What’s the best template to build an NBA team by these days? For several years, it was to construct a Big Three, like the Spurs, Celtics, and Heat did with great success. Before that, it was all about the two-man combo, a la Kobe/Shaq, MJ/Pippen, Stockton/Malone, et cetera. Now, there seems to be a new breed developing, of having five very good players with one premier star, like the Pacers, Clippers, and Warriors are trying to do. One thing we’ve definitely found out over the last few years is that winning in the NBA isn’t just about collecting the top stars. Sure, LeBron James (with the Cavs) and Dwight Howard (with the Magic) have carried their teams to the Finals without a legitimate secondary star, but only a maximum of two teams can have LeBron and Dwight. For everyone else, there needs to be genuine quality all through the starting lineup and probably at least down three spots on the bench. There’s plenty of room for dream pairings like the Rockets are trying this year or just trying to cram as many stars into the lineup as possible, like Mikhail Prokhorov’s Nets, but at the end of the season, the team that raises the trophy will be a well-rounded team that has all its bases covered,
- Even though Paul Pierce is a Brooklyn Net now, his heart is still in Boston, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe: “Pierce said he wants to be a fixture in Boston following his playing days, not just showing up for his retirement ceremony and heading to Malibu, Calif., the next morning. Pierce said he wants to establish something substantial in Boston, having grown attached to the city despite growing up in Inglewood, Calif., as a Lakers fan. “Ultimately, what I would like to do is have a business in Boston,” he said. “Maybe like a sports bar. I would love to do something like that here. None of the former Celtic great players have come and done that. I thought about it, and why hasn’t anyone come and opened up a nice restaurant? You see the Don Shula restaurant, the Michael Jordan restaurant, and Magic [Johnson] got the theaters in LA. Why nobody here? All this history, all these championships and love, why has nobody done that? I am going to still have relationships here. I’m always going to come to this city. Every year, when I’m done, I’m going to have a reason to come here.” “
Mike Bresnahan of the LA Times tackles the question the Lakers don’t want to think about yet: “Forget all that stuff about Kobe Bryant returning from an Achilles’ tendon injury this season. It’ll happen at some point. The real question involves next season. He might not return at all to the Lakers. Bryant is entering the last nine months of his contract, a season worth $30.45 million before he can become a free agent in July. He has known only one team in his 17-year career and often says he’ll be a Laker for life, but will that be the case? The Lakers haven’t opened contract negotiations with Bryant, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, taking a wait-and-see approach as he recovers from his injury. Bryant, 35, has done incredible things for the franchise, pushing it to five championships and two other NBA Finals appearances in his 17 seasons. His jersey is continually among the league’s top sellers, his first name easily recognizable even with non-sports fans. But the Lakers are already salivating over their salary-cap space next summer. Only Steve Nash, Robert Sacre and Nick Young are on the books for 2014-15, meaning a spending spree awaits with potential free agents LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay, Luol Deng, Dirk Nowitzki, Danny Granger and Marcin Gortat. Restricted free agents next July include Paul George, DeMarcus Cousins and Greg Monroe.”- One guy who looks to be staying with his current franchise is Paul George, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports: “All-Star forward Paul George and the Indiana Pacers are finalizing a five-year, $90 million-plus maximum contract extension, league sources told Yahoo Sports. A deal is expected to be signed this week, league sources told Yahoo.For the Pacers and George, who was voted the 2013 NBA Most Improved Player, the five-year deal will cement the gifted young forward as Indiana’s designated franchise player. In three NBA seasons, George has developed into one of the league’s most thrilling young talents, blossoming into a starring role in the Pacers’ march to a Game 7 against the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals last season.”
Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer has a piece up on the centerpiece of the Sixers’ rebuilding project, Nerlens Noel: “Most NBA observers believe the Sixers are jockeying for position in what is expected to be a talent-rich 2014 draft. And Noel won’t play until December – if at all this season – because of the anterior cruciate ligament tear he suffered during his lone season at Kentucky. But resting on this day was not an option for Noel, who spent 5 1/2 months rehabilitating his left knee with renowned physical therapist Kevin Wilk and his staff before moving to Philadelphia earlier this month.”- Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake City Tribune looks at Utah GM Dennis Lindsey and how he’s reconstructed the Jazz around their young core: “Still, suggestions Lindsey has become the lone pilot of this experimental craft that will take Utah into the next stage in franchise history do not sit well with him. “I’ve ever felt that way — when I was scouting, when I coached, when I played or now that I’ve moved up from assistant GM to the elite seat,” Lindsey said. “Building a team, organizing a team, maturing a team, is a very collaborative process.” Exhibit A: The Jazz’s decision to move up and draft Burke last summer. “There is a good chance Trey Burke isn’t here,” Lindsey said, “unless we had Ty Corbin’s input.” When Lindsey is asked if he’s willing to concede he has at least “put his stamp” on the franchise, he balks again. “I don’t like the saying that,” he explained. “No. 1, it sounds selfish. No. 2, you don’t do it on a unilateral basis. It’s ownership. It’s coaches buying in. It’s listening to scouts and medical people. … If one guy could do it, I’d shake his hand.” “
Another rebuilding team is the Suns, but they added a very good young player this offseason in Eric Bledsoe, who incumbent point guard Goran Dragic thinks will fit right in alongside him, reports ESPN.com’s Mark Woods: “At the EuroBasket championships this month in his native Slovenia, Dragic led his national team to fifth place, averaging 15.8 points and 4.5 assists per game. And in conversations with the fifth-year point guard, Dragic said Hornacek promised to revive a familiar look in the desert to begin the process of turning the Suns around. “He told me he wants to bring back that old Phoenix Suns basketball, up-tempo game, try to create off the dribble and off fast breaks,” Dragic told ESPN.com. “Probably a little like we play with Slovenia, putting pressure on the ball and trying and play as fast as possible. “Of course, we still have a lot of salary cap. Probably next year, we’ll go for big names, one of the superstars. But I think we drafted well, especially Alex Len, the big guy from Ukraine. Then we brought in Eric Bledsoe from the Clippers. So I think we’ll play together in the backcourt, me as a 2 or 1, him as a 1 or 2. That will be a good combo for us.” “- Here’s a piece from Jeannie Buss’ updated memoirs, Laker Girl, via the Los Angeles Times: “That Sunday night, just before he started preparing dinner, Phil put on his Lakers Hawaiian shirt, the one he had often worn during the season. It was clear to me he was getting mentally ready to return to his old job. Nothing was for sure, but things were moving in that direction. After we went to bed, the house phone rang at 11:30. I heard Phil pick it up and say, “Okay, alright. Okay.” When he hung up, I asked him what that was about, and he said, “Mitch called to tell me they’ve hired D’Antoni. He said that they feel given the personnel they have that D’Antoni is a better fit. He said they know they are going to take a bit of a PR hit, but he thinks it will blow over in a month.” “He said it will blow over in a month?” I repeated in disbelief. I was still trying to wake up. I was stunned. I said to Phil, “They came to you. You were not looking for the job. I cannot believe this.” I knew Phil wasn’t going to argue with them.”
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Dan Malone is in his fourth year as a journalism student at the University of King’s College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and spent this summer as a features intern at the Cape Cod Times. He blogs, edits and learns things on the fly for Sheridan Hoops. Follow him on Twitter.