Gary Payton nearly quit basketball after his rookie season, from Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com: “I was thinking about it,” Payton said in a phone conversation from his home in Las Vegas. “I was like, ‘What am I out here for? This isn’t even what I want to do. I’m not happy.’ I didn’t want to do anything… “If we wouldn’t have changed coaches,” Payton said, “I would have probably said, ‘Yo, you know what? I want to end this. I don’t want to do this anymore because I’m not happy.’ If they would have stayed with the same coach, I would have probably just shut it down. They would have tried to trade me or I would have told them I don’t want to play there anymore. “I went to my agent, I went to my father, I just said, ‘I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m good enough to play in this league. I’ve got a coach who wants to play me in the first and the third quarter. He has no confidence in me.’ They told me the same thing. ‘You’ve got to stick it out. You’ve got to be the guy who you’re supposed to be. You’re tough. You’re this.’ My father was like, ‘Are you crazy? If you quit, I’m gonna get in your (body).’ Stuff like that. He’s like, ‘It’s going to be better. You’ve got to dedicate yourself to it.’ As soon as coach Grg came there, I changed my whole mentality. I went back to the guy that I was at Oregon State and the guy that I was in Oakland, California (his hometown).”
Pau Gasol will be a spokesman for Madrid’s 2020 Olympics candidacy, according to the AP: “Madrid’s 2020 Olympic bid committee says it has appointed Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol to act as one of its spokesmen. In a statement issued Tuesday, the committee says Gasol, one of Spain’s most well-known athletes and a two-time Olympic silver medalist, will address the International Olympic Committee during Madrid’s final presentation in Buenos Aires next month. Madrid is vying with Tokyo and Istanbul for the 2020 Summer Games, and the IOC will deliver its decision in Argentina on Sept. 7. In the statement, Gasol says the Olympics are “more than sport” and Madrid needs the boost the games would provide. Spain has been in recession for most of the past four years and has a 26.3 percent unemployment rate.”
Avery Bradley looks to be stronger than ever heading into the upcoming season, from Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston: “”I feel a lot stronger, sometimes even when I’m walking down the street in Boston, people will say, ‘You look a lot bigger now.’ And I laugh,” Bradley said. “I’ve been eating a lot different, I’ve been lifting every single day, I weigh the most I ever weighed — like 196, that’s a lot for me and I’m hoping I can stay like 188 throughout the season. “I feel a lot better. Toward the end of the season, my body was kind of breaking down on me. I was getting a little sick and stuff, so I wasn’t eating. But I feel a lot better now.”… It’s clear the added bulk is designed at improving his ability to muscle up with his All-NBA defense, but also could aid him on the offensive end. “I feel like it makes me stronger. I feel stronger,” Bradley said. “When I’m working out with my teammates, they feel me. It’s a difference, and I can tell because the coaches tell me that I look a lot bigger than I was last year.”
Coming from a losing program, Byron Mullens hopes to prove people wrong about him as a player with the Los Angeles Clippers, from Eric Patten of Clippers.com: ““There are still a lot of doubters and a lot of people kind of saying, ‘Why did the Clippers do this?’ but I hope to prove people wrong. I’m not going to let anybody down on the team,” Mullens said. “I have a lot of stuff to do this year and I’m going to have a lot better shot selection this year, playing a better role on a better team.”… “[Head Coach Doc Rivers] just said, ‘We want you to come in and spread the floor,’” Mullens said. “But there’s also going to be some other things that I’m going to have to do like rebounding, and stuff like that, of course.”… “[The Clippers have] a great group of guys,” Mullens said. “Just the time I’ve been around the other guys already and it’s just been awesome. They’ve put together a really good, winning program, which is a lot better than what I’m coming from. I’m just really looking forward to it; to that first game and to just get out there and play with the guys.”
The Brooklyn Nets will not be training in their normal facilities when training camp begins, from Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk: “To get out of the glare of that spotlight a little, the Nets are moving the start of their training camp to the Duke University campus in Durham, North Carolina, the team announced. They will be there from Oct. 1 to 5. If you’re wondering the connection, Nets GM Billy King played for Duke (he was the captain of a Final Four team). Well, unless you think the Nets are doing this just to make Mason Plumlee happy. “With many new players and a new staff, going on the road for training camp will offer a unique opportunity for our players to bond and focus solely on basketball as they prepare for this season,” King said in a released statement. But it makes some sense, the university has world-class facilities and it lets them get out of some of the spotlight glare that will be on them this season.”
Flip Saunders discussed the need for Ricky Rubio to become more of a scorer, from Phil Ervin of Fox Sports North: “That’s his next step in the evolution of the point guard position,” recently hired Timberwolves president of basketball operations Flip Saunders told KFAN 100.3. “Being a bigger scoring threat, being able to knock down shots, which will make the game much more easier for him.”… “As a young player, when you get in stressful situations — and what I mean by that is competitive situations — you always revert back to what you do best,” Saunders said, “and what he does best is pass the basketball, make other players better. In pressure situations, that’s what he’s gonna do. He’s not gonna shoot or do the things that he’s not as comfortable with.”… “He’s kind of in between a set shot and a jump shot a lot of times,” Saunders said. “That happens a lot when you’re younger and coming up.”… “In order for him to get to the next level, that’s what he’s going to have to improve on,” Saunders said. “And he will improve on it. He will really work at it.”
