SH Blog: James praises Love; Motiejunas says remarks were meant as jokes

So the World Cup is in three weeks, and I figured I should probably make an effort to watch this year. I’m not really up on my international basketball, so I decided to do a little research. And I found out that Andray Blatche plays for the Philippines, apparently because of a “naturalized player” provision allowing him to play for a country just because they asked him.

I’m not necessarily saying this is a bad thing. What I’m more concerned with is if you’re the Philippines’ national team recruiters, why is Andray Blatche the first guy you go to? Was every better player with no shot at representing their country’s phone busy? What about Andray Blatche screamed “this is the one player we need to take Filipino basketball to the next level”?

I mean, I guess it’ll make the Philippines’ games more interesting. As it was, their biggest draw was the sixth man on the George Mason 2006 Final Four team. Now, they’ve got Gabe Norwood AND a decent NBA reserve still more notable as the face of everything wrong with the Wizards about five years ago.  Which should give them a fighting chance against the likes of New Zealand.

So basically, the World Cup is going to be a lot of fun. And Dante Exum will be there. Watch for him, at least.

Now let’s get to today’s roundup of the latest from around the NBA:

LEBRON LOOKING FORWARD TO PLAYING WITH LOVE

Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com:

“If he comes aboard, I will be very excited to have him,” James said in his first public comments since signing with the Cavs last month.”I don’t even really care about the 26 [points] and 12 [rebounds], I care about his basketball IQ. His basketball IQ is very, very high. I had the opportunity to spend 32 days with him in the 2012 Olympics. He was huge for us … he’s a great piece.”

James was cautious to frame his comments about Love, saying he knew there were hurdles left to clear before the Cavs can complete a deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Top draft pick Andrew Wiggins is included in the talks, and the rookie cannot be traded until Aug. 23 under league rules.

“We can’t get too far into it because of league rules, we don’t know for sure,” James said. “I’m not getting my hopes too high on it right now because you don’t know what could happen between now and the 23rd.”

MOTIEJUNAS SAYS COMMENTS ON HOWARD AND HARDEN WERE TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:

“The radio show, the guys that work there, make fun of everybody,” Motiejunas, who called from Lithuania said. “It’s a funny radio show. Everybody in Lithuania listens. They told me to try to be funny, try to make the jokes. They told me to be free. They asked some question. I joked about one thing. I joked about the other thing.

“They asked about the team. I tried to be funny. They asked how they (Harden and Howard) approach the team. I told them like, “Hey, they’re not with us. I stay alone.’ Then the journalists in Lithuania took the interrview and took it serious and posted my interview. I didn’t talk with no journalists. It was just a fun radio show.”

Motiejunas said on the radio show “Basically I just say ‘Hello’ and ‘goodbye’ to them.

“They eat different food from me. They eat fast food.”

Motiejunas, however, said he actually does often dine with his teammates, including Howard and Harden.

“We never have problems,” Motiejunas said. “For example, last year Dwight invited me and other players to Thanksgiving dinner. James and Dwight bought us give us gifts for Christmas. We go to eat most of the all of the time. I talked with Dwight today. I talk to Dwight all the time. He said he understands. Me and Dwight, we communicate pretty good in the locker room. I never had a problem.

“We hang out all the time. I never got in a fight with anyone. I never got in a word fight with anyone. That’s not nice to take that radio speech like that. I spent like 30 minutes with them. We laughed for 25 minutes. You cannot take it as a serious interview. It doesn’t make any sense.”

ALLEN PLANS TO RETURN NEXT YEAR

Chris Broussard of ESPN.com:

Ray Allen has told people close to him that he will play in the NBA next season instead of retiring, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

While the Cleveland Cavaliers are the frontrunner for Allen, the source said the 10-time All-Star has not completely decided where he will play. Cleveland is the favorite due to the return of LeBron James, with whom Allen played with on the Miami Heat the past two seasons.

Allen was a key bench contributor for the four-time reigning Eastern Conference champion Heat this past season, averaging 9.6 points while shooting 37.5 percent from 3-point range.

At 39 years old, Allen’s goal is to win a third NBA championship so he will only consider playing for title contenders. It is not clear what other clubs are on Allen’s radar, but nearly every contender would be interested in adding him to its roster.