SH Blog: Kyrie Irving and Paul George Kill Free Agency Rumors

• With no players presumed to be stars in this years draft class, Portland may have struck gold with C.J. McCollum. More from NBA.com’s David Aldridge: “McCollum is no longer a novelty, the star from the small school, Lehigh University, that upended mighty Duke in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. McCollum is now playing for money, against men, as a Blazers rookie. And he has the expectations that come with being the No. 10 pick, that began with his being the showcased player by Portland during his five games here. McCollum said time and time again before the Draft that he thought Portland was a natural fit for him. Now, look: If he had been taken eighth by Detroit or ninth by Minnesota, he would have probably extolled their virtues as well. But it does seem like a natural that he and Lillard could learn and grow together, much like Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars did in Detroit in the 1980s.”

• The NBA may be entering its annual dead period, but that doesn’t mean we can’t look ahead to who will be the best teams next season. I’ll reveal his top two, and SheridanHoops’ Shlomo Sprung takes care of the rest: “1) Miami Heat– The two-time defending champs haven’t really changed much at all besides for using the amnesty provision on Mike Miller. As long as LeBron James is in the fold with one productive big man (whether Chris Bosh or Birdman Andersen), Dwyane Wade, Mario Chalmers and a spacer/shooter like Ray Allen, Miami will be the favorite in the East. But the following three teams are gaining on them. 1) Oklahoma City Thunder- No team has done enough this offseason to unseat the Thunder as this conference’s top team. I believe OKC would have reached the Finals if not for Russell Westbrook’s injury (no slight to Spurs fans at all, Tony Parker would not have been able to keep up with Westbrook), and I trust Scott Brooks’ ability to replace Kevin Martin’s bench scoring. If they get Mike Miller, he will help — assuming he can stay healthy. Jeremy Lamb will have to play a large role as well.”

• Chandler Parsons speaks loud and clear: with Dwight Howard, the Houston Rockets are contenders: “The 24-year-old small forward believes that Howard will make a huge impact in Houston, and describes the Rockets as “immediate contenders.” Parsons, one of 29 players currently participating in the 2013 Team USA mini camp in Las Vegas, was very candid in his interview with HOOPSWORLD. He described the communication between himself and James Harden as “constant” and acknowledged that he went out of his way to assure Howard that Houston was the best fit for him. “Houston is the perfect place for Dwight to come and get a fresh start,” Parsons said, adding that Houston’s young roster, head coach Kevin McHale and excited fanbase are welcoming Howard with open arms.

• As mentioned above, the Cleveland Cavaliers brought in Jarrett Jack to back-up and mentor Kyrie Irving. And he doesn’t come without a great reference: “It’s not as if new Cavaliers guard Jarrett Jack needs a job reference, but if he did, Golden State coach Mark Jackson is willing to provide one. Asked his reaction to losing Jack to free agency, Jackson said, “It was torture because he’s an incredible, incredible…forget about basketball. He’s a great leader, loves the game, no nonsense. He had a great year for us. For me, he was a joy to coach, an absolute joy to coach, and I’ll have a relationship with him for the rest of our lives.” … “He’s going to help the culture,” Jackson said. “He’s going to help Mike Brown just as much as he helps Kyrie Irving. The things that he does to protect the locker room, to protect the team, to make sure that you’re doing things the right way…he’s just incredible. It was the best money that the Cavs could have ever spent.””

• SheridanHoops’ Jan Hubbard on why the Lakers are selling false hope for next season: “And then there are the Los Angeles Lakers, whose fans have had to deal with rejection in a way they have never experienced in their history. While the chances of a LeBron-Kobe-Melo troika are remote, it is fascinating to consider the story behind the story, which was broken by two reputable reporters for ESPN.com. The information obviously came from parties close to the players, the team or both, but it would seem that the entity with the most to gain would be the Lakers. With Howard gone, Bryant recovering from surgery on his left Achilles tendon, ultra-talented teams in Oklahoma City, Houston, San Antonio and down the hallway, the Lakers do not have realistic expectations of adding that 17th banner to the rafters next year. So how to deal with that? Easy. Sell the year after. Focus the fanatics on that 2015 championship parade and perhaps they will be a little less restless this season.”

• Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reports what many have been longing to hear: DeMarcus Cousins pledges loyalty to the Kings: “”I’m loyal to my city,” he said. “That’s one thing I am. I’m loyal. That’s the biggest thing. I’m not going to give up on it.” Following practice Monday at Team USA’sminicamp at UNLV’s Mendenhall Center, Cousins spoke in detail to reporters for the first time since Vivek Ranadive became the principal owner of the Kings, Pete D’Alessandro the general manager and Michael Malone the coach. The silence, at agent Dan Fegan’s behest, led some to believe Cousins wanted out of Sacramento, especially if he doesn’t receive the maximum contract allowed under the collective bargaining agreement – five years at approximately $80 million.”

Free agent center Greg Oden to make decision next week picking from Sacramento, Miami, ATL, NO, San Antonio & Dallas, source told Y! Sports.

— Marc J. Spears (@SpearsNBAYahoo) July 23, 2013

Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.