My Fantasy sleeper is the Celtics’ Ryan Gomes, who is the new jack Derrick McKey…points, boards, steals, assists and all in the context of team play…
More comment on the new ball...the Suns have been using the ball for about a month, since the start of informal workouts, and it seems that all of them want ol' reliable back. The league's two-time MVP -- one who may handle the ball more often than any player -- is not a fan. "It's very difficult for us," Nash said. "It's almost like you have to relearn how to make your plays because this ball sticks to your hand whereas the old ball slid in your hand nicely and it had a nice little touch off the floor and the backboard. This ball just grips the floor and grips the backboard so you have to change your game."
Kevin McHale said the injured Wolves guard Rashad McCants “looks like a middle linebacker” after spending so much time in the weight room…
My good friend Chris Hunt will love this…T-Mac called Rockets rookie Steve Novak: “…the best shooter I’ve ever seen…I don’t care if he can’t do anything else. I don’t care if he can’t dribble, he can’t rebound, can’t play defence, that man can shoot the ball.” Wow…sounds like he;s describing the second coming of Shawn Respert…
What?...Since having the option on his contract picked up in June, Rockets forward Chuck Hayes has been electrocuted by a water fountain and has slipped on a puddle of a water in practice to injure his groin.
This is awesome: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=alipour/061005
1) Someone please tell me why so many NBA players seem to carry guns? From the AP:
Four Pacers involved in shooting
Indiana Pacers player Stephen Jackson was hit in the mouth, struck by a car and fired a gun outside an Indianapolis strip club early Friday, police said. Jackson, 28, told officers he fired his 9 mm pistol in the air in self-defense after he was slugged in the jaw and hit by a car outside the club, said Sgt. Matthew Mount, spokesman for the Indianapolis Police Department. There were no reports of anyone being struck by the gunfire, and police did not make any immediate arrests. Police are looking for the car that hit Jackson and other individuals involved. Mount said an argument involving Jackson and other members of the Pacers began inside the club. The Pacers players said they left the club, but other club patrons followed them outside. "At some point when leaving the club, a verbal altercation ensued ... that turned into a physical altercation," Mount said. Jackson was hit in the mouth, and an individual tried to run him over with a car, Mount said. Jackson went up onto the hood of the car. Jackson was limping but refused medical treatment at the scene, Mount said. He conferred with a Pacers trainer and sought medical treatment at a hospital. The other Pacers at the scene were Jamaal Tinsley, Marquis Daniels and Jimmie Hunter. Tinsley and Daniels also had guns in their cars, and all three armed players had permits for the weapons, Mount said, although Daniels' permit was issued by Florida. Jackson joined the Pacers in 2004 and averaged 16 points per game during the 2005-06 season.
2) Mike Kahn of Foxsports.com with his 10 things column:
Ten things to watch as NBA camps open
With training camp getting under way this week for the 2006-07 season, the stories that will break and confound prior to and after the regular season begins are likely to be equal parts shocking and predictable. But there will be ongoing stories that will begin at the onset of camp and carry us through the entire regular season ... possibly into the playoffs. So instead of the typical look back, let's take a gander at the stories likely to have the most legs beginning in training camp.
1. Item: Pat Riley returned to coach the defending champion Miami Heat, trying to duplicate the back-to-back titles he won with the Lakers almost 20 years earlier. Do the Heat have a realistic shot at repeating? What this really means: It will take a lot more than the will of Riley, the size and confidence of Shaquille O'Neal and the extraordinary ability of young guard Dwyane Wade. In fact, it's hard to tell how much energy Riley has left considering he took so long to announce his return (however made-for-TV dramatic it may have purposely been). Even more important will be O'Neal; he doesn't dominate games much any more and isn't going to get any lighter or more effective. Besides, he admitted recently he would have retired if Riley didn't return. Granted, it's easy for him to say that now and nobody believes he'd walk away from the $20 million a year he'll be making. But it is in his head. The bigger issue may be Wade. His talent and maturity are unquestionable, but he's in a totally different realm now. With the Finals MVP award, a captainship with the U.S. national team and unprecedented commercials, this mature and generally quiet family man is everywhere. How has this worn on him mentally? Did this summer's tough run in Japan, on top of a playoff run that lasted well into June, wear him out physically? It's impossible not to adore Wade, his presence and his talent, but the immediate future of this team is as fragile as O'Neal's free throw shooting.
2. Item: The Dallas Mavericks signed All-NBA forward Dirk Nowitzki to a long-term extension last week on the heels of leading the Mavs to the finals. What this really means: Just as it's impossible to know what the Heat will do for an encore, the same goes for Nowitzki and the Mavs considering they had the Heat on the canvas ready to go down 3-0 with six minutes left in Game 3. Then they fell apart — in the game, in the series, and Nowitzki went from a top-of-the-hill superstar to a shrinking violet. He is, by all accounts, a top-five player in this league and the unequivocal leader of the Mavs. Chances are he'll respond in kind, but at what level? We know Avery Johnson will not let down in his second full season as coach and will learn from the spanking they took in the finals. However, owner Mark Cuban won't ever back down from how he wants to behave at any given moment, nor from what he wants to say. And while that works great in business, it can wreak havoc on the psyche of a sports franchise. Many believe it did in the finals because he got so publicly cocky when the Mavs went up 2-0. Hanging at the top of the heap is always a tenuous spot and how will Cuban, Johnson and Nowitzki #&151; with Josh Howard sitting in — deal with the pressure of having been so close but not getting the ring?
3. Item: The San Antonio Spurs have admittedly changed their style to a certain extent and have publicly said superstar Tim Duncan will play center a lot more this year as they play smaller and faster. What this really means: Everyone seems to have forgotten that the Spurs played smaller and faster last season, were within one game of the best record in the NBA, and lost to the Mavericks in the second round in a series that was so close, it was a travesty one of the teams had to lose. In other words, they are close to being back to the team that won three titles in seven years — but how much energy do they have left? For one thing, Duncan didn't play in the summer for the first time in years — which allowed him to get healthy in the wake of their early exit. We'll see what kind of competitor he is. Manu Ginobili must return healthy considering how erratic he was with ankle and foot problems last season. Tony Parker was magnificent in the regular season and put up his best numbers, but he is still far too erratic as a scorer and playmaker in the playoffs. Enough about his youth; he's been around long enough to now that he should consistently perform as an elite point guard in the postseason. You'd better believe coach Gregg Popovich believes the same thing.
4. Item: The Detroit Pistons have rebuilt their coaching staff around Flip Saunders in his second season and didn't do much to entice free-agent center and emotional leader Ben Wallace to stick around — so he bolted for Chicago. What this really means: The Pistons' near collapse to the Cavaliers in the second round and complete collapse to the Heat in the conference finals reflected an exhausted team. Maybe even moreso, a team that actually believed it was better than it was. The Pistons were an outstanding defensive team, winning the title in 2004 and losing in the finals to the Spurs in 2005. When Larry Brown left, replaced by Saunders at the start of last season, the players felt freed from Brown's strict principles and put together the best regular season record. But both Ben and Rasheed Wallace faded. Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince played far too many minutes and had nothing left by the middle of the playoffs. This season they'll be refreshed and the edict from president Joe Dumars is to extend the bench — consistently. This will be a make-or-break year for this group and perhaps the perception of Saunders as a head coach in this league.
5. Item: When Chicago Bulls president John Paxson dealt Tyson Chandler to the Hornets for P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith (whom they later released), that completely wiped the slate clean from the Jerry Krause personnel era of the Bulls. What this really means: Paxson has completely transitioned this team into a defensive-oriented group that coach Scott Skiles believes he can compete with in the upper echelon of the East. Signing Ben Wallace and acquiring Brown will serve as a short-term fix to add energy and teach defensive effort to the young players like rookie Tyrus Thomas, Andres Nocioni and Luol Deng up front — along with guards Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon, et al.
6. Item: Last week, Jerry Colangelo agreed to stick around as chairman of the Phoenix Suns' board of directors until 2011. What this really means: Well, considering Colangelo has been with this franchise since its inception in 2008, it could have been just out of habit that he wanted to stick around. But it was odd in the wake of the somewhat controversial (not to metion, rapid) exit as president by son Bryan Colangelo to become president of the Toronto Raptors. Are the motives for Colangelo to stay on board purely out of his love for the Suns, retaining a hand in the franchise for ego purposes, or just the inability to trust his baby with new owner Robert Sarver? Even though he sold the team to Sarver and he hand-picked coach Mike D'Antoni — who is the only NBA coach to be in the conference finals in each of the past two seasons — it seems impossible for Colangelo to walk away considering his name is synonymous with the Suns. And maybe he never should.
7. Item: Even though it was 10 years ago that Don Nelson was perceived as washed up as a coach and permanently headed for Hawaii after the New York Knicks fired him, he did just fine in helping rebuild the Dallas Mavericks with his son Donnie. Now his former star with the Golden State Warriors — GM Chris Mullin — has hired him to return the Warriors to the playoffs. What this really means: Mullin has shown good instincts with players, but the hiring of Mike Montgomery from Stanford was never going to work — and this is, at best, a short-term fix and a bid just to make the playoffs. And perhaps that's all this franchise really needs — a coach to make them believe and eradicate the losing culture that has permeated Bay Area basketball. The problem is Nelson always ends up with as many enemies as allies and it can divide an organization. He's a politician and a bully — a dangerous combination. His version of "smallball" will help the Warriors become more consistent offensively. But if they never play defense, they'll never win either. The hope is a trip to the playoffs can change everything — but if he doesn't do it this year, chances are it will never happen with Nelson as their coach, either.
8. Item: People expected LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to improve last season and make the playoffs. But nobody — probably not even LeBron and the Cavs — knew they could take the Pistons to the brink of elimination in Game 6 of the East semis. What this really means: James and young coach Mike Brown have the Cavs on the brink of getting to the next level, that's for sure. But the off-season moves made by GM Danny Ferry made this team extraordinarily guard-heavy, and the roster seems dangerously imbalanced at this time. Of course, they want to pressure defensively and play fast, but this is way over the top. The Cavs have Zydrunas Ilgauskas, re-signed Drew Gooden, and have every reason to be excited about the future of Anderson Varejao, but that's it when it comes to power players. They drafted two terrific guards in Shannon Brown and Thomas Gibson, but they need more up front to be serious against the best of the East. Then again, when James is involved, there is no such word as elimination.
9. Item: Los Angeles Lakers had the Phoenix Suns down 3-1 in the first round last season and just couldn't put them away. Now they've added hot-shooting Vladimir Radmanovic and seem even more potent. What this really means: There is minor hope around Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom, but they'll need more than just flurries of incredible shooting from Bryant, like the one that totaled 81 points in one game a year ago. But in a strange turn of events, coach Phil Jackson announced last week that he would undergo hip replacement surgery and could be out up to six weeks. Jackson has to be in control if this team is to have any semblance of success, and the timing of this is really hard to fathom. Jackson has known for years he needed the surgery, as he's constantly been in varying degrees of pain and discomfort. Why now? If the Lakers get off to a horrible start this season and never recover to make the playoffs, it's a question he'll be dogged with for more years than he'll care to remember.
10. Item: And of course, what could be more interesting than to keep an eye on Madison Square Garden, where the bizarre Knicks hit the news this week by buying out veteran forward Mo Taylor from their massive $132 million payroll (plus luxury tax). What this really means: Not only is coach and president Isiah Thomas doggedly attempting to get this roster down to a workable salary structure as they move forward with deals and actually attempting to win, he did coax one of his former Indiana University teammates and front office lieutenant in Toronto — Glen Grunwald — to help manage the front office. There has always been genius to Thomas as a player, and even in his draft judgment — he clearly gets basketball. But deep inside those personality quirks, something has always gotten in the way of him completing the task when the ball isn't in his hands. He was at least 50 percent of the problem for the Larry Brown fiasco (last year's coach who will get at least $40 million in a settlement), he is defending himself in the middle of a sexual harassment case, and the Knicks ownership group has told him: "You got us into this mess ... you dig us out." It's an almost impossible task, but it will still play big at the Garden, if only because everybody knows how much New Yorkers appreciate good theatre.
3) Sources: Not enough good leather to go 'round?
The NBA has controversially introduced a new basketball for the first time in 35 years, prompting an obvious question: Why? One potential factor: Spalding, which has manufactured NBA balls since 1983, might have been eager to get out of the leather business. The new official NBA basketball finds itself amid controversy.NBA sources told ESPN.com that Spalding urged the NBA to switch to a composite model because it was having trouble securing the "consistent" leather needed to keep manufacturing the ball that has been used for decades. At the NBA's annual rookie orientation in September, according to sources, first-year players were told by league officials that the change to a microfiber composite ball was caused largely by Spalding's struggles to keep finding the specific leather used for the NBA model. Spalding, though, contends that the change was made because the new model is simply "a better ball." That's according to Dan Touhey, Spalding's vice president of marketing, who told ESPN.com on Thursday that the composite ball can be produced with "more consistency, a better grip and more advanced technology."
"That's not the reason at all, far from it," Touhey said of any leather shortages. "It is a fact that there are very few manufacturers remaining that produce leather. But when you go down the list of reasons why [the ball was changed], that would be No. 999 out of a thousand. "We're always looking for a better material, a more consistent material. Leather, because it's a natural material, is inherently a more difficult material to source. A composite material, because it's a man-made material, is easier to source. … The benefit is consistency. That's probably what the point was [at the rookie orientation]." It remains to be seen if the widespread outcry against the new ball will prompt the league office to consider switching back to leather before the regular season opens Oct. 31. But that seems highly unlikely, given the stance shared by NBA commissioner David Stern in Spain on Thursday. "Every organization plays with a synthetic ball -- high school, college, FIBA and the like -- and so the time of the synthetic ball is here," Stern said of his league. The chorus of complaints has nonetheless been getting louder by the day since Miami's Shaquille O'Neal ranted against the switch Monday, likening the composite model to "one of those cheap balls that you buy at the toy store." New Jersey's Vince Carter, Detroit's Rasheed Wallace, Denver's Carmelo Anthony, Washington's Gilbert Arenas, Phoenix's Shawn Marion and the Suns' reigning two-time MVP Steve Nash are among the big names who have since voiced their displeasure with the change. The most common complaints are that the ball is too sticky when dry and too slippery when it gets wet, much slicker than a wet leather ball. The old NBA ball will be missed by many. Miami's Antoine Walker raised another concern earlier this week, saying, "The problem with this ball is that it wears down very easily and that's not good. During the course of a game, if a guy is 10-for-10 in the first half and now you've got to switch to another ball, that makes a difference. We should have stayed with the old ball. It was better. Those old balls last a long time and you could play with them when they got old. These balls, once they get slippery, it's going to be difficult." Wallace told the Detroit News: "Terrible. I don't know why they did it. The thing that [upsets] me about it is, that's a major part of playing and you can't just change it without getting the players' opinions on the ball before you change it." Yet much like the dress code instituted by the league last fall and its subsequent decision to ban the compression tights sported by several top players throughout the 2005-06 season, changing the official ball -- according to the current collective bargaining agreement -- is another measure that the NBA has the right to impose unilaterally, without consulting the NBA Players Association. NBA vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson, promoted from senior vice president of basketball operations to executive vice president in June, defended the new ball Tuesday, insisting that it has a better grip than its predecessor when wet, not worse. "It's a better ball," Jackson said. "But as a product matter, composite balls are used in every league throughout the world. And they've been used in every level of play over the last 10 years domestically in the NCAA and also in high school." The composite ball has been used at the past two All-Star Games and was modified by Spalding after the first composites were tested by NBA players in 2005. The league dispatched a new ball to every NBA player over the summer and Jackson estimated in June that "99 percent" of the league's players grew up using only a composite ball. But that hasn't hushed or even slowed an ongoing flurry of complaints. "As a kid going up through high school and then college, you dream about playing with that leather NBA basketball," Mavericks swingman Jerry Stackhouse told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "This new ball is the one I played with in the backyard when I was 12. "Nobody that ever played the game would want to change that ball. Nobody. Not Michael Jordan. Not Dr. J. Nobody." Spalding, according to Touhey, was prepared for such reactions, knowing that protest is a reflex response to change. "It takes time," Touhey said. "These guys are professional athletes. They get custom fitted for their shoes. Everything about their lives is about consistency. When you switch out the most important piece of equipment, players are going to be resistant to that. "But we know it's a better ball, so we're comfortable." Bulls coach Scott Skiles told the Chicago Sun-Times: "I think it was my sophomore year in college, the Big Ten -- or maybe it was the whole NCAA -- changed balls. Initially, everybody was kind of frowning on it, but within a couple of months, everybody was fine with it. That will probably be the case here."
5) Chad Ford of ESPN.com debunks some myths:
One month before the season even begins, two big topics concerning next summer are already on the minds of some -- the likely destination of Vince Carter and the supposedly endless cap room of the Lakers. In the spirit of my favorite show, "MythBusters," here are two NBA myths that need a little busting.
Myth 1. Vince Carter will leave the Nets for the Magic next summer. Apparently someone looked at the Magic's glaring need at two guard, saw that Grant Hill is coming off the books next summer, realized that Carter has a home in the Orlando area and ... boom ... an NBA myth was born. It isn't impossible that Carter would bolt New Jersey for the Magic, but as it stands right now, the problem is that he'd have to take a huge pay cut to do it.
True, at first glance it appears that the Magic will be swimming in cash next summer once Grant Hill's contract comes off the books. If the cap were to stay at $53 million, the Magic would have roughly $12 million in cap room. If the cap were to go up to $55 million, the Magic would have roughly $14 million in room. But there's a major caveat. The Magic don't have really any significant cap room until they decide what to do with up coming restricted free agent Darko Milicic. Milicic will have a huge cap hold, which is the amount of cap space the Magic have to set aside for him. The cap hold is 250 percent of his previous salary up to the max salary, for a total of about $12.445 million. The Darko cap hold will significantly reduce the Magic's available cap space down to between zero and two million. The cap hold disappears once Darko either signs with another team (the Magic will have the right to match because he's a restricted free agent) or agrees to a contract with the Magic. If the Darko plays at about the same level he did last season for the Magic, he's probably looking at a starting salary between $5 and 7 million next season (remember that Kwame Brown got $8 million a year with the Lakers for doing next to nothing in Washington). Darko is 7-1, will turn only 22 years old next June, and has shown that, at the very least, he's an outstanding shot blocker. If Darko improves as much as some scouts believe he will this year, he could be looking at a contract with a starting salary of closer to $10 million. If Darko signs a deal with a starting salary of $6 million, his cap hold disappears and the Magic would be left with about $8 million in cap space (assuming a $55 million-dollar salary cap next year). If he signs for $8 million, that number drops to $6 million in cap space. If he really blows up, the Magic can kiss their cap space goodbye if they want to re-sign him.
Carter makes $15 million this year and would be opting out of a deal that would pay him $16 million next year. You do the math. Yes, the Magic could try to make more room by trading players in return for expiring contracts, but who's that going to be? I'm sure they'd love to dump Keyon Dooling or Pat Garrity, but who's going to give up an expiring contract for either player? And don't forget that the Magic, historically a conservative team when it comes to finances, has more than just Darko to worry about next summer. Dwight Howard will be up for a max-type extension next summer and Jameer Nelson is coming the year after that. The most likely scenario is that Carter stays put in New Jersey. Big stars rarely leave the home team, Carter keeps saying he wants to stay and the Nets sound like they want to keep him. If he does leave the Nets, the team with a better shot of luring Carter away could be the Bobcats. If a local connection matters, well, Carter played his college ball at UNC. More important, the Bobcats have a big hole at the two and they'll be looking at a whopping $26 to $27 million in cap room next year. They'll have the money to sign Carter and have plenty left over to do whatever they want.
Myth 2: The Lakers will be big players in the free agent market next summer. This myth has died down a little now that the Lakers spent a significant amount of money on free agent Vladimir Radmanovic this summer -- but it was always bogus. As I chronicled early last year, for the Lakers to get max cap room in the summer of 2007, they would have needed to dump every player on their team except Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum. Then, after spending max dollars on one player, they would have had to fill 10 remaining roster spots with minimum contracts. That was never going to happen. But the question became moot when the Lakers guaranteed the third year of Kwame Brown's contract -- for a whopping $9 million -- midway through last season. As it stands now, the Lakers are looking at a payroll of right around $55 million next year, which should be just around where the salary cap comes in.
More comment on the new ball...the Suns have been using the ball for about a month, since the start of informal workouts, and it seems that all of them want ol' reliable back. The league's two-time MVP -- one who may handle the ball more often than any player -- is not a fan. "It's very difficult for us," Nash said. "It's almost like you have to relearn how to make your plays because this ball sticks to your hand whereas the old ball slid in your hand nicely and it had a nice little touch off the floor and the backboard. This ball just grips the floor and grips the backboard so you have to change your game."
Kevin McHale said the injured Wolves guard Rashad McCants “looks like a middle linebacker” after spending so much time in the weight room…
My good friend Chris Hunt will love this…T-Mac called Rockets rookie Steve Novak: “…the best shooter I’ve ever seen…I don’t care if he can’t do anything else. I don’t care if he can’t dribble, he can’t rebound, can’t play defence, that man can shoot the ball.” Wow…sounds like he;s describing the second coming of Shawn Respert…
What?...Since having the option on his contract picked up in June, Rockets forward Chuck Hayes has been electrocuted by a water fountain and has slipped on a puddle of a water in practice to injure his groin.
This is awesome: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=alipour/061005
1) Someone please tell me why so many NBA players seem to carry guns? From the AP:
Four Pacers involved in shooting
Indiana Pacers player Stephen Jackson was hit in the mouth, struck by a car and fired a gun outside an Indianapolis strip club early Friday, police said. Jackson, 28, told officers he fired his 9 mm pistol in the air in self-defense after he was slugged in the jaw and hit by a car outside the club, said Sgt. Matthew Mount, spokesman for the Indianapolis Police Department. There were no reports of anyone being struck by the gunfire, and police did not make any immediate arrests. Police are looking for the car that hit Jackson and other individuals involved. Mount said an argument involving Jackson and other members of the Pacers began inside the club. The Pacers players said they left the club, but other club patrons followed them outside. "At some point when leaving the club, a verbal altercation ensued ... that turned into a physical altercation," Mount said. Jackson was hit in the mouth, and an individual tried to run him over with a car, Mount said. Jackson went up onto the hood of the car. Jackson was limping but refused medical treatment at the scene, Mount said. He conferred with a Pacers trainer and sought medical treatment at a hospital. The other Pacers at the scene were Jamaal Tinsley, Marquis Daniels and Jimmie Hunter. Tinsley and Daniels also had guns in their cars, and all three armed players had permits for the weapons, Mount said, although Daniels' permit was issued by Florida. Jackson joined the Pacers in 2004 and averaged 16 points per game during the 2005-06 season.
2) Mike Kahn of Foxsports.com with his 10 things column:
Ten things to watch as NBA camps open
With training camp getting under way this week for the 2006-07 season, the stories that will break and confound prior to and after the regular season begins are likely to be equal parts shocking and predictable. But there will be ongoing stories that will begin at the onset of camp and carry us through the entire regular season ... possibly into the playoffs. So instead of the typical look back, let's take a gander at the stories likely to have the most legs beginning in training camp.
1. Item: Pat Riley returned to coach the defending champion Miami Heat, trying to duplicate the back-to-back titles he won with the Lakers almost 20 years earlier. Do the Heat have a realistic shot at repeating? What this really means: It will take a lot more than the will of Riley, the size and confidence of Shaquille O'Neal and the extraordinary ability of young guard Dwyane Wade. In fact, it's hard to tell how much energy Riley has left considering he took so long to announce his return (however made-for-TV dramatic it may have purposely been). Even more important will be O'Neal; he doesn't dominate games much any more and isn't going to get any lighter or more effective. Besides, he admitted recently he would have retired if Riley didn't return. Granted, it's easy for him to say that now and nobody believes he'd walk away from the $20 million a year he'll be making. But it is in his head. The bigger issue may be Wade. His talent and maturity are unquestionable, but he's in a totally different realm now. With the Finals MVP award, a captainship with the U.S. national team and unprecedented commercials, this mature and generally quiet family man is everywhere. How has this worn on him mentally? Did this summer's tough run in Japan, on top of a playoff run that lasted well into June, wear him out physically? It's impossible not to adore Wade, his presence and his talent, but the immediate future of this team is as fragile as O'Neal's free throw shooting.
2. Item: The Dallas Mavericks signed All-NBA forward Dirk Nowitzki to a long-term extension last week on the heels of leading the Mavs to the finals. What this really means: Just as it's impossible to know what the Heat will do for an encore, the same goes for Nowitzki and the Mavs considering they had the Heat on the canvas ready to go down 3-0 with six minutes left in Game 3. Then they fell apart — in the game, in the series, and Nowitzki went from a top-of-the-hill superstar to a shrinking violet. He is, by all accounts, a top-five player in this league and the unequivocal leader of the Mavs. Chances are he'll respond in kind, but at what level? We know Avery Johnson will not let down in his second full season as coach and will learn from the spanking they took in the finals. However, owner Mark Cuban won't ever back down from how he wants to behave at any given moment, nor from what he wants to say. And while that works great in business, it can wreak havoc on the psyche of a sports franchise. Many believe it did in the finals because he got so publicly cocky when the Mavs went up 2-0. Hanging at the top of the heap is always a tenuous spot and how will Cuban, Johnson and Nowitzki #&151; with Josh Howard sitting in — deal with the pressure of having been so close but not getting the ring?
3. Item: The San Antonio Spurs have admittedly changed their style to a certain extent and have publicly said superstar Tim Duncan will play center a lot more this year as they play smaller and faster. What this really means: Everyone seems to have forgotten that the Spurs played smaller and faster last season, were within one game of the best record in the NBA, and lost to the Mavericks in the second round in a series that was so close, it was a travesty one of the teams had to lose. In other words, they are close to being back to the team that won three titles in seven years — but how much energy do they have left? For one thing, Duncan didn't play in the summer for the first time in years — which allowed him to get healthy in the wake of their early exit. We'll see what kind of competitor he is. Manu Ginobili must return healthy considering how erratic he was with ankle and foot problems last season. Tony Parker was magnificent in the regular season and put up his best numbers, but he is still far too erratic as a scorer and playmaker in the playoffs. Enough about his youth; he's been around long enough to now that he should consistently perform as an elite point guard in the postseason. You'd better believe coach Gregg Popovich believes the same thing.
4. Item: The Detroit Pistons have rebuilt their coaching staff around Flip Saunders in his second season and didn't do much to entice free-agent center and emotional leader Ben Wallace to stick around — so he bolted for Chicago. What this really means: The Pistons' near collapse to the Cavaliers in the second round and complete collapse to the Heat in the conference finals reflected an exhausted team. Maybe even moreso, a team that actually believed it was better than it was. The Pistons were an outstanding defensive team, winning the title in 2004 and losing in the finals to the Spurs in 2005. When Larry Brown left, replaced by Saunders at the start of last season, the players felt freed from Brown's strict principles and put together the best regular season record. But both Ben and Rasheed Wallace faded. Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince played far too many minutes and had nothing left by the middle of the playoffs. This season they'll be refreshed and the edict from president Joe Dumars is to extend the bench — consistently. This will be a make-or-break year for this group and perhaps the perception of Saunders as a head coach in this league.
5. Item: When Chicago Bulls president John Paxson dealt Tyson Chandler to the Hornets for P.J. Brown and J.R. Smith (whom they later released), that completely wiped the slate clean from the Jerry Krause personnel era of the Bulls. What this really means: Paxson has completely transitioned this team into a defensive-oriented group that coach Scott Skiles believes he can compete with in the upper echelon of the East. Signing Ben Wallace and acquiring Brown will serve as a short-term fix to add energy and teach defensive effort to the young players like rookie Tyrus Thomas, Andres Nocioni and Luol Deng up front — along with guards Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon, et al.
6. Item: Last week, Jerry Colangelo agreed to stick around as chairman of the Phoenix Suns' board of directors until 2011. What this really means: Well, considering Colangelo has been with this franchise since its inception in 2008, it could have been just out of habit that he wanted to stick around. But it was odd in the wake of the somewhat controversial (not to metion, rapid) exit as president by son Bryan Colangelo to become president of the Toronto Raptors. Are the motives for Colangelo to stay on board purely out of his love for the Suns, retaining a hand in the franchise for ego purposes, or just the inability to trust his baby with new owner Robert Sarver? Even though he sold the team to Sarver and he hand-picked coach Mike D'Antoni — who is the only NBA coach to be in the conference finals in each of the past two seasons — it seems impossible for Colangelo to walk away considering his name is synonymous with the Suns. And maybe he never should.
7. Item: Even though it was 10 years ago that Don Nelson was perceived as washed up as a coach and permanently headed for Hawaii after the New York Knicks fired him, he did just fine in helping rebuild the Dallas Mavericks with his son Donnie. Now his former star with the Golden State Warriors — GM Chris Mullin — has hired him to return the Warriors to the playoffs. What this really means: Mullin has shown good instincts with players, but the hiring of Mike Montgomery from Stanford was never going to work — and this is, at best, a short-term fix and a bid just to make the playoffs. And perhaps that's all this franchise really needs — a coach to make them believe and eradicate the losing culture that has permeated Bay Area basketball. The problem is Nelson always ends up with as many enemies as allies and it can divide an organization. He's a politician and a bully — a dangerous combination. His version of "smallball" will help the Warriors become more consistent offensively. But if they never play defense, they'll never win either. The hope is a trip to the playoffs can change everything — but if he doesn't do it this year, chances are it will never happen with Nelson as their coach, either.
8. Item: People expected LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers to improve last season and make the playoffs. But nobody — probably not even LeBron and the Cavs — knew they could take the Pistons to the brink of elimination in Game 6 of the East semis. What this really means: James and young coach Mike Brown have the Cavs on the brink of getting to the next level, that's for sure. But the off-season moves made by GM Danny Ferry made this team extraordinarily guard-heavy, and the roster seems dangerously imbalanced at this time. Of course, they want to pressure defensively and play fast, but this is way over the top. The Cavs have Zydrunas Ilgauskas, re-signed Drew Gooden, and have every reason to be excited about the future of Anderson Varejao, but that's it when it comes to power players. They drafted two terrific guards in Shannon Brown and Thomas Gibson, but they need more up front to be serious against the best of the East. Then again, when James is involved, there is no such word as elimination.
9. Item: Los Angeles Lakers had the Phoenix Suns down 3-1 in the first round last season and just couldn't put them away. Now they've added hot-shooting Vladimir Radmanovic and seem even more potent. What this really means: There is minor hope around Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom, but they'll need more than just flurries of incredible shooting from Bryant, like the one that totaled 81 points in one game a year ago. But in a strange turn of events, coach Phil Jackson announced last week that he would undergo hip replacement surgery and could be out up to six weeks. Jackson has to be in control if this team is to have any semblance of success, and the timing of this is really hard to fathom. Jackson has known for years he needed the surgery, as he's constantly been in varying degrees of pain and discomfort. Why now? If the Lakers get off to a horrible start this season and never recover to make the playoffs, it's a question he'll be dogged with for more years than he'll care to remember.
10. Item: And of course, what could be more interesting than to keep an eye on Madison Square Garden, where the bizarre Knicks hit the news this week by buying out veteran forward Mo Taylor from their massive $132 million payroll (plus luxury tax). What this really means: Not only is coach and president Isiah Thomas doggedly attempting to get this roster down to a workable salary structure as they move forward with deals and actually attempting to win, he did coax one of his former Indiana University teammates and front office lieutenant in Toronto — Glen Grunwald — to help manage the front office. There has always been genius to Thomas as a player, and even in his draft judgment — he clearly gets basketball. But deep inside those personality quirks, something has always gotten in the way of him completing the task when the ball isn't in his hands. He was at least 50 percent of the problem for the Larry Brown fiasco (last year's coach who will get at least $40 million in a settlement), he is defending himself in the middle of a sexual harassment case, and the Knicks ownership group has told him: "You got us into this mess ... you dig us out." It's an almost impossible task, but it will still play big at the Garden, if only because everybody knows how much New Yorkers appreciate good theatre.
3) Sources: Not enough good leather to go 'round?
The NBA has controversially introduced a new basketball for the first time in 35 years, prompting an obvious question: Why? One potential factor: Spalding, which has manufactured NBA balls since 1983, might have been eager to get out of the leather business. The new official NBA basketball finds itself amid controversy.NBA sources told ESPN.com that Spalding urged the NBA to switch to a composite model because it was having trouble securing the "consistent" leather needed to keep manufacturing the ball that has been used for decades. At the NBA's annual rookie orientation in September, according to sources, first-year players were told by league officials that the change to a microfiber composite ball was caused largely by Spalding's struggles to keep finding the specific leather used for the NBA model. Spalding, though, contends that the change was made because the new model is simply "a better ball." That's according to Dan Touhey, Spalding's vice president of marketing, who told ESPN.com on Thursday that the composite ball can be produced with "more consistency, a better grip and more advanced technology."
"That's not the reason at all, far from it," Touhey said of any leather shortages. "It is a fact that there are very few manufacturers remaining that produce leather. But when you go down the list of reasons why [the ball was changed], that would be No. 999 out of a thousand. "We're always looking for a better material, a more consistent material. Leather, because it's a natural material, is inherently a more difficult material to source. A composite material, because it's a man-made material, is easier to source. … The benefit is consistency. That's probably what the point was [at the rookie orientation]." It remains to be seen if the widespread outcry against the new ball will prompt the league office to consider switching back to leather before the regular season opens Oct. 31. But that seems highly unlikely, given the stance shared by NBA commissioner David Stern in Spain on Thursday. "Every organization plays with a synthetic ball -- high school, college, FIBA and the like -- and so the time of the synthetic ball is here," Stern said of his league. The chorus of complaints has nonetheless been getting louder by the day since Miami's Shaquille O'Neal ranted against the switch Monday, likening the composite model to "one of those cheap balls that you buy at the toy store." New Jersey's Vince Carter, Detroit's Rasheed Wallace, Denver's Carmelo Anthony, Washington's Gilbert Arenas, Phoenix's Shawn Marion and the Suns' reigning two-time MVP Steve Nash are among the big names who have since voiced their displeasure with the change. The most common complaints are that the ball is too sticky when dry and too slippery when it gets wet, much slicker than a wet leather ball. The old NBA ball will be missed by many. Miami's Antoine Walker raised another concern earlier this week, saying, "The problem with this ball is that it wears down very easily and that's not good. During the course of a game, if a guy is 10-for-10 in the first half and now you've got to switch to another ball, that makes a difference. We should have stayed with the old ball. It was better. Those old balls last a long time and you could play with them when they got old. These balls, once they get slippery, it's going to be difficult." Wallace told the Detroit News: "Terrible. I don't know why they did it. The thing that [upsets] me about it is, that's a major part of playing and you can't just change it without getting the players' opinions on the ball before you change it." Yet much like the dress code instituted by the league last fall and its subsequent decision to ban the compression tights sported by several top players throughout the 2005-06 season, changing the official ball -- according to the current collective bargaining agreement -- is another measure that the NBA has the right to impose unilaterally, without consulting the NBA Players Association. NBA vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson, promoted from senior vice president of basketball operations to executive vice president in June, defended the new ball Tuesday, insisting that it has a better grip than its predecessor when wet, not worse. "It's a better ball," Jackson said. "But as a product matter, composite balls are used in every league throughout the world. And they've been used in every level of play over the last 10 years domestically in the NCAA and also in high school." The composite ball has been used at the past two All-Star Games and was modified by Spalding after the first composites were tested by NBA players in 2005. The league dispatched a new ball to every NBA player over the summer and Jackson estimated in June that "99 percent" of the league's players grew up using only a composite ball. But that hasn't hushed or even slowed an ongoing flurry of complaints. "As a kid going up through high school and then college, you dream about playing with that leather NBA basketball," Mavericks swingman Jerry Stackhouse told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "This new ball is the one I played with in the backyard when I was 12. "Nobody that ever played the game would want to change that ball. Nobody. Not Michael Jordan. Not Dr. J. Nobody." Spalding, according to Touhey, was prepared for such reactions, knowing that protest is a reflex response to change. "It takes time," Touhey said. "These guys are professional athletes. They get custom fitted for their shoes. Everything about their lives is about consistency. When you switch out the most important piece of equipment, players are going to be resistant to that. "But we know it's a better ball, so we're comfortable." Bulls coach Scott Skiles told the Chicago Sun-Times: "I think it was my sophomore year in college, the Big Ten -- or maybe it was the whole NCAA -- changed balls. Initially, everybody was kind of frowning on it, but within a couple of months, everybody was fine with it. That will probably be the case here."
5) Chad Ford of ESPN.com debunks some myths:
One month before the season even begins, two big topics concerning next summer are already on the minds of some -- the likely destination of Vince Carter and the supposedly endless cap room of the Lakers. In the spirit of my favorite show, "MythBusters," here are two NBA myths that need a little busting.
Myth 1. Vince Carter will leave the Nets for the Magic next summer. Apparently someone looked at the Magic's glaring need at two guard, saw that Grant Hill is coming off the books next summer, realized that Carter has a home in the Orlando area and ... boom ... an NBA myth was born. It isn't impossible that Carter would bolt New Jersey for the Magic, but as it stands right now, the problem is that he'd have to take a huge pay cut to do it.
True, at first glance it appears that the Magic will be swimming in cash next summer once Grant Hill's contract comes off the books. If the cap were to stay at $53 million, the Magic would have roughly $12 million in cap room. If the cap were to go up to $55 million, the Magic would have roughly $14 million in room. But there's a major caveat. The Magic don't have really any significant cap room until they decide what to do with up coming restricted free agent Darko Milicic. Milicic will have a huge cap hold, which is the amount of cap space the Magic have to set aside for him. The cap hold is 250 percent of his previous salary up to the max salary, for a total of about $12.445 million. The Darko cap hold will significantly reduce the Magic's available cap space down to between zero and two million. The cap hold disappears once Darko either signs with another team (the Magic will have the right to match because he's a restricted free agent) or agrees to a contract with the Magic. If the Darko plays at about the same level he did last season for the Magic, he's probably looking at a starting salary between $5 and 7 million next season (remember that Kwame Brown got $8 million a year with the Lakers for doing next to nothing in Washington). Darko is 7-1, will turn only 22 years old next June, and has shown that, at the very least, he's an outstanding shot blocker. If Darko improves as much as some scouts believe he will this year, he could be looking at a contract with a starting salary of closer to $10 million. If Darko signs a deal with a starting salary of $6 million, his cap hold disappears and the Magic would be left with about $8 million in cap space (assuming a $55 million-dollar salary cap next year). If he signs for $8 million, that number drops to $6 million in cap space. If he really blows up, the Magic can kiss their cap space goodbye if they want to re-sign him.
Carter makes $15 million this year and would be opting out of a deal that would pay him $16 million next year. You do the math. Yes, the Magic could try to make more room by trading players in return for expiring contracts, but who's that going to be? I'm sure they'd love to dump Keyon Dooling or Pat Garrity, but who's going to give up an expiring contract for either player? And don't forget that the Magic, historically a conservative team when it comes to finances, has more than just Darko to worry about next summer. Dwight Howard will be up for a max-type extension next summer and Jameer Nelson is coming the year after that. The most likely scenario is that Carter stays put in New Jersey. Big stars rarely leave the home team, Carter keeps saying he wants to stay and the Nets sound like they want to keep him. If he does leave the Nets, the team with a better shot of luring Carter away could be the Bobcats. If a local connection matters, well, Carter played his college ball at UNC. More important, the Bobcats have a big hole at the two and they'll be looking at a whopping $26 to $27 million in cap room next year. They'll have the money to sign Carter and have plenty left over to do whatever they want.
Myth 2: The Lakers will be big players in the free agent market next summer. This myth has died down a little now that the Lakers spent a significant amount of money on free agent Vladimir Radmanovic this summer -- but it was always bogus. As I chronicled early last year, for the Lakers to get max cap room in the summer of 2007, they would have needed to dump every player on their team except Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum. Then, after spending max dollars on one player, they would have had to fill 10 remaining roster spots with minimum contracts. That was never going to happen. But the question became moot when the Lakers guaranteed the third year of Kwame Brown's contract -- for a whopping $9 million -- midway through last season. As it stands now, the Lakers are looking at a payroll of right around $55 million next year, which should be just around where the salary cap comes in.
posted by Cornback at
10:48 a.m.
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