Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald: "The Bulls finally made the official announcement late in the evening that Gordon would take the qualifying offer worth $6.4 million and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. In the meantime, he cannot be traded without his consent. The Bulls offered a six-year deal worth about $59 million and were reluctant to go any higher because they would be faced with paying the luxury tax if their payroll grows beyond $71.1 million. There aren't many examples of NBA players turning down extensions to sign the qualifying offer. Michael Olowokandi, Stromile Swift, Vladimir Radmanovic and Mickael Pietrus are among the few. None of those players signed for more than the mid-level exception (currently worth $5.6 million) the following year."
Jerry Brown of the East Valley Tribune: "Since arriving back in Phoenix, Steve Nash has gone out of his way to poke holes in such veiled references to Father Time. Yes, he will turn 35 in February. Yes, by NBA standards, he's getting long in the tooth. Yes, a little rest would be welcome. And, yes, a little less pressure to be the fulcrum for virtually every Suns basket would be appreciated. Other than that, he tells people the same thing he told Mark Cuban five years ago when the Mavericks owner chose to let him leave Dallas under the premise that the big breakdown was right around the bend. Go ahead and bet against me. 'If a guy is playing at an All-Star level when he's 40, is he old?' Nash asked. 'Yes and no. I'm old by basketball standards. With every year, the odds tip away from you. But if you go by last season, I feel like I played at a really high level, and I think I can play even better than that. When my level starts to drop ... then I'll be old.'"
Chris McCosky of The Detroit News: "Nobody wanted a fresh start more than Richard Hamilton. By almost every measure, 2007-08 was a down season. His point production was down. Though his shooting percentage was up, his overall offensive efficiency was down. He fought through several nagging injuries (hip, elbow, ankle) and missed 10 games, his most since becoming a Piston in 2002. He was at times moody and distracted off the court and easily combustible on it, as evidenced by his career-high 15 technicals. ... 'I was disappointed at the way Flip (Saunders) did things, that was the frustrating thing about it,' he said. Hamilton didn't want to get into specifics, but his major point of contention with Saunders was that he didn't hold all players accountable for their actions."
Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: "After his 'first' NBA career ended on Oct. 25, 2003, because of a severe sports hernia, Michael Dickerson was depressed and was seeking some answers. 'It wasn't fair,' he said. 'That's why I went to India. I was soul-searching in Tibet. I did a lot of spiritual soul-searching. I was depressed for a while. That kept me from going way downhill. That made me strong within myself. That made me more confident to get out here and play again.' ... After the sports hernia, which Cavs teammate Mo Williams also had last year, Dickerson said he rehabbed for 2 1/2 years. He just couldn't stay healthy. That's when he began his sojourn into Tibet. 'That is the cradle of civilization,' Dickerson said. 'There were a lot of unanswered questions. After retirement at a young age, I found all my answers there to life. I found peace, harmony, strength and confidence. If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have the confidence to be out here playing again.'"
Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Two years after signing as the team's point guard of the future, Speedy Claxton is still trying to justify the deal. Only now he's doing it without any of the fanfare that accompanied his first two seasons. That spotlight belongs to starter Mike Bibby and second-year backup Acie Law IV. ... 'I can just come into camp with an open mind, and I don't feel a ton of pressure on me,' Claxton said Wednesday. 'The first year I came in as the starting point guard and last year everybody was wondering if I could come back from the [knee] injury. I don't think there is anything really expected of me at this point. It's sort of like let's see what happens. If he can help us, cool. And if not, let's move on.'"
Phil Jasner of the Philadelphia Daily News: "Whatever might have been churning beneath the surface is history. Patience turned out to be a virtue, because Andre Iguodala arrived at training camp armed with a 6-year $80 million agreement signed last month. But he said: 'No, I'm not patient at all. I seemed patient, but I'm not patient. Last year helped me a lot with that,' he said after sitting out yesterday morning's practice with a mildly sprained left ankle. 'I don't like to wait around. I like to go get what I've got to get, keep it moving. My philosophy is, take everything in like it's a worst-case scenario. I always think, 'What's the worst thing that can happen?' and just try and work around that. It's kind of like being prepared for any situation.'"
Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News: "Nene is a lot of things. Talented basketball player. Cancer survivor. Soccer fan. Wednesday, he put on his general manager hat. 'We need one more big man,' the Nuggets center said. 'We have good players in the post, but we need (to be) strong just to bump big men. That's my concern.' It's one shared by many after the Nuggets' offseason trade of 6-foot-11 Marcus Camby and the free-agent departure of 6-8 Eduardo Najera, who might not have been that big but made up for it with hustle and craftiness."
Tim Buckley of the Deseret News: "One of Jazz All-Star forward Carlos Boozer's former teammates at Duke University is Barack Obama's personal assistant Reggie Love, a relationship that helped pave the way for Boozer to chat one-on-one recently with the Democratic Party's nominee for president. 'I had a chance to meet (Obama) in Miami about three weeks ago, and I had a talk with him for about 10 or 15 minutes,' said Boozer, who -- though he was raised in Alaska, the home of Republican Party candidate for vice president Sarah Palin -- is a big Obama backer. 'He's so impressive,' added Boozer, a two-time U.S. Olympian who won gold in China earlier this year with Team USA. 'He (Obama) has this incredible aura about him. The way he talks, I want that guy leading my country.'"
Sarah Rothschild of The Miami Herald: "Joel Anthony is considered the Heat's third or fourth option at center -- if you count Udonis Haslem in the mix -- but the buzz at training camp surrounding this second-year big man has been among the loudest on the team. 'I haven't really been around a guy who's gotten better from one year to the next as much as him,' guard Dwyane Wade. '[He] is someone I'm very, very impressed with.' Said Haslem: 'He's like a completely different player.' ... 'He's more athletic than Ben Wallace. He's definitely longer than Ben,' Heat assistant Keith Askins said, referring to Anthony, a 6-9, 245-pounder who has a 7-4 wing span. 'He's kind of like a Baby Zo. By no means is he complete yet. He's still in a raw stage.'"
Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star: "In this mean business, of course, Jamario Moon's mere presence into Toronto's starting lineup said something not-so-heartwarming about the Raptors last year. In a league in which a lot of the dominant players reside on the wing, the Raptors possessed unimposing depth charts at the shooting guard and small forward positions. Last year's starting shooting guard, Anthony Parker, averaged all of 12.5 points a game. Moon, who started 75 games at small forward, averaged 8.5 points and 6.2 rebounds. In positions where so many teams boast score-in-bunches explosiveness, the Raptors put up with unspectacular steadiness."
Jerry Zgoda of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Veteran Mark Madsen needs a root canal when he returns from Mankato to repair damage done when Kevin Love accidentally hit him in the mouth the first day the two worked out together at Target Center last month. Madsen needed 13 stitches and had a tooth loosened when Love's other arm struck him as Love attempted a dunk. When told Madsen should be introducing him to the NBA rather than the other way around, Love said: 'I didn't mean to, especially not on the first day. I felt bad. I called him up and apologized. He's probably one of the greatest guys in the league.'"
John Reid of The Times-Picayune: "In camp workouts, guard Devin Brown has worn a white sleeve covering his entire left leg. In addition to providing extra protection to his knee, Brown said it helps him to be recognized. 'I do it for style so the coaches can say that dude over there with the white (sleeve) on is going off, I stand out,' Brown said. 'I've done that the last couple of years. But it keeps pressure under your knee, but there is nothing going on there.' Brown, who is battling with Mike James for the backup point guard spot, had his left thumb taped because it was swollen but he did not miss time Wednesday."
Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times: "Clippers rookie guard Eric Gordon's ankle injury, suffered on the first day of training camp on Tuesday, could keep him out of practice anywhere from five days to a week. Which leads to the question: Is Gordon injury-prone? He also suffered a hamstring injury limiting his summer-league action to two games. Or is he simply the victim of a couple of flukes? Coach Mike Dunleavy picked the latter. 'He's had a bit of bad luck,' Dunleavy said today after the morning workout. 'You can [have] a great ankle but if you step on someone's foot and turn it ...'"
Janny Hu of the San Francisco Chronicle: "Al Harrington, whose unhappiness has led to plenty of trade speculation over the past year, said summer talks with vice president Chris Mullin have renewed his optimism for being an effective and key player for the Warriors this season. No longer does Harrington, 28, need to play out of position at center with Ronny Turiaf on board to back up starter Andris Biedrins. At 6-foot-9, 250 pounds, Harrington will be used primarily at power forward or even small forward in Nelson's up-tempo system."
Jeff Caplan of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "What Jerry Stackhouse recognized after an ailing and disappointing end to last season -- and then especially after Carlisle, his coach for two seasons in Detroit, was hired -- is he had to upgrade his off-season conditioning. Stackhouse admitted that he entered recent camps in sufficient, but not stellar shape. Talks with Rick Carlisle throughout the summer convinced Stackhouse to put his durability into his own hands. 'I probably short-changed myself a little bit by not being in the best shape as possible because I felt like I could come off the bench and play 18 to 20 minutes without being in top-notch shape,' Stackhouse said. 'With him coming in and putting the onus on me, just getting my butt in shape, I did that for the last three months and we'll see where we're at.'"
Dan Steinberg of D.C. Sports Bog: "With Gilbert Arenas on the shelf, some of us are looking to new blogging Wiz guard Dee Brown to help replace not just Gilbert's minutes on the court, but also his copy-producing zest off it. And so it was pleasing to learn that, during his recent stint playing basketball abroad, Brown often performed hip-hop. In European clubs. Like, in this one joint in Istanbul. Called Vanilla. 'I mean, race don't matter in this world, music is music,' Brown said of his performances. 'I'd go to the dude, 'I play ball, what's happening, here's my CD.' They'd listen to the music, the music is undeniably good....So you do the music and get love and provide that energy, because that's what I do. Easy work.'"
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