After withdrawing from this summer’s World Cup games, Kevin Durant recently announced that he will be playing for Team USA in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. LeBron James, who won a gold medal with Durant in the 2012 London games, is apparently still undecided (via The Associated Press):
I’m nowhere near there. I haven’t even thought about it too much. Obviously I know what’s going on and what’s happening. I haven’t decided.
LeBron will be 31 years old in 2016. Who knows where his new Cavaliers team will be in their glory quest. That seems to be his immediate focus.
It could also be seen as a hopeful foresight that he’ll be playing into June these next couple of years, competing for a championship, so committing to USA Basketball too soon might not be the move. That said, I think LeBron might be more likely to take another lap with Team USA in 2016 if he can muster at least one championship in the next two seasons.
James won Bronze with Team USA in the 2004 Athens games and two gold medals in Beijing (2008) and London (2012).
Paul George Says It’s “Very Possible” He Will Play This Season
The Indiana Pacers acquired a disabled-player exception for Paul George following his leg injury this summer, which means it’s considered “substantially more likely than not” that he will be able to play through June 15.
It’s believed that George will miss the entire 2014-15 season, but his hopes are high, via Mark Montieth of Pacers.com:
It’s very possible that I can play (this season). I’ve talked to all the guys and said, ‘Man, you guys have to get in the playoffs. That’s the best chance I’ve got of coming back and playing this year.’ I’ve already got it in mind that I could miss this whole year. I’m come to peace with that, but I’d love to be able to come back and play again.
George seems to be hopeful while realistic. His team will suffer and struggle without him this season. Now slave to rehabs, recoveries, and possibilities, the likelihood of George actually making his return this season still seems impossible without miraculous progress.
Mike Miller informed the Northeast Ohio Media Group the reason LeBron started questioning the Miami front office. It wasn’t the fact they weren’t updating the roster with better players, it was how they got rid of Mike Miller. The move to amnesty Miller did not sit well at all with LeBron. Miller had this to say to the Cleveland press:
LeBron thought it was an unnecessary change. I’m not saying I would have been a difference-maker. San Antonio was unbelievable last year and there are a lot of things that go into a season, but it was difficult for LeBron.It was difficult for all of us. It was difficult for me. I had to uproot my family and move again. It was tough. I think he was disappointed because he understands legacies and he understands what he wants to do in life. That’s what makes him special.
Miller may not have been able to push Miami over the hump against San Antonio last season anyway, but LeBron and Miller had a connection that no one really talked about. Mike Miller has been known to be a great teammate around the league and many players love to be on the court with him. He has a knack to get people in the locker room to listen to him and players to be on his side. LeBron even had this to say about his relationship with Mike Miller:
We’re as close as teammates than any I’ve had in my career. I’ve always wanted to play alongside of him. When you go through tough times in an NBA season, you get to know each other even more beyond the game of basketball.
Now that they’re back together in Cleveland, it could be another great season for the two of them this year.
The San Antonio Spurs put on an offensive clinic in the NBA Finals this past June. As the trend goes, teams are now looking to mimic the champion Spurs’ formula, which is generalized as ball/player movement, unselfish, high-IQ basketball, spacing, shooting, and discipline.
Pacers center Roy Hibbert reached out to Tim Duncan for some insight on the formula, per Candace Buckner of the Indy Star:
Roy Hibbert said he texted #Spurs‘ Tim Duncan for advice on how “they go about their business” #Pacers would like to imitate their ball mvmt
The Pacers aren’t particularly primed for a breakout season with Paul George out and Lance Stephenson off to Charlotte. Hibbert should have enough personal goals to pursue in hopes of a redeeming individual season, and it will be hard enough for Indiana to realistically liken the Spurs’ model of effectiveness and efficiency now without their two most talented players.
While a member of the 2011 NBA champion Dallas Mavericks, veteran guard Jason Terry tattooed the Larry O’Brien championship trophy on his arm during the season in anticipation of Dallas winning the title. He’s a confident guy.
I see us going all the way. If you look at the Western Conference, everybody’s gotten better. People look at our team and they’re trying to figure us out. I just think we have the talent. I think it’s about us going out every day, competing against each other, creating a championship environment. If we do that, I think we’ll put ourselves in a position at the end of the year to do something very special here.
As far as the roster goes, when you have two studs such as James Harden and Dwight Howard, you have a realistic shot at winning the championship.
Terry can bring to the Rockets roster what he brings to every team he’s on – energy, passion, outside shooting, and leadership. Clearly he feels that he is contributing to a championship effort in Houston.
J.R. Smith Thinks Knicks Have Best Shooting Guard Mix
Opening their media day on Monday in Greenburgh, the New York Knicks are a hot topic of conversation this NBA season via Carmelo Anthony, Phil Jackson, Derek Fisher, the triangle offense, etc.
Shooting guard J.R. Smith enters camp healthy and prepared to adopt a new system and culture. He feels the Knicks have a specific advantage over the rest of the league in the shooting guard department, via Fred Kerber of the New York Post:
I think there’s not a team in this league that has what we have at the shooting guard spot, and that’s very unique. Some people look at it as ‘You’ve got to treat it as one or two of them.’ I don’t think you should look at it like that. I think you should look at it as a dynamic trio like people do with running backs in football.
On his relationship with Iman Shumpert,
I don’t look at it as a rivalry. If I don’t push him and he doesn’t push me, then we’re both wasting our time.
Smith added that the Knicks “can hit people from three totally different angles” at the position, of course referring to himself, Iman Shumpert, and second-year guard Tim Hardaway Jr. While Smith may have a point, the Knicks’ shooting guard minutes will likely weigh heavily in the favor of who can best adapt to the concepts of the triangle. Otherwise it’s simply important for each player to execute their particular role when called upon. Utilizing the depth at the position would certainly be helpful for the Knicks to bounce back from a 37-45 season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are the NBA spectacle again since LeBron James returned and after landing Kevin Love as their follow-up blockbuster deal. The Cavaliers’ media day and start of training camp swirled around the newly constructed Big 3 of LeBron James, Love, and point guard Kyrie Irving.
Much talk and speculation is directed to the Cavs offense and ball distribution, and after their first practice session, as reported by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, LeBron shared his thoughts,
I’ll probably handle the ball a little bit, but this is Kyrie [Irving]’s show. He’s our point guard. He’s our floor general, and we need him to put us in position to succeed offensively. He has to demand that and command that from us with him handling the ball.
Irving, 22, is one of the niftiest rising talents at the position in the entire league as a scorer, facilitator, and overall playmaker. He will be the best point guard James has played with by far since entering the league. Given Irving’s shooting ability, he’ll be able to play off the ball when James operates, but LeBron seems perfectly comfortable with “the show” being run by Irving. Showing that vote of confidence should be a positive sign for their transition as teammates.
Iman Shumpert is now entering the final year on his rookie contract. The Knicks have until October 31 to ink an extension if they want to keep Shumpert out of free agency. It looks more and more like the Knicks are willing to either let him walk, or are looking to trade him. They have offered Shumpert as trade bait in numerous deals, but no one took it.
Shumpert’s offensive value has decreased the last two seasons in New York, and his abilities on the defensive side of the ball have not counteracted that. Ian Begley had this to say about the negotiations:
According to league sources, the Knicks haven’t had any contact with Shumpert or his representatives about a possible extension.
New York still has about four weeks to start talks with Shumpert, but the feeling here is that it will be content to let him enter next summer as a restricted free agent.
The Knicks are trying to keep their salary commitments at a minimum for the summer of 2015 and 2016, when they hope to be active in free agency.
It was getting increasingly obvious that Shumpert wasn’t a huge priority for the Knicks and this cements that as fact. While he may not be of great value to New York, there is sure to be plenty of teams looking for a defensive minded guard like him. Not only is his defense a drawing factor, but Iman Shumpert is only 24 years old and has some potential left in him. There’s no telling what could happen if he lands on a team with a coach who can teach him a solid offensive game.
After this news, that means two of the three big signings by the Heat now had surgery in the offseason.Josh McRoberts had toe surgery, we now know Granger had knee surgery, and Dwyane Wade is notorious for not having a healthy pair of knees anymore. Granger already has been struggling lately due to bad knees, and even when he was healthy, he didn’t play well. Heat fans will have to hope that this surgery will give him much needed pain relief, but at 31 years-old a lot of NBA players start to decline anyway.
Granger and McRoberts are both supposed to be at full health by the regular season opener. The only problem there is that they can’t build an on-court chemistry with the team beforehand. Every one knew that this team was going to take a hit when LeBron left, but now the impact may be even greater if some of the guys they picked up can’t get back to 100%. Maybe this year Wade and Granger will both take rest days and protect their knees.
According to express-news, Coach Popovich said he wanted to see more consistency out of Kawhi Leonard, and Leonard wants more minutes to do so.
Fresh off of a great postseason that was capped by a Finals MVP performance, Kawhi Leonard is ready to tackle more minutes and more responsibility. Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich has now said that he wants to see more consistency from his 23 year-old swingman. Leonard is ready to take on that challenge, but he also he needs more time on the floor to prove he can do just that.
Leonard averaged just 29.1 minutes per game last season, but he did shoot 52% from the floor and possessed a 98 defensive rating which landed him in seventh for that category. During the postseason however, his stats dipped a little bit while he received a minor bump in minutes. Popovich had this to say about the responsibility of increasing one’s consistency:
I’m probably going to talk to him more about consistency now. He’s reached a certain level and if you look at those last three games he played they were pretty special. But to be in that top echelon of players in our league it’s a huge responsibility to have to come and do that every night. The Duncans, the Durants, the James-es and all those kinds of guys do it night after night after night and it’s a huge responsibility.
It takes a certain kind of character and that’s what I want to see him do now, defensively and offensively: To bring it every night. In his case it’s very special because he can bring it at both ends of the court. Some guys are basically offense and a couple other guys are defense but he has an effect on the game at both ends of the court so it’s going to be about consistency more than trying to teach him a new move and say, ‘Start doing this because Larry (Bird) did it,’ or something like that.
Kawhi Leonard responded to Pop’s words with this:
In the Finals I’m playing 35 minutes a game, so I’m on the floor more and able to score the ball more and get more rebounds. So I’m going to have to get consistent minutes to play at a consistent level like that. I’ve been trying to (be a dominant player) since I’ve been here. […] It’s just in order to get me more involved in the offense, that’s what I go by. Like I said, if I’m going to get seven more minutes on the floor, that’s going to be important. We’ll see what happens. I mean, my role was supposed to expand last year and we played pretty much the same basketball. So we’ll see what Coach Pop has.
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