ESPN NBA

• Tom Haberstroh of Hardwood Paroxysm looks at which players produced the least amount of value relative to their salaries last season: "The cases of Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming, and Michael Redd illustrate the devastating effects that a serious injury can have on a team’s books. The Rockets were set to receive nearly nothing for their $40 million investments in Yao and McGrady but a midseason deal with the Knicks handed McGrady’s albatross over to Jim Dolan in exchange for long-term cap relief. In general, $40 million equates to about 18 wins above replacement so the Rockets 42-win season becomes even more remarkable considering what they lost due to injury."
• Team USA will play Lithuania on Saturday, then Spain on Sunday in a couple of exhibition matches. Jay Aych of The Painted Area on the matchup with Spain: "Spain might not want to show its full arsenal to Team USA in an exhibition game. Team USA could be planning the same thing, so we might not be able to glean much from this matchup." The idea of a team not showing its entire hand is something we occasionally hear in pro football, when two teams who are likely to face each other in the playoffs have a less consequential late-season meeting. But we it's not something normally seen in basketball, which tells how much anticipation there is for a U.S.-Spain contest in the FIBA Championships next month.
• In an American player's psyche, how important is it that he and Team USA play well over the next month? Patrick James of Daily Thunder says it's more important than you might think, particularly for Kevin Durant: "[F]or anyone who cares either way if Durant vaults into the highest echelon of NBA stars, the most compelling reason to put importance on the World Championship is the knowledge that Durant himself cares deeply."
• Over the past 12 months, Durant has seen his name (and face) recognition skyrocket. He tweets from Madrid: "Is it rude for people to ask for pictures while ur eating?"
• Tom Ziller of AOL Fanhouse breaks down the individual performances in yesterday's Greece-Serbia brawl. Ziller on Sofoklis Schortsanitis: "But Greek Shaq's most gully episode comes in the chase of Krstic, best seen at the 35-second mark. You can tell how feared someone is by how fast their enemies retreat. Krstic can't get away fast enough. When Krstic throws the chair at Sofo (47-second mark; listen for the crowd reaction), Schortsanitis doesn't even blink. Swag-ger."
• Using FastDraw, Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game diagrams a gorgeous misdirection set the Mavs ran last season for Jason Kidd and Rodrigue Beaubois.
• Filp Saunders once said that "defensively, the team always takes the personality of their players." John Townsend of Truth About It looks at the implications of that theory for the 2010-11 Washington Wizards.
• Lou Williams has gradually become a pretty efficient basketball player. Jordan Sams of Liberty Ballers contrasts the Sixers guard with Aaron Brooks, a point guard with a much higher Q Rating -- but maybe a lesser game.
• At Basketball Reference Blog, Neil Paine develops a method to measure which players have played for the best offenses over the course of their careers. Hint: a roster spot on the 2005-10 Phoenix Suns helps a guy's ranking tremendously.
• The Trail Blazers' play at a slow pace, which can lead the less careful observer to conclude Portland has a pretty good defense. In reality, the Trail Blazers haven't been very efficient on the defensive end of the floor. Dave of Blazers Edge senses that Portland has the ingredients to become a top-flight defensive squad, but still has some fundamental issues to solve before it gets there.
• Via WEEI's Green Street, Paul Pierce tells CSNNE he wants to finish his career in Europe.
• Ben Steele of Order of the Court digs into Scottie Pippen's infamous decision to stay on the bench for the final 1.8 seconds of Game 3 of the 1994 Eastern Conference semifinals.
• It's hard to find a coach who has had a more fascinating quarter century than Nolan Richardson.
• Jeremy Wagner of Roundball Mining Company and Rahat Huq of Red94 have a dialogue about Carmelo Anthony. Wagner on Anthony: "There are few players who can score in as many was as Carmelo can, yet instead of exploiting the advantages the team earns due to the attention he receives from the opposition Melo frequently forces his way into the teeth of the defense in an attempt to prove he can do it. Carmelo has never made that leap from I can do it, to we can do it and as a result makes things more difficult on himself than it needs to be which leads directly to the surprising void between his talent and his lack of efficiency."
• Fellow bloggers offer Wagner their best packages for Anthony.
• At Philadunkia, a full examination of the Ed Stefanski era in Philadelphia.
• Manu Ginobili to George Hill over Twitter: "Get that corner three ready, man!"
• Stephen Curry tweets: "my pops came out to Spain to watch his boy play. Dang that means a lot!"

The Bay Area's newest rock star is Jeremy Lin, an undrafted rookie guard from Harvard whose primary résumé item until recently was being the first player in Ivy League history to record 1,450 points, 450 rebounds, 400 assists and 200 steals. The Dallas Mavericks were the only team to extend Lin an invitation to summer league to play behind highly touted guards Roddy Beaubois and Dominique Jones.

Then something phenomenal occurred in Las Vegas:

Lin matched No. 1 overall draft pick John Wall possession for possession down the stretch of Lin's fourth summer league game.

Cox Pavilion is usually a fairly subdued venue, a place where people mill about, and where executives, scouts and media schmooze with only one eye on the game. But for about 15 minutes last Thursday, the place had all the intensity of an NBA playoff game.

Here was Lin tying up Wall on a drive, forcing a jump ball. Then Lin drained a 3-pointer, which he promptly followed with a 360 degree spin move in traffic. After that, he snatched a rebound away from JaVale McGee.

Those are just a few of the highlights.

On Wednesday, the kid from Palo Alto agreed to a two-year deal with the Golden State Warriors, his home team. Throngs of media turned out for Lin's introduction.

We caught up with Lin by phone on Thursday:

So how insane is this?
Awww, man. Very, very, very insane. Obviously, this is like my dream come true, playing in the NBA with this team. It's been a day or two and it still hasn't sunk in. I'm still riding this emotional high. It's been unreal. It really has.

In some sense, was this route better than being drafted -- where you might've been stashed or banished to the bench or even gone unsigned as a second-rounder?
It's way, way better. Now looking back, I'm so happy that I went undrafted. There are a lot of people who are going to get stuck in situations, or could've been in a better situation somewhere else, but they got drafted so that team has their rights. I honestly believe it was a blessing in disguise to go undrafted because if I were drafted, I wouldn't have had that opportunity to test the field and take offers from different teams. That's what helped me a ton in the end.

How important is the [Asian-American] identity stuff?
You know, it's important but not as important as my being a Christian. That's first and foremost the most important thing to me when it comes to my identity.

Is it more important to your folks?
No. We believe in the same thing. That's how our house is and how I was raised. We've always taken our Christianity and our walks with God as our first priority.

Let's talk about summer league last week. The John Wall Game ... which suddenly became The Jeremy Lin Game. All business stopped in that gym during the fourth quarter. Everyone was gripped by what was going on down on the floor.
Roddy [Beaubois] was hurt so I got a chance to get a little more playing time in the first half, which helped a lot because I got a chance to get comfortable. Going into the fourth quarter, we were down. I wanted something to happen. I was just, like, playing. It just felt like it was college again. I was just, like, out there. It felt very, very comfortable and very relaxed. It was such a natural feeling. It wasn't like that with most of the other games. In those other games, it was more like, "Wow, this is a job interview. I have to perform well." I had that kind of pressure. But in the Washington game, going against John Wall in the fourth quarter, trying to come back, I was just playing off instincts. It was the best quarter I had in summer league at the best possible time. If the Dallas Mavericks weren't scheduled to play the Washington Wizards, I might not be in the NBA.

So your feeling is that the Wall matchup was the decisive factor for your getting that contract from Golden State?
That was the biggest thing by far. Like you said, business stopped and that's what everyone was watching. Because it was John Wall. Nobody was really paying attention to me before that. But after that, people started talking about me.

You said you were relaxed, but you seemed pretty bent about that charge call on your 360 spin move.
I mean relaxed in that I wasn't thinking about how big the game was. I was just focused completely on the game. I wasn't thinking, "Oh, this person's watching so I have to perform well." You know what I mean?

Relaxed in a larger, just-go-out-and-play sense?
Right.

There were a couple of huge plays in that sequence.
That charge call on the spin move? I didn't even see the guy, so I had no idea if it was a charge. But I heard the crowd's reaction, so I immediately assumed that it wasn't. But looking back on the tape, it was a pretty tough call. I was shocked because the whole gym was rooting for John Wall the entire game from the very beginning. So at first I was like, "John Wall must've taken the charge." I didn't know if it was him or not, but that was the first thing that came to my mind. Then, I realized, "Wait, they're rooting for me." I was like, "Whoa. What just happened?" Because, like, thirty minutes ago everyone was rooting for him.

So what changed?
I'm not even sure.

Are you a pure 1? A 2? Does it matter?
I'm a 1, but I can also play the 2. But I'm naturally and primarily a point guard. A lot of people don't realize that I didn't play the 1 in college. I played the 2. In summer league I was splitting time. In my eyes, I'm an NBA point guard and that's my natural position. I believe that.

You’ll probably be seeing more minutes -- albeit practice minutes -- against Steph Curry and Monta Ellis than anyone else in the league. Do you have a scouting report on those two guys?
Steph Curry is a playmaker and we all know he can score and shoot. But he's really, really smart. He knows how to see angles and get into the lane. He's just a complete offensive player. We saw at the end of last season how good he is. Monta Ellis is a big-time scorer and a very explosive offensive player. He's really quick and primarily a slasher. I'm looking forward to learning a lot from both of those guys. I can't wait to see them play and pick their brains --

And guard them for two hours a day.
That's going to be awesome! I'm going to learn a lot. That's going to help me so much.

Have you gotten a call from either Joe Lacob or Peter Guber yet?
No. I've talked to Larry Riley, Bobby Rowell and Travis Schlenk.

Is there a shoe or merchandise deal in the works?
That's something for my agent. It's been so crazy, I haven't really had any time to think about it. Things have been so busy. I know there's interest in terms of different companies but I don't know exactly what's going on.

Is self-branding in any way a small part of your ambition? Will it be cool to have a shoe?
It would be cool, but it's not a goal or anything.

When you hit the scene at Harvard and you guys started to win, was there an academic celeb scene at Lavieties Pavilion?
Not that I noticed. But Arne Duncan showed up.

What was your favorite class at Harvard?
Sociology 128: Methods of Social Science Research. Basically, it was a semester-long sociology experiment. My friends and I did an experiment on the differences between athletes and non-athletes when it comes to motivation and results in the classroom.

And?
The non-athletes had the highest GPAs, then the walk-ons next, then the recruited athletes. That's what we anticipated. But one of the other interesting things we found was that some of the athletes thought that they would've gotten better grades had they had more time. But then some of the non-athletes thought that some of the athletes were lazier or naturally not as smart. So there was a difference in perception of why that disparity exists -- but the disparity is indisputable.

Do you think there's a sense of entitlement among some athletes?
I think there's a sense of entitlement for both.

By John Krolik

Wesley Johnson's first summer league game did not feel like the professional debut of a top-five overall pick. The Thomas and Mack center was nearly empty, with only a few hundred people there to populate the full-sized home of the Running Rebels. The starting lineups were listlessly announced to little fanfare. The pregame song was the theme music from Space Jam. To put it plainly, nothing about the start of Wes Johnson's pro debut felt like the start of something big.

When one watches Johnson play, it becomes clear why he doesn't have the kind of hype surrounding him that most top-five players do when they come into the league. Johnson is a perimeter player, but he doesn't seem to have the mentality of a go-to scorer. The Syracuse product only scored 16.5 points per game during his final year with the squad, and he wasn't looking to take over his first summer league game. After the contest, Johnson said that he's still "trying to find his spots" in an offense he's still trying to learn, and "wasn't going out there trying to over-exert himself."

Johnson was all but invisible during his first stint on the court for the Timberwolves, and his first basket of the game didn't come until he crashed the offensive boards for a tip-in. For most of the first half, Johnson waited around for a ball that wasn't coming to him. While Jeremy Pargo and Wayne Ellington were busy dominating the ball, missing 14 of their 20 field goal attempts, and committing a combined 10 turnovers, the No. 4 overall pick waited patiently for his turn to get a shot or make a play. The sparse crowd in the Thomas and Mack Center didn't come expecting to see a show, and Johnson wasn't looking to provide one.

Johnson didn't dominate the game by any stretch of the imagination. But he also didn't waste possessions, which is a bad habit most summer-league guards and wings have a hard time kicking. When Johnson did get a chance to make a play, it became apparent why the Wolves think he was worthy of a top-five pick. There was the time Johnson came off a pick and smoothly drained a 33. Then there was the moment in the second half where Johnson made a perfect cut, caught a Patrick O'Bryant bounce pass without breaking stride, and easily dropped in an and-1. Then there was the resounding tip-slam that drew audible gasps and finally got the stadium buzzing, even after the dunk was disallowed.

Johnson isn't a No. 1 option, but he has every skill you could ask for in a wing player. He's a smooth but explosive athlete, and can get to the basket with one or two long steps. He calls himself a slasher, but he can punish teams if they leave him open from beyond the arc. With his athleticism, length, and defensive instincts, Johnson will be a plus defender from day one; the Spurs' Alonzo Gee was the first NBA player to get shut down by Johnson in the half-court, but he won't be the last.

Johnson is the rare summer league player who will look better playing with and against the best players in the world rather than trying to dominate the rookies and fringe prospects that populate NBA Summer League rosters. When Johnson's teammates start looking for him and setting him up with opportunities to finish plays, he'll shine as an offensive player while making an impact on the defensive end. Johnson probably won't be a superstar in the NBA, but he has a very good chance of being an above-average starter in this league for a very long time. Teams can, and have, done much worse things with a top-five pick.

• There's a lot to like about Knicks second-round draft pick Landry Fields. Fields isn't the most athletic guy in the world, but he uses every ounce of athleticism he has. He knows where the ball is going to be, wants to make plays, and does a great job using his body to keep defenders at bay when he puts the ball on the floor or goes up for a layup. There's no telling whether or not Fields' tricks will work against NBA defenders, but he certainly looked good today.
• Devin Ebanks knows how to set himself up for his jump shot -- his footwork is good, he's usually squared up when he shoots, and he can get his shot off from a variety of spots on the floor. At one point, Ebanks turned down a 3, took two hard dribbles, and pulled up for an easy mid-range jumper. It's surprising how few slashers have that move in their bag. The problem with Ebanks is that he's much better at setting up his jumper than he is at making it. Ebanks flicks his shot up there, and his release leaves a lot to be desired. If Ebanks can fix some of the mechanical issues with his jumper, he could become a surprisingly complete offensive player.
• Derrick Caracter played an extremely sloppy game, and ended up committed eight turnovers and eight fouls. On the other hand, his ability to finish in traffic continues to be impressive.
• Toney Douglas had a sloppy game as well, and he spent more time forcing shots than trying to be a real point guard. Maybe he's trying to prepare himself for his new role as a bench scorer, which the Raymond Felton acquisition will almost certainly relegate him to.
• Gerald Green had one stretch where he made a smart swing pass, hit an open 3 and swished a tough pull-up jumper. For a second, everyone in the arena wondered why somebody that talented didn't make it in the NBA. Then Green got picked clean in transition and got stripped going to the basket on consecutive possessions.
• Alonzo Gee looked amazing in full-court situations. He's a great rebounder for a guard, can start the break after grabbing a rebound, is a wonderful passer on the break, and is more than capable of finishing the break with a resounding slam. In the half-court, Gee was completely shut down by Wes Johnson, who might be the best perimeter defender I've seen at Summer League thus far.
• Patrick O'Bryant has bounced around the league since he was a top-1o pick, but he looked like a serviceable pro on Monday. He's still a legit 7-footer, showed some nice touch around the basket, made a nice low-post seal and bucket at one point, and was telling his teammates where to be on defense. He'll never live up to his top-10 billing, but there could be a spot for him on the end of somebody's bench.
• Dwayne Mitchell turned some heads when he scored 12 points in 12.5 minutes against the Wolves without missing a shot, with five of those points coming on a 3 3and a resounding alley-oop dunk.
• Rob Mahoney on Donté Greene: "It's entirely possible that Donté Greene was put on this planet purely to thrive in Summer League games. His ball-handling skills and decision-making aren't exposed against the inferior competition, and he essentially has license to fire at will. As a result, Greene reveals the flashes that made him such an intriguing prospect coming out of Syracuse. Yet that's part of the problem. Greene is so athletic and so talented for a 6-foot-11 player, but he's more or less the same talent he was a year ago or the year before that. Donté manages to catch lightning in a bottle in Vegas, but in the big leagues? He still has a fair way to go."
• Rodrigue Beaubois is really trying to add a more consistent jumper to his game, and has turned down some opportunities to drive in order to set up that jumper. The results have been mixed in Summer League, but he'll be scary if he can add that dimension to his game.
• Harvard graduate Jeremy Lin might be the most fearless driver in Summer League. He goes straight to the rim, and isn't afraid to take contact when he does. His and-1 while being taken down by Larry Sanders was one of the best plays of the week.
• Jeremy Schmidt on Jeff Teague: "He was the name many Hawks fans were calling for last season when Mike Bibby was showing his age. Teague gave a sampling of what he's able to do on Monday night. The Hawks second year point guard took advantage of Memphis' lack of a true point guard and was able to use his terrific quickness to repeatedly beat them off the dribble. Teague shot 5-7 from the free throw line, often drawing contact in the lane after getting by his first man. Teague controlled the game better than his three assists and four turnovers would indicate and, even with O.J. Mayo out there, often looked like the best player on the floor. Hawks fans will surely hope to see more of him next season.
• Michael Schwartz on Scottie Reynolds: "The Suns were not sure if Reynolds was supposed to play at all because of a strained Achilles he suffered last week, but Reynolds surprised even his coach Dan Majerle by coming in ready to play today. He then sparked the Suns with 16 points in 19 minutes in their 96-88 win over D-League Select. Reynolds led Phoenix at a Suns-like pace by pushing the ball up the court and his shooting touch was on target in a 4-for-6 outing that that included a pair of 3s. 'He brought a lot of spark pushing the ball,' Majerle said. 'It was good to see.'"
• Nick Young looks like a new man when he can take catch-and-shoot 3s off of John Wall passes. Between Young and JaVale McGee, Wall is already showing his ability to make his new teammates better.
• John Wall isn't just a leaper, he goes to the basket with force, and he can finish after taking a hit. Eric Bledsoe bounced off of Wall before he converted an and-1 in transition. Something else to feel good about: Wall looked much happier after throwing a successfully converted alley-oop pass than he did after making the aforementioned and-1.