SH Blog: Joe Lacob hopes to beat up the Rockets, Nets agree to terms with Andrei Kirilenko

• John Wall was in this year’s Body Issue for ESPN The Magazine, but his teammate Martell Webster will not be one to peek into the issue, from Sarah Kogod of Washington Post: “Count Martell Webster among those who will not be checking out John Wall’s nude photos in ESPN’s The Body issue. “No, and I won’t,” Webster said on Tuesday night, when asked if he had seen the picture of his Wizards teammate. “I’m not gonna pick up The Body unless…I’m not going to talk about this because my wife might [see] this. There’s other people in The Body. But I’m not gonna go into that. I’m not gonna go look at my teammate butt naked in a magazine and then text him and be like, ‘Yeah, you’re looking real good in that.’”

• Jeff Teague explained why he wanted to move on from the Atlanta Hawks, from Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: ““It was a perfect situation for me, being familiar with the coaching staff and talking to them on the phone. They embraced me and they wanted me. They told me that. That is something I never really heard (in Atlanta). Once somebody said they actually wanted me to be a part of their future I’m all for it. “I really didn’t talk to them much through the process. I enjoyed my time there in Atlanta. I don’t think I really got too familiar with everybody once there was the switch in the front office. I don’t think we really built the relationship that we could have. It is what it is.” Jeff Teague signed a four-year, $32 million offer sheet from the Bucks. The Hawks received the notice Wednesday night.

• Kobe Bryant is apparently far ahead of schedule in his rehab process, from Melissa Rohlin of Los Angeles Times: “Kobe Bryant said his Achilles’ tendon injury is healing at a faster pace than doctors expected. “I’m far ahead, far ahead,” Bryant told The Times in an interview Wednesday at his summer camp at UC Santa Barbara. “Surprisingly so, but really ahead of schedule.” Bryant said he expects to be more aggressive with his conditioning by mid-August, which would put him at four months after his surgery.  “I can shoot, but they’d just rather me not,” Bryant said. “And there’s no reason to rush it, so I’d rather just wait and let the tendon strengthen and completely heal and go from there.” Bryant said he devotes hours each day to getting his tendon stronger. “It’s about three hours, sometimes four, depending on the day,” Bryant said. “It consists of weight training manual therapy, modalities, doing the elliptical.”

• Kobe’s doctor expects him to be ready from the opening tip:

 

KOBE to be at full activity in 4 weeks. That means no restrictions but later stages of tendon recovery still remain. Will see him at Game 1.

— Dr. Robert Klapper (@DrRobertKlapper) July 10, 2013

• Royce White is with the 76ers now, but that won’t change his mind about flying, from Randy Peterson of DesMoines Register: “Royce White is ready to play in the NBA – probably for the Philadelphia 76ers, once the trade from Houston becomes official. But making 100 plane flights during a season? “Hell no,” the former Iowa State basketball star said after playing for the Walnut Creek YMCA Wednesday night in the YMCA Capital City League at Valley Southwoods Freshman High School.  “One hundred flights would be like if you’re allergic to peanut butter – it’d be like spreading your whole body with it.”… “Anything can happen between now and (the season),” White said. “It’s every intention of mine to play. “I don’t know what Philly’s intentions are. I’m just going to go there, work hard and try to earn my place.”

• Amare Stoudemire will have restrictions come next season, from Marc Berman of New York Post: “Woodson confirmed a Post report Amar’e Stoudemire will be on a minutes restriction next season. The Knicks had talked about a 20-minute cap limit on the forward, and they also discussed limiting his playing in back-to-back games. “Right now, as it stands, he’s going to be on some restrictions,’’ Woodson said. “What those restrictions will be, I don’t know yet.’’ Woodson said the Knicks are taking a new approach to Stoudemire this offseason, having him rest all summer instead of working out. “The main thing with Amar’e, he needed rest,’’ Woodson said. “Last summer, he put in a lot of time. He worked his [butt] off last summer.’’

• The Brooklyn Nets have agreed to terms with Andrei Kirilenko, according to Mike Mazzeo of ESPN New York (first reported by Peter Vecsey): “After missing out on Kyle Korver and being unable to reach a buyout with Bojan Bogdanovic’s team overseas, the Brooklyn Nets have agreed to terms with Andrei Kirilenko, a league source confirmed to ESPNNewYork.com Thursday. The Nets will use their taxpayer mini mid-level exception to bring Kirilenko aboard. It’s a two-year contract with a player option for the second year, a source said. Kirilenko will make $3.1 million in the first year of the deal.”

• Blake Griffin addressed the notion that he is a soft player, from ESPN: “Blake Griffin said in an interview with ESPN that he’s not worried if he is being labeled as soft around the NBA and is willing to prove that he’s not to his detractors in the league — off the court. “I’ve never really worried about being called soft or people thinking I’m soft,” the Los Angeles Clippers’ star power forward said. “If anybody wants to step and take that challenge I’m more than happy — off the court — because I don’t want to get suspended. It’s not something that I dwell on. I’ve never really had a problem with being soft.”

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