SH Blog: JVG wonders if it’s worth being a Magic fan, Kyrie Irving explains crossover

With most teams having made their critical offseason moves up to this point, we may be reaching a quiet stage in the league in terms of player movement. With no real transactions going on, we will focus on the status of some of the key players around the league and how they have spent their summers and what they expect to do in the upcoming season:

Amare Stoudemire is looking forward to utilizing the moves he has learned from Hakeem Olajuwon, according to Mark Berman of My Fox Houston: “Six-time NBA All-Star forward Amare Stoudemire “can’t wait” to explore the moves he has learned from former Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon when he returns to play with the N.Y. Knicks. Stoudemire has been in Houston for about a week working with the Hall of Fame center. “It’s always room to improve as a player,” Stoudemire said in an interview with FOX 26 Sports. “To want to be the best is always a common denominator for most players. “So working with Hakeem, one of the best players to ever play the game, is a great opportunity for me. We are both very quick and athletic for our positions. So to learn from him will be a great advantage for me.”

Kyrie Irving explained how his crossover has become so deadly, from Brendan Bowers of Slam Online: “When I was younger, I always wanted the AI Crossover,” Irving said from his ProCamp in Cleveland. “In elementary school that was the only move I had, was the Allen Iverson crossover. I probably practiced that crossover a million times.” From there, the Cavaliers point guard says he reached back into the NBA archives for elements of two other crossovers in the construction of his own. “I had the Timmy Hardaway too,” Irving told SLAM. “I practiced the Tim Hardaway move over a million times as well, along with the KJ (Kevin Johnson), which was just go by everybody with quickness. Over time, I combined all of them together, and made it into my own move. “It was fun learning from those guys, and watching CP3 too, all of them,” Kyrie added. “I grew up on all of them, and I’ve incorporated different things from all their games into mine.”

Avery Bradley discussed how Kevin Garnett encouraged and inspired him to become a better player, from Ben Rohrbach of WEEI: “I didn’t want to get in, because I was so scared of KG [Kevin Garnett] yelling at me if I messed up,” he said during a panel Thursday hosted by Jessica Camerato at the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation’s Summer Soiree. “I would sit on the sideline. I might not even get in the whole practice, because I didn’t want KG to yell at me… One day, KG saw me on the bus,” he said. “I had my hoodie on. I was a little down. I wasn’t playing. He could tell I wasn’t the same Avery, always smiling but shy, and he told me, ‘You know what? I was sitting back in my room last night watching tapes of you in high school. If you continue to work how hard you work every day and never give up, the way you played in high school, you’ll play in the NBA… Then, one day I’m on the bus after a game and all KG said was, ‘I told you,’” added Bradley. “At first I had no clue what he was talking about. He always sits in the back of the bus and tells his stories, and he’s like, ‘I told you that. If you continue to work … hard work always pays off.’ Coming from KG, that made me feel good and made me want to keep working, so I can be like him.”

Jeff Van Gundy openly wondered if it was worth staying an Orlando Magic fan, according to Chris Fedor of Sports Radio Interviews: “I think long-term if you’re an Orlando Magic fan today is a day where you haveto ask yourself is it worth it? Because we’ve had three stars in our time, in Orlando, we had Shaquille O’Neal who went free agency and left. We had TracyMcGrady and he forced his way out and I was the beneficiary of that. Then third you had Dwight Howard who forced his way out. You have to ask yourself, is it worth it? Because even if we get the guys are we going to be able to keep the guys? So much is being made of draft picks. Those draft picks are great if, like Oklahoma City, you have the ability to have the second, third and fourth pick in the draft and get (Kevin) Durant, (Russell) Westbrook, (James) Harden and (Serge) Ibaka. You’ve got to get those picks and then you have to draft the right guys and they’ve got to come together like those guys have and then you have to be able to retain them like Oklahoma City has but Orlando, when they have gotten their best players, whatever reason, it hasn’t worked out and I really, really feel for their fan base. It’s a sad day for the Orlando Magic fan base.”

Fedor also provided an interview with Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, who believed his team was close to acquiring Dwight Howard: “Whether he feels the Rockets ever got close to getting a deal done for Dwight Howard: “I do, yeah. I do feel like it was close but they did their diligence and they were searching for something they thought they liked even more and they liked this trade better than anything we could offer. I promise you Rob knows what he’s doing and he thought this was best for Orlando and I think people will see over time that he’s a very good executive.”

Assistant coach Jim Boeheim believes LeBron James may be reaching the level of Michael Jordan, according to Syracuse.com: “So, just how good is James … and how good can he be? “I’ve always thought Michael Jordan was the best player that I’ve ever seen. I always have and and I didn’t think it was close. I’m not so sure any more. And I love Michael Jordan. I’m not so sure anymore. This guy is 6-foot-9 and 260 pounds, and he’s getting better. He works on his game. His shooting is getting better. He’s a phenomenal, phenomenal basketball player. I love this game, I love the history of this game. I know we’ve had great, great players through the years. He’s like Magic Johnson with Michael Jordan-type skills as well.”

Andre Iguodala is looking forward to playing with his new teammates in Denver, according to Aaron J. Lopez of NBA.com: “Having helped Philadelphia advance to the playoffs in four of the past five years, Iguodala is a proven winner. In Denver, he will join one of only three franchises to reach the playoffs in each of the past nine seasons. Rest assured, Iguodala has taken notice of the success. “I like the roster that Josh and (executive vice president of basketball operations) Masai (Ujiri) have assembled,” Iguodala said. “It’s a high-energy group with a lot of athleticism. “I’ve played with Andre Miller and know how valuable a player he is. Ty (Lawson) is one of the best young point guards in the league and Danilo (Gallinari) can really stretch the defense with his shooting and can do a lot of other good things offensively. The young bigs like JaVale (McGee), (Kenneth) Faried and (Timofey) Mozgov are all talented guys who will only continue to get better.”

Stephen Curry looks to ramp up the rehabilitation on his ankle without restrictions, according to Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area: “I don’t think he’ll have any restrictions,” said Myers, who was attending a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil the Warriors’ technology center at College Track on Monday. “He’s being cautious because he has time to be. But as far as full-go, he’s there right now. He’s not going to push it unnecessarily, though. He’s going to be cautious. But as far as restrictions, they’ve all been lifted.”

Greg Monroe is preparing to play some power forward for the upcoming season, according to Keith Langlois of NBA.com: “No one knows for sure when Andre Drummond and Slava Kravtsov will earn the trust of Lawrence Frank and push their way into the Pistons’ rotation. But the Pistons are preparing for any contingency, which means Greg Monroe’s summer – which he enthusiastically calls “a very productive summer for me” – has been at least partially devoted to preparing to play power forward in case the two 7-footers lock up available minutes at center. “They basically said I need to be prepared to play power forward,” Monroe told me after a lengthy workout Monday at the team’s practice facility. “They’re looking for at least one of those guys to be ready, so I’ve started to prepare myself to be ready to play the four. We’ve been working on stuff to have me in those positions.”

The 76ers may be looking to move one of their big men now that they unexpectedly have Andrew Bynum, according to Sam Amico of FS Ohio: “Now, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Sixers went with a starting front court that includes Bynum and Hawes (with Brown coming off the bench) to begin. Question is, can that sort of unorthodox lineup that includes starting two centers really work? It’s worth a shot . . . but it seems unlikely for the long-term. Oh, and let’s not forget first-round pick Arnett Moultrie, a 6-foot-11 power forward whom the Sixers obtained after Miami drafted him No. 27 overall. That leads some around the league to believe either Brown, Hawes or Allen will be made available come the February trading deadline, if not the end of training camp in October. At the very least, some teams with holes in the middle plan to start placing calls.”