Steve Kerr talks about his coaching search, says all the major candidates have been interviewed, and now they are going to sleep on it. Mike Budenholzer, Terry Porter, Elston Turner, and Tyrone Corbin are discussed.
Ron Artest's agent Mark Stevens, as interviewed by the Bee's Sam Amick: "He wants to be a King. If he is the best player on the team, he would like to be paid as the best player."
Christophe, of the blog Ball in Europe, runs some numbers from the rookie salary cap: "So after all this, is it still worth it for a European player to get drafted at all? Of course, if you go to the Top 10-15, you can earn a contract that is probably higher than what you can get in Europe. Below this, I have some doubts. Can we say that there is already a trend for fewer Europeans to be drafted because of this? Maybe. At least the names that you see in the last spots of the first round will no longer be top European players like Tiago Splitter, for example (I hope so for every NBA franchise). These guys will never come to the NBA for the maximum salary that they can get there, as any European club can offer more. Another solution is to be drafted in the 2nd round or not at all and only join the NBA at a later age. This gives players the opportunity to land a contract more in line with the real skills and salary expectations, as the rules are less restricted for these players. However, for mid- to low-first round US players, checking what the market can offer them in Europe may be worth it. This phenomenon may become reality for some collegiate players with a European background this season: Kosta Koufos or Pat Calathes are rumored to have already received professional offers from Europe which will probably be higher than any NBA team can offer them according to current rules. Will other US-born first-round picks follow them? Will the agents recognize this situation in the future? Of course, this has been a possibility since the decline in the US dollar makes European salaries more and more attractive. So will we ever see a No. 1 pick refuse its NBA offer to move to Europe? And when will European teams recruit American high school players for their own (paid) youth programs and challenge the NCAA?"
Portland COO Mike Golub tells BlazersEdge about all kinds of interesting things, including the potential move of the Sonics: "If you asked us at any point in the process, over 40 years of tradition, 40 years of a franchise existing up the road, a great rivalry, a great tradition, a city like Seattle, the caliber of the city, the size of the city, they should be home to an NBA team. Especially given the long legacy that the Sonics have. We voted against the move. We're in a special situation vis a vis Seattle. In an ideal world, they would get the arena they feel they need to compete and they would stay. And we would continue our rivalry. But it looks like its unraveling. It looks like a matter of when they will leave. On one level that's very sad and disappointing. On another level, we've got to be pragmatists and say, "OK, if they ultimately leave, what does that mean for the Trailblazers?" Can we distribute our games on broadcast? Can the Blazers be to Seattle what the Seahawks and Mariners are to Portlanders? A lot of their audience, especially the Seahawks, because it's less of a commitment. Over time, could we become that? Could we begin to draw from there? Could we take sponsorship deals and make them more regional? Yes, yes and yes. It represents some opportunities for us should the Sonics leave and we are looking at that and we would be silly not to. We have mixed emotions about that whole situation." Also, Golub makes it sound like the Blazers are seriously considering retiring Terry Porter's jersey.
Very interesting. All top NBA teams (exception: Spurs) got there by trade.
Britt Robson of the Rake: "Doc Rivers is in the Finals, which means he can legitimately tell all his critics to kiss his ass--seriously, this is legitimately as far as the Celts are supposed to go, and if Flip Saunders had made it here, he'd still have a job. But Mike Woodson, Mike Brown and Flip Saunders are not remotely in the same time zone as Phil Jackson in terms of playoff coaching prowess, and neither is Doc Rivers. Jackson's teams win the big ones--the dude has nine rings. When he sprang that small lineup on Gregg Popovich and the Spurs, it shifted the entire dynamic of the series, and salvaged Game One for the Lakers. When he steadfastly rested his three best players despite a steep first-half deficit in Game Five, he fortified his bench with his faith and conserved the energy of his stars for the second half comeback that clinched the series. For those who say that Jackson simply has great players, consider how many rings MJ, Kobe, and Shaq have won *without* Jackson. That would be one--Shaq's in Miami, under Pat Riley. In my opinion, Rivers' misuse of Eddie House in favor of Sam Cassell and chastising of Rondo for taking 'heroic shots' in this postseason dramatize the talent gap between himself and the Zen Master."
Comments that include profanity, or personal attacks, or antisocial behavior such as "spamming" or "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of use. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
H
