There's plenty of news coming out of the Lonestar State tonight, where the Spurs, Mavs and Rockets have begun to cool off, to varying degrees, after their hot starts. Here's the latest:
- Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News argues that Jason Kidd had every right to leave the Mavericks this summer, and scolds owner Mark Cuban for giving him the cold shoulder.
- The Spurs made an offer to Mickael Pietrus that included a "one month" guarantee, but Pietrus wasn't interested, tweets Shams Charania of RealGM.com.
- According to the French newspaper Le Parisien (translation via Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News), Pietrus never received an offer from the Spurs. That's in contrast to Charania's information, as well as an earlier report from Marc Stein of ESPN.com suggesting Pietrus' demand for more than the minimum is what kept him from the team. Le Parisien attributes Stein's report to misinformation from Pietrus' "entourage," according to McCarney.
- Interim Rockets coach Kelvin Sampson, who's subbing for Kevin McHale, said the situation surrounding McHale is improving, but, "It's not out of the woods yet," reports David Barron of the Houston Chronicle. The team has not specified the reason for McHale's absence, but he's believed to be tending to his ailing daughter.