Will Thunder Match Max Offer to Harden?

There’s also pressure on guard James Harden.
Harden is on the verge of making $50 million to $60 million over a four-year span. Yeah, I know. We should all endure such “pressure.”
The closer his deal is to $50 million, the more likely he remains in a Thunder uniform.
The closer his deal gets to $60 million, the more likely he’s headed back to the Phoenix area, where he played collegiately at Arizona State for two years before becoming the No. 3 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.
The deadline to sign rookie contract extensions is Oct. 31. If Harden doesn’t sign with the Thunder by then, he’ll become a restricted free agent next summer and free to receive offers from all suitors.

Bosh: Lakers Best Team in NBA on Paper

It’s been two weeks since the Lakers acquired Dwight Howard from the Orlando Magic, which at least has given Chris Bosh time to collect his thoughts.
“As soon as the deal happened, my brain went 100 miles an hour to another place, far away from here,” the Miami Heat forward said Friday during a radio appearance on WQAM.
And now that he has collected his thoughts, where does he view the Lakers in terms of his own championship team? His candid answer caught hosts Steve Goldstein and Adam Kuperstein a bit off guard.
“The Lakers, I think, right now, I mean on paper, they probably have the best team in the West and probably the league right now,” he said. “On paper. I’m saying on paper. But it’s a lot, a lot, it’s a long season. And the best team always isn’t the one who starts out the season as the best team.
“We know we’re the champs, but we have to start off from scratch. We have a lot of chemistry building to do. And we have to come out there and we have to start over. We know favorites and all that stuff really doesn’t matter.”

Brown to Give Nash Offensive Freedom

(Lakers coach Mike) Brown understands the pressure facing him this year, one of the many things we covered in our phone interview. Below is a transcript of highlights from our conversation.
LO’L: How does the Princeton work with having someone like (Steve) Nash? As is my understanding, it’s not as much a heavy pick-and-roll offense, but more motion and ball movement.
MB: “The way that we’ll put it together, Steve’s going to have an opportunity — he’s going to quarterback the team — and so he’s going to have an opportunity to come down the floor every possession and in early offense play pick-and-roll if he wants to. It’s up to him, based on where he decides to take the ball or a call that he makes or an action that he does, it’s up to him to get us into some of the looks of the Princeton offense.

NBA BEATS - In my opinion Nash was the biggest acquisition LA made in the off season. He will make a big difference. Nash will make everybody better. He will take a lot of stress away from Kobe.

Wade Unsure if LeBron Can Surpass Jordan

Dwyane Wade isn’t ready to put Miami Heat teammate LeBron James in Michael Jordan’s category.
Not yet anyway.
“I don’t know if (James) has the ability to surpass (Jordan) or not,” Wade told ESPNChicago.com on Thursday during a promotional event for his Wade’s World Foundation. “That’s yet to be seen. My version as LeBron being on par with Michael is this: They’re both on the golf course. Michael’s on the 18th hole. LeBron is somewhere on like the fourth hole. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s on par to get to the 18th hole.”

NBA BEATS - Dwayne Wade is right on. Kinda odd that he is making these comments though. I think he kinda resents Lebron coming in and taking his thunder. Taking his team. Who knows? But the comparision is to MJ and anybody who follows this blog knows how I feel about the Lebron and MJ comparision. Lebron is a heck of a player but is nowhere near MJ. MJ would dunk over people. Lebron just dunks when the lane is open. MJ could shoot. Lebron misses free throws all the time. He is not a shooter. The comparision is not fair. They are different players. Kobe Bryant is more of a Jordan, but still nowhere near him. Although alot closer than James. Lebron is more of a with a lot more speed and muscle.

Corey Maggette May Retire After Season

Corey Maggette, acquired this summer in a salary-shedding deal that brought in his expiring contract in exchange for the considerably more expensive Ben Gordon, appears to be a member of Column A. That doesn’t mean he’s heading into this season with designs of cheering from the bench in street clothes, however. Maggette still thinks he has some juice left in the tank.
Either way, he’s grateful for a fresh start, even this late in his career.
But how much longer will that career continue? Maggette doesn’t know, and he probably won’t have much of an idea until he’s able to test his degenerating body over the course of a full season. Retirement, he admits, is an option.
“I work hard, but we’ll see how long I want to go on after this year,” he said. “We’ll go from there.”

Where Will Sixers’ Doug Collins Put Focus?

When the Sixers welcomed center Andrew Bynum into the fold a little over a week ago, (coach Doug) Collins wasted no time saying that (Evan) Turner, Jrue Holiday, and Bynum were surefire starters. It is yet to be determined whether Turner will start at shooting guard or in Andre Iguodala’s old small forward spot.
However, while Turner’s development is still paramount to the Sixers, heightened expectations for the upcoming season will put the focus elsewhere.
There are those who look at the Sixers’ current roster and suggest the team could rise as high as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. And for this to happen, Collins has to quickly mesh his pieces. He must take a big-picture approach and move away from the micromanagement of Turner.
Marked improvement by Turner, especially if it were to occur this season, Turner’s third, would prove to be incalculably beneficial to the Sixers.But don’t expect him to get the teacher’s pet attention he has seen in the past. The Sixers’ goals moving forward are a little bit too big for that.

$315 shoe. You have a problem with it?

 NBA BEATS - This shoe sure is getting alot of attention. Some people are saying the company(NIKE) should be responsible for people buying the shoe who can not afford it. They say because a kid gets killed or jumped because of his shoes it is on the company that made the shoe. Some even say Lebron is at fault. He should know kids look up to him. Please that is hogwash. Those are the people that blame Remington for their gun being used in a murder. You can not blame a company for what individuals do. They do not have to buy the shoe. The accusation is right on though. Don't get me wrong in a perfect world shoes should not be 300 bucks, at least not yet. All companies try to make the most money they can. That should be what they are trying to do. It is the game of life. Try to succeed. I hope that is part of what drives people. Notice I said part. I sure hope that is not the only thing driving people. But it should be one of the things. Nike is trying to do the best they can. That is a not a bad thing. I would hate people to critize me for try to do the best I can. It is just to bad that the people that will buy it are the people who can't afford it. I don't want it. I don't want it because I am not a Lebron guy. I like players who can shoot.


No shoe is worth $315,unless you are Carrie from Sex In The City.
But back to reality, there’s been a lot of immediate yada-yada over the $315 LeBron James basketball shoe that will be released by Nike Inc. in the fall.
It would be the most expensive sneaker ever.
Reaction has been swift and punitive: The president of the National Urban League says “To release such an outrageously overpriced product while the nation is struggling to overcome an unemployment crisis is insensitive at best.”
Please.
The $315 price tag is insane, for sure, but is it much different than an adidas Chicago Bulls Revolution 30 Custom Authentic Alternate Jersey that sells for as much as $289.99? Or a Peyton Manning jersey that sells for $99.99? Or an Alex Rodriguez authentic road jersey that sells for $184.99?