Around The World: August 9

08/09/12

Written by: DHawes22

August 9

Trailblazers.tv: Video: Terry Stotts Press Conference

Trailblazers.tv: Video: Terry Stotts Fan Chat

Trailblazers.tv: Video: Terry Stotts One on One

Trail Blazers: Terry Stotts Named Trail Blazers Head Coach
"Terry is one of the elite offensive minds in the NBA, has extensive experience with multiple organizations and was instrumental in the Dallas Mavericks winning the 2011 NBA Championship, said Olshey. "He understands the vision for the future of the franchise, appreciates the process involved and will create an environment on the court that will produce championship habits."

Trail Blazers: Stotts Era Begins
"It was my responsiblity in Dallas to oversee the offense. But, it's a player's game, let's face it," Stotts told me. "Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Jason Terry, are going to make your offense a lot better. You want to play a style they want to play."

Oregon Live: Blazers coach Terry Stotts lays out his vision for the team: fast and free
"Part of my offensive philosophy is trusting the players to make good decisions and giving them the freedom to play within a structure to make basketball plays," Stotts said. "I think the league is going more toward players making plays, and to do that, coaches have to give the reins up to give them freedom."

Oregon Live: Blazers: Terry Stotts says he is 'excited' as he is introduced as Portland coach
“George Karl did not have a winning record after four years, and he’s a Hall of Famer,” Stotts said."

CSNNW: Win-win for Blazers -- snag Stotts and Canales
"It works out really well for us. It accelerates the learning curve with the players. It gives him somebody he can trust on the staff that knows the culture here. And for Kaleb, he gets to be the protege of a guy who has 19 years of coaching experience in the NBA, and it will make him a better coach down the road as well.”

Portland Tribune: Stotts a 'no-brainer' for third shot as NBA coach
“You look at both of those situations for what they were, and I’m actually proud of what we did in those places,” Stotts said. “The record was below .500, and I understand that it’s about winning games. But we made the playoffs in Milwaukee and improved 10 games. Each situation is a little bit different, and you grow as a coach.”

NBA: Stotts Pledges Full-Speed Attack
"Besides talking pace, smiling a lot and cutting a great, sideline-worthy figure at the news conference — Stotts, at 6-foot-8, is the tallest head coach in Blazers history — the new man made sure to mention Portland’s 1976-77 title team. That’s a prerequisite in such situations; you link up with a franchise’s history by name-checking some player or team that still resonates."

Trail Blazers: Terry Stotts Fan Chat
"It's pretty much a tradition at this point to have new hires, be they players, coaches or front office staffers, take questions from the fans on www.trailblazers.tv during their first day on the job. New head coach Terry Stotts joined that fine tradition Wednesday when he took questions from after meeting with the Portland media for the first time. Brian Wheeler was kind enough to join as well. Give it a watch if you missed it live."

Trail Blazers: Will Barton to team up with DeMarcus Cousins to take on Brandon Jennings
"But if you happen to be in Baltimore on Tuesday, August 14th, you can catch Trail Blazers rookie Will Barton playing alongside DeMarcus Cousins (Kings), Josh Selby (Grizzlies), Donte Green and a few top college prospects in a game against Brandon Jennings (Bucks), Kemba Walker (Bobcats), DeAndre Jordan (Clippers), Derrick Williams (Timberwolves) and Greivis Vasquez (Hornets). The event, the proceeds of which go to charity, pits the B'More Finest squad, featuring Barton, against the Under Armour Pro team, headed up by Jennings."

Trail Blazers: The Rivals Plan: Two LAs, Oklahoma City And The Return Of Roy
"The smallest of the four big ticket plans, the eight game Rivals Pack packs a big punch. You’ll be in the building and eating a corndog while others are wondering how to get their hands on a way to see the return of Brandon Roy and the sure to sell out L.A. Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder."

Trail Blazers: Why The Value Plan Makes 'Cents' For You
"The Value Pack starts at just $5 a game. That’s 12 games for as low as $60! Talk about some serious bang for your buck. But that’s not even the best part about this ticket plan. Four of the 12 games take place in the month of January. And there is absolutely no better place to be during an Oregon winter’s night than inside the raucous Rose Garden. Not to mention this pack gets you into the arena to see some of the league’s biggest names and brightest young stars such as Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, and Rudy Gay."

Trail Blazers: Big Games Plan: 12 Of The Biggest Games
"This game has it all. Season opener, at home, against the loathe-inducing Lakers, in Steve Nash's first game in purple and gold and it's on Halloween night! Any game against the Lakers at the Rose Garden is going to be a lively one, but the confluence of circumstances in this particular game sets the stage for one of the all-time season openers in Trail Blazers history."

Trail Blazers: Budding Actors Pay It Forward At Trail Blazers Hoops Camp
"Realizing how fortunate they are to be successful actors, the brothers’ innate goodwill towards humanity recently perked up. They wanted other kids their age to share the same camp experience they have: the camaraderie, the team-building, the games, the prizes, the top-level coaching. So Mason and Maxwell decided to sponsor ten kids from the Trail Blazers Boys & Girls Club in northeast Portland. The ten kids, a combination of boys and girls ages 8-13, were selected by the club based on behavior, grades and attitude."

Oregon Live: Kaleb Canales will stay with Blazers as assistant coach
"Canales, 34, is the former video intern hired by the Blazers in 2004 whose ascension has included stops as video coordinator, assistant coach and interim head coach for last season's final 23 games after Nate McMillan was fired. He went 8-15 with the Blazers and was overwhelmingly supported by the players after the season to be the next head coach. When general manager Neil Olshey was hired in June, he also gave a strong endorsement, saying Canales had "set the bar high" for other candidates to clear."

Oregon Live: Blazers coach Terry Stotts known for his offensive innovation, even temperament, teaching methods
"Terry is one of the elite offensive minds in the NBA, has extensive experience with multiple organizations and was instrumental in the Dallas Mavericks winning the 2011 NBA Championship," Olshey said in a statement issued by the team. "He understands the vision for the future of the franchise, appreciates the process involved and will create an environment on the court that will produce championship habits."

Oregon Live: Getting defensive about new Blazers coach Terry Stotts: He's more than offense and a bad record
“One of the things that made us a championship team is we were the best team in basketball in trusting the pass,’’ Carlisle said. “We moved the ball and played without play calls. To be a championship team in this league, you have to have a flow mentality on offense and be able to maintain a tough-minded possession mentality on defense. Terry is one of the few coaches out there who understands how to do that. It’s one of the most challenging things in all of coaching. So I think they are going to be a very good defensive team, and I know that offensively they are going to move the ball and be very hard to play against.’’

Oregon Live: Shock turns to hope as Trail Blazers players learn new coach Terry Stotts brings championship pedigree
“Initially, I was a little shocked,” Matthews said. “I thought Kaleb was definitely going to get that job. But after talking to Neil and hearing his reasons, I’m excited. Coach Stotts brings championship experience and I think that’s huge. That’s somewhere we see ourselves in the near-near future.”

Columbian: Stotts out to prove he's not loser
"Obviously, LaMarcus Aldridge is a stud," Stotts said about the All-Star forward. "Hopefully I'll be able to use him in a lot of similar ways that we used Dirk Nowitzki."

CSNNW: Report: Chicago denied Orlando's request to speak with Griffin for lead assistant role
"CSNNW.com has learned that the Orlando Magic and new head coach Jacque Vaughn asked for permission to interview Griffin for their lead assistant position to which the Bulls denied the request."

Rip City Project: Olympics 2012: A Better, Stronger Batum?
"In a perfect world, Nicolas would have recognized that his team was pissing away a chance to medal during what ended up being a six-point closing quarter, taken control of the game with his offense, and tried to right the ship. We aren’t living in a perfect world. I’ll take a little over-aggressive over-reaction over nothing."

Blazersedge: Transcript: Blazers Coach Terry Stotts Takes Questions After Introductory Press Conference
"The games that we played during our playoff run, those games here in Portland were as wild as any place. We played in the other buildings but those games in Portland, it was rabid. You knew you were in for a fight. One of the things about the passion of the fans here, the fans of Portland are as good as any in the league. When you have that, players sense it, coaches sense it, and the opponents sense it. It's going to be a part of the fabric of what we want to do"

Blazersedge: Terry Stotts' Biggest Coaching Regret: A 2004 Double-OT Game That Got Away
"Travis Hansen had a free throw," Stotts said. "If he had missed, [time would have run out]. He made it, and James Posey made a 40-footer to tie the game and we lost in double overtime."

Blazersedge: Transcript: Blazers GM Neil Olshey Introduces New Coach Terry Stotts
"I've looked at the roster and there are a lot of positives from an offensive standpoint. LaMarcus Aldridge is a stud. He's an All-Star performer. Hopefully I'll be able to use him in a lot of similar ways that we used Dirk Nowitzki. Damian Lillard had a terrific Summer League. He's going to give the Blazers a pick-and-roll game they haven't had in recent years. Three-point shooting, I'm a big believer in three-point shooting, to space the court. Between Nic [Batum], Wes [Matthews] and Luke [Babbitt], the young players improving their three-point shooting, I'm excited about that. I do want to play at a pace."

SB Nation: Nicolas Batum And Justice For Floppers: Why The NBA Needs To Be Proactive
"The Batum situation brings up another reality though: if leagues and their appointed officials don't do something about the issue, they run the risk that players will. I've defended Blake Griffin in the past as not being as egregious a flopper as he is portrayed to be around the league, but there's no question that Griffin does plenty of embellishing of contact around the basket. It's not too much of a stretch to postulate that Griffin's reputation as a flopper is at least one of the factors in his league-leading total of flagrant fouls received (more than twice as many as any other player over the last two seasons). Opponents may see Griffin whining to officials and think "I'll give you something to cry about.""

Sports Illustrated: Tensions flare as Spain eliminates France in Olympic quarterfinals
"Last year in the finals they beat us," Batum said. "They beat us; we won the semifinals, we were happy to be there, we don't really play that game.'' They were happy because reaching that European final earned the French their invitation to these Olympics. "Today they didn't beat us,'' Batum went on. "We gave the game [away]. We are mad because we got them. We got them and in the end, the last two or three minutes, we didn't score. We make some bad shots and we are a bit tired."

Yahoo!: Team USA delivers Olympic spirit in London – not tanking and groin shots
"France's Nicolas Batum had watched these Spanish players tumbling over the most incidental of contact, arms and legs flailing, crashing to the court in mock agony. This bothered Batum a great deal, and it wouldn't be long until he had lost his mind in the Olympic Games. When Batum could've stopped the clock with a slap on the arm, he punched Spain's Juan Carlos Navarro in the groin."

SLAM via Indy Star: Roy Hibbert Will Grant a Dying Fan’s Last Wish
“Lee Eddins had hoped he would be able to watch his idol, center Roy Hibbert, play in person when the Indiana Pacers visit Sacramento, Calif., for a game against the Kings in late November. But Lee, 12, is not expected to live that long. Diagnosed with stage four leukemia six months ago, Lee has been told he might only have a couple of weeks left to live. So Hibbert has planned a special surprise. Later this week, he is flying to Sacramento to meet Lee. ‘Once I heard he had a dying wish, I knew I had to do something more than send him presents and Skype with him on the computer,’ Hibbert said. ‘I’m usually uncomfortable going to hospitals when the Pacers do events because it’s pretty tough to see kids in that situation. Once I heard about (Lee), I realized I had to get over it and do it for him.’ [...] Hibbert knows his visit with Lee won’t save the boy’s life. He simply wants to enjoy the time they will share and try to lift Lee’s spirits as much as possible. Hibbert also plans to have his mouth swabbed to see if he’s a bone marrow match. ‘I’ve had two family members die of cancer,’ Hibbert said. ‘It’s tough. I seriously don’t know what I’m going to say to Lee. I’m just going to be myself. If I can get a smile out of him that will be great.’”

Ball Don't Lie: Zach Randolph donated $10k to save an injured pit bull (VIDEO)
"Also, I think we can agree that Little Z-Bo is one of the best names for a dog possible. Hopefully he will make a friend named "Little Marc Gasol" in New Orleans, and they can dominate the paint of dog basketball games for the foreseeable future."

Ball Don't Lie: Jimmer Fredette, as a veteran, can now focus solely on basketball and showing up to his camp about basketball
"Our take on Fredette is the same as it was when he was piling up the points at BYU, when the Kings used a lottery selection on him in the 2011 draft, and when he struggled for all of his rookie year. The guy is a third or fourth guard. A shooter off the bench, which shouldn't get in the way of a career that could hit double-digit years."

Ball Don't Lie: Players We Want Back: Leandro Barbosa
"He didn't play particularly well, shooting under 40 percent from the field despite making over 42 percent of his 3-pointers. Nail all the threes you want, but when you're an undersized shooting guard that doesn't get to the line much (despite all that potential for speed and chaos and hackzzz), those in-between shots have to fall. Players of Barbosa's ilk don't age well, all full of speed and nonsense and quick point guards that can switch over to guard them in a pinch. So for Leandro to make one last big splash before those 30s set in (and they will set in, following the 2012-13 season's first month), he'll have to make it soon."

Ball Don't Lie: Kobe Bryant says he has nothing to learn from Team USA teammates
"Kobe very well could have been joking when he said this, but, to paraphrase Homer Simpson, sometimes things are funny because they're true. I don't know if there's really nothing Bryant could learn from his teammates — something tells me Chris Paul could teach him something about using varying speeds to pick apart a defense off the dribble. However, I do believe that Kobe thinks he knows as much as all his teammates combined, because that's the sort of personality he has. He thrives on his confidence and needs it to maintain his competitive edge."

The Basketball Jones: Jonas Valanciunas learned at least one thing in London
"The results? Not so good. He never played more than 16 minutes and often played less than 10. He never scored more than seven points in a game and managed five or more rebounds just three times, while being in constant foul trouble and looking very slow defensively when forced out of his comfort zone, even though he made the right decisions. Basically, he looked like a 20-year-old playing against grown men while being coached by a guy who wanted to give his veteran squad its best chance to win a medal."

The Basketball Jones: Video: Leandro Barbosa annihilates Andres Nocioni with a crossover
"You know a crossover is nasty when the guy who did it still has time to take a calm gather dribble before shooting an uncontested jumper. Even James Harden thinks Andres Nocioni got crossed up here."

The Basketball Jones: Joe Johnson used to have a bed in his shoe closet
"OK, so not only does Joe Johnson have a humongous shoe closet with more than a thousand pairs of shoes, mirrored ceilings, a basketball hoop and a fingerprint recognition entry system, he also used to have a bed in there so he could take naps when he got tired, presumably from trying to find one of his pairs of shoes. One more time for emphasis — Joe Johnson had, and will soon have again, a bed in his shoe closet. That is hilarious and it’s even more hilarious that it’s coming from Joe Johnson. You’d expect it from a Gilbert Arenas type, but boring Joe Johnson? Quite the surprise."

DIME: The Top 10 Losers Of NBA Free Agency
"Although the Blazers did unload Ray Felton and swung a few nice trades to open up cap space and acquire future picks, ultimately I question their retention of an overpaid Nic Batum for four years, $45 million. Not only did he not want to be there, but he’s teetering on the edge of David Lee territory, or, in other words, underrated players who subsequently get overpaid. Don’t get me wrong – I really like Batum. Just not for that price. And, what does it say about a guy when he does things like this?"

DIME: The Dwightmare Is Back: Proposed Deal Might Send Howard To Los Angeles In Four-Team Deal With Denver, Philadelphia
"The deal would send Dwight and Nuggets F Al Harrington to Los Angeles, Lakers’ C Andrew Bynum to the 76ers, Sixers F Andre Iguodala to the Nuggets and Lakers’ F Pau Gasol and Nuggets’ G Arron Afflalo to the Magic, with Orlando hoping to move Gasol for further assets. Orlando will also gain salary cap relief and undisclosed future picks. Bynum and Gasol’s destinations could flip flop, but in either case we have a bunch of big name players switching teams in what is truly a blockbuster deal."

ESPN: For 1972 U.S. team, no silver lining
"It becomes real every Olympics," Collins said. "It becomes real every time I see a medal ceremony and hear the national anthem and see an athlete represent his country. It's the moment that I feel was stolen from us, being up on that podium together, wearing that gold around our necks."

Sports Illustrated: Offseason evaluations: Assessing the Raptors, Bucks, Cavs, Bobcats, Pistons
"Talk about a crowded frontcourt. The Bucks just signed Joel Przybilla, beloved NBA tough guy, to join Samuel Dalembert, Ekpe Udoh, Ersan Ilysaova (re-signed to a five-year deal worth about $36 million in guaranteed money), Drew Gooden, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, Larry Sanders, John Henson and Tobias Harris in the forward/center rotation. Of those players, only Harris, the 19th pick in the 2011 draft, appears ready to thrive at small forward rather than power forward, though Mbah a Moute can and does defend just about every position."