SH Blog: LeBron wants to be the greatest of all time, Kobe says he and Howard were never going to work

• John Wall is trying to become more vocal with his team to take on the leadership role, from Michael Lee of Washington Post: “It’s been good. He’s [taking] another step forward. Obviously, we didn’t have John last year. But he’s much more vocal,” Wittman said. “He’s a critic to some of our guys and correcting, which you’ve got to be as a leader sometimes and then also accepting. That’s the thing with our group that’s going to be important this year. For you to take another step and we all talk about the step we want to take in making the playoffs and doing the things that we want to do this year, this group as a group has to come together and be able to coach one another and fix things on the floor.”… “I was hurt coming into this situation last year, so I really didn’t want to come into this situation, be much of a leader,” Wall said. “I feel like I can be more of a vocal leader and a leader that leads by example.”

• Chris Bosh wants to have the best season of his career and regrets his mindset from last season, according to Tim Reynolds of The AP: Bosh couldn’t stop assessing his season with the Miami Heat and wound up coming to a somewhat surprising conclusion: He could have done much more. So this season, with a third straight title being the ultimate goal that the Heat will start to chase when training camp opens this week, Bosh also has a personal goal in mind. “To be quite frank,” Bosh said in an interview with The Associated Press, “I’m trying to have the best season of my career.” Something, for whatever reason, was missing, he said. “I’ve really been hard on myself for not having that hunger last year,” Bosh said. “I can’t believe I didn’t have it. But I’m excited. That’s part of the reason why I’m so eager and ready to really get this season started. I feel I have a lot of things to prove this year. I want to be one of the best players in the league and I have the ability to do that — of course, within the teamwork that we already have. But there’s another level I can take it to.”

• Joakim Noah’s foot issues may be behind him, from Sam Amick of USA Today: “During the postseason, the big man played through a case of plantar fasciitis in his right foot against both the Nets and the Heat, but still played 34.1 minutes a game in the playoffs and averaged 10.8 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.2 blocks. Now, he says the foot is feeling better. “It’s day two of practice and it was a hell of a practice,” he said. “My foot feels great.” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said he is pleased with Noah’s progress. “He looks great,” Thibodeau said. “He’s running the floor really well, playing his usual defense, he’s done a good job. His conditioning is great.”

• After hearing of some comments made by Brandon Jennings, Larry Sanders had this to say as a response, from Andrew Gruman of Fox Sports Wisconsin: “Larry Sanders when asked for response to Brandon Jennings’ comments on playing with better bigs in DET: “He has to pass it to them first”

• Kobe Bryant talked about the difficulty in overcoming his Achilles heel injury and explained why he and Dwight Howard were never going to work from a philosophical standpoint in his interview with CNN:

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