is followed by 1.3 billion countrymen and a few dozen people in New Jersey knows he's under the microscope this season, even if you're the great stoic. So one week into camp, it's time to find out how he is handling the pressure of his job, because that is precisely what everyone in the organization has feared since his disappearing act over the last month last season. 'Try to be different from last year,' the Nets forward said Sunday, when asked what he wants out of his third NBA season. 'Show everybody that I'm better from last season. That I've changed.' Everyone changes, and in his case, it can only be for the better. But sometimes circumstances don't change. He still has a bull's-eye on his back -- a broader one now, since the injured Yao Ming isn't going to get much media attention while he spends the next 12 months in the whirlpool or on the treadmill. 'Probably more focus on me, a lot more this year,' Yi agreed. 'To me, I'm going to try to put myself in the game and control what I can control. It will be there. I know that.' "
• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune: "Jonny Flynn estimates he and Brandon Jennings -- the first ballyhooed prep star to bypass college ball to play in Europe for a year -- participated in 'eight or nine' pre-draft workout together, including one at Target Center that convinced new Wolves boss David Kahn to choose Flynn with the sixth pick. Jennings went to the Bucks at No. 10. 'It seemed like he was everywhere,' Flynn said. 'I couldn't shake him. Everywhere I was at, he was there.' The two began their pro careers Sunday night inside Bresnan Arena, where Flynn started for a Wolves team that built early leads of 10-2 and 14-3 and never trailed on a night when they attempted 56 free throws and made 50. ... 'Overall, I give myself a good grade,' said Flynn, who also had seven assists and three turnovers. 'With Al Jefferson and Kevin Love out there, there's a lot of room for a guy like me to get to the basket.' "
• Joe Freeman of The Oregonian: "Teammates and coaches have praised Andre Miller for his superb passing ability, on-court leadership and veteran savvy. Early indications suggest that he is going to be an asset for this team, if not a force that helps propel the Blazers to a playoff run. But as positive as the on-court reports have been, Miller's off-the-court demeanor has raised an equal number of eyebrows. After a frosty media day introduction, Miller has gone out of his way to make it clear that he is in Portland to work, not to build relationships. 'I come to practice and go home,' Miller said. 'I practice and put in the time, talk to guys during practice and keep going. If it was college, then maybe that would be different. But this is a professional environment … a business. That's just how I get down.' ... An immeasurable part of the Blazers' rebirth the past two seasons has centered on the remarkable chemistry among the players. From group dinners and movie outings on the road to that New Year's Eve celebration on the team plane two seasons ago, the Blazers have thrived, in part, because of their tight bond. In light of that, it seems only fair to wonder what impact Miller's indifference to making friends and building off-court relationships will have on his new organization. 'You have to be you, whatever that is,' McMillan said. 'Be real. And guys will go with that. Andre is going to be real and that's all we can ask. Our chemistry is going to be fine. On the floor he's done what he's needed to do. Off the floor, he's done what he needed to do. You haven't heard of any issues with him. So are you in there hanging out? Do you go to dinne
  r? We don't know. But I think he's going to be fine.' "
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: "Vince Carter has experienced just about everything during his 11 previous NBA seasons, but tonight's exhibition opener against the Dallas Mavericks will provide a career-first: his debut with the Orlando Magic. Carter acknowledged that this preseason will be more important than others because the Magic will try to develop chemistry with a bunch of new players who are expected to play key roles. 'Each game, I think, is important for us and this team,' Carter said. 'Yeah, it's your first game and the excitement's there, but I think for us, it's getting our new team and our guys established and understanding what he [Coach Stan Van Gundy] wants.' Oh, Carter noted there's one other benefit to facing another team. 'I'm tired of Dwight [Howard] elbowing me in the cheek on screens,' Carter said, smiling."
• Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: "Basketball fate has a sense of humor. How else can you figure the Orlando Magic stealing two players from the Mavericks this summer, then getting teed up as the first preseason opponent tonight at American Airlines Center? Actually, 'stealing' is a little strong. But the Magic definitely prevented the Mavericks from getting center Marcin Gortat, a primary free-agent target. And they signed Brandon Bass away from the Mavericks. Tonight, both will be at AAC as members of the Magic. 'Brandon is a good friend, a family friend, but Kris Humphries is definitely filling in thus far,' Jason Terry said. 'And you know what? Brandon owes me some money, and I think he did just get paid, so hopefully I can collect.' Bass indeed parlayed his two seasons in Dallas into a four-year contract with the Magic worth $18 million. He returns tonight with a reasonable shot to start at power forward."
• Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald: "Though Ray Allen may not spend time 'worrying' about his future, he does have a clear goal in mind. He wants to stay a Celtic. He wants to remain a part of the Boston and New England community. 'Definitely that would be the ideal situation for me,' Allen said. 'I know what it's like to live in two other NBA cities (Seattle and Milwaukee). I don't want to know what it's like to live in any more. Obviously it would be my preference to finish my career here as a Celtic. Hopefully we raise one or two more banners in my time. Three, if possible. I would love it. That would be great.' So would be, for Allen, taking up residence with other local icons. 'Boston is a great sports town,' he said. 'It's a town that forever you're imprinted on the lives of the people. To be able to still do things in the community once you've finished playing is great. Tedy Bruschi won't have any problem doing that. I see Cam Neely and I've played golf with him a couple of times. He still has a presence in the Boston area. You know, it's wonderful to be able to raise your kids up in an environment where you still have an impact philanthropically.' "
• Mike Jones of The Washington Times: "Younger players like Andray Blatche and Nick Young, who admittedly are more visual learners and had trouble remembering the plays the last few seasons, have picked up Saunders' system with more ease thanks to the iPod Touch devices featuring Flip Saunders' entire 750-page playbook and video clips of how each play should be run. The Wizards feel more united thanks to the off-court activities, and the unconventional teaching methods have made practices fly by. 'He keeps it fresh, keeps it fun, always has you expecting something different,' Caron Butler said. 'It's the same thing, getting your reps in, but [the methods are] always something different, so it keeps it fun.' Keeping things fresh and unpredictable is exactly what Saunders had in mind, but the unconventional approach is nothing new for him. The tools (like the iPods) may be a pioneering wave of the future. But going back to his days as basketball coach at Minneapolis Junior College at the dawn of his coaching career, Saunders has tried to find unique ways to prepare his players."
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: "Counterintuitive as this sounds, Charlotte Bobcats forward Alexis Ajinca should start worrying when the coach stops yelling at him. That's not much consolation when Larry Brown is on you more than any teammate. Still, the attention Ajinca is getting in this training camp reflects his potential and the minutes available at power forward. He can either embrace that or shrivel under it. 'When coaches don't correct you, then they've probably forgotten about you,' Brown said of all the yelling he's done with Ajinca. 'There's a difference between coaching and criticism,' Brown continued. 'I wouldn't want to play for coaches criticizing all the time. But I also wouldn't want to play for coaches who aren't teaching.' "
• Mary Schmitt Boyer of The Plain Dealer: "Christian Eyenga, who was the Cavs' first-round draft pick last June, made a name for himself in Spain over the weekend. The Congo native won the Spanish (ACB) League dunk contest Saturday night. His signature moment was throwing down a slam while grabbing a small teddy bear off the rim with his mouth. The 6-foot-5 Eyenga signed a three-year contract with DKV Joventut, Ricky Rubio's old team, in July but has an opt-out to come to the Cavs next year."
• Marlon W. Morgan of The Commercial Appeal: "As the Grizzlies head into their ninth season in Memphis, their marketing campaign centers around building unity between the team and community. During the last three seasons, the Grizzlies have been punchlines throughout the NBA while enduring seasons of 24 victories or less. But a youth movement that has seen players like Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol develop, combined with the acquisitions of power forward Zach Randolph and perennial All-Star guard Allen Iverson, has the city abuzz. The team said season ticket renewals are up 15 percent over last year, while new season tickets sales are 150 percent above last season."

Wayne Winston is a professor at Indiana University and for the last nine years he has been Mark Cuban's stat guru for the Dallas Mavericks. Winston's recently published book "Mathletics," explains much of his work -- complete with formulas and spreadsheets. In this installement (see the first, and a follow-up) of a TrueHoop series based on discussions with Winston, he begins by discussing how his metrics treat some of the NBA's elite names.

Tracy McGrady is a player who has never helped his team as much as people thought. Allen Iverson -- for one or two years he was really good.

The best player of the decade, though, I'd say, was Kevin Garnett. We have a rating over the last eight or nine years, and Garnett comes out number one. And I think everybody else [other stat experts] has that too, so that's nice.

Although I don't like Garnett. When I watch on TV, he's turning too edgy. Chippy attitude.

If the Cavaliers had played Joe Smith in place of Ben Wallace, Cleveland would have beaten the Magic and made the Finals, says Winston. "I would not," he says, "have let this happen." (Fernando Medina/NBAE/Getty Images)

Another guy who is totally overrated is Amare Stoudemire. I mean, he's a stat stuffer. Troy Murphy gets great stats, but never does much for the team. (UPDATE: Winston amends this statement: "With Golden State Troy Murphy was a stat stuffer who did little to help the team but with Indiana the last two years he has improved to where he is an above average NBA player.") There's a bunch of guys like that.

Andre Iguodala, though. Whenever he's on the court for Philadelphia, they're great. Whenever he's off, they suck. God knows why he's a good player. I watch him play, and I don't know. (More on Iguodala.)

Jason Kidd is a little like that, but you can see why he makes guys better. But not Iguodala.

Sometimes I feel like I can see Kidd's greatness, but other times, at this stage of his career, I can't. 
Kidd can't guard a fast guard. They go right by him like he's standing still. They always did. Against Chris Paul ... Jason Kidd might as well be standing still on defense.

But the interesting thing: Devin Harris can nail Tony Parker. But Steve Nash can beat Devin Harris. But Parker can beat Nash.

It's not transitive. We can show that. That's really interesting. That shouldn't be. But it is. There are probably a lot of other things like that.

If coaches see other examples of things like that, we can back them up with data. Del Harris really got to like us, I think, because a lot of times our numbers confirmed what he thought. It's hard to argue with the numbers when you've got a full amount of data on it.

Last year [Maverick assistant] Terry Stotts did a really great job asking us questions. Before the Spurs series, they asked us about Antoine Wright.  He's not on the team anymore, thank god. OK, he had a bad rating in our system. But the fascinating thing was, when he played small forward, he was good. When he played shooting guard, he was terrible. So we can break that down. I can find every combination where he was small forward and he was good. Every combination where he was shooting guard he was terrible. 

Against the Spurs, they used him as a small forward and he was great. Every time he played for Howard at small forward, they killed the Spurs.

Things like this ... I needed the coach to ask me the question because I would have never thought of it. You don't just throw the numbers at the coach, because, I mean, 500,000 numbers! But if the coach understands what he's doing, and says "I think Antoine Wright can play small forward can you tell me if that's true?" That's how you use the stuff.

The best player of the decade, according to Winston's adjusted +/- stats. (Brian Babineau/NBAE/Getty Images)

What's the state of data for determining good and bad matchups?
It's hard. Because in the regular season, you don't have enough minutes that those two players have played against each other. In the playoffs, by the third game of the series, you pretty much have a good idea. But in the regular season, until they've played like the fourth game against each other ... then it might be worth something. 

I don't know if last year's data on matchups ... I could use the last five years of the Spurs' data, which wouldn't be that bad. It's Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Tim Duncan. But is Ginobili healed? I don't know. I could tell last year he was never going to get better. 

But during the playoffs, that matchup stuff ... you can say that when Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen are on the court; I can pull up every minute, and I can see what works. You can see, you'd want to do that. If you're going to Game 7, maybe you can find a combination of your players that can handle the killer combination for the Celtics. There's always something.

Against the Nuggets, J.R. Smith and Chris Andersen just really killed the Mavericks [in the 2009 playoffs]. But, see, Dahntay Jones -- the Pacers signed him, but I think he's terrible. Every time he was in with those four good players, he made them bad. I mean, the Pacers thought he was better than Jarrett Jack. I don't get it.

Why did Cleveland lose to Orlando? I did a post on that. Everybody thinks Mike Brown did a bad job coaching, right? OK, when Ben Wallace played, they lost by a point a minute. 

They have a stat guy who does this kind of work.
They used to have Dan Rosenbaum.

They still have Dan Rosenbaum.
Then ask Dan Rosenbaum why he let this happen. I would never let his happen. 

The 57 minutes when Ben Wallace played, and they didn't have Joe Smith in there, they lost by 58 points. 

Wow.
How could they let that happen? Ben Wallace didn't have to play. He totally sucked. The rest of the series, the Cavaliers won by 43 points. 

Didn't you feel like Cleveland sunk into Lake Erie when the Cavaliers lost that series? It didn't have to happen. The 57 minutes they lost by 58 points ... you didn't have to play Ben Wallace. They had Joe Smith. When Joe Smith played instead of Ben Wallace they did OK.

How could they not know that?

Maybe they knew it and the coach didn't listen. I mean, I should be fair here. But I mean, we would have definitely told that to the coach. When I send the analysis to the coaching staff, I'll put little tidbits in like that.

But I'll tell you what, the Cavaliers are going to be good this year, and it's not because of Shaq. It's because of Parker. Anthony Parker is really good. What happens with Delonte West wit
h this thing ... I don't know. 

Do they need Delonte West?
I can tell you that Anthony Parker was really good for Toronto. Not every year is he really good in our system, but he's usually really good.

Delonte West was an average player who plays a lot of minutes. If he can't play, and Anthony Parker plays ... well, they're OK.

Everybody used to think you had to play a five [center], a four [power forward], a three [small forward], a two [shooting guard] and a one [point guard]. But Mike D'Antoni changed all that. He made Boris Diaw play every position. And I think that's ingenious. I mean, people make these stupid molds.

Even the Mavericks, when they play Brandon Bass and Dirk Nowitzki,  I would say "when you play Bass at the five" -- and they would say "no it's Dirk at the five and Bass at the four ..."

Who cares? I mean, the two guys are on the court. I don't care. They don't know they're supposed to be the five or the four. They just know they're supposed to play basketball. But people always think that way, and D'Antoni did a nice job of changing that, I thought.

• You think the Lakers will retire Shaquille O'Neal's jersey? With bridges burned in Orlando and Miami, not much to show for his time in Phoenix, and twilight years in Cleveland ... O'Neal has the chance to become the greatest NBA player ever to not have his jersey retired.
• So, if Gilbert Arenas won't entertain us with off-court wit ... who will?
• The Spurs drafted, in DeJuan Blair, a player who grabbed a greater percentage of offensive rebounds than some teams. Blair, by himself, was a better offensive rebounder than Colorado was all together. The thing is, the Spurs are the worst offensive rebounding team in large part because they don't stick around to grab them, preferring instead to get back on defense. So ... how will Popovich play Blair? Something to watch.
• Little Amare Stoudemire.
• NCAA, if you're looking for an example of somebody who came to college for the basketball, but stayed for the academics ... here's your guy.
• Portland owner Paul Allen -- who knew? -- has just survived a profound health scare.
• Mike Dunleavy says he homebrewed what we now call effective field goal percentage in contract negotiations during his playing days.
• Video of Hakeem Olajuwon working out with Hasheem Thabeet and just a little time with Kobe Bryant. What a contrast in students for Olajuwon, huh? Maybe the most gifted and fluid offensive wing force in the modern NBA, compared to a big man whose offense, some scouts say, doesn't even belong in the NBA.
• The NBA offered some referees $575,000 to retire.
• First significant injury of the season: Bull Aaron Gray. Tyreke Evans has been sitting, too, although no word that it's serious.
  
• Shooting 3s from the corner: A good idea.
  
• NBA TV's Real Training Camp focused on the Denver Nuggets, and Roundball Mining Company's Jeremy has insight: "J.R. Smith is traditionally a slow starter, and in past Real Training Camps he has not had good shooting performances. Today he was on fire. In fact, I do not remember seeing him miss a shot. J.R. will be out the first seven games of the season, but hopefully when he comes back for game eight he will be shooting like he did today."
• Assessing the Thunder's depth chart, which is confusing thanks to multiple players who play multiple positions.
• The Bucks had a crisis last season: No one could hit a 3. Jeremy of Bucksketball: "But the Bucks have taken steps to rectify the situation, right? Supposedly. Don't get me wrong, the Bucks have done a thing or two this off season designed to rectify the three point shooting problem, I'm just not certain I'm buying all the moves. They've brought on Carlos Delfino, an alleged shooter; Ersan Ilyasova, a possible shooter; and will be bringing back a healthy Michael Redd, a slightly overrated shooter. In the process of adding (and re-adding in Redd's case) these three the Bucks managed to lose one of their best shooters from last year in Charlie Villanueva ..."
  
• RapsFan of RaptorsRepublic on Bryan Colangelo: "We all read between the lines, that BC swung for the fences this summer and put together what he thought was a solid team that improved over last season (and to a degree I do share this sentiment), but when he actually came out said the goal is 50 wins, wow. You would have hoped he learned his lesson from last season's claim that this was the most talented team he has assembled in Toronto, and managed expectations. He went the other direction, and what that has done is fuse most fans, and the media to a degree, with a new sense of optimism."
• Brandon Roy tells Benjamin Golliver of BlazersEdge about the sneaky defense the Blazers are working on: "It's a man defense but it's that we're so tight and we're helping so much it appears that it's a zone just to throw the opponent off."
• Charles Barkley says Twitter is for losers.
• Ron Artest, comic book character.

• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: "After missing 43 games last season -- including all of the playoffs -- with various ankle ailments, the prescription for Manu Ginobili's offseason included rest, rest and more rest. The one non-negotiable rule: No picking up a basketball. 'I guess they didn't trust my judgment,' Ginobili said. Ginobili arrived at training camp completely healed of the stress fracture in his right distal fibula that ended his season on April 5, and had transformed one of the league's most feared postseason performers into a helpless spectator for the Spurs' first-round playoff ouster against Dallas. Of all the additions the team made during the offseason, and there were many, the one they might be most excited about is a healthy Manu Ginobili. The Spurs were 36-12 with him in the lineup last season. They were 23-20 without him, including five playoff games. 'Hopefully, Manu will just be Manu,' Tony Parker said. The last time Ginobili took an entire Argentine winter off -- in 2007 -- he responded with the best season of his NBA career."
• Ramona Shelburne of the Los Angeles Daily News: "One thing about Tuesday's annual Lakers media day was downright shocking. As reporters, camera crews, radio producers and assorted other random people with handheld cameras positioned themselves to speak with the newest Laker -- Ron Artest -- and the newest Kardashian -- Lamar Odom -- the reigning Finals MVP walked onto the court with hardly anybody noticing. That would be Kobe Bryant, in case you've been too distracted watching the live feed of Odom's Sunday nuptials on TMZ's Web site. Two years ago, his entrance to the Lakers' practice facility meant the End of Days had been averted, with reporters stationed in the parking lot jotting down his exact arrival time after he spent the summer asking to play on Pluto. Last season, his was the only voice that carried much weight after the franchise recovered from a humiliating loss to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. But this time around, Bryant looked like an extra on the set just trying to earn his SAG card. 'I love it,' he joked. 'It's cool and smooth.' Bryant, asked if he was grateful to Odom and Artest for taking the spotlight off of him, smiled and said, "I'll be thanking them all season long." He meant it as a joke, but no one will be laughing if any of the new, let's call it 'exposure,' becomes a distraction for the Lakers on the court."
• Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "So much for taking it easy on his stitched-up fingers. Hawks forward Josh Smith was on the floor for all but the scrimmage portion of Tuesday's first training-camp practice. He did this after saying Monday that he would 'probably stay out of the mix' to keep the stitches between the index and middle fingers on his left hand out of harm's way. 'I've got a pad on there, and my fingers are separated with tape to keep it all safe and secure,' Smith said. 'I did some conditioning on the treadmill while they did the five-minute [scrimmage] drill, but other than that, I feel great. My body is in great shape, and nobody needs to be worried about anything. This was just a minor setback.' Smith gashed his hand two weeks ago during a pickup game at the Hawks' practice facility and needed seven stitches to close the cut."
• Mike Jones of The Washington Times: "The day before the Washington Wizards began their first training camp under Flip Saunders, Caron Butler said he was anxious to see how things would unfold. He never expected what awaited the Wizards at their team dinner Monday night. Saunders, a part-time magician, brought in John-Ivan Palmer, who calls himself 'The Fastest and Funniest Hypnotist,' to provide entertainment and a little team building. Palmer, upon whom Saunders called a few times during his days with the Minnesota Timberwolves, had several players join him on stage. He successfully hypnotized Nick Young, Mike James and Gilbert Arenas but couldn't quite get DeShawn Stevenson or Butler to fall under his spell. At one point, whenever the lights went off, Young galloped around the room on a balloon as if it were a horse. James couldn't remember his last name and barked like a dog every time he heard the word 'defeat.' Arenas couldn't open his hand and moved like he was using a hula hoop."
• Kate Fagan of The Philadelphia Inquirer: "When last season ended for the 76ers, it did so with inner turmoil that included players' claims of mismanagement. A month later, the team had a new head coach: Eddie Jordan. Yesterday at St. Joseph's University -- home of the Sixers' training camp -- Jordan began installing his standards for discipline, efficiency, and execution. 'He's very strict on things,' guard Lou Williams said. 'One of the main things, he stopped the drill and we had to tuck our shirts in, and I think that's the first time we've had a coach that's been so set in his ways. And I think the type of team that we are, we're going to need that. We're going to need our coach to be our leader, and it's going to have to transfer to the guys on the court.' The Sixers practiced twice yesterday. The morning session went three hours, and Jordan focused on defense. The night practice was dedicated to the Princeton offense, Jordan's pass-and-cut system."
• John Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times: "Despite having offers elsewhere for more money and years, Jannero Pargo didn't hesitate to accept when the Bulls called over the summer and offered a one-year, $2 million deal. 'It's my city. I'm from here and I'm familiar with the organization,' he said. 'But most of all, I thought it was an opportunity for me to come in and help a team be a little more successful than it was last year. Things are moving in the right direction and I want to be a part of it.' Pargo, who played at Robeson, spent two-plus seasons with the Bulls from 2004 to 2006. Although he was always caught in a numbers game in a crowded backcourt then, Pargo was a valuable backup because he had the ability to come in and provide consistent scoring without consistent playing time. 'That's one of the pluses I bring to a team, just being ready at all times; not playing a game or two and being ready that third game when called upon,' he said."
• Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal: "Veteran guard Allen Iverson appeared to enjoy his new surroundings. The 34-year-old in his 14th season sang whenever there were stops in the action, yet went through every drill with high energy or in game mode. 'I still hate (training camp),' Iverson said, laughing. 'But if you can get through training camp, it makes it easier to get through the season. ... It's different because I'm the oldest one in here. I feel like one of the coaches.' The Grizzlies' first scrimmage during the morning session had Ive
  rson working with the second unit. Gay, Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol made up the first team. Hollins cautioned not to read too much into early lineup combinations. He told the team that the players who started last season begin camp in starting roles."
• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune: "When asked if Kevin McHale's approach with him in particular benefitted him last season or if it was too conservative, Kevin Love answered simply, 'Too conservative.' He also admitted he reported to his first training camp a year ago this week in no shape for such a long professional season. 'Absolutely not,' Love said. 'I'm 20 pounds less coming into camp than I was last year. It took me a month and a half, two months to get into shape last season. Coming into training camp in shape this year really is going to help me in the long run.' Wolves new basketball boss David Kahn calls Love 'remarkably sleeker.' New coach Kurt Rambis terms Love's physical condition 'OK' and 'good enough' for what Rambis will expect from him on a team instructed to run, run, run this season."
• Howard Beck of The New York Times: "Danilo Gallinari's scouting report came to life Tuesday night, with dunks, deft passes and fluid moves. From the sideline, Mike D'Antoni could only smile and try not to get carried away. It was just one training-camp scrimmage, the Knicks' first of 2009. But watching a healthy, energetic Gallinari run the floor and make plays underlined what D'Antoni, the Knicks' coach, has been saying all along: the kid can play. 'I'm excited,' D'Antoni said. 'I'll try to tone it down. But you see that he knows how to play.' The superlatives and expectations keep growing for Gallinari, the sixth overall pick in the 2008 draft. He showed no signs of discomfort in Tuesday's two practices, or any indication that he had undergone minor back surgery five months ago. He did, however, show off his full range of skills while playing with the first unit in the evening scrimmage."
• Al Iannazzone of The Record: "The Nets opened training camp Tuesday not worried about who they lost or who might be coming next season but how they can make something of the 2009-10 campaign. To a man, the Nets talked about proving wrong the critics who picked them to be awful, and doing it with defense. It was so stressed that when coach Lawrence Frank was asked when he would put some new offensive plays in he replied, 'We're not doing offense.' So many things have to go right for the Nets to have an unexpectedly successful season, and everything starts with point guard Devin Harris. Vince Carter's trade to Orlando in June means the Nets are Harris' team. 'I like the sound of it,' Harris said after the first practice. 'You put your mark on it, your personality on it. It's not so much talking about it or voicing it but leading by example.' Who would fill the leadership void was of major concern but Harris, 26, seems ready to take the next step in his NBA development."
• Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: "Raja Bell said the core group all being together this preseason should instill some continuity the team lacked. Bell agrees with Mohammed that there's enough talent to reach the playoffs. But he acknowledges the margin for error is small because of the absence of a superstar. 'If you have a Kobe Bryant or a LeBron James, you can get away with a little less continuity,' Bell said. 'When you have a team of guys who are all good players, but no guy who is going to the free-throw line 27 times a night, you have to play together. That's going to be the beauty of us all being in the same training camp (following a season of roster churn). And Larry Brown is the perfect guy to navigate us through those waters early.' "
• Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune: "The ice man cometh to Cajun country. And it was a good thing. After a first-day workout that lasted a little more than 3 1/2 hours, the Hornets' training and equipment staff was busy distributing more than 40 ice bags to the 17 players in training camp. 'More than a normal day,' equipment manager David Jovanovic said of the total number of swelling-reducing packs used Tuesday. All-Star forward David West sat on the sideline of Louisiana-Lafayette's Moncla Indoor Practice Facility with a bag on his back, one on each knee, and one on his left hamstring. All-Star guard Chris Paul had both knees iced. Rookie No. 1 draft pick Darren Collison walked around with ice attached to the back of each calf. Forward Julian Wright had his knees and calves iced down. 'As advertised,' Collison said of his first day in an NBA camp. 'We were cramping a little bit, but it's something you just have to push through.' "
• Michael Grange of the Globe and Mail: "Jay Triano has instituted a policy of no phones or computers for those watching practice, a ban that extends to team president Bryan Colangelo, who admitted that he was going through withdrawal after going nearly two hours without using his Blackberry. Colangelo said he's allowed to check his messages, but if he needs to respond to one, he has to leave the gym. The idea is that time in the gym should be spent on basketball; if other business needs to be done, it's less distracting if it's taken care of elsewhere, Colangelo said."
• Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: "In the backdrop of the possibility of George Karl getting a contract extension with the Denver Nuggets this season is a milestone that would make it all worth the hassle. 1,000 wins. Friends and family have already broached the subject of Karl staying in the NBA at least until the mark is reached. 'There's some summer talk every once in a while about winning 1,000 that my kids have kind of joked with and some of my friends feel it would be a great mark,' Karl said. 'It means I'm an old (guy) that's coached a lot of games and have had some good teams.' "
• Ross Siler of The Salt Lake Tribune: "If he is at all concerned about the reception that awaits him at EnergySolutions Arena, Carlos Boozer wasn't letting on Tuesday, just two days before the Jazz will host Denver in their preseason opener. 'I haven't thought about it at all, to be honest,' Boozer said. 'I'm looking forward to playing, looking forward to proving a lot to everybody, to myself, and getting back to being an All-Star player.' Back for a sixth season in Utah, Boozer will be making his first appearance Thursday before Jazz fans since conducting a series of offseason interviews in which he pushed for a trade, even naming Chicago and Miami as preferred destinations. With the Jazz having opted to bring him back, Boozer was asked if he thought fans eventually would be supportive. 'Honestly, I don't know,' he said. 'I hope they support me. I hope the fans support me. I love our fans. I hope they know that I'm happy to be here, love being here. I'm going to bust my tail for them and give them everything I've got and prove everything on the court.' "
• Israel Gutierrez of The Miami Herald: "For those who thought the Dwyane Wade Show reached its climax last season, it's safe to say they will be pleasantly surprised. It hardly is a stretch to consider that Wade will be better than last year. In his seventh year, Bryant's scoring average jumped almost five points to 30 a game. Wade is entering his seventh season. Want to compare ages instead of experience? Fine. When Bryant was 27, he had his best statistical season, averaging a ridiculous 35.4 points. Wade begins this season at age 27. 'This is the prime of his career,' Spoelstra said. 'He's [27] years old and he'll never have times like this again when he gets older. This is what players want to play at, when they have the experience but also the athleticism and quickness. I think he can play at this level for another four, five, six years.' Now that makes sense."

Frank Isola writes on the New York Daily News' Knicks Knation:

The three most important faces inside the gym at Skidmore College today were -- in order of importance -- William Wesley, Danilo Gallinari and Eddy Curry.

The Knicks need all three if Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni hope to crack the 41-win barrier sometime before 2020.

Wesley, know as "World Wide Wes" is one of the movers and shakers in NBA circles. He has a close relationship with Donnie Walsh, who asked Wesley to oversee Curry's off-season workout program. More importantly, Wesley is also an advisor/confidant/friend of LeBron James.

It's an interesting little opera that will play out.

Of course Wesley -- as that rarest of assets, someone who is in LeBron James' ear -- will be the man of the hour all season.

Wesley's very close to Eddy Curry, and you'd have to think that any team hoping to land James would be wise to treat Curry with respect.

But does that mean Wesley would steer James to the Knicks?

Wesley is close to so many people in the NBA ... it's hard to know what his involvement with Curry means about James' future. For example: Wesley is also close to Jay-Z who is a part-owner in the Nets. And I have even heard that he's close to Dan Gilbert, who owns the Cavaliers -- after all, they're both in the mortgage business.

• Marcus Thompson II of The Oakland Tribune: "Any hopes the Warriors might have had for a drama-free start to the season were put to rest at Monday's media day. Stephen Jackson stuck by his comments about no longer wanting to play for the Warriors, a statement he first made this summer at a block party in New York. Minutes later, Monta Ellis said he doesn't think he and rookie point guard Stephen Curry can play together in the backcourt, despite coach Don Nelson saying he would give that combination a long, hard look. So much for peace and harmony. ... Monday's events have created a buzz heading into training camp, which begins today. What happens when Nelson pairs Curry and Ellis in the backcourt? Will the Warriors appease Jackson and ship him? Perhaps more important, what happens if they don't. Andris Biedrins can't remember the last time all was right in the Warriors world. 'I don't know. That's a good question. I have to think about it,' Biedrins said. 'It is like it is. We just have to concentrate on playing basketball.' "
• Cam Inman of The Oakland Tribune: "Monta and Stephen Jackson spoke Monday like two spoiled brats trying to run the Warriors franchise. Or trying to run away from it. Ellis brazenly said he can't coexist in the same backcourt with newly drafted point guard Stephen Curry. Minutes earlier, Jackson didn't back down from a recent trade request and proceeded to rip the franchise's direction. His ego also ran the fast break: 'I'm made for the playoffs and championships. That's what I play for. I'm Big Shot Jack.' Both players are out of line. They may be speaking the truth, but these so-called 'big shots' came off so selfish that it paints another dark cloud over a futile franchise. Welcome to the Warriors, Stephen Curry. Attending the Raiders' disastrous loss Sunday was Curry's perfect warm-up for the tangled web awaiting him with the Warriors."
• Sekou Smith The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "While realistic external expectations for the Hawks this season fall something short of a championship -- the defending champion Lakers retain that distinction with training camps kicking off around the league Tuesday -- they are higher than they've been in years. After years as a NBA afterthought, the Hawks are firmly entrenched as a playoff contender. All five starters and eight of the top nine players return from last season's Eastern Conference semifinals team, a group that piled up 47 wins en route to the franchise's best regular and postseason in over a decade."
• Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post: "The Nuggets will be without one of their best players, J.R. Smith, for their first seven games. But the more they see of Arron Afflalo, the better they feel about making it through the opening stretch without Smith. Afflalo was one of the team's brightest stars in September workouts and has kept the momentum going through the first three days of training camp. The Nuggets traded with the Detroit Pistons to acquire the 6-foot-5, 215-pound swingman in July. 'He's been tremendous,' Nuggets coach George Karl said. 'As soon as summer league was over, he was maybe the first guy back in town. He's been in the gym many, many hours already. The coaching staff loves him. Hopefully, the fans will love him too.' The Nuggets went after Afflalo after last year's starting shooting guard, Dahntay Jones, signed with the Indiana Pacers. Afflalo is likely to take over the same starting role Jones had, at least until Smith returns."
• Scott Cacciola of The Commercial Appeal: "Allen Iverson showed up 20 minutes early for Grizzlies Media Day and strolled through the grand lobby at FedExForum with his business manager and right-hand man, Gary Moore. The place was empty, but the hallways that led to the court were blocked by locked gates. Moore got on his cell phone. 'Where are we supposed to go?' he asked. 'Is there an elevator?' And so the learning process begins for the new-look Grizzlies, who got poked and prodded by reporters and photographers before boarding a bus bound for Birmingham on Monday afternoon. Training camp starts today, which Iverson and his teammates expect to be all about business under coach Lionel Hollins. But there also seems to be some playfulness at work with this team, which hopes to find the right chemistry over the next few weeks."
• Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune: "Timberwolves rookie point guard Jonny Flynn hasn't played a preseason game yet, let alone a regular season game. But already teammate Al Jefferson is smitten. 'Oh, man, I'm just going to say that kid's special,' Jefferson said when asked about Flynn at the team's traditional media day Monday. 'I don't want to hype him up right now, but I'm so happy that I got a chance to play with him. Just playing 5-on-5 with him these past two weeks, that kid's special. The way he sees the floor. I think he's got a chance to be just as good as Chris Paul. That's just my opinion. I know that's saying a lot. But I really believe that.' Chris Paul? The Hornets guard who was the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 2006 and the MVP runner-up to Kobe Bryant in 2008? Oh, is that all? 'That means a lot coming from a guy like that,' Flynn said when told about Jefferson's comments."
• Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News: "People might think the Pistons are rebuilding but don't tell that to Richard Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince. The two veterans are direct links to the Pistons' six consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference finals (and one NBA title) this decade. ... 'I don't look at it as rebuilding,' Hamilton said. 'We want to win and we want to win now. I don't think Ben (Wallace) came back here for a rebuilding time. He feels we have an opportunity to do something special. We have a great group of guys but we have to learn.' Said Prince: 'People think it is a rebuilding year, but this is an opportunity to show last year wasn't the real Detroit Pistons. It's been a great organization since I've been here and what you saw last year was unacceptable from all aspects.' "
• A. Sherrod Blakely of Booth Newspapers: "Charlie Villanueva was a top-10 pick coming out of the University of Connecticut in 2005, and has averaged double figures scoring every season with limited playing time. Despite those lofty on-the-court accomplishments, it's Villanueva's postings on social networking site Twitter thhat have made him one of the league's more popular players. 'Twitter is all fun and games,' said Villanueva, who as of Monday evening had more than 59,000 people following him on twitter.com. 'It's a way to stay connected with the fans. The fans deserve that, and I have a good time doing it.' However, professional leagues have been cracking down of late on exactly when players can use social networking sites such
  as twitter.com. The NFL has established rules for use of the social networking site, and the NBA is reportedly set to announce its own rules on social networking sites this week. 'That's the Villanueva rule,' quipped Villanueva, who garnered national attention last season in Milwaukee when he used the social networking site during halftime of a game."
• Tom Enlund of the Journal Sentinel: "Ever wonder what it's like to be the starting point guard on a National Basketball Association team only to have your team draft another point guard in the first round of the college draft? Just ask veteran Luke Ridnour of the Milwaukee Bucks. Ridnour started in 50 of the 72 games in which he played for the Bucks last season but he was hampered by injuries and the Bucks decided to bolster the point guard spot by taking Brandon Jennings with the 10th pick of last June's draft. Such is life in the NBA said Ridnour who is entering his seventh season in the league. 'That's just the NBA,' said Ridnour at the team's media day on Monday. 'That's what happens. I'm excited to be able to help him get better in any way I can and push him. The biggest thing for all of us is to make the team better. That's what we have to focus on instead of individually. We all have to play individually but it's about the team. It's something that you just look at as something to make our team better and whatever you can do, you do.' "
• Mike Jones of The Washington Times: "DeShawn Stevenson is again sporting his beard, but vows to 'keep it clean for the Wizards.' He had a close cut, but had a rat-tail. He also is sporting new ink. On his right temple, along his hairline is etched LONDYN, his 1-year-old son's name. On his left cheek bone is inked the Pitsburgh Pirate's 'P', 'for the Pittsburgh, that's my favorite team. Barry Bonds, when he first started.' The thing about the P is, however, that it's backwards and looks more like a 9. DeShawn tried to explain, 'No, if you're standing where Dom's standing and looking at me, it looks like a P.' Dominic McGuire was standing directly in front of him about 10 yards away, but it still looked like a 9. I think DeShawn meant to say, 'when I look in the mirror it looks like a P.' The final new tat is a crack on the left side of Stevenson's forehead. He said it's because 'I don't crack. I feel like people always try to break me, but I don't crack. So, I put that there.' "
• Howard Beck of The New York Times: "Eddy Curry's torso is tapered, but his broad shoulders still bulge and twitch with the muscle memory of old burdens. He has spent months shedding pounds and sorrow, but that is only a modest beginning. Curry arrived four years ago as the Knicks' greatest hope, a powerful, agile young center with vast potential. He begins training camp Tuesday as a reclamation project, attempting to restart a career derailed by injuries, ambivalence and personal heartbreak. 'My life is still a work in progress,' Curry said Monday when the Knicks gathered for their annual media day. 'But it's nothing like it was. I'm happy right now.' For the first time in years, Curry will take the basketball court with a healthy, well-conditioned body and a relatively clear psyche."
• Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel: "A club that will resemble a traveling all-star show now with Vince Carter on board already has heard the team slogan for this season -- and it embraces no egos: Grab A Handle. That's Orlando Magic General Manager Otis Smith's catch-phrase. And it's no coincidence the slogan came about with the arrival of Carter, who has more all-star nominations (eight) than Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson combined. 'We're not asking any one guy to carry any part of the whole load. We're asking everybody to grab a handle,' Smith said. 'Just grab a handle. Because trying to win a title is a grind.' The Magic, who open training camp today at RDV Sportsplex, had their surprising title-run stopped in the Finals in June by the Los Angeles Lakers. Orlando replaced fan favorite Hedo Turkoglu with Carter in hopes he can return to his adoptive hometown -- he grew up in Daytona Beach -- and lead a championship parade down Orange Avenue."
• Chris Perkins of the South Florida Sun Sentinel: "Heat center Jermaine O'Neal won't be accompanied by his 'best friend' when the team opens training camp Tuesday at AmericanAirlines Arena. Consider that a good thing. It turns out O'Neal's 'best friend' is a portable ice machine. It was his constant companion for three years because O'Neal's injured left knee would swell so much and so often he needed a constant source of ice to treat the ailment. That shouldn't be the case this season, his 14th in the NBA. 'I'm 100 percent (healthy),' O'Neal said at Monday's Media Day. 'The knee isn't giving me any problems.' If that's true it could be a comeback season for O'Neal, who will earn $23 million this year, the final year of his contract. And if O'Neal has a comeback season there's a good chance the Heat equals or improves last year's 43-39 record and first-round playoff appearance. 'If I had any summer to get back,' O'Neal said, 'this was my summer.' "
• Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald: "Rasheed Wallace, among other things, annually leads the NBA in terms of interactions with referees. He won't exactly miss them when replacement referees start calling games during the preseason -- at least not yet. 'Of course, I know that they're going to come in all happy-go-lucky - oh, I gave Rasheed Wallace a tech tonight, ha, ha, ha, ha. I could care less about that,' he said. 'I know there's going to be a lot of stupid star calls like there was with the old refs. I don't think there's going to be too much change.' "
• Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee: "One day before the start of training camp, Kevin Martin remained consistent. He won't call the Kings 'his' team, even if his big contract and status as leading scorer would indicate otherwise. And even if you think he'd feel threatened, Martin is still giddy about playing with rookie Tyreke Evans, the fourth overall pick in the June draft. Martin texted the Kings' decision makers the morning of the draft to let them know he wanted Evans, even if some think the former Memphis star is better suited to play Martin's spot at shooting guard. 'A lot of people say he's not a true point, but that doesn't matter,' Martin said at Kings media day Monday. 'The last five years I've been playing with guys who were actually point guards who think they're '2' guards.' Martin scrimmaged twice with Evans during voluntary workouts. He sees value in Evans' talents on both ends of the floor."
• Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times: "Chris Kaman was musing about how odd it was that Clippers rookie Blake Griffin doesn't necessaril
  y have to be The Man. At least not immediately. 'It's crazy you say that, right? But we won 19 games [last season] and you would think he'd have to come here and have to be 'The Man,' ' Kaman said Monday. 'And he doesn't. That sounds crazy to me. How can we have the struggle we had last year and have someone come in who is the first pick, and is who he is and not have to be The Man? 'It's almost disgusting to think about.' Griffin, the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft in June and the new face of the Clippers' franchise, will have no shortage of willing mentors this season, including the longest-tenured Clipper, Kaman, the ageless Marcus Camby and others. At least at first, Griffin will be coming off the bench, said Clippers General Manager and Coach Mike Dunleavy. Of course, that could change within days."
• Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic: "Some Suns found Terry Porter hard to follow as their coach and Shaquille O'Neal difficult to have around as a teammate last season. Both are gone, moved out by the Suns' volition. Happiness moved into the vacancy. Removed from the dread of being labeled underachievers and playing an unfamiliar style, the Suns' spirits took off Monday with their charter flight to San Diego for the start of a six-day training camp Tuesday. ... 'Joyous,' Suns guard Steve Nash said to a question about how he felt. The inquiry was meant to probe his health but his emotional response is indicative of the team's lighter air. 'It's got to be better,' Nash said of the atmosphere after a season of unrest, meetings, self-pity and disappointment. 'We have to have a better vision from the outset. When you're not clear on who you are, it's hard to have a great chemistry. Last year, we had a lot of uncertainty. This year, we're going to be much clearer on who we are and how we have to play and that's going to allow us to build a chemistry and belief in one another. When guys aren't sure if they're in the same movie, it's hard for it to be a successful one.' "
• John Brennan of The Record: "The New Jersey Nets made a big splash last week with the announcement of Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov's intention to buy controlling interest in the franchise. But in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing released late Friday afternoon, the news was much grimmer: Revenue from Nets ticket sales declined by nearly one-third last season. The filing -- detailing the bottom line of Nets Sports and Entertainment LLC -- demonstrated that while announced Nets attendance figures were similar in 2007-08 and 2008-09, the ticket sale revenue nosedived to $25.9 million from $37.4 million. ... The Nets balanced most of the ticket revenue decline with cuts in player salaries, marketing and other expenses -- but still finished with an operating loss of $68.6 million in 2008-09. In a statement, Nets Chief Executive Brett Yormark pointed to the Nets' residence in 28-year-old Izod Center -- one of the NBA's oldest facilities."

• Kobe Bryant called Hakeem Olajuwon, and Mark Berman of MyFoxHouston reports on the tutorial that followed: "'He gave me the biggest compliment,' Olajuwon said. '(He said) You are the best (at the) mid-post and post move. He wanted me to show my moves to him.' Olajuwon said his style of play in the paint is really suited for a guy like Bryant. 'In my mind most of my moves for a guy (with) that agility can use it better than the big guy. Because my moves are not really for the big guy. It's for the guards and small forwards. So he would benefit most on the post because of his agility. It was so much fun because how he picks it up. I worked with him for two hours, step by step.' Olajuwon expects Bryant to be even better than he was last season when he led the Lakers to the NBA Championship. 'Adding those moves to his game, watch out for him this year,' Olajuwon said."
• Another health setback for Mike Dunleavy -- the Pacers say he won't practice until November at the soonest.
• Is Tracy McGrady ready to go? He was expected back from surgery in December. UPDATE: Not so fast. November 23, at the earliest.
• NBA referees calling your local high-school game? Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald: "Locked out NBA referees Danny Crawford and Marc Davis will stay in shape by working three fall-league high school games at the Bulls-Sox Academy in Lisle on Sunday night."
• Heli-skiiing to a Nirvana soundtrack, flipping a jet ski, and playing in a charity game against Scottie Pippen ... video highlights of the athletic life of Mikhail Prokhorov, would-be Nets owner.
• PG-13 for language, talk of sex, the number of mouse clicks required, and mainly just craziness ... a longish imagining of various things about Dirk Nowitzki.
• Randy Foye's harsh family tale, as told by the Washington Post's Michael Lee: "His father, Antonio -- whom Foye only faintly remembers -- was killed in a motorcycle accident when Randy was just 2 years old. Three years later, his mother, Regina Foye, climbed into a truck and disappeared. To this day, Foye doesn't know if he was abandoned or she was murdered. Her whereabouts remain a mystery more than 21 years later, but her likeness is tattooed on his chest. Foye said relatives sometime weep when they see his 20-month old daughter, Paige, because she bears a striking resemblance to Regina." (Via Truth About It)
• Quotes about Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Terrence Williams, Brook Lopez ... the Nets don't have a title team right now, but they're assembling a growing list of keepers.
• Jessica Camerato of WEEI on Shelden Williams as father: "'He was the most supportive person ever,' [his wife, and WNBA star Candace] Parker said. 'I was working out a lot during my pregnancy, and after practice was over he'd stay at the gym with me. I'd be at home and he'd make me get off the couch and go work out because he knew how bad I wanted to come back after my pregnancy. He was great about if I wanted something. Vanilla wafers were my favorite thing during pregnancy, so he stocked up on vanilla wafers for me and he was just really great. He was with me from the start to the finish. He was very into it, he made all of the doctor's visits that he could. I'd reschedule them so he could be there, so he was very supportive."
• A blog is aiming to take 400 kids, who couldn't normally afford to go, to an NBA game.
• Daryl Morey gets a contract extension.
• Quincy Jones' brother, a respected Seattle judge, is presiding over one last legal fight about the Sonics' departure: Season ticket holders say they were deceived, in marketing materials, into thinking the team had committed to stay. The judge threw out many aspects of the case, but the essential deception claim is intact and headed to a jury to decide damages. (Via SuperSonicSoul)
• The Blazer off-season -- fruitless pursuit of Hedo Turkoglu, Paul Millsap and maybe Lamar Odom -- has been called a waste. But it resulted in Andre Miller and Kevin Pritchard is happy and optimistic. "This is a team that we believe in ... we want to win our division and then we want to go deeper in the playoffs. ... We're not afraid to say we want to go deeper in the playoffs."
• If you see Bucks guard Charlie Bell working at your local Wendy's, order the 10-piece chicken -- he serves up 11 just because.
• UPDATE: A must-read tribute to Jim Carroll, basketball player who shared the court with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, had drug trouble, and became a professional artist and writer. You probably know his book "The Basketball Diaries."

• LeBron James, would you rather win five titles in other cities, or one title in Cleveland? Ask Ohio's Ron Harper, who never got the one in Cleveland, and would kill for it.
• Who's pumped up for training camp to start? Blazer assistant Monty Williams on training camp, as reported by Oregon Sports Live: "It's like digging a ditch. It's not that exciting."
• Does the reality of Twitter, and a world where players talk to fans unfiltered, increase the importance of good character? Sixer GM Ed Stefanski says yes, and he's probably largely right. Reclusive weirdos will take a hit. But I'm not sure character is exactly the thing being measured. Maybe more communication skills, or charisma. No one has had more Twitter success than Shaquille O'Neal, but teams collapse all around him, and he's famously not a hard worker. Is he a character guy? Not so much. But he's funny.
• If Marc Stein's looking glum today, it's because his most recent soccer tour of Great Britain just ended.
• A fascinating discussion of zone defense, and its effect on the NBA.
  
• Basketball fans who feel the need to learn more about Russia all of a sudden, I'd recommend that you start here, with some fascinating insight into the world of international soft drinks. (Yes, I had to work really really hard to find a way to justify linking to this on a basketball blog.)
• What is the Bulls' strength? One appears to be the bench.
• The 2007-2008 Celtics were one of the best defensive teams in NBA history.
• A while ago, I wrote a post about how Kobe Bryant was loved for his destructive qualities (mostly of opponents, but also the rim), while I think his genius is in building ... houses, and teams. Well, the destructive part makes for better video, like this monster by a TrueHoop reader.
• UPDATE: Many short videos of LeBron James being silly when he was in high school.

In The New York Times, Ken Belson and Richard Sandomir report that the agreed-to price for the Nets appears to be low:

"On a macro level, the N.B.A. has a few teams in trouble," Ozanian said, referring to the Nets, the Charlotte Bobcats and the Memphis Grizzlies, among others. "The more time went on, the more Ratner was dealing from weakness."

Any sale of an N.B.A. team requires the approval of three-fourths of the owners, a process that could take months. But assuming they approve the deal - and David Stern, the league's commissioner, is said to have the votes lined up - Ratner would not walk away empty-handed.

Prokhorov agreed to make "certain contingent funding commitments" that would cover losses and debts accumulated by the team before it changes hands. And he will assume 80 percent of the more than $200 million in debt the team holds.

As important, Prokhorov will help Ratner, a real estate developer, do what he wants to do most: build the Nets a new arena and possibly thousands of apartments and shops nearby.

Although Ratner may have sold low and perhaps out of desperation, his deal could turn out to be good news for other owners trying to sell teams. That is because Prokhorov could pave the way for more foreign investors to buy American sports teams, driving up the value of teams.

Here's video of Bruce Ratner talking about how the parties came together on the deal, including his trip to Russia to meet with Mikhail Prokhorov. It's hard to know how to assess the team's sales price, as it was in conjunction with a bigger real estate deal, the payoff of which would be hard for anyone to assess at this point.

• Harvey Araton of The New York Times: "Legal challenges and N.B.A. vetting hurdles remain before 80 percent ownership of the Nets shifts from Bruce C. Ratner to Prokhorov. Then it would take at least two years for them to move from New Jersey and become the Brooklyn Nets. If and when, the Nets will matter in a way they have only dreamed of since they were born in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans of the American Basketball Association, cash-poor and attention-starved. Suddenly, the team that has been slumming in the shadows of the Manhattan skyline is a few notarized documents from initiating a fierce intracity rivalry with the Knicks. The franchise that has long symbolized suburban sterility could become a central player in Commissioner David Stern's global basketball crusade. In Cleveland, a make-or-break mandate to retain LeBron James seemed a prime motivation for the Cavaliers to partner up with Chinese investors, who agreed to purchase 15 percent of the team last May. In northern New Jersey, Ratner's dire team finances and inability to raise capital during the recession were jeopardizing the Brooklyn arena and vast housing development. Whatever the circumstances, Stern's march on the world appears to have developed a free-flowing reverse commute."
• Alan Hahn of Newsday: "Sure, Larry Hughes and Al Harrington are technically the elders of the locker room, but David Lee and Nate Robinson are both home-grown talents who should start taking it upon themselves to set the example for the new crop -- Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Jordan Hill and Toney Douglas -- and take greater responsibility in the culture change that still needs to take place in the Knick locker room. It is up to them to set the standard, to raise the level of play and to enforce accountability. ... It is up to them to sacrifice stats for wins, which you can expect because Donnie Walsh cleverly decided to add that $1M bonus if the team makes the playoffs. You want to see a guy hold his teammates accountable? Put a million bucks on the table and he'll make sure everyone around him is playing just as hard as he is. Cutting corners costs him money. Honestly, this is the way all contracts should be structured in the NBA. Bonuses should be a combination of player performance in relation to team performance (it seems so obvious). That way, everybody wins."
• Richard Justice of the Houston Chronicle: "I don't know about you, but when I first saw the Rockets' new jerseys, I thought back to championship celebrations and the night Rudy T. took the microphone and talked about the heart of a champion. I thought of Dream and Clyde and Kenny and all the rest. I didn't even live here at the time, but I covered the games and know it was the most special era sports fan have had in this city. To some, they were the ugliest uniforms ever created. Remember ketchup and mustard? To others, though, they represent something special in their lives. How about the night Dream took David Robinson and his MVP trophy and stuffed it in the basket? How about Mario Elie and the Kiss of Death? How about the celebration that spilled onto Richmond?"
• Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "The final product -- a respected franchise in the community and a legitimate title contender on the court -- is far from finished. Larry Bird knows it. And that's why the Hall of Fame forward has no intention of stepping away until he puts on at least an All-Star performance as president of the Indiana Pacers. Bird's contract expires after this season, but team owner Herb Simon has made it clear he wants him to return. Bird, entering his second year with full control of basketball operations, is slowly rebuilding a team that has endured its toughest stretch in decades. His method isn't ordinary, either. Acquiring talent -- no team wins without it -- took a back seat to high-character players after a 2004 brawl at Detroit and subsequent off-court incidents altered the way the fans viewed some players. 'I said when I took over that we were going to change the culture, and I think we've done that,' Bird said while sitting in his office, just days before the Pacers open camp Saturday. 'Now it's putting the pieces of the puzzle together to get the type of team I want here and it ain't going to happen overnight. It's a process, and we said it's going to be three years and we feel we're still on course.' "
• John Jackson of the Chicago Sun-Times: "This season, even though Derrick Rose doesn't turn 21 until Oct. 4, there's no reason for him to defer to anyone. In fact, Rose being consistently more aggressive on the offensive end is one way the Bulls are hoping to make up for the loss of Gordon's production -- and that includes becoming the team's go-to scorer at the end of games. We certainly saw during Game 1 of the Boston series that Rose is capable of scoring in bunches and dominating a game when he puts his mind to it. Frankly, he was unstoppable, and the Celtics didn't know what to do as the Bulls pulled off the 105-103 shocker. While I wouldn't expect Rose to match his gaudy numbers from that night (36 points and 11 assists) on a regular basis, I believe he can bounce back from a couple of off-the-court controversies in the spring and summer to average better than 20 points and seven assists -- and make a serious push at becoming the Bulls' first All-Star since the Jordan era. Losing Gordon actually could accelerate Rose's development because he won't be worried about getting Gordon shots. For the Bulls to take a step up, Rose has to grab the reins and become the on-court leader, but this is far from a one-man team, and there's plenty of talent around."
• Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post: "With the exception of 'The Godfather, Part II' and Frank Fox's second daughter Megan, sequels are seldom scintillating. But your hometown Nuggets hope they are en route to an encore, beginning training camp this weekend following their best season since the Reagan administration. Naturally there have been whispers about the Nuggets all summer, some from doubters -- the Lakers, Spurs, Mavericks and Trail Blazers all got better -- and believers -- Denver was the No. 2 playoff seed in the West last year, so teams are simply trying to catch up with them. Indeed, the Nuggets didn't make any roster overhauls or sign any marquee names, Chris "The Birdman" Andersen notwithstanding. Instead, Denver has tried to keep its payroll, again, around the luxury-tax line, and hope that will be sufficient in the ever-wild West."
• Michael Wallace of The Miami Herald: "Seven months ago, he was widely viewed as the low-post presence who would balance the roster and get the Heat back into deep playoff contention. And if it didn't work out, he would simply be reduced to another O'Neal with a bloated contract the Heat would look forward to dumping for financial relief and roster revitalization. Today, with the start of training camp approaching in mere hours, Jermaine O'Neal is a
  man who finds himself in the middle of those two distinction. The Heat's success largely depends on Dwyane Wade's health and hunger. Miami's improvement from last season will be based mainly on the second-year growth of Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers. But the team's ultimate finish in the playoffs - assuming things work out as expected and the Heat falls somewhere between the 5th and 7th seeds -- could hinge on the joints in O'Neal's troublesome knees and his ability provide a productive and proficient anchor in the middle of the starting lineup."
• Ross Siler of The Salt Lake Tribune: "With apologies to the Ringling Bros.' clowns, tigers and elephants at EnergySolutions Arena this weekend, Carlos Boozer will be the ringmaster of a circus all his own today when the Jazz open training camp. Against all odds, Boozer will return for a sixth season in Utah, after the former All-Star forward decided on June 30 against opting for free agency only to campaign weeks later for a trade. Instead of heading to training camp with Chicago, Miami or any of the other teams to which he was linked, Boozer finds himself back with the Jazz, returning to familiar if not necessarily friendly surroundings. Along with Boozer, the Jazz will bring back 11 players from last season's 48-34 team that stumbled to an eighth-place finish in the Western Conference and was eliminated by the L.A. Lakers from the first round of the playoffs in five games."
• Martin Frank of The News Journal: "New coach Eddie Jordan admitted that the players might not feel comfortable in the offense until 'late in the season.' So Jordan's course on Princeton Offense 101 can't begin soon enough for him or the players. The main lesson, according to Jordan, is simply: 'To see. We have to see what's available on the floor. It's a read and deliver offense. We try to train our players, 'What do you see when you have the ball? What do you see when you don't have the ball? There is a reaction to an action. When that action takes place, what do you see? Do you see a handoff or a jump shot? Or do you see a backdoor cut for a layup? Do you see a man open in the post? And if you do, what kind of cut will you use when you feed him? Repetition is the mother of all learning. We will do it every day. We'll teach them how to see.' That's why Jordan insists the Sixers don't need a true point guard, that Lou Williams can succeed there even though he has never started a game in his previous four seasons. Jordan said guard/forward Andre Iguodala could start the offense as well. 'We'll have guards doing forward things and forwards doing guard things,' Jordan said."
• Dave Sheinin of The Washington Post: "From the comfort of his home, Kenny Anderson, who didn't know his own father until his early 30s, contemplated the blessings of fatherhood and beamed. In the faces of his kids, he could see the evidence of his own past mistakes -- the womanizing, the failed marriages, the hollow attempts at fatherhood he made during a 14-year NBA career that ended in 2005. But over the course of those few amazing, late-summer weeks, he could also see the seeds of his new beginning, a new chapter for Kenny Anderson -- now a 38-year-old, full-time, stay-at-home father to Kenny Jr. and Tiana, and an aspiring college basketball coach who wants nothing more than to distance himself from those past failures as a father, as a husband, as a man. The magnitude of the moment absolutely blew him away. 'It was awesome,' Anderson says. 'Now they could all see how their daddy really is. They can see for themselves. . . . I'm involved in their lives, all of them, but this was the first time I got all of them together. My mother, she'd be rolling over in her grave, she'd be so happy.' "

• Joe Fingerhut, a young man from St. Louis, whose dad raised him on loving the Celtics, decided to take his dad to a Celtics/Pacers game for Christmas. As a special treat, Joe wrote all kinds of letters, e-mails and faxes basically begging to be able to have a minute of Larry Bird's time; the game would be a dream come true if they could meet the Legend while there. Eventually, Fingerhut writes in a great retelling of the whole happy tale on his blog, the phone rang: "Hello, this is Joe. Hi Joe, this is Larry Bird of the Indiana Pacers. (Silence--breathless, out of breath, unable to speak, not thinking. . .) Hello? YES! I am here, hi! Are you serious?)
• This fall, the Supreme Court will hear a court case called American Needle vs. the NFL. I read a lot of stuff about it, so you don't have to! The skinny: It could affect the NBA in various profound ways. At issue is whether a major sports league like the NFL or the NBA is one entity, or a collection of individual entities. If it's one thing, then that entity enjoys exemption from anti-trust law, which empowers the NBA to impose things like age limits without fearing certain kinds of lawsuits. Michael McCann makes a fascinating point, however ... if the NBA is one entity, then NBA players may be entitled to a percentage of revenues from ventures like NBA China.
• What we learned about NBA prospects from watching Eurobasket.
• Ben from BlazersEdge: "When asked about his team's offensive efficiency, Pritchard smiled and pointed at ESPN's John Hollinger, stating that Hollinger was 'the expert in the world' when it came to efficiency. In my opinion, not enough reporters chuckled knowingly in appreciation at this insider hat tip."
• Thanks to that old shin injury, Tyler Hansbrough won't be 100% for training camp.
  
• Vlade Divac, quoted by Marc Stein: "People here [in America] are making a big deal about ring or no ring. I was playing against the Lakers and I remember someone [in the crowd] shouted, 'How many rings you got?' I told him one. He looked at me [funny], so I said, 'I got one in '89 when I got married, I got a ring from my wife.' That's the most important thing."
• James White, dunk machine bench-warmer, is a Nugget.
• Oklahoma City Thunder, the hedge maze.
  
• Everyone is very excited about the Nets' new potential owner. Me too! While I am against a lot of the shenanigans involving eminent domain and the arena, I'm fired up to see the Nets create a lot of excitement. Just one little consideration, for NBA owners, 23 of whom must approve the sale: In welcoming the richest "oligarch" to the NBA ranks, kindly reassure me that Mikhail Prokhorov is not one of those Russian power brokers whose enemies in the press seem to get murdered? I'm kidding. Mostly. And, some are worried about all the public subsidies in that stadium project potentially paying off to a foreign corporation.
  
• High hopes for Jrue Holiday.
• Is that Gilbert Arenas in that photograph? My answer: No. Certainly not. That's no NBA physique.
• What do stromtroopers do on their days off? A photo essay. Looks to me like they're rehearsing to be an NBA halftime show. (Via Kottke)