Here are some links from around the Association as we come inside 10 days before the regular season starts:
- The New York Daily News’ Mitch Lawrence compares and contrasts the different ways LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony have handled their possible impending free agency next summer. That’s when both can opt-out of their current deals with the Heat and Knicks, respectively.
- Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich told the Miami Herald’s Joseph Goodman he dreams about LeBron James and Ray Allen almost every night after the Spurs’ tough loss to the Heat in the Finals last season.
- Austin Daye told the Toronto Sun’s Ryan Wolstat he chose the Raptors this offseason in free agency – despite receiving some interest from the Heat – because he believes in the organization and thought he’d get more playing time.
- Sixers coach Brett Brown will “deal with” Lavoy Allen missing practice today after he claimed to have overslept, writes the Intelligencer’s Thomas Moore.
- K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune reports Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter against the Pacers on Friday night and will be out indefinitely.
- Harrison Barnes expects to play in the Warriors season opener against the Lakers on October 30th, reports Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. Barnes has missed the last three preseason games with a left foot inflammation, and there’s no word on whether he’ll dress for the remaining two preseason games.
- Ridiculous Upside’s Keith Schlosser reports that D-League players want to be paid more.
- Foreign clubs routinely offer more money than the NBA’s D-League, so the impetus to stay and compete is low unless a certain club expresses direct interest in a player and asks them to play.
- Schlosser suggested individual NBA teams could pay the salaries instead of the NBA itself, but there are only 17 D-League franchises right now with a number of teams sharing the same affiliate, so it’s unclear which team would pay which salaries.