Odds & Ends: Batum, Gallinari, Kabongo, Lee
Jason Quick of the Oregonian looks at the friendly rivalry between the Trail Blazers' Nicolas Batum and the Nuggets' Danilo Gallinari that has stemmed from their days as young Euroleague stars hoping to make it into the NBA. Most notably, Quick mentions that Batum's salary negotiations this past summer were influenced by the type of deals that Gallinari, Marvin Williams, and Arron Afflalo had received with their respective teams. With that aside, here are a few more rumblings from around the Association tonight:
- Derrick Rose took part in the non-contact portion of Bulls practice today, although coach Tom Thibodeau has not yet placed a timetable on the superstar's return (Seth Gruen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports).
- Despite a strong start to the season, the Warriors' upcoming stretch against teams that have a notable inside presence will help determine if their interior defensive struggles against the Kings were either minor or a sign of a major problem, writes Marcus Thompson II of MercuryNews.com.
- Rookie Royce White is "hopeful" that he'll play for the Rockets again sometime this season (Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets).
- 1500 ESPN's Darren Wolfson confirms earlier speculation via a team source that Timberwolves guard Malcolm Lee will be sidelined for the rest of the year (Twitter link).
- Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune tweeted that Chris Douglas-Roberts is another top option available for the Timberwolves in addition to Michael Redd.
- In his Nuggets Mailbag, Benjamin Hochman of The Denver Post discusses why he thinks Gallinari has shown the capability of being a clutch All-Star type of player, why Carmelo Anthony isn't necessarily the clear-cut MVP right now, and the Nuggets' decision to commit to a long-term deal with Ty Lawson.
Odds & Ends: Curry, Knicks, Jones, Trail Blazers
It appears Warriors guard Stephen Curry's ankles are either 100% or very close to it. Earlier today Curry tweeted that he was finally able to participate in scrimmages with his teammates, and CSNBayArea.com's Matt Steinmetz later confirmed the tweet by writing that Curry indeed played five-on-five at the team's downtown Oakland practice facility.
Here's some other news from around the league.
- Current Nuggets forward and former member of the Knicks Danilo Gallinari said that the fact New York is rumored to bring Isiah Thomas back into their front office is why they'll never win, writes KnicksJournal.com's Keith Schlosser.
- Rockets rookie forward Terrence Jones sat down with Rockets.com's Jason Friedman for an informative Q&A.
- Houston Chronicle reporter Jonathan Feigen analyzes what San Antonio's new uniforms could mean for the rest of the league.
- SpursNation.com's Dan McCarney talks about what the recent sale of AEG might mean for some other teams across the league, including the Spurs.
- In an in-depth season preview for the loaded Northwest Division, NBA.com's John Schuhmman says that the Trail Blazers might be the worst defensive team in the entire league next year.
- Lakers head coach Mike Brown recently stated on ESPN Radio that he's excited about the upcoming season, for obvious reasons, writes ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- NBA.com's Earl K. Sneed quotes Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle as saying that this is the year Rodrigue Beaubois puts it all together.
Odds & Ends: Parker, Collison, Magic
In an article by the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins, Stan Van Gundy explained that the injury to Hedo Turkoglu has caused major defensive issues for the Magic that the team should be able to overcome by the playoffs.
- With Darren Collison suffering from a groin injury that could force him to miss the start of the playoffs, Pacers head coach Frank Vogel isn't sure if Collison will get his starting job back once he returns.
- SI.com's Sam Amick writes about Tony Parker, and how his recent play has gone beyond anybody's greatest expectations.
- FoxSportsOhio.com's Sam Amico does his most recent mock draft.
- Alan Anderson and the Raptors could have a relationship that goes beyond this season.
- Deputy commissioner Adam Silver says that despite the success in attendance and ratings the league has seen with its shortened season, the NBA still prefers an 82-game regular season as opposed to this year's 66.
- Despite the Pistons decision to switch their lineups around in a peculiar way, head coach Lawrence Frank says they aren't tanking games on purpose, according to MLive.com's David Mayo.
- Nate Robinson says he'd love to stay with the Warriors next season and beyond (Twitter link), but isn't getting his hopes up. The guard has played for four teams in the past three years.
- Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari has had some rough shooting nights in recent games, but as long as his team wins game, he couldn't care less, according to Nuggets.com's Aaron J. Lopez.