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Thursday, September 24

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The New York Knicks have reached agreement with free-agent forward David Lee on a one-year contract that could be worth up to $8 million with incentives, Lee’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, told Yahoo! Sports. The contract guarantees Lee $7 million, plus another $1 million bonus if a team-related incentive is met. Yahoo! Sports

"There's never been a player who signed a deal worth more than the qualifying offer on a one-year deal," Bartlestein said by phone Thursday afternoon. "We're very appreciative of that. They did something that's unprecedented ... they could have taken a much harder stance on this. We'll deal with next summer when we get to it." NBA.com

Howard Beck: Bartelstein on Lee getting a deal done with Knicks: "I think it’s a world off his shoulders." Twitter.com

Lee's agent Mark Bartelstein said early Thursday that he was still hearing from a few teams hoping to come up with some kind of sign-and-trade scenario that would pique the interest of the Knicks, who've scoffed at all the previous ones. Then Thursday afternoon, the two sides agreed in principle. Bergen Record

Fellow restricted free agent Nate Robinson has also reached terms with the Knicks on a one-year deal, according to a source with knowledge of the talks. Negotiations with Lee and Robinson dragged to the brink of training camp with the Knicks determined not to sign to anything longer than a one-year deal to preserve maximum salary-cap flexibility for their free-agent targets next summer. ESPN.com

But with training camp beckoning next week, David Lee and Nate Robinson have agreed to one-year deals, Lee for $8 million, according to his agent, Robinson for $4-5 million, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. Both also include incentives and both could be signed and sealed as soon as Friday. Bergen Record

The Rockets have added another guard to their growing list of training camp options in the backcourt, signing Rashad McCants to a non-guaranteed contract, a person with knowledge of the deal said Thursday. Houston Chronicle

Speaking of the Wizards, CSN's Chris Miller is airing a two-part interview with Antawn Jamison, and in Part I, he addresses the offseason rumors that he would be shipped to the Cavs. "D-Steve was funny," Jamison recalled. "He said, 'Man, they better not do that, because I'm gonna hate you so bad.' " Washington Post

Although league officials sounded confident that the replacements will be better prepared than they were when last used in 1995 (during another contract dispute), they did not have an easy time getting enough quality officials into this camp. "A lot of guys turned them down,'' said one referee who declined an offer from the NBA to join the group of replacement officials. "And for different reasons.'' FanHouse.com

The exhibition schedule begins Oct. 1 in Utah. The replacements, according to one source, will be paid $1,100 per game, which is less than a third of what the average regular official makes. They also will be paid $80 a day in meal money, along with all travel and hotel expenses. FanHouse.com

Last night, Zach Lowe of Celtics Hub e-mailed somewhat alarmed to have seen that Marquis Daniels had tweeted this: Any body got a rednose pit dat u wana breed wit my Orlando raised brown eyed Doberman I have her tail n ears clipped...she's a prize fighter Holy ghost of Michael Vick. Please, Mr. Daniels, on behalf of the Celtics and all that is holy, explain this in a way that makes sense. You are not really bragging about your prize fighter of a dog, right? ESPN.com

Lowe reached out to Daniels by Twitter last night, and got a couple of quick denials that this is what it appears it might be: * celticshub it was a joke towards someone I kno back in orlando alot of my posts r me joking on someone * wat did u think I was talkn bout....lmao, ion even like animals wit teeth....lol. ESPN.com

Two people who know Marquis Daniels say exactly the same thing: Daniels is the kind of guy who would make an outlandish joke on Twitter. But he is not the kind of guy who would fight dogs. ESPN.com

Lakers guard and 2009 NBA Finals MVP Kobe Bryant is Sporting News' NBA player of the decade, the team announced in a release. Said former teammate Shaquille O'Neal of Bryant: "The thing about Kobe is that, over the course of my career, I have never played with anyone who was as fierce as he is. By fierce I mean just having that extra killer instinct that you know when the game is on the line he is not going to shy away from the big shot, he is not going to make excuses. If we would go into the fourth quarter, playoffs or just some game in the season and we were within a little bit of the other team, Kobe was not going to shy away from the challenge of getting the win. He was going to take the shots." Riverside Press-Enterprise

Earlier this week, reflecting on GM Donnie Nelson’s hint that Erick Dampier might come off the bench, I suggested that Damp is “still the guy to beat.’’ Well, consider Erick Dampier beaten. I now know three things: One: Damp is bothered by Donnie’s statement. Two: Drew Gooden is telling me he what he bring “to the team is rebounding, being physical and active out there, running the floor … you best believe … I’ll be giving them some speed and athletic ability.’’ Three: Rick Carlisle just now revealed that the plans are indeed to start newcomer Gooden at the 5. “Our plan is to start Gooden at center on most nights,’’ Carlisle tells Norm on The Ticket. DallasBasketball.com

Chicago Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro expects there to be NBA teams based in Europe within the next few years. Del Negro's Bulls play the Utah Jazz at London's O2 Arena on 6 October in a pre-season game. "With the way it's growing, whether it's next year, in five or 10 years or whenever I wouldn't be surprised to see teams in Europe," he told BBC Sport. "Travel is going to be the difficult part. I think you're definitely going to have good enough players." BBC.co.uk

Three months after Alonzo Mourning revealed he would be taking the position, the Miami Heat formally announced Thursday that the former All- Star center is the team's new vice president of player programs. In the newly created position, Mourning, 39, will mostly work off the court with the team's younger players. According to the team, he will be "providing direct support and one-on-one mentoring." The position also will have Mourning representing the team in community and business affairs. South Florida Sun-Sentinel

From the comfort of his home, Anderson, who didn't know his own father until his early 30s, contemplated the blessings of fatherhood and beamed. In the faces of his kids, he could see the evidence of his own past mistakes -- the womanizing, the failed marriages, the hollow attempts at fatherhood he made during a 14-year NBA career that ended in 2005. But over the course of those few amazing, late-summer weeks, he could also see the seeds of his new beginning, a new chapter for Kenny Anderson -- now a 38-year-old, full-time, stay-at-home father to Kenny Jr. and Tiana, and an aspiring college basketball coach who wants nothing more than to distance himself from those past failures as a father, as a husband, as a man. Washington Post

The magnitude of the moment absolutely blew him away. "It was awesome," Anderson says. "Now they could all see how their daddy really is. They can see for themselves. . . . I'm involved in their lives, all of them, but this was the first time I got all of them together. "My mother, she'd be rolling over in her grave, she'd be so happy." Washington Post

While they announced Wednesday that Matt Harpring will miss all of training camp, the preseason and the start of the regular season due to ankle and knee injuries, the Jazz will have Carlos Boozer on hand when they report to camp. Despite a summer of tension with the organization, Boozer will report on time and be in attendance Friday when the Jazz host media day, The Tribune has learned. Boozer has not commented publicly on his situation in nearly two months. Salt Lake Tribune

As for Harpring, the Jazz stopped short of declaring the veteran forward's career over, but Harpring will return home to Atlanta rather than stay in Utah and will be re-evaluated in six weeks. "It's going to be entirely kind of up to him," O'Connor said of the possibility of Harpring playing this season. "I don't think it looks like it at this point, but at the same time I don't want to say it's not. He's such a competitor, part of him still wants to play." Salt Lake Tribune

Once LeBron James meets Mikhail Prokhorov, the superstar’s sightline will reflect an unprecedented visage. When offering a global vision of business and basketball, here’s an NBA owner who can look James in the eyes. Russia’s richest man is 6-foot-7 with an air of cool and a tenacity of the streets. For James, there’s a chance that Prokhorov won’t seem like a stranger from a faraway place but rather a reflection of himself. Together, they are creations of their own industry and connected through a need for global conquest. All along, James has craved something bigger of basketball fame and fortune. Yahoo! Sports

“He has the personality, the charisma and the wherewithal to reach any of the league’s young stars on a level that I don’t think other owners can,” David Vanterpool said by phone Wednesday. “He likes to go out. He likes to fly to Europe and go to the most exclusive resorts. He’s going to connect with these guys. “I would think right now that a lot of people in the NBA would be scared to death of this guy, if for nothing else the unknown of what he might do here.” Yahoo! Sports

“If he sees something as a reasonable, smart move, then money won’t be an issue,” Vanterpool said. “I don’t see the luxury tax affecting him. You’re talking about a billionaire who will take a two-week vacation that ends up costing him $10 million. He’ll do whatever it takes to win, and win big.” Yahoo! Sports

Tim Kawakami: Same old, same old: Stephen Jackson remains untrade-able and Amare Stoudemire has zero interest in coming to the Warriors. Twitter.com

First off, I know the most pressing topic in Blazerland is the status of LaMarcus Aldridge’s contract negotiations. I brought up the topic with general manager Kevin Pritchard today and, in short, there’s nothing new to report. The sides continue to meet and work toward reaching a deal. Here’s what Pritchard had to say about the issue Wednesday: “LaMarcus, his agent, myself, (Blazers president) Larry Miller have met. We’ll continue to meet. We want LaMarcus here long-term. It’s a complicated process. I said that with Brandon (Roy). A lot of people think it’s just immediately (that) you just sign the numbers and it’s done. And it’s not that. But I think … the key point … is we knew how important Brandon was and we took care of that. We know how important LaMarcus is. We’re going to take care of that. And we’re going to give every effort we possibly can to get a deal done. That is our goal. That is my goal, that is Larry’s goal, that is (coach Nate McMillan’s) goal and that’s important for us. Oregonian

With less than a week to go before the start of training camp, the Knicks are close to contract terms with restricted free agent Nate Robinson. A source with knowledge of the situation Wednesday told Newsday that parameters of an agreement are in place for a one-year deal for an undisclosed amount higher than his qualifying offer of $2.9 million. The contract has not yet been signed, according to a team spokesman, so there was no official announcement Wednesday. But it is believed an agreement, which includes performance bonuses, will be officially finalized as early as Thursday. Camp opens Tuesday in Saratoga. Newsday

According to a source, Robinson could ink a one-year contract after agreeing to major portions of a incentive-laden deal. A source with intimate knowledge of the situation said the deal still must be finalized but could be signed today or tomorrow. New York Post

Lee and the Knicks are apart on numbers and incentives. Lee has been offered more than double his $2.5M qualifier. "If I was confident and knew it'd get done by Monday, I'd say I was confident it will get done," Bartelstein told The Post. "We're working at it. That's all I can tell you." Bartelstein had been seeking a multi-year deal at $10 million per. New York Post

The second-highest paid player on the Minnesota Timberwolves will not be welcome at training camp. Instead, center Mark Blount will stay home after the Wolves gave his agent permission to seek a trade. Blount, acquired from Miami in mid-August for Quentin Richardson, is due to make $7.962,500 this season in the last year of his six-year, $42 million contract. But with Minnesota in full rebuilding mode, general manager David Kahn told ESPN.com Wednesday that the club has given Blount's agent, Mark Bartelstein, permission to seek out a trade. ESPN.com

If Bartelstein cannot find a taker for Blount in a trade over the course of the preseason, the likely next step would be for the sides to negotiate a buyout. ESPN.com

Blogger extraordinaire Rod Benson will get another shot at making an NBA team this coming month with the Indiana Pacers, agent Bill Neff told HoopsHype.com. The 6-foot-10 Benson went to camp with the New Jersey Nets two years ago and had four offers from NBA teams this summer, according to Neff. An Internet sensation thanks to his blog toomuchrodbenson.com and his contributions to Yahoo! Sports, Benson has a chance to stick around with the Pacers as a rebounding specialist. He led the D-League in that department in the 2007-08 season with the Dakota Wizards. HoopsHype.com

Dickau had a standing invitation to Boston's training camp but elected to take his shot with the Suns. Phoenix already has 13 players under contract and is unlikely to add another player but Phoenix's system probably gives Dickau a better showcase for hooking on with any NBA team. And he offers some insurance too in case Goran Dragic's knee injury proves to be more than indicated. Dickau has played for six NBA teams since being the 28th pick in 2002 but wound up on the outside looking in for a whole season for the first time last year. European teams wooed him last summer and he decided to give it a whirl in Italy. But within a month, he had an injury and decided that it was not a good fit for him, his wife and three young kids (1, 3 and 5 years old). But it took him two weeks to negotiate an escape from his contract. By then, he joined Golden State's training camp four days late and said he was let go because the Warriors wanted to get younger. Arizona Republic

"The style that Phoenix played the last few years and wants to get back to with Coach Gentry is something that would fit me very well," Dickau said. "So you go about your business, try to be yourself and play hard and approach it like you’re going to be on the team because that’s the way you have to do it. After this last year, bouncing around, I just want to put my best foot forward because there are 29 other teams but I’d love for it to work out here." Arizona Republic

The New Orleans Hornets are expected to offer training camp invitations to forward Larry Owens and 7-foot center Earl Barron. Both players participated on the Hornets’ summer league team in Las Vegas during July and are expected to sign non-guaranteed contracts before camp begins in Lafayette next week. New Orleans currently has 15 players under contract. New Orleans Times-Picayune

The Grizzlies have added 6-5 guard Thomas Gardner (formerly of Atlanta and Chicago) to their training camp roster. The team is expected to sign guard Mike Taylor (a former Los Angeles Clipper) and 6-6 forward Leon Rodgers (Europe). Each of those players would participate with nonguaranteed contracts. Memphis Commercial Appeal

Jack McClinton: bc there was not an open spot 4 me, I asked to be released to pursue my dream elsewhere.Thank u 2 the san an fans for all of your support! Twitter.com

Keith Bogans, a 29-year-old journeyman guard who has played for seven teams in his five NBA seasons, signed a one-year guaranteed deal worth the veteran minimum $1.03 million. A steady defender, Bogans — who split last season between Orlando and Milwaukee — waited until late in the free-agent game to sign with the Spurs. He is likely to fill the role off the bench that Bruce Bowen and Ime Udoka shared last season. Mike Harrison, Bogans’ agent, said San Antonio was “absolutely the No. 1 place” his client wanted to land. San Antonio Express-News

(The Sixers) had contact with Flip Murray's camp but they were looking for a sizable payday so they took negotiations elsewhere. They're comfortable with Carney, and the players still available are realizing the market isn't the same as it was a year ago. LibertyBallers.com

Ariza seemed destined to spend the next five years running between Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, winning championships in his beloved hometown, with an easy retreat to his home in La Jolla. Randy Newman couldn't have loved L.A. more. Then he knew he had to leave. Even Los Angeles and the Lakers could not offer Ariza something he still craved. He needed to grow into something more than the Lakers would ever want of him. He needed to become whatever his talents would allow. “I loved playing for the Lakers,” Ariza said. “I loved my teammates. I was at home. I could see my family (he has a 17-month-old son, Tajh, in Los Angeles) every day. Sometimes, things don't work out the way they should or the way everybody else thinks they should.” Houston Chronicle

“Every player wants to grow. Every player has goals. Every player wants to be the best player he can be,” Ariza said. “In L.A., they have so many great, great players. Kobe is the best player in the NBA, arguably ever. Pau Gasol. Lamar Odom. Andrew Bynum is coming into his own. I think I would have been stuck into one role there. Here, everybody said, ‘We want you to work on your game. You have to do more. We believe you have the skill and the talent to do it. Come do it.'?” Houston Chronicle

“My agent (David Lee) got off the phone and told me he got off the phone with Mitch (Kupchak, the Lakers GM),” Ariza said. “He said they thought I was worth the mid-level (exception). If I could go get a deal, go get it, and they would match it. The next day, I flew to Vegas. I met with (Rockets general manager) Daryl (Morey). Everything went good. They told me that Ron Artest signed to go to L.A. Once they heard that, Cleveland, Toronto, Portland starting coming in. I chose to come here because I thought in Cleveland I would be the same type of player. I thought if I would leave a place, I might as well get better and try to find a role. Houston Chronicle

For somebody who has career averages of 20.0 points. 10.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots, it was quite a departure. “I have something to prove, absolutely, but it’s more to my teammates to (president an general manager) Ed Stefanski and the organization,” Brand said after modeling the Sixers’ new uniforms during a team promotion at the Wachovia Center. HoopsHype.com

Brand has worked diligently in the offseason and fully expects to resume his role as a highly productive NBA player. “I expect to be healthy throughout the season. Stats wise in this system, I expect to do what I have done most of my career,” he said. “If it’s not 20 (points), it’s close to that. If it’s not 10 rebounds, it’s close to that and if not 2-3 blocks it will be close to that, but overall winning is the most important factor.” HoopsHype.com

Stefanski, whose first major move as team president and general manager was signing Brand, says that Brand will enter this season 100 percent healthy. “He looks absolutely terrific,” Stefanski said. “His body fat, body weight is probably as good as it’s every been and as a doctor said to me, Elton looks like a prize fighter who is cut so well.” HoopsHype.com

Not surprisingly, McMillan’s loyalty lies with Blake, at least initially. “Blake will be the guy as training camp starts,” McMillan says. “I’ve talked to Andre about that. He understands that’s the role he’ll be coming in to. “I told him and I’ll tell everybody else, we will come up with the best rotation for the team to give us a chance to win games. I don’t want starting to be the big deal for this team. We need a balanced rotation, where we can best take advantage of what our players do. The bottom line is, we’ll go with what works to give us the best chance to win. We don’t need to get caught up with who is starting.” Portland Tribune

Will Miller become the starter? “I’d like to say that, but nothing is a given,” he says. “That’s the coach’s decision. I can’t control that. (Blake) has earned it by being here and helping the team win. I don’t know what the team wants to do. I’ll see what happens when training camp starts.” Portland Tribune

Asked again, Miller acknowledged a discussion with McMillan. “We talked about it a little bit, a regular coach-player talk,” Miller says. “I took the positive with the negative.” Portland Tribune

One of the biggest issues entering camp — at least in my humble opinion — involves the chemistry between Roy and free agent point guard Andre Miller. Steve Blake, the incumbent starter at point guard, developed an excellent relationship with Roy over the past two seasons and the two have formed an unspoken trust in the backcourt. Assuming that Miller develops into the starter (why else would the Blazers pay him all that money?), there almost surely will be some growing pains as these two players learn each other’s games. I asked around a little bit about this subject and here’s what I heard: Pritchard on what he’s seen so far regarding the duo’s chemistry: “I would tell you it’s competitive and I love it. Absolutely love it. Andre does not let players take possessions off. And Brandon … tends to like to want the ball in the fourth quarter and is willing to make plays. And I think it’s going to be a good partnership. But I also think Blake’s in there. I think Blake and Andre can play together. I think Andre, Rudy (Fernandez) and Brandon can play together.” Oregonian

Kevin Pritchard was careful talking about Oden but he did heap praise. "I see a different person," he said. I'm hearing that from multiple sources. Twitter.com

Rookie point guard Brandon Jennings turned 20 on Wednesday. He's already turning the heads of his teammates who have been working out with him at the team training facility. "Brandon with his quickness, he kind of reminds me of T.J. Ford, almost," Bucks guard Charlie Bell said. "No knock to T.J., Brandon has a nice handle, and I think he might be a little quicker." Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

No, I talk about Udonis as a player good enough to start on a championship team. And for your information, there were several times last season when Wade implored Spoelstra to get Haslem back in games in place of Beasley. The easiest answer could be playing Beasley as the starting small forward (if that's what Wade wants, of course). South Florida Sun-Sentinel

In another development, the Knicks' biggest offseason addition -- 7-foot Darko Milicic -- arrives from Serbia tomorrow after missing all of the club's voluntary pre-camp workouts. New York Post

DaJuan Summers: The commercial went well... dude said i was a natural I am about to pursue an acting career now lol.. Actors work hard tho judging from this. Twitter.com

Bantom says NBA staffers monitor the tweets of all players and "might alert them about things that could cause trouble." It's unlikely players will be messaging from locker rooms at halftime, as then-Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva (now with the Detroit Pistons) did in March during a win against the Boston Celtics. USA Today

It's unlikely players will be messaging from locker rooms at halftime, as then-Milwaukee Bucks forward Charlie Villanueva (now with the Detroit Pistons) did in March during a win against the Boston Celtics. "That was one of the groundbreaking Tweets," Bucks general manager John Hammond says. "I don't think we, as an organization, really knew how to react to it. But we felt it was inappropriate to do at halftime. "Twitter is part of our society, but we believe there is a time and place for it. During team business is probably … inappropriate." USA Today

Encouraged by progress in his recovery from major foot surgery, Yao Ming said Wednesday he will return to action -- just not next season. "The [X-ray] picture looks good. The bones heal well," he said in an interview with Houston television station KRIV. He also said, however, that there is no chance that he will play in the 2009-10 NBA season. "The answer is no. You don't want to rush it, because they want it to totally heal this time. I have been in this situation enough," he said. ESPN.com

"Obviously, I want to play basketball. This is my life right there," he said. "But for long term, believe me for long term, I need to slow down." ESPN.com

With the big contract (close to $80 million) came enormous expectations from Sixers’ fans. But Brand was far from himself during his brief stint last season when he appeared in only 28 games after dislocating his right shoulder in mid-December and subsequently undergoing surgery close to two months later. He conceded today that his left leg was far from 100 percent. “When I started last season, it wasn’t 100 (percent), it wasn’t there explosion-wise," Brand said during an event to unveil the Sixers' new uniforms. "But now I have the one-leg strength back, I have the two legs to bounce back. I’ve been training here the last two weeks so it feels good.” Philadelphia Daily News

Brand and the Sixers are only looking forward with training camp set to begin next week. “I’m excited to be healthy, I’m excited to add to the team,” Brand admitted. “Two first round (playoff) losses the last two years for a young team is OK, but I was brought in here to go farther than that and that’s my goal and that’s what I’ve been thinking about the entire offseason." Philadelphia Daily News

The Jazz announced Wednesday that Matt Harpring will miss all of training camp, the preseason and start of the regular season due to the ankle and knee problems he continues to battle. Harpring will remain in Atlanta and be re-evaluated in six weeks, a team spokesman said. He will not be present for the Jazz's media day Friday. Harpring has missed the preseason in each of the last three seasons. An 11-year NBA veteran, Harpring played in 63 games last season but has struggled to overcome the effects of a devastating infection he suffered following ankle surgery last summer as well as the multiple knee surgeries during his career. Salt Lake Tribune

Pau Gasol: "It's going to be difficult for me to be at the World Championship in Turkey." El Mundo Deportivo

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Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach Maurice Lucas is officially back in the fold today after having successful bladder cancer surgery in April. After a long rehabilitation, he's ready to get back in the mix as training camp begins. "I feel great," Lucas said. "I have been listening to my doctors, getting my rest, and I'm very excited about being back. I am fortunate to have the support of an organization and a head coach that have allowed me to continue to contribute, and grateful to have had the support and encouragement of a lot of great fans during the past six months." HoopsWorld.com

(Ed Stefanski) does not do Twitter, reads hoopshype daily. He mentioned that he plans on talking with the players before the season to ensure they wouldn't post anything online that could be detrimental to the team or to themselves. LibertyBallers.com

What are your feelings about the function of the D-League? Would it be possible that, like the Rockets, Lakers, Thunder, and Spurs, the Sixers will own and operate their own team in the future? Ed Stefanski: "We have had the opportunity to go into a couple places, I don't see personally the advantage of owning your own team right now since you can always send down players you have on your roster for two years of service. Until they change the rules where you can have some sort of farm system like baseball then I would maybe say that it makes more sense, but where it is right now I don't see the expense of having your own management team, your own trainers, your own coaches, and everything for one guy. In essence, last year, Mo Speights would've been the only guy we would've sent down because we weren't going to send Thaddeus down. So I don't see that making much sense." LibertyBallers.com

As majority owner of the team, Prokhorov would also be responsible for its debts, which are believed to be substantial. The deal does have an out clause for Prokhorov -- it's contingent on Ratner acquiring land for the arena. The state's seizure of the land has been hit with numerous legal challenges, and the case will be argued before New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, next month. New York Post

A league official said they will perform an extensive background check on the billionaire, who is renowned for his lavish lifestyle and was enmeshed -- but not charged -- in a prostitution probe in France in 2007. "We look at everything," the official said. New York Post

One NBA executive with strong Eastern European ties says to expect Russian and Lithuanian basketball legends Sarunas Marciulionis and Arvydas Sabonis to be included in a dramatically changed Nets organization. With CSKA, Prokhorov tried to hire Toronto Raptors assistant GM Maurizio Gherardini but was spurned. He could revisit the Italian executive for the Nets’ top job, and it wouldn’t be long until the NBA had its first foreign coach, Ettore Messina. Yahoo! Sportd

For now, Prokhorov would be wise to re-sign president Rod Thorn to an extension, and sources with knowledge of the Russian billionaire believe it’s a distinct possibility. Yahoo! Sports

When his CKSA team traveled to the Euroleague championships, NBA executives marveled over the spillover of Prokhorov-supplied blondes and brunettes that turned the tournament locale into a remote Playboy Mansion. “Unlike anything you’ve ever seen in your life,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “They flooded the hotel. But the [NBA office’s] international people know all about it. They were staying there, too.” Said a Western Conference official, “Stern will have to put 24 hour guards around this guy’s castle. Unless this guy completely divorces himself from his lifestyle over there, he’s going to have a little trouble assimilating. I mean, we do have some rules over here. … But damn, he’s got more money than anyone here, and that’s going to win out.” Yahoo! Sports

Alan Hahn: Not sure if I made this point yesterday here: Nets source tells me he's heard zero about Islanders being part of Bklyn arena. Not an option. Twitter.com

“It’s no secret we’re having financial difficulties,” guard Keyon Dooling, a union VP and the Nets’ player rep entering the last year of his contract, said yesterday. “So I’m very enthused by this. I’m in a position where I might be re-signed or not the following year. It might be a situation where money decides. Nobody wants the decision to be based solely on money.” New York Post

The Nets yesterday awaited the next move. Team president Rod Thorn said it’s too early to speculate on what it all means. Players, he said Tuesday, usually are not concerned with who owns the team. Devin Harris supported that. “My first priority is my on-court responsibility to this team,” Harris said. “I leave those business decisions in good hands with Nets management. We are looking forward to starting the season, and if he is excited about us, that can only be a positive for everyone.” New York Post

After hearing a bleak economic forecast from owners last month, NBA players Wednesday stated their case to keep much of the current collective bargaining agreement when the two sides met in Manhattan. After the three-hour session, the two sides released a joint statement saying that the meeting was "productive" and that they are "glad to be talking at this very early stage." Per usual, commissioner David Stern refused comment, along with owners, who are under a gag order that prevents them from discussing negotiations. "As you know, we're juggling a few balls," Stern said, referring to the current lockout involving NBA refs. "Have a wonderful day." New York Daily News

"It's early to say how far apart we are," said the Lakers' Derek Fisher, president of the NBA Players Association. "But one thing is clear: I don't think either side wants to casually wait for two years. The tone of our conversation continues to be very positive, very optimistic and very sincere." New York Daily News

No more Ticketmaster: Starting Oct. 1, the Cavs and Quicken Loans Arena will no longer do business with Ticketmaster, the team announced Wednesday. The two companies settled a lawsuit in June that Ticketmaster brought against the Cavs and FlashSeats, a company owned by Cavs owner Dan Gilbert that aims to control the secondary market on Cavs tickets. Cleveland Plain Dealer

Tony Parker will launch his own Academy of Basket (as a Pop Idol of basketball), where young players will learn to play basketball. His father, Tony Parker Sr., will be in the jury and the show will be on TV. BasketUSA.com

Philanthropist Shlomo Rechnitz had agreed to donate $1,000 to Chabad for every free throw a player made in 60 seconds, but the organization was short a shooter. Chabadnik Chaim Marcus turned to Elie Seckbach, an indefatigable Israeli-born journalist whose unique athlete profiles have made him a cult figure (and whose goofy, giddy Jewishness made him the subject of an earnest roundtable debate at the intellectual hoops blog Free Darko). Seckbach called, texted, and emailed, but struck out with players past and present. "To get an NBA player to take part in something like [an early-morning charity event], even those who are not all-star types, is pretty tough," Seckbach says. "And the fact that they don't know Chabad doesn't make it any easier." With time running out, Seckbach decided to try his luck with Artest, reasoning that, "he's one guy you never know what he'll do." TNR.com

Two days later, Artest showed up at KTLA's studios at 6:50 a.m. for his 8 a.m. free throw shoot, then stayed late to sign autographs and discuss future charitable projects with Marcus. "[Artest] grew up in Queens, so seeing a yarmulke or a Rabbi with a black hat wasn't National Geographic for him," Marcus told me. In all, and in contrast to his fierce on-court rep and off-court rap sheet, Artest was, Marcus says, "absolutely super menschy." TNR.com

But O'Neal didn't bite on Bay Village, where Cavs teammates Mo Williams, who was a Mojo's regular last season, and Anderson Varejao live. No, sources familiar with the search say O'Neal has rented a house in Richfield - not far from where LeBron James lives, a quick jaunt to the Cavs' practice facility in Independence and a relatively easy commute downtown to The Q. Cleveland Plain Dealer

Shaq's shack is a 7,000- square-foot crib with five bedrooms, 4½ baths and an indoor basketball half-court, where he could play a little one-on- one with his neighbor, Indians manager Eric Wedge. Cleveland Plain Dealer

Kobe Bryant will be front and center at the Lamar Odom/Khloe Kardashian nuptials this Sunday ... which means Vanessa and her $4 million ring may have a few pointers for the bride. In fact, Lamar's rep tells TMZ all the players are planning to attend, but there are still a few question marks. Several have not RSVP'd -- Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Jordan Farmar. TMZ.com

Fortunately for all of us, we’ll likely only have to write about this two more times: Today, and Monday, when at Mavs Media Day the issue of “Broken Cristal’’ will be addressed by Dirk Nowitzki one final time. But as of right now, he has addressed the issue with the German media just before leaving his native country. So we’ll do the same, with a translation from “Bunte’’ that suggests that The UberMan is ready to -- for a change -- look for love in all the right places. “I’m open to everything new that comes,’’ Nowitzki says. The story screams, “After the drama of love, he now dreams of a new relationship!’’ That’s probably a bit much; the quotes from the former fiancée of convict Cristal Taylor do not indicate that he’s “dreaming’’ of a romantic future, but rather that he is “open’’ to looking forward to someday having a wife and children and that he is sure "that this will work somehow in the future." DallasBasketball.com

The story also quotes Dirk as saying, "The thing with Cristal was indeed a little downside of my life. But I think everyone goes through ups and downs in life. ... This issue is completely over for me!" Bunte calls Cristal Taylor “double-minded.’’ Which sounds about right. DallasBasketball.com

A former employee of NBA China, detained for alleged involvement in a suspected bribery scandal involving workers at Coca-Cola's Shanghai bottling plant, is now in the hands of the municipal prosecuratorate while the investigation continues, a local police officer confirmed yesterday. The ex-worker, who was with NBA China's Shanghai office, was identified during a police probe of irregularities, confirmed Yang Boning, NBA China's director of communications and public affairs, in an interview with China Business News (CBN). China.org

I met Ed Turner a couple of times over the years. I remember him being a quiet man with an ever-present grin who obviously preferred staying in the background. Turner, the stepfather of former Utah Jazz star Karl Malone, died Tuesday after suffering a stroke about three weeks ago. Over the years, I remember Malone often crediting Turner as being someone who helped him grow up, mature and learn to work hard. Not a bad legacy for a stepfather. Salt Lake Tribune

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