Reason number #48573 that Ron Artest is Crazy: Artest was talking to children in Detroit yesterday as part of his community service sentence for the Malice at the Pace…OK, sounds crazy enough, but what Ron-Ron told them was: "Someone started trouble and I ended it," Artest told about 50 children Wednesday at a panel on black empowerment at the Judge Mathis Community Center. "I would always encourage you to protect yourself but in certain situations, if you can avoid them, avoid them."…oh yeah, he’s learned his lesson for sure…

God it pays to be really, really tall…The Charlotte Bobcats re-signed center Jake Voskuhl to a two-year deal on Tuesday. Agent Mark Bartelstein said Voskuhl will receive $2 million each season, but have the option to become an unrestricted free-agent after one year. The 6-foot-11, 225-pound Voskuhl averaged 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds for Charlotte last season as a backup to starting center Primoz Brezec.

With less than two months until the opening of training camp, Raptors season ticket renewals and new sales are amongst the strongest in team history. The Raptors are renewing season tickets at a rate of 91%, well above last year's pace.

Enough with the Yao Ming bashing already…I argued with a dude yesterday that Ming was basically the best centre in the league now, and the dude was still stuck in the Yao Ming is soft, too deferential, too big, too slow, too Chinese, blah, balh,blah…look the guy averaged 22 points and 10 rebounds in 34 minutes a game last year and in the final 24 games before he was injured, he averaged 26.6 points on 54 percent shooting, 12 rebounds and 1.9 blocks…signs that he’s starting to find his inner Wilt Chamberlain…

1) Bruce Bowen becomes Team USA's final cut, from the AP:

Bruce Bowen was the final player cut from the U.S. basketball team, which begins play in the World Championships in Japan on Saturday. The final 12-man roster was announced Wednesday by USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo and coach Mike Krzyzewski, and included Carmelo Anthony, Shane Battier, Chris Bosh, Elton Brand, Kirk Hinrich, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Antawn Jamison, Joe Johnson, Brad Miller, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade. When Bowen, who plays for San Antonio and is one of the top defensive players in the league, was selected to be part of the national team roster, Colangelo and Krzyzewski singled him out as the type of role player the U.S. squad had been lacking in recent poor international showings. But Bowen scored just four points while playing four of the five tuneup games and had been outplayed by Battier, another defensive-minded small forward who made the cut. After Gilbert Arenas dropped out with strained groin earlier in the week, that all but assured a spot for Chicago's Hinrich because the team needed another point guard behind rookie of the year Paul. Bowen and Arenas remain part of the national team program and are still in the pool of players who will compete for spot on the 2008 Olympic team. "This has been a great process. It's difficult especially when you get down to the end because you get so attached to the last members of the team. Gilbert and Bruce are every bit a part of this team as the 12 others guys. It's just we can only go forward with 12," Krzyzewski said. The average age of the 12 U.S. players is 24½ years old, with the 30-year-old Miller the oldest member of the team. Howard, at 20, is the youngest.

2) Chad Ford of ESPN.com wonders what these teams were doing or not doing this summer:

For these five teams, a surprisingly silent

A few weeks ago we documented what has become a lethargic offseason. While a number of teams have been busy, only two -- the Bulls and Hornets -- have done enough to give themselves a major boost in the playoff hunt next season. The Pacers will join that group if they finally close the Al Harrington deal with the Hawks. Sources with knowledge of the proposed trade say a deal is close and awaiting approval from Pacers owner Herb Simon. It's hard to fathom that Simon will pass on an opportunity to get Harrington at a below-market-value deal while giving up only a first-round pick in return. What's interesting to me is the fact that so many bad teams did little to improve themselves this summer. A few, like the Blazers and Raptors, had significant movement. While I don't think it will be enough to push either into the playoffs, at least they can tell fans they're trying. On the other hand, how do the advertising whizzes for the Sixers, Warriors, Knicks, Sonics and Hawks sell their fans on next season? "Wait 'til '08!" doesn't sound like a slogan that's going to sell a lot of season tickets. Here's a look at five lottery teams that have remained surprisingly quiet this offseason:

Philadelphia 76ers - The Sixers are the most surprising of the 2006 offseason underachievers. They're coming off a disappointing lottery appearance. They own the fourth-highest payroll in the league. Allen Iverson looks like he already has his bags packed. They even have legit trade bait in Iverson and Samuel Dalembert. Everyone thought the team was in for a radical overhaul. And what have they done? They let John Salmons walk away, then signed Willie Green, coming off a season-long injury, to an overpriced deal. Ugh. That's it, Sixers fans. The fact that GM Billy King backed away from trading Iverson probably says more about Iverson's trade value than it does about Philly's resolve to change. The Sixers just didn't get the offers they were hoping for and don't seem to want to go into full rebuilding mode. So what can Sixers fans look forward to this year? While almost every team in the Atlantic Division improved modestly, the Sixers have nowhere to go but down. Look for them to battle the Knicks for the worst record in the Atlantic.

Golden State Warriors - After killing the Warriors for years, I got on the bandwagon last fall and predicted that Golden State would break the longest playoff drought in the league. Baron Davis and Jason Richardson gave them one of the most promising backcourts in the league. Warriors VP Chris Mullin was raving about Mike Dunleavy's improvement over the summer and eventually signed him to a substantial $45 million extension. Troy Murphy was healthy. Ike Diogu was supposed to add rebounding and toughness in the paint. But once January hit, the wheels came off. The Warriors were 17-14 on Dec. 31, but went 3-9 in January and never recovered. By the end of the season, the team had won just 34 games, duplicating their miserable 2004-05 outing. Losing Baron Davis for 28 games was part of the problem, but the truth is that the Warriors were just 23-31 when he played. The last month was ugly. They endured a nine-game losing streak that stretched from March into April. It appeared that several players had quit. According to one player on the team, the tension between some players on the team and head coach Mike Montgomery was combustible. Mullin went into the summer vowing to change the team's chemistry around, but three months later … the Warriors look the same. Mullin has been working the phones all summer but has very little to show for it. He did manage to move Derek Fisher's hard-to-trade contract, but he got nothing but future salary cap relief in return. The free agent market has been unkind. The team made a major push for Harrington, but the Hawks didn't want the bloated contracts of Murphy or Mike Dunleavy in return. The Warriors' problem is that they continue to remain on the fence between winning and development. As always, they have a number of talented young players (Monta Ellis, Mickael Pietrus, Andris Biedrins, Diogu and rookie Patrick O'Bryant) in the pipeline. They don't want to trade them. However, their veterans, with the exception of Jason Richardson, are virtually untradeable. Mullin is guilty for most of the bad contracts. He vastly overpaid Murphy, Dunleavy and Adonal Foyle, limiting his ability to make changes to his team. A number of GMs have told me they've been offered all three, but no one will touch them. The word around the league is that Davis is also available, but given his injury history and rep as a chemistry killer, no one will touch him. If the Warriors can't trade the millstones that are dragging them down (those four are still owed a combined $182 million over the course of their Golden State careers) and refuse to trade the young talent that can't get them anywhere yet, then Warriors fans can rest assured that another 30- to 35-win season is coming.

New York Knicks - Last year the Knicks played for the right to hand the Bulls the No. 2 pick in the draft. Isiah Thomas still argues that he'd take Eddy Curry over who the Bulls got -- Tyrus Thomas -- any day. We'll see if the feels the same way once he's forced to hand over the Knicks' first-round pick to the Bulls again next summer. If the Bulls hit the jackpot with the Knicks' No. 1 pick (and the right to draft Greg Oden), there could be a riot in New York. As it stands, the Knicks' biggest offseason change is at coach. Larry Brown, the Knicks' savior this time last year, is out. Thomas, the Knicks' master architect, is in. I actually think the Knicks will be better with Isiah at the helm. Brown sabotaged the team, in my opinion, to convince James Dolan that the roster needed a major overhaul. Thomas wasn't going to agree with Brown's assessment of Isiah's roster, so Brown dramatized the problems for Dolan. Brown used 42 different starting lineups, an NBA record, last year in New York. Everyone was confused. No one knew where they stood. A player could start one game and get a DNP the next. It was a mess. With Thomas fighting for his professional life, things will be different. The Knicks do have talent and he'll lean heavily on Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford, Curry and probably Channing Frye to save his job. The Knicks, with a steadier hand at the helm, will probably win 10 more games next season.
However, the rest of their summer has been anticlimactic by comparison. The Knicks did land Jared Jeffries in free agency, but I'm not a big fan. He's long and he hustles and since he doesn't shoot the ball, he'll actually be popular with all of the Knicks' gunners. But I don't think he wins New York any extra games. Ditto for rookies Renaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins, who likely won't see the light of day this year. Surprisingly, the Knicks have restrained themselves from being more aggressive. Jalen Rose and Maurice Taylor are both very tradeable because they are in the last year of their contracts. Nate Robinson and David Lee have trade value as well. But the word out of New York is that Isiah has no choice but to play the hand he's dealt. Dolan apparently isn't in the mood to swap any more expiring contracts for long-term deals. The Knicks' payroll is at an absurd $122 million this year. Thomas fought for every one of the players on his roster. Now he'll find out whether they were worth fighting for. If this were a fantasy team, the answer may be yes. But as an NBA team, the Knicks' long-term future still looks very bleak.

Seattle SuperSonics - The team was everyone's darling in 2004-05 but reverted to form last season. The Sonics showed they could still light it up offensively, but so could every team that played against them. This year, uncertainty surrounding the sale of the franchise has the potential to add to their woes. While the team did sign restricted free agent Chris Wilcox to a three-year deal on Tuesday, Mickael Gelabale, last year's second-round draft pick, is the only major addition to the club so far. It's difficult to see what the long-term strategy in Seattle is. For this team to be a serious playoff contender, players like Wilcox, Luke Ridnour, Robert Swift, Johan Petro, Mouhamed Saer Sene and Gelebale are going to have to play over their heads. If the team fails again, there's a strong likelihood that potential free agent Rashard Lewis will bolt for greener pastures next summer. That leaves the team with a number of promising young players and an aging Ray Allen. I know most Sonics fans quit caring when Gary Payton was shipped out of town. For the dozen or so that are left, it may be time to retire those jerseys.

Atlanta Hawks - What is Billy Knight doing? That's been a key question in the NBA for the past several summers. An ownership feud lies at the heart of much of the Hawks' inability to get things done this summer, but even that has to be contextualized. The feud began, in large part, over the performance of Knight. Steve Belkin thought Knight was killing the franchise and disagreed vehemently over giving up so many assets for the right to give Joe Johnson a max deal. The rest of the Hawks' owners disagreed, and a year later, they're still in court shouting it out. In the meantime, the Hawks' hands have basically been tied. (Were Johnson and Knight really worth all of this?) The drafting of Shelden Williams signaled that the Hawks were serious about getting a player who could help them now. But after watching Williams' miserable performance in the summer league, there are now serious questions about how NBA-ready he really is. They did throw a lot of money this summer at Speedy Claxton (a diminutive, oft-injured scoring guard in a point guard's body) and plan on giving Lorenzen Wright (a 30-year-old center who averaged five points and five rebounds last season) a two-year deal when they trade Harrington. Neither move will push them far out of the basement of the East. Yes, expected improvements by Josh Smith, Josh Childress and Marvin Williams should help, but all of that will be offset by losing Harrington, the team's second-leading scorer and only real inside presence. Maybe next year, when their ownership question is answered, the Hawks will finally be able to rise out of the rubble. But this year? Pray for Oden.

3) Antonio Williams of Scouts Inc. reports on the moves that will suck:

This time of year, teams take big risks to fill voids on their rosters. While some moves work, many transactions end up hindering development and financial flexibility for that franchise. These seven moves, designed to make a big difference, have the potential to result in little impact.

1. Knicks sign Jared Jeffries - After a disastrous season, the Knicks have to change the identity and the chemistry of the franchise. As part of the offseason makeover, coach-president Isiah Thomas signed Jared Jeffries, late of the Washington Wizards. Jeffries is most effective on the defensive end and distributing the ball, and New York does not have many players on its roster who do those two things. Jeffries has the ability to defend the shooting guard as well as both forward positions. Jeffries also handles the ball well for a player of his size, even spending some time running the point for the Wizards last year. The Knicks will benefit from Jeffries' versatility and the fact that his effectiveness does not depend on his number of shots per game. But here is the fly in the ointment. Jeffries cost the Knicks $30 million over five years. In essence, the Knicks will pay $60 million for Jeffries, since New York resides in the high-rent district known as luxury-tax land. Also, the Knicks just drafted a player, Renaldo Balkman, who has many of the same talents Jeffries possesses. In Jeffries, the Knicks might have paid $60 million for a slightly taller duplicate of Balkman.

2. Nuggets re-sign Nene - The Nuggets' re-signing rugged power forward Nene did not surprise many people. The surprise came with the price tag -- the Nuggets gave a five-year, $60 million contract to a player who missed all but one game last season with a torn ACL and played in only 55 games the year before. While size is a premium in the NBA, this deal still raised eyebrows. Denver already had made a long-term, very expensive commitment to a big man in Marcus Camby. Also, the Nuggets continue to shop, without much success, another big man with a big salary and big injury history in Kenyon Martin. (Also, the Nuggets acquired frontcourt player Joe Smith on Thursday.) While Nene does have the potential and the tools to develop into a solid NBA big man, injuries and depleted minutes could hinder his effort to play well enough to justify the huge contract. As of now, he still has not fully recovered from his ACL injury.

3. Hornets acquire Peja Stojakovic - New Orleans/Oklahoma City desperately needed a consistent shooter to pair with stud point guard Chris Paul. In a sign-and-trade deal with the Indiana Pacers, the Hornets acquired the best shooter on the open market, Peja Stojakovic, the two-time winner of the league's 3-point shooting competition. The Hornets will benefit from Stojakovic's extensive playoff experience, and with Paul giving him plenty of touches, Peja could have a big year for the Hornets. However, Stojakovic has a habit of missing significant amounts of time because of injuries. Also, Stojakovic's play has declined since the 2003-04 season, when his performance warranted serious MVP consideration. New Orleans/Oklahoma City took a big risk in committing $64 million over five years to a player with a significant injury history and declining production.

4. Lakers sign Vladimir Radmanovic - The roller-coaster ride known as the 2006 playoffs provided the Lakers with a crystal clear look into their future. The team had to upgrade its offense and lessen the load on Kobe Bryant. Also, the triangle offense requires spacing and good outside shooting, especially when the team does not have a consistent low-post scoring option (other than Bryant). So the Lakers signed Vladimir Radmanovic to a five-year, $30 million deal. While Radmonovic does have the ability to help the Lakers with his shooting touch, in particular from 3-point range, he does not rebound well for a 6-foot-10 player. He also seems very indifferent on the defensive end, which will not sit well with Phil Jackson. Radmanovic's play and attitude decline when he does not touch the ball often, and he might not be content with the number of shots he has after Kobe and Lamar Odom get theirs. He has not sustained a consistent level of play during his career and sometimes seems to suffer from Randy Moss Syndrome -- i.e. playing hard only when he feels like it.

5. Hornets sign Bobby Jackson - After losing valuable backup point guard Speedy Claxton, New Orleans/Oklahoma City wasted no time in signing the explosive Bobby Jackson. Jackson won the 2003 Sixth Man of the Year Award and the Hornets will look to him to provide the same level of production this season. Jackson can score in bunches and has the ability to spell Paul at the point guard position as well as play some minutes at shooting guard. The Hornets are reuniting Jackson with a former Sacramento Kings teammate, Stojakovic, and the two players have a couple of things in common -- significant playoff experience and a tendency to miss large chunks of time with injuries. Jackson's production has declined since the 2002-03 season and he has played in 70 games only once since then.

6. Suns sign Marcus Banks - The Suns needed a backup point guard to lessen the load on All-World point guard Steve Nash, and they might have found their guy in Marcus Banks. After Boston traded Banks to Minnesota, he showed a glimpse of the potential that made him a lottery pick in the 2003 draft. He will have the chance to utilize his quickness and penetrating ability in the Suns' wide-open offensive attack. He also will provide Phoenix with a strong on-ball, perimeter defender. Banks signed a five-year, $21 million dollar contract with the Suns. While Phoenix did not break the bank to sign Banks, it did pass over some cheaper alternatives. The Suns drafted and traded away Rajon Rondo, a player many scouts believe has talents very similar to Banks' skills. The Suns also signed Leandro Barbosa to an extension, which might affect Banks' minutes. Most importantly, Phoenix wants to re-sign Boris Diaw to an extension while keeping the team's nucleus intact and avoiding the luxury tax. Keeping Rondo instead of signing Banks could have helped the Suns save some money to re-sign Diaw.

7. Trail Blazers acquire Jamaal Magloire - All-Star centers do not become available for trade very often in the NBA. That explains why the Blazers traded Steve Blake, Brian Skinner and Ha Seung-Jin to Milwaukee for Jamaal Magloire. Magloire made the All-Star team for the Hornets during the 2003-04 season. However, several factors make this move questionable. Magloire's numbers have declined since his breakout season. Portland also just made a long-term commitment to center Joel Przybilla, signing him to a five-year, $32 million contract. And the Blazers have big men Zach Randolph and LaMarcus Aldridge on their roster. On the plus side, Magloire does have an expiring contract. If Portland manages to move him for another piece that will help this team rebuild, the Blazers will move off this list.

4) Randy Hill of Foxsports.com thinks Coach K is a genius:

Coach K doing it differently ... and that's good

Americans were up to their eyeballs in mediocrity. Signs of national decay were everywhere. The U.S. film industry continued to struggle, the ability to rally international war allies was waning and the skill to eat more hot dogs than anyone in 12 minutes had been completely usurped.
To put matters on the cusp of outright disturbance, the U.S. men's national basketball team had lost six of its last 17 meaningful games. With the potential for disgrace on their doorstep, Americans chest-passed all hope for restoration to Mike Krzyzewski. If anyone could resurrect hoop glory, Coach K seemed to be an upgrade over the previous coach. Or was he? According to dozens of stalwart intellectuals, basketball coaching is inconclusively overrated. Please note that most of these stalwart minds belong to sportswriters who think the match-up zone is a dating website.
But I'm here to beat the drum for coaching and the importance of Coach K in this nation's potential return to global basketball domination. Before going for those drumsticks, let's break out the exposition. Our quick history review begins with Coach K's predecessor. That would be the lovely and popular Larry Brown, a guy whose collective contractual buyouts may put him on the Forbes hot list. Larry, who allegedly has a realtor on retainer, is a superb coach with one NCAA title and one NBA championship on his resume. That resume also includes a season in New York Knicks hell that was prefaced by an unacceptable bronze-medal run during the 2004 Summer Olympics. When finishing third registered as unacceptable to the American sense of sports decency, a new format was suggested. This new format began with the appointment of Jerry Colangelo as king of USA Basketball. For the record, Colangelo is the former owner of the Phoenix Suns; please note that while Jerry never built a championship winner while owning the Suns, he did muster a World Series bonanza with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Among Colangelo's first USA Basketball moves was the hiring of Coach K, the Mr. Big of the mighty Duke University program. With a few World Championship dress rehearsals in the bag, the selection of Krzyzewski seems to be a coaching upgrade. Let's take a look at why this is possible. In fairness to LB, human resources did a lousy job of setting him up with team-oriented personnel. This mismatched roster of 2004 included Allen Iverson (Brown's former co-worker in Philly) and Stephon Marbury, whose seeming disinterest in doing things "the right way" would bite Larry in the Big Apple. The general chemistry turned into a Petri dish riot. Besides their obvious interest in dribbling away the international 24-second clock, Iverson and Marbury were less than sold on Brown's faith in defense. Yeah, Larry believes in defense with the same conviction that defines Krzyzewski.
Unfortunately, his lead personalities refused to bend their knees just to sit in a chair. Brown did have a couple of players with more gusto in pressuring opposing ballhandlers, but they were mere basketball kids. Brown, who averaged fewer subs per day than Jared Fogle, also has little affection for inexperienced players. So LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony and inside man Amare Stoudemire spent most of their first Olympic experience on the bench. The older and wiser James, Wade and Anthony now form a crucial triad in Coach K's interpretation of Team USA. While Anthony remains something of a defensive liability, Kirk Hinrich and Chris Paul have joined Wade and James in an up-court defensive attack that fuels the American offense. That's correct. Krzyzewski, realizing the United States still has a huge advantage over the world in physical talent, is using depth and pressure defense to goose a game's tempo. Tempo is sort of important because — in case you hadn't noticed — the world is unable to match the Americans at fast-break basketball. Brown's players — not necessarily by his design — seemed more convinced that offense could be used as defense. With an abundance of quick, strong and bouncy players wearing American jerseys, refusing to extend the defense may be as daft as hiring Secretariat to pull a cart. During the World Championship preamble, Coach K has used this depth to his advantage. He's demonstrating flexibility beyond that of Brown, who seems slightly less inflexible than Frankenstein. Like Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump, Brown operates with a short bench ... even if he has several talented players sitting on it. Krzyzewski, who regularly trots out highly regarded recruiting classes at Duke, has a similar philosophy. While TV analysts (take a bow, Dick Vitale) mope about Coach K's lack of depth, this often occurs by coach's choice. He usually has a rotation of six or seven trusted players and proceeds that way through March. But with so many talented Americans at his fingertips, Krzyzewski is ignoring his collegiate instincts and will attempt to wear down the world. OK, so the strategy fits the U.S. personnel; what we need to understand is just why these basketball millionaires are more willing to take direction this time.
The explanation may be associated with credibility. This by no means suggests that Brown lacks the all-important round-ball cred. But he's impressively sabotaged this reputation by hopscotching the league in search of a bigger challenge and/or pay day. Coach K checked in with an NCAA-title pedigree that survived a lucrative courtship from the Los Angeles Lakers. He also surrounded himself with cutting-edge assistant coaches. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim is the Ben Kenobi of zone defense. Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni is a mastermind at generating open-court opportunities on offense. So, while Krzyzewski preaches the importance of ball pressure and rotation on defense, D'Antoni represents the enjoyment possibilities when the U.S. regains possession. Does all of this guarantee an American cakewalk? No. Due to prior-commitment issues, the U.S. still lacks deadeye perimeter shooting and an offensive killer from the low post (which, due to international rules, isn't that low).
And while Coach K attacks the middle of a zone with more commitment than Brown's teams, the Americans waste too many possessions by shooting over the top. But the demonstrated ball movement and defensive intensity look more than promising. Americans with a jones for hot-dogging may have wait until the NBA reconvenes.