SH Blog: D. Howard hopes to have long career in L.A., Lin studies Duhon

This topic has been covered before, but Dwight Howard once again spoke of his unwillingness to fully commit to the Lakers for contractual reasons. The way he speaks about the team and the city though, all signs indicate that he hopes to be in Los Angeles for the long haul. See what’s on his mind, what point guards Jeremy Lin studies to help improve his game, why Tim Hardaway thinks Derrick Rose should sit out for an entire season before returning and plenty more below:

• Dwight Howard stopped short of making any commitment to the Lakers, but he hopes to have a long career in L.A., according to Joe McDonnell of Fox Sports West: So, while DH12 has had a lot of time to rehab, get used to his new home city and think about the risk he took in forcing a trade, there’s one thing hasn’t changed in Howard’s life — he’s nowhere close to signing a contract extension with the Lakers. “I think the best thing to do is talk about it at the end of the year,” Howard said confidentially despite seeing his basketball mortality up close a few months ago with the spinal surgery. “We just went through that last season, basically, and I don’t want to go through it again or see anyone have to go through it. “This is going to be my decision, and I’m going to wait till the end of the year. But I’m happy to be in L.A. This is a great place. I love the coaching staff and I love the organization for everything they’ve done for me since I got traded here. “Hopefully I’ll have a long career here in L.A.”

• Who does Jeremy Lin watch to help improve his game? Many players, including Chris Duhon, from Jason Friedman of NBA.com: “JL: I’ve watched everybody and some of the names might be shocking, but the thing is every point guard does something better than me, so the key is learning from whatever that is. Players that I’ve watched – the obvious ones: Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, John Stockton, Gary Payton. And then you can go on to the ones who have very specialized skills: Juan Carlos Navarro and then Chris Duhon and Raymond Felton. They do things that are really, really good and better than me that other people might not see.”

• Tim Hardaway believes Derrick Rose needs to take his time before returning from his ACL tear, from Jared Zwerling of ESPN: “Hardaway thinks Rose should sit out the entire 2012-13 season. “I’d just rather have him take his time, so he can be 100 percent, because he’s like me, running and jumping,” Hardaway told ESPNNewYork.com on Thursday. Hardaway pointed out that his injury was similar to Rose’s, a freak, non-contact injury on a routine play. Hardaway was going up for a layup on March 3, 1993 against the Los Angeles Lakers when he tore his left ACL, and he missed the entire next season. Rose jump-stopped to shoot his trademark floater in the fourth quarter of Game 1 in the first round of last season’s playoffs against the Philadelphia 76ers. Hardaway remembers the months after the incident, thinking over and over again, ‘Am I going to come back the way I want to come back?’ But he overcame any doubt and stayed the course, relying on faith, confidence, his family and new eating habits, and he was able to return in 1994-95 and didn’t have to deal with the ACL again — even after his career. “

• Coach Rick Carlisle believes the time for Rodrigue Beaubois to shine is now, from Earl K. Sneed of NBA.com: “Roddy is a kid that we all know has a lot of ability,” Carlisle said last week after taking a few questions about Beaubois during the introduction of the Mavs’ off-season signees. He added: “He’s done a lot of good things over a three or four-year period, and this is the year that he’s gonna put it all together. He’s had to battle through injury issues two out of his three years, and it’s been something that’s hindered him. But, you know, he’s another guy that can play the 1 and can play the 2, and often times when you look on the floor with our team you’re gonna see two guards out there that can both handle the ball and can both play off the ball.”

• Who is Mark Jackson going to start at small forward for the Warriors? Matt Steinmetz of CSN Bay Area believes it could be Richard Jefferson:  “But after more review, I think Jefferson figures in the equation, and could be the starter. Here would be the thinking behind that … It’s possible that Barnes isn’t ready to start right off the bat, and Warriors coach Mark Jackson prefers to bring Rush off the bench. That wouldn’t be hard to see, considering Rush often provided a spark last year as a leader of the team’s second unit. Under that scenario, it makes sense to start Jefferson, who shot 42 percent from 3-point range last season and brings much-needed experience to the team. One potential issue with starting Jefferson, though, is how then would Jackson find playing time for both Rush and Barnes? That won’t be easy. A few weeks back, Jackson acknowledged that the small forward position was wide option.”

• Center Andrew Bogut may try to play a couple of preseason games, according to Tim Kawakami of Mercury News:

• Marquis Daniels has agreed to terms with the Bucks, according to Gary Washburn of Boston Globe:

• Mikhail Prokhorov, as he said since taking ownership of the Nets, is expecting a championship for the team within the next three years, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York: “Brooklyn Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s goal is to win a championship — and he expects do so within the next three years. “Every team has a grand plan, and we’re moving slowly, step by step, because it’s easy to make a strong team, but it’s very difficult to make a championship team. So we are on the right way and I’m expecting our championship within three years now,” Prokhorov told reporters Friday morning after participating in a ribbon-cutting with partner Bruce Ratner and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, marking the ceremonial opening of the $1 billion Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn… “For me there is only one place: No. 1,” Prokhorov said. “And I’ll do my best in order to reach a championship.” Prokhorov confidently said he believes King will be “GM of the Year,” and he doesn’t care how much money he has to pay in luxury taxes. “You can add it up. I don’t want to do your job, but for me it’s most important to have a championship,” he said.”

• No surprise here, but Prokhorov also guaranteed a playoff appearance for the upcoming season to Rod Boone of Newsday:

• The 76ers tried their best to acquire Nuggets general manager Masai Ujiri over the summer, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports: “Before widening their search for a general manager this summer, the Philadelphia 76ers aggressively pursued Denver Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. The 76ers were granted permission to talk to Ujiri earlier in the summer, but he ultimately resisted what would’ve been a lucrative package to replace Sixers president and GM Rod Thorn, sources said. Ujiri has emerged as a rising star among league front-office executives and had been the 76ers’ primary target along with new Atlanta Hawks GM Danny Ferry, sources said.”

• Watch K.C. Johnson of Chicago Tribune discuss the Bulls situation heading into the season with coach Nick of Bballbreakdown:

• Eric Gordon said it would be a process for his young team, but still expects them to be in the playoffs, from Rachel Whittaker of The Times- Picayune: “And Gordon can’t wait to be a leader, though he acknowledged the journey will be a work in progress.”We have a lot of young talented players who will be very good for us,” Gordon said. “This is a long-term process; it’s not a year or two where we’re going to be a championship caliber of team. I’m just looking forward to being in the playoffs this year and many more years of possibly getting a championship.”

• The Magic will miss at least three players when training camp starts, according to Brian Schmitz of Orlando Sentinel: “Point guard Ish Smith and rookie forward Maurice Harkless will miss the Magic’s training camp and the early portion of the regular season while they recover from offseason surgeries. Forward Al Harrington, recovering from knee surgery, is expected to miss at least part of camp if he participates at all.”

• Steve Nash and Goran Dragic met up at a bar and got to enjoy some rap about them:

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