Carmelo Anthony said that the players and the league should prepare themselves for another lockout in 2017, and if it indeed comes to that, he doesn’t think the owners can complain about losing money this time around, writes Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com. “I think we have to prepare for a work stoppage,” Anthony said. “And that’s the worst-case scenario at this point in time. So I think guys should start preparing for that now. I don’t think you really have to focus and think about it at this stage. But just keep in the back of your mind that it is a [possibility].”
Here’s more from the east:
- The Nets are currently reviewing “multiple” proposals from the Guggenheim Group despite the reports that the potential sale of the franchise was in jeopardy, Mitch Abramson of The New York Daily News reports. A source with knowledge of the negotiations told Abramson, “Negotiations are taking a cooling off period since they’ve been played out in the media but there have been proposals to the Nets and they’re still being considered. Because of the amount of media attention, there’s a calming off period that’s going on but interest still remains by both parties and yes there was a proposal – multiple proposals – that were given to the Nets that are still being considered.”
- With the 2014 draft class having been hyped as one of the best in years, the focus will now be on how the rookies perform under the spotlight of the NBA regular season. Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders runs down five “under-the-radar” rookies to watch for, including Nikola Mirotic (Bulls); Cleanthony Early (Knicks); and K.J. McDaniels (Sixers).
- When the Heat face off with LeBron James and the Cavs in Rio tomorrow, the main focus for Miami will be on speeding up the rebuilding process, not on James being in a different uniform, Tales Azzoni of The Associated Press writes. “We are trying to understand that we are behind the eight ball because we’ve got 13 new guys,” Dwyane Wade said. “We’ve only been together for 10 days on the basketball floor. We’ve got to all understand that we’ve got to have patience, because the last two years just happened, we had the same team and it just happened. But now this is not that kind of team, so we all have to have patience and understand that it’s a process.”