Randy Wittman talked about the status of some of his players, from J. Michael of CSN Washington: “John (Wall) has had another good summer. I see him not only physically, on the court, but I think his maturity is at another level. People forget how old John is (23). Going through what he’s gone through this summer, his work in becoming a better player, his contract, the responsibility of that I’ve been really pleased with his development. I see a different John Wall. “Kevin (Seraphin) is a more confident person in himself right now. He’s had two years where he’s played. Once you realize and believe that you belong, you carry yourself differently. I noticed that in him. Bradley (Beal) has had a really good summer. He was a little disappointed in the amount he missed having to sit through the first part of the summer to get him healthy (because of a stress injury to his lower right leg). He had a great July and August.”
Ken Berger of CBSSports explained why LeBron James has no way of knowing what the future holds for him in free agency: “He doesn’t know, because he can’t possibly know. Why is he supposed to know now? Barely three months after carrying a physically damaged Dwyane Wade and a mentally frail Chris Bosh to a second straight title, why is James supposed to be able to see the future?… Under terms of the 2011 CBA — a document that players are beginning to openly complain about only two years after signing off on it — James can only get one year added to the three he has left if he signs an extension between now and June 30. If he were to opt out and re-sign with the Heat, he’d get a five-year deal. Or, if the Heat won again and Arison agreed to keep the band together, James could opt in for one more title run in Miami and then exercise a player option in 2015 — whereupon he’d get a four- or a five-year deal that, health-permitting, would give him one more crack at free agency in his mid-30s.”
Kevin Garnett discussed the most important thing he taught Rajon Rondo, from Jay King of MassLive.com: “On the most important thing he taught Rondo: “About leadership. I feel like one of the things I always tried to stress to him is, when you’re a leader, you lead by example. It’s not a lot about what you say, it’s a lot about what you do.” On whether Rondo can push the new Celtics back to the top: “Absolutely. I’m sure he’s going to push them to make the team better, and (president of basketball operations Danny Ainge) is going to do just that. The franchise has always been used to winning. They have a new coach and new system up there, so I’m thinking that’s going to be a plus. I wish them all the best, man. I have no ill will towards anything in Boston.”
Jordan Hill has been working diligently on his jump shot, from Mark Medina of Daily News: “Instead of perfecting his post moves, Hill takes at least 1,000 jump shots per day. Instead of performing Mikan drills close to the basket, Hill often participates in shooting contests with reserve shooting guard Jodie Meeks. Instead of honing in on his rebounding, Hill’s paying extra attention to the ball handling…. “I have a lot more confidence,” Hill said in a phone interview with this newspaper. “I feel I’m a good shooter now.”… “I’m still going to do what I’m going to do,” said Hill, who averaged a career-high 6.7 points and career-high 5.7 rebounds in 15.8 minutes last season through 29 regular-season games. “Provide energy, play defense, rebound. That’s my game. That’s not going to change. I just want to be able to have more options and have something that the team can rely on. It’s all about just trying to expand my game.”
- Darius Morris has agreed to deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski: “Los Angeles Lakers free-agent guard Darius Morris is finalizing an agreement with the Philadelphia 76ers, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Morris, 22, will sign a partially guaranteed contract for the 2013-14 season, but is expected to make the 76ers’ roster and play meaningful backcourt minutes this season. Morris, a fleet, 6-foot-4 point guard, turned down a chance to return to the Lakers for his third season there, choosing the chance for a bigger role with the rebuilding 76ers. Philadelphia added two guards this off-season: first-round draft pick Michael Carter-Williams of Syracuse, and it acquired Tony Wroten from the Memphis Grizzlies.”
Here is a very interesting read from actress and singer Jennette McCurdy about how she ended up dating Andre Drummond: “A few weeks after we started talking, Andre told me he was going to come visit California. I was excited. Then, as his visit crept closer, I began to feel a little unnerved. What if my fears of the overhype of cyberspace played out in my life? Granted, Andre and I had much more personal communication than the few flirty public tweets we would send each other every couple of days, but still… When you don’t have a million people telling you how cute your attempted date joke was like they tell you how cute your emoticon tweet exchange was, will any real spark exist? Will the chemistry between two people fall short of the buzz of millions? Maybe the more really is the merrier…”
