Bucks Considers Guard Jodie Meeks?

The Bucks explored the possibility of signing unrestricted free agent guard Jodie Meeks.

The Bucks selected Meeks in the second round of the 2009 draft before trading him that season to Philadelphia, where he has been a part-time starter since.

Meeks, who averaged 8.4 points last season, has drawn interest from several teams with the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Lakers apparently at the forefront.

Are Big Men Being Overpaid in the NBA?

When Omer Asik is getting $25 million, you know the NBA is desperate for big men.

Nothing against Asik, a serviceable center who left the Bulls in free agency to sign a four-year contract with the Rockets. Then again, we’re talking about a guy who sports career averages of 2.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

But Asik is a true 7-footer, a hustling post player with an upside. And in today’s market, that really seems to count for a lot.

Nor is Asik the lone big man to have hit the jackpot this summer. Roy Hibbert (Pacers), Chris Kaman (Mavericks), JaVale McGee (Nuggets), and Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries (Nets) all received large and lengthy contracts. Even old standbys such as Kevin Garnett (Celtics) and Tim Duncan (Spurs) pocketed some serious cash – despite the fact each is viewed as a little past his prime. Or at least, no longer a legitimate reason to watch pro basketball in prime time.

James Harden: I’m Open to Joining Suns

A flicker of hope for Valley basketball fans:

Former Arizona State star James Harden would consider signing with the Suns if his contract expires after next season.

“Yeah,” he said. “Of course. I love it there. My mom lives there still. So that’s definitely my second home as far as my comfort level and going to school there. But obviously, I’m with the Thunder right now and what we have is special.”

This off-season, the team has a window of opportunity to extend Harden and Serge Ibaka, but league salary-cap restrictions and harsh luxury-tax penalties will make it difficult to sign both. At the least, it would require great sacrifice from the players involved.

If no deal is reached, Harden would become a restricted free agent after next season. A team such as the Suns could then make it hard on Oklahoma City by signing him to a lucrative offer sheet.

“That’s out of my hands,” Harden said. “That’s not my decision. That’s the front office. I’ll let them decide that.”

Magic Hire Jacque Vaughn As Head Coach

The Orlando Magic have hired Jacque Vaughn as their new head coach.

A team official said the Magic will hold a news conference Monday afternoon to introduce Vaughn, a former NBA point guard who spent the past two seasons as a San Antonio Spurs assistant coach.

Vaughn will take over a team that is expected to trade superstar Dwight Howard, go into rebuilding mode and begin to emphasize developing young players.

Vaughn, 37, is widely viewed within NBA circles as bright, hard-working and organized.

But, at the same time, some league insiders have noted that he brings limited coaching experience.

After retiring as a player in 2009, Vaughn was hired in 2010 by the Spurs as an assistant coach, working under Greg Poppovich.

D’Antoni Interested in Coaching College?

(Mike) D’Antoni, 61, never envisioned himself as a college coach. He can be stubborn and headstrong, and he badly wanted to prove his system could work in the NBA. But in the process of taking his son on college visits, his perspective began to change.

“You think about it,” D’Antoni said. “You look at it and think, ‘Oh, that could be fun.’ One thing I do know from taking my son around is that anytime you step on a college campus, you feel energy. You feel an excitement that’s not there, normally, where the business (of basketball) takes over. And obviously, when you feel the excitement; things go through your head.”

via Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic

Wizards Want Beal to be More Aggressive

(Bradley) Beal scored at least 20 points twice, grabbed at least six rebounds three times and handed out four assists once. His performance was more steady than spectacular. Beal wasn’t too pleased with his shooting from the floor (41.8 percent) or from beyond the three-point line (30 percent), but he also wants to get better.

The most impressive aspect of Beal’s performance was that he never forced the action and let the game to come to him, even if assistant Sam Cassell asked him to be a little more aggressive.

“Honestly, if I feel as though I’m open, coach is going to tell me to shoot it. It’s times I was open and passed and coach got all on my head, so I mean, certain situations, I’m an unselfish player,” Beal said. “I’d rather get somebody else going. I’ll eventually get going myself. That’s just my mentality. But it’s really just staying focused and staying within the flow of the game, actually.”

Roy Returns to the Court in Pro-Am Game

On Saturday, Brandon Roy did something that used to be routine: He played a basketball game. Roy’s performance at the Jamal Crawford Pro-Am League in Seattle was his first public appearance on the court since his last game for the Blazers some 15 months ago. In the interim, Roy has retired due to deteriorating condition of his knees, undergone treatment, started a comeback and agreed to sign with the Minnesota Timberwolves to start the next chapter of his career.

When close friend Will Conroy first hinted and later confirmed on Twitter last week that Roy would play, it created a buzz in the Seattle basketball community, but also some skepticism. Roy pulled out of a pair of charity games at the last minute during the summer of 2011, and he’s yet to officially put pen to paper on his new contract with the Timberwolves. Yet Roy arrived about 20 minutes before gametime and changed into his red jersey. The teams in Crawford’s team are all named after NBA teams, so for one day, Roy–along with Conroy and another former Husky, Mike Jensen–was a member of the Bulls. They squared off against a Kings team featuring Isaiah Thomas and former Blazer Martell Webster.

After scoring the first bucket of the game on a pull-up jumper going to his left, Roy was quiet offensively the rest of the first quarter. This being a pro-am setting that features a gap in talent between NBA stars and local preps that played at the community college level, it was difficult to tell how much Roy was trying to push things. He opened the game using his occasional drives to set up teammates rather than score at the rim.