Pau Gasol called the situation of getting Marc Gasol to Memphis ironic, from Sam Amick of USA Today: “He was dominating the (ACB) league, and that was right after he got drafted (48th overall) by the Lakers,” Pau Gasol said. “So I was telling the Grizzlies to please try to get him, try to get him over, get the rights from the Lakers somehow. I remember at the time, before the season started, the rights were up for grabs and (the Lakers) were asking for money, cash. And my brother played really well, I kept insisting with the Grizzlies to get him, to get him. So I tried to get him, and in the end they got him — through me. “It was kind of ironic. But I’m happy that things worked out so well for both of us.”
Gasol also said his future with the Lakers depends largely on when Dwight Howard makes his move: “”Dwight is looking at his options, and there’s nothing wrong with that, I guess,” Pau said. “I’m not him. I’m not in his position, but I guess it all starts with his decision and I’m sure the franchise is waiting to see whether he decides to sign (with the Lakers) or sign with somebody else, I guess.”… “Obviously from the team’s standpoint, the sooner Dwight makes his decision the better,” Pau said. “And as players and teammates too (it’s better), because in a way I don’t know — there’s certain things that depend on his decision, right? Probably. I don’t know what percentage (it factors in), or to what extent, but to some extent yes.”
- Howard, by the way, is “wide open” to the idea of going to Dallas, according to Bill Ingram of Hoopsworld: “A source with knowledge of the situation says Dwight Howard is “wide open” to Dallas. Mavs actually have the space to sign him, Rox don’t.”
The role of Amare Stoudemire with the Knicks is uncertain, but that won’t stop him from working out with Hakeem Olajuwon again, from Jared Zwerling of ESPN New York: “Amar’e Stoudemire will resume working out with Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon for the second summer in a row, according to his training adviser Travis King. King said the workouts will take place sometime in August at Olajuwon’s ranch outside Houston. It’s not clear if Tyson Chandler will join him, which was on the table in 2012… “Stoudemire will continue to build on the post-up moves and defensive maneuvers he learned from Olajuwon last summer. The big reasons behind the collaboration were: (1) to give the Knicks a low-post presence, allowing Chandler to be the go-to pick-and-roller; and (2) to improve the spacing between Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, who had tended to crowd the court in the midrange area.”
Andrea Bargnani says he believes he has always performed well in Toronto, from RealGM: “I am always happy to play for the Italian National Team,” said Bargnani. “Last summer I could not play because of my calf injury. Now, due to my elbow problems I miss playing games but I can’t wait to start.”… “I got injured for the second consecutive year: last year a calf problem, this season an elbow injury,” said Bargnani. “Two probems which forced me to miss a couple of months. I have just started practice again.” The Raptors attempted to trade Bargnani last season, but he remains on the roster and will have a new general manager. “Today I am a Raptor. Tomorrow we’ll see. I am very happy for my years in Toronto. I love the city and in my first three seasons in the NBA we made the postseason. Personally, I think I have always performed well. I don’t have any regret.”
LeBron James and Dwyane Wade expressed how important Udonis Haslem is to the Heat, from Michael Wallace of ESPN: ““He’s the heartbeat of our team, first of all,” James said of Haslem before singling out other teammates. “There’s no one on our roster that plays that we don’t have the utmost confidence in. For him to come through and do what he was able to do offensively from the start — with [Chalmers] stepping up in the third, also Shane and Ray contributing, [Andersen] giving us his usual. We needed everyone’s effort and it allowed us to get a big win on the road.”… “He doesn’t talk too much,” Wade said. “When (Haslem) talks, he’s not just talking to hear his voice. We understand that this guy is all heart. This is one of the total team guys. When he steps up and says something, everyone listens.”
Roy Hibbert said Haslem’s ability to hit the jump shot had the Pacers guessing on defense, from Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports: “Just [Haslem] hitting those shots really made us have to think on defense, ‘Who do we guard?'” Roy Hibbert confessed. “Do we guard the paint or do we have to go out to the shooters in the corner?” Pity poor George, whom James overmatched on defense and ultimately had second-guessing himself on offense. George had come out passing, unable to get to the rim on a collapsing Heat defense. When the Pacers desperately needed his offense to withstand the Heat’s torridness, George missed seven of his ten shots. From a Game 2 heir to greatness, George looked like a lost 23-year-old in Game 3 with 13 points and five turnovers.”
Mavs and Rockets BOTH have to make some roster adjustments to have 20.5 Million available in cap space. However Rockets have a better and younger core team, after adding Chandler Parsons. If the cap is 58.5 million, they can only have 38 million in salary, after considering cap holds. Rockets would not pick up option on Garcia, and would sell off Royce White.
I believe the Howard people are trying to force Houston to offer the full 20.5 million by using Dallas as competition. He clearly isn’t returning to Lakers, with D’Antoni as coach, as he won’t be blamed for getting D’Antoni fired.