SH Blog: Derrick Rose gained 10 pounds of muscle, says he is more explosive and a lot quicker

• One NBA scout believes Paul George can become a Top 3 player in the league, from Sean Deveney of Sporting News: ‘How good can George be? Says one East scout: “He can be a Top 5, maybe even a Top 3 type of player. He still has so much raw talent, and he was a late bloomer so you can see he still plays on instinct sometimes. He is far from a finished product. He will be a great player, but I think the important thing to keep in mind is that we’re talking about Scottie Pippen great, not Michael Jordan great. He could be a lot like Pippen, but to get there, he has a lot to do, a lot of work. He can be elite, but he has to plug up some big holes in his game.” The thing about George is that those holes are relatively obvious, the kinds of things players can learn with experience and repetition. He arrived in Indiana out of Fresno State four years ago, and at the time, he was still a raw but athletic prospect, a guy who had not been heavily recruited out of high school. He could create space and put down jaw-dropping dunks, but basics like footwork, dribbling, perimeter shooting and floor vision were not in his game.”

• Well-known journalist Howard Beck of the New York Times left his job to join Bleacher Report on Wednesday. Here is his thought process behind the decision, from John Koblin of Deadspin: “When I first got the email, I was kind of taken aback because like most people, the only thing I knew about Bleacher Report is what it has been,” Beck said. “You know, blogs and slideshows and Top 10 lists. He said, ‘We’re going in a new direction here under Turner and we’d like to tell you a little about it.’ We had a great meeting.”… And what about the inevitable Bleacher Report baggage? Why would he leave the Times—theTimes!—for a website with phenomenal traffic but a reputation among journalists as something of a Superfund site. “I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t have those same concerns. Of course I did,” he said. “I’m well aware of the perception that other people have had of Bleacher Report and I had a lot of those same perceptions going in. And I had to ask all the same questions that I think people are wondering right now. Obviously if I hadn’t gotten a great deal of assurance and feedback from them about where they were headed then I wouldn’t be taking the job.”

• Are the Los Angeles Lakers better than the Oklahoma City Thunder? In a word, no. Still, here is a piece of the breakdown from Eric Pincus of Los Angeles Times: “The key for the Lakers is getting Kobe Bryant back healthy from his Achilles injury. Assuming he returns to form, even if it takes a month or two into the season, Bryant is still one of the top players in the NBA. The Thunder traded James Harden last season and Kevin Martin this last summer. Thabo Sefolosharemains the starter and while he’s a capable defender, he’s not much of a threat offensively. Behind Sefolosha, the Thunder can play second-year guard Jeremy Lamb. The team has high hopes Lamb will develop, but is he ready for a major role? Fisher should also see sizable minutes at the two. Behind Bryant, the Lakers boast a long list of players who will fight for minutes, including Jodie Meeks, Nick Young, Wesley Johnson, Xavier Henry (a camp invite who has to make the team) and even point guards Blake and Farmar. The Lakers have the advantage over the Thunder at shooting guard.”

• Anthony Bennett is back in acton for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but the team does not plan on starting him at the forward positions, from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports: “Cleveland Cavaliers rookie forward Anthony Bennett, the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft, resumed playing five-on-five basketball this week, league sources told Yahoo Sports. Bennett had surgery May 8 to repair a torn left rotator cuff that was expected to keep him out for fourth months. The former UNLV star was not able to play for the Cavaliers’ summer league team in Las Vegas because of the injury. Bennett, however, began playing five-on-five without any restrictions this week for the first time since the surgery. He has played well, but needs to get in much better shape as the start of training camp nears. The Cavaliers are expected to start Tristan Thompson at power forward and not use Bennett at small forward this season, a source said. It is possible that if center Andrew Bynum isn’t able to return from his lingering knee injury by season’s start that Bennett could become the starting power forward if Thompson moves to center. “

• Steve Blake is surprised by how low people are ranking the Lakers, and took a subtle shot at Dwight Howard, from Pincus: “I’m still a little bit surprised about how negative people are on us right now,” Blake told Mike Trudell of Lakers.com on Tuesday. “If you speak to most of the players, we’re all pretty optimistic,” Blake said. “I think the fact that people don’t believe in us this year might give us an advantage somehow.”… “I feel healthy,” he said. “The summer was really good. I got a lot of work in.”…  Blake recently scrimmaged against Steve Nash, who also was hurt at the end of the Lakers’ season (hip, hamstring and back). “He looks great. He’s moving well,” Blake said of Nash. “I was a little surprised he was out here playing. It was nice to see him out here.  Steve is Steve — he’s great at what he does.”… “He gives a little bit more of a dynamic option than just Dwight just rolling to the rim every time,” Blake said. “[Kaman] and Pau [Gasol], I think, will be a good combination together because they are both pretty versatile in how they play.”

• James Harden laughed at the notion that he would shave his beard for $80,000, from Dan Carson of Bleacher Report: “The Houston Rockets shooting guard was going about his affairs recently when a TMZcameraman threw out an interesting proposal: “How much would it take to cut the beard off? Would you do it for charity?” According to the TMZ report, yes, yes he would. Harden said he’d lose the beard, but not without stipulations. He’s not about to hack off his luxurious face-mane to help buy books for underprivileged barn owls. He’d do it for a good cause, and more importantly, the right cause. “Depends on the charity,” Harden said. He also said he’d have to raise a boatload of cash to do the deed. The cameraman threw out a figure, which the Rockets star promptly laughed off. “Would $80,000 do?” the cameraman asked. “Hell naw, $80,000 wouldn’t do,” Harden said.”

• Danny Granger doesn’t want to think about what his role will be until he can get on the court first, from Nat Newell of Indy Star: “Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger isn’t ready to answer questions about whether he or Lance Stephenson will be in the starting lineup when the season opens. “I’ve got to play first,” he said. “That’s the question I’ve got to answer first.”… When asked if playing again was a concern, Granger said: “It’s not. It’s a four- to six-month rehab and I’m on the fifth month. I’ll be ready to get on the court; it’s just a matter of when I’m fully ready to play.” Granger said he would not discuss his rehabilitation in depth until the team’s media day Sept. 27… “I’ve always led the team in scoring, but we work the offense through David West and Roy Hibbert,” Granger said. “Those are our No. 1 and 2 options, going to the post regardless of who is on the wing. Four years ago, I had to shoulder the load. But that’s not how our team is made up anymore.”

• Rose is also interested in playing for the U.S team in 2014, according to Sun-Times: “It has been 508 days — give or take a few hours — since Derrick Rose last played in a regulation NBA game. But when asked by a reporter in Manila, Philippines, the other day if he would play for the U.S. team in the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain, the rehabbing and well-rested Bulls guard responded that he would like to. “If they select me on the team, it will be an honor,” Rose was quoted by ABS-CBNNews.com. “I definitely will be on the team if [coach Mike Krzyzewski] wants me.” The FIBA tournament begins in 345 days.”

• Jeremy Lin was flattered by all the compliments Hakeem Olajuwon threw at him, from Mark Berman of My Fox Houston: “”I’m just very humbled and flattered,” Lin said. “I didn’t think he was going to go and say that. “It’s different for someone to say that, but for him to say that it’s just like ‘wow,’ coming from one of the best who ever did it in the post. Maybe I might find myself down there a little more, but definitely not major given our personnel and our team and our style, but maybe here and there definitely.”… Olajuwon had an important message for Lin… “I think every great team, every championship team, they have their guys, but then they have other guys who really need to play well. If you look at Miami, they’ve won the last couple of years. Would they have won without (forward) Mike Miller, (forward) Shane Battier, (guard) Mario Chalmers and guys like that playing really well?”

James Park is the chief blogger of Sheridan Hoops. You can find him on twitter @SheridanBlog.