Around The World: August 21

08/22/12

Written by: DHawes22

August 21

Trailblazers.tv: Video: Meet BlazerDancer Caroline

Trail Blazers: Video: 'The Other Dream Team' Trailer With Sabonis, Walton
"The video above is a trailer for The Other Dream Team, and it looks fantastic. There's a whole lot of Bill Walton, who figures into the story through his association with Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead, who outfitted the Lithuanian team with tie-dyed gear when they had no money for equipment. And Sabas getting choked up talking about national pride. And a whole lot of goosebumps."

Trail Blazers: Tickets For Three Home Preseason Games On Sale Today At Noon
"The Trail Blazers’ home preseason slate features Western Conference rivals Denver on Oct. 17, Golden State on Oct. 19 and Utah on Oct. 22. All games begin at 7 p.m."

Portland Tribune: Damian Lillard trending upward
“I think we can be pretty good,” Lillard said. “I’m not going to promise you anything, but you work hard and have a team on the same page, you never know what’s going to happen."

Sheridan Hoops: Mitnick: Coming to America — The NBA’s International Rookies
"Eurostashed since 2005, this former first-round pick should be able to make a strong impact immediately for a Trail Blazers team that has retooled their roster. His strong proficiency for offensive rebounds and putbacks should give him plenty of opportunities to see some minutes as a rookie. He was one of the few bright spots for Great Britain in the Olympics, and should be one of the pillars of that program for the duration of his career. The fact that he could be a good combination with LaMarcus Aldridge will ensure that he will see the floor often as a rookie."

ESPN: Forecast: 2012-13 West standings
"#11 Portland Trail Blazers: 35 wins and 47 losses."

Trail Blazers: Blog Contest: Which Ticket Plan Is Right For You?
"Do you prefer the marquee matchups the Big Games Plan entails, the bang for your buck the Value Plan provides, seeing rivalries old and new, rekindled with the Rivals Plan, or maybe your schedule dictates that the Weekend Plan is the option for you? Blog about which ticket plan you would choose and why. If your blog is chosen as the best, you’ll be the new recipient of two, lower-bowl tickets to ANY Trail Blazers home game this season!"

Ball Don't Lie via Deadspin: Jeremy Lin had no effect on MSG stock, now at an all-time high
"MSG is a strong company, with or without Jeremy Lin, and we're seeing that re-correction. From a three-month low of 34.73 on July 23, shares have climbed steadily, gaining 13.4 percent in just 28 days. Which isn't to say the Knicks aren't a better or more marketable team with Lin than without him, only that his departure wasn't the death blow it was made out to be, and that MSG Inc. is healthier than ever, even Lin-free."

Ball Don't Lie via Dallas Morning News: Mark Cuban won’t retire Jason Kidd’s jersey because he went to the Knicks
"J-Kidd's a big boy, he can do whatever he wants," Cuban said. "But you don't change your mind like that. I'm sure I'll get over it at some point, but as of right now, I wouldn't put J-Kidd's number in the rafters."

Ball Don't Lie: A high-tech model of LeBron James’ new signature Nikes will cost $315
"The model's going to run you $315, making it the most expensive pair of sneakers Nike's ever brought to market, according to Banjo. And while the sneakerhead community's known what the LeBron X will cost for nearly a month now five months now (shouts to CounterKicks), the WSJ report brought the news to the world at large, sparking notices in financial notes columns and business-specific news sites, and even on National Public Radio. The general tenor of such outsider discussion of the price point — which, again, is the going rate just for the high-tech, Nike+-infused model, and not the regular shoes, which will cost $180, or $10 more than last year's LeBron 9 — has been characterized by surprise and, in some places, dismay."

Ball Don't Lie: Andray Blatche is willing to play in the D-League
"While these comments might seem like the mark of a player hanging onto his career by any means, it's also true that Blatche appears to be committed to improving himself. As Ditota notes elsewhere in the piece, Blatche was struck up a relationship with former NBA player, coach, and drug addict John Lucas in the hopes of ending bad habits and improving his life. Blatche has moved to a condo near Lucas's home in Houston and started a regular workout including yoga, weight training, and on-court drills."

Ball Don't Lie: Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak on the Dwight Howard deal: “We thought it was dead”
"Prior to the deal that sent Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers, you couldn't blame Mitch Kupchak for failing to land the MVP-caliber center. Apparently the Lakers GM had been attempting for months, back to the midpoint of the 2011-12 season, to turn any number of Andrew Bynum-led packages into a deal for the former Orlando Magic big man, but had been rebuffed by two different GMs (and, in a way, Howard himself). And after grabbing Steve Nash for a song and retaining the team's three All-Star level starters, nobody could criticize Kupchak for going on the family vacation he had committed to during the second week of August."

The Basketball Jones: Quincy Acy totally nailed his rookie photo shoot
"I don’t know if Quincy Acy is going to do anything in the NBA — the track record for tweener forwards is all over the place — but it is good to know that he already has a highlight under his belt elasticized waistband. Between this photo and the one up top, he’s already started a nice lookbook. Even if he doesn’t light the league on fire, I hope they just let him keep taking pictures. At the very least, he’s already an All-Star when it comes to that."

The Basketball Jones via South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Erik Spoelstra knew Dwight Howard would be a Laker eventually
"Erik Spoelstra offered his thoughts today on 640Sports on the Lakers’ acquisition of Dwight Howard, “At the end of the day I think we all, eventually, thought he’d find his way to L.A., yeah, in some way or another. They have the most pieces. I’m surprised they were able to do it without giving up maybe [Pau] Gasol in that deal, but they have a history of getting those bigs. And it just seems to happen for that franchise.”

DIME: 5 Teams That Should Go After James Harden
"Going to Detroit puts him in an offense that already is guard-oriented but more balanced than OKC’s approach. Of its eight players with more than 20 percent usage last season (OKC had three) six were guards. Any adjustment to his role would be minimal in Detroit. Should he want to play at small forward, he could be paired with Brandon Knight (Detroit has a team option for Knight in 2013-14 but is utterly foolish not to use it) and Rodney Stuckey. Stuckey is undoubtedly the Piston’s version of Westbrook as a head-down, scoring guard even with the team’s highest assist percentage while Knight is more apt to defer and make the extra pass."

DIME: Report: OKC Thunder Very Interested In Jimmer Fredette
"Plus, there’s another interesting report coming from Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio: OKC is very interested in getting their hands on Jimmer Fredette (the guy who went from a one-name celebrity to a forgotten man on one of the worst teams in the league in less than 12 months). He writes: “Fredette would love to go someplace where someone other than just DeMarcus Cousins will pass him the ball. Thunder would love to pry Fredette away from Kings as replacement for Derek Fisher. Kevin Durant is a Jimmer fan."

SLAM: Hidden Gem
"In Sacto’s first regular-season game, a hard-fought win over the Lakers, Thomas not only got in the contest—something the ’09 and ’10 60th overall picks never did—he played more than 13 minutes and contributed 5 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists. In his sixth game, he put up 15 and 5. And in his 11th contest, he scored 20 and had 6 assists. Thomas was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month in February. All big steps for a supposedly little, irrelevant man."

SLAM via Clippers: Chris Paul Out 8 Weeks After Undergoing Thumb Surgery
“The injury occurred last month during Team USA training camp in Las Vegas, Nevada. The surgery was performed by Dr. Steven Shin, a hand specialist at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles. Paul is expected to be sidelined for approximately eight weeks, at which time he is projected to resume all basketball activities including full contact.”

SLAM via Star-Telegram: Jason Terry Hopes Mavericks Will Retire His Jersey
“‘The bow was winning the championship, but the icing on the cake will be putting that jersey up in the rafters,’ Terry told the Star-Telegram on Monday. ‘If it happens, I’ll be grateful.’ By Terry’s estimation, he figures he made enough big shots, played enough major minutes, shed enough sweat, blood and tears, put up enough credible numbers, displayed enough leadership qualities and was such a fixture in the community to join Brad Davis and Rolando Blackman as the only Mavs players to have their jersey retired."

ESPN Dallas: Sources: Eduardo Najera retiring
"Sources told ESPN.com that Najera, although he has no significant coaching experience, has accepted the offer from Dallas Mavericks president of basketball operations and Legends co-owner Donnie Nelson to take over from Del Harris as coach of the Mavs' D-League affiliate."

ESPN: Contenders Profile: OKC Thunder
"That said, there's both good and bad news for the Thunder. On the positive side, save for a poor series from one of its big three, the Thunder essentially have a championship roster as currently constructed. The bad news is it looks like they can't weather the storm against Miami if one of their key pieces is off his game -- meaning only at their absolute best are they able to compete for a world championship. Miami, on the other hand, soldiered on in fine fashion despite Chris Bosh missing a significant chunk of the postseason and never playing at 100 percent after the abdominal injury he suffered in the second round against Indiana."

Sports Illustrated: Analyzing the motivation behind a potential James Harden trade
"As for Harden, Houston could get far enough under the cap to offer several types of packages — one built around Kevin Martin’s expiring deal and a couple of picks, including Toronto’s likely lottery pick; or another built around those same picks, plus some combination of young wing players (Jeremy Lamb, Chandler Parsons, etc). (Note: Any deal involving Martin would require the Thunder to send out about $2.5 million in salary on top of Harden). Milwaukee could offer picks, Mike Dunleavy Jr. and an intriguing young player like Tobias Harris or Doron Lamb. The Cavs, also set to be pretty far under the cap, could come in with offers centering around picks and either Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters or Anderson Varejao. The Hawks could offer Lou Williams, on an affordable three-year deal, plus multiple first-round picks. The Bobcats and Wizards could build offers around future picks and recent lottery selections; Charlotte has one net extra first-rounder thanks to deals with Portland (Gerald Wallace) and Detroit (Corey Maggette/Ben Gordon). The Thunder also could construct three- and four-team scenarios in which they get a pick from one place and the on-court talent from another — scenarios in which some trade exceptions could come into play."

Trail Blazers: Weekend Plan: Specially Designed For Families And The Busy Nine-To-Fiver
"Built for the family-oriented fan with a busy work-week, the 12-game Weekend Pack maximizes the thrill-factor while keeping the competitions to Friday, Saturday and Sunday. A smattering of Western Conference rivals and Eastern Conference visitors during one-offs and key home stands, you can get your hands on this schedule-friendly pack for as low as $11/game and $52/game in the lower bowl."

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."