You love the NBA. You watch basketball almost every single night from Halloween into the early part of summer and read Hoops Rumors religiously. But you've always hoped that the NBA could be more like Vince McMahon's failed football league. Finally, the league office has heard your complaints. The NBA may have the Nets and Heat wear "nickname jerseys" for at least one of their four meetings this season, according to the Associated Press. Ray Allen plans to don a "Jesus Shuttlesworth" jersey, LeBron James is expected to go by "King James," and Nets stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will probably wear "KG" and "The Truth," respectively. As you dust off your sweet He Hate Me throwback, check out the latest from the Atlantic..
- Guard Raymond Felton feels that the Knicks were just too old last season, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. “We’re a younger team this year,’’ Felton said. “Kurt Thomas, Rasheed [Wallace], love them like brothers. [But] those guys were 38, 39, 40 years old. Once they got injuries, they’re out and it hurt us last year. We’ve added Metta [World Peace], Andrea [Bargnani], Kenyon [Martin] and Amar'e Stoudemire are coming back. Tim Hardaway Jr. looks great by the way. I’ve been most impressed with him. It gives us depth at that big spot and youth. Those guys are younger."
- Best friends Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams are reunited with the Sixers, writes HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy. The youngsters first became friends on the AAU circuit and are anxious to replicate that success at the NBA level. “I’m looking forward to it,” Carter-Williams said. “I know it’s going to be a learning experience. We’re going to have a lot of young guys, but we’re also going to have some veterans so we’re going to learn from them. We’re just going to try to bring everything together as a team and be the best we can.”
- World Peace is back in New York with a fresh perspective on things both on and off the court, writes Jared Zwerling of Bleacher Report. MWP joined the Knicks after the Lakers used the amnesty clause to get out from under his contract.