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As we said earlier, Carter hasn't shown signs of his surgically repaired right ankle hampering him, but he said it took him a few days to get his rhythm back.
"I think the first two practices were more of an adjustment period," Carter said. "I was trying to get myself back into the swing of things. I felt for myself I wasn't where I wanted to be fore training camp and I was kind of playing catch-up with my rhythm. By Day 3, I felt a little better."
Bynum, who turns 21 on Oct. 27, is also entering the final year of his contract. He still has to prove his health, and his worth, as he tries to come back from a knee injury.
Bynum and the Lakers have until Oct. 31 to agree on a five-year extension of up to about $88 million, or he becomes a restricted free agent after the season, with the Lakers able to match any offer sheet."It's not a concern of mine at all," Bynum said. "That's business. My agent takes care of it. What I've got to do is play well and make people believe that I'm the great player I'm supposed to be."
Bynum, who will make $2.8 million this season, averaged 17.3 points and 12.2 rebounds in six games in January before being sidelined because of a bone bruise in his left knee and brief dislocation of the kneecap. For the season he averaged 13.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots. He says he feels no effects from the injury -- "The knee is fine, definitely 100%" -- and he is enthralled by the idea of playing next to Gasol, who will slide over to his more natural position of power forward after playing center for 48 games with the Lakers.
The end could be near for Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas. He has two seasons remaining on his five-year, $50.1 million contract. The Lithuanian native turned 33 years old in June and doesn’t know how much he has left in his tank. Ilgauskas is starting his 13th season with the Cavs. He hopes it’s his best.
Ilgauskas has an early termination option on his 2009-10 season, but he said he’s not going to exercise it. He would have trouble recouping $11.5 million on the open market.
Ilgauskas had good numbers last season when he averaged 14.1 points, a career-high 9.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. But a ruptured disk made the last month-and-a-half miserable.
Cavs guard Eric Snow took his physical the other day, but will not be in training camp. The Cavs will need to keep him on the 15-man roster for the time being. They’ve filed a disability claim with the insurance company, which hasn’t been resolved yet.
Also, they can’t earn an injured player exception until the one-year anniversary of the last game in which he played (Feb. 22).
They could sign him now. They could sign him later.
Either way, forward Linas Kleiza appears a good bet to remain long term with the Nuggets.
Kleiza can sign an extension by Oct. 31 that would begin in 2009-10. If he doesn't sign then, he becomes a restricted free agent next summer, but Denver could match any offer. "We love Linas, and hope he's a Nugget for a long time," said team executive Rex Chapman, who called it "still too early" to say if there will be an October signing
Camp invitees battling for a spot are forwards Ruben Patterson, Nick Fazekas and James Mays and guards Mateen Cleaves and Smush Parker.
"I'm amazed you have guys like Ruben Paterson and Fazekas . . . (who) can't find a job," Karl said. "There is a possibility of one more roster spot with (Carmelo Anthony) missing the first two games (because of suspension) and Chucky (Atkins) and Sonny (Weems) probably missing."
Atkins had knee surgery. Karl said Weems, who soon will do running and shooting work, is out another two weeks because of sports hernia surgery.
Gabe Muoneke replaced Britton Johnsen in the Utah Jazz training camp according to Deseret News. The nigerian-american power forward didn't waste any time after his untimely release from ASVEL Vileurban. Muoneke will continue training with the Utah Jazz in his effort to secure a contract with them. Muoneke has literally played all over the world including NBA teams and last season he helped Tau to overcome the loss of James Singleton but his contract wasn't renewed after the 3 months had passed. He currently operates as a blogger for Hoopshype. He averaged 6.5 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11 Euroleague games.
Johnsen did finally take up one of the offers he had from Europe and will be playing in Ukraine next season. He gave up on the Jazz and trying to get a contract with them and decided to return to Europe where he played before. He has played for Alicante in Spain, for Panellinios in Greece, for Orthez in France and the Euroleague and last season he played for Galatasaray after recovering from a serious injury. Rumors from ukrainian media are saying that he will be playing for BC Kyiv.
Eddy CurryEddy Curry missed yesterday's first two practices of training camp and could be out for the weeklong training camp here after being felled by a bacterial infection Monday night in the team hotel, KnicksNew York Knicks officials said.
Curry was taken to Saratoga Hospital for evaluation yesterday. The Knicks won't know if he'll participate this week until later today. Curry, diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat three years ago, had a high fever and vomited most of Monday night.
Mike D'Antoni's speedball offense may not suit Curry anyhow. Curry came into camp in mediocre shape and is no lock to be the starter.
There was a bit of a scare for Greg Oden and the Trail Blazers on Tuesday when the prized center withdrew from the last 30 minutes of the team's first practice because of an slight injury to his right ankle.
Oden said he "tweaked" the ankle while pushing center Joel Przybilla out of the lane while fighting for rebounding position. Oden, who missed all of last season while recovering from surgery on his right knee, walked with a pronounced limp after the incident, but said he was just being cautious. "I was just not trying to put pressure on it until I could get in the pool and get some ice on it,'' Oden said. "There was no reason to try and do something to make it worse, so I just stayed out (of drills) and rode the bike.''
Accompanied by athletic trainer Jay Jensen, Oden rode a courtside exercise bike after the injury. Prior to that, Oden did enough during his 90 minutes of practice that his jersey was soaked with sweat."He looked really good out there, guys,'' general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "I mean, he is a force once he gets the ball down low. You have to know where he is both on the offensive and defensive ends. He makes an impact on both ends. It was a great practice.''Pritchard said he has little to no concerns about the ankle. "It's just a little tweak; it wasn't like it was a major turn,'' Pritchard said. "It was Grade One, and that means he could have probably gone back in there. So, that happens. We can't be over-sensitive to everything he does.''
It's also why fans and media members devour and dissect every bit of information when it comes to their health. McGrady created a bit of a stir on media day when he revealed that his surgically-repaired left knee was only at about "75 to 80%" while his surgically-repaired left shoulder suffers from arthritis. To be sure, that's hardly ideal news for Rockets fans. But it's also worth noting that T-Mac spent the two weeks prior to training camp participating in scrimmages at the Toyota Center practice facility. So it's not as if we're talking about a player on his death bed here.
"I feel pretty good," says McGrady. "I aint ready to play, but as far as getting up and down the court, I can do that. My lateral movement is a little difficult right now and jumping is a little difficult, but I can get up and down the court... Talking to the doctors, I had an MRI done during our physicals and they say I can’t hurt anything, and that’s a good thing to hear."
Newly re-signed Carl Landry is happy to be back in Houston and says his much-discussed knee issues are not a concern: "This team is definitely a special team if we put all the pieces together. Houston is my first love, the first team I ever played for, and I love the city, the team, the guys in the organization and everything about the Houston Rockets, so I’m happy.
"My knee, I’ve passed several examinations on it and they say the bruise and the things that were happening last year are completely gone. They say that I have the exact same knee now that I had before the injury. That brought a smile to my face and I’m pain free and one hundred percent and just ready to get this thing rolling."
Bucks guard Charlie Bell underwent ankle surgery in May and said he had made good progress during the summer months. "It's been a slow process," Bell said. "That on top of the knee injury I had last year, and it's kind of just been a rehabbing summer. I've been trying to get my legs right, knowing that this is going to be a long year with Scott Skiles. It's going to be a little more physical season, and I'm just trying to get ready for that."
Bell said he had a much different feeling going into training camp than he did a year ago, when he was a restricted free agent coming off a contract dispute with management. Miami signed Bell to a five-year, $18 million offer sheet that the Bucks matched, and he was unhappy at the time."It's much better," Bell said with a laugh. "That was a different regime. I've put everything behind me. My family is here now. We've got a house, and the kids are in school. I couldn't feel any better right now."
The news jolted Nathan Jawai like it would any seemingly healthy 21-year-old professional athlete. The "cardiac issues" that he was told would keep him out of his first NBA training camp with the Toronto Raptors ran contrary to everything he felt and knew. "I'm fine, I'm normal," the 6-foot-10, 280-pound Jawai said yesterday. "I haven't had any symptoms or anything. I'm breathing okay and everything's fine. "I've played for four or five years now and I haven't dealt with it before. I've had no problems with it and it just basically showed up then. It's frustrating but I'm kind of handling it okay."
Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo said there was no way the team was going to take chances after the test results. The irregularity popped up when Jawai was being put through a treadmill cardiac test last week, a routine procedure all NBA players go through before the season. "We're going to get him in front of another specialist here this week and hopefully we'll have some better news by the end of the week," Colangelo said. "For now, you take the precautionary route and I think the prudence is to hold him out of practice until we're 100 per cent certain what we're dealing with."
One of the first things Jawai did when he got the news was check with his family back in Australia to make sure there were no hereditary heart issues that he wasn't aware of. "As soon as I found out, I called back to find out that information and none of my family has had heart problems, so that's one of the positive things I found out," he said. "It's been frustrating. I was very shocked about it. I'm just waiting to get cleared and I'm very positive it will be okay." To replace Jawai on their training camp roster, the Raptors have signed journeyman centre Jamal Sampson to a non-guaranteed contract. If Jawai is cleared to resume practising, Sampson will be released and the Raptors will be back to a 13-man roster.
The Oklahoman (Darnell Mayberry) reports: Desmond Mason has a new number. No. 34. He’s worn 24 throughout his career. He could have had it with the Thunder with no current players wearing 24. So why the change? No. 34 was his college number, which he said he wanted when Seattle originally drafted him but was taken by Jelani McCoy.
Randy Livingston has been named the assistant coach of the Idaho Stampede.
He replaces Ray Lopes, who left the Stampede in the offseason after accepting an assistant coaching position with the University of Idaho.
Livingston was named the MVP of the NBA Development League for the 2006-07 season while playing for Idaho. He announced his retirement after leading the Stampede to the D-League championship in April.
The News Journal (Martin Frank) reports: Point guard Andre Miller said he likes being with the Sixers and would be open to signing an extension to his contract, which runs out after this season. But Miller, who is due to make $9.9 million, said he isn’t in a hurry to get it done. He recently hired a new agent, Andy Miller (no relation), who will handle all the negotiations. “I want to go on with the season,” Miller said. “It’s kind of tough, because I’ve never been in this position before, so I just take it in stride. The off-court stuff will take of itself. When they come to me and say there’s the possibility of an extension, we’ll talk. Until then, I’ll go out and work.”
InsideHoops.com editor says: Despite having the outside shot about as good as those random fans who get picked for contests during NBA games and appear to have never seen a basketball before, Miller’s an excellent, effective point guard. The Sixers should keep him, but they’ll keep his age in mind in any extension talks.
The Houston Chronicle (Jonathan Feigen) reports: Though Rockets coach Rick Adelman and general manager Daryl Morey said they are confident about using their rotation of power forwards as backup centers, Adelman said the time will come he will want a true center to play behind Yao Ming. Dikembe Mutombo said last week he would wait for the Rockets to make planned roster maneuvers to move beneath the luxury tax threshold to sign. “Eventually we’re going to need somebody behind Yao,” Adelman said, specifically citing matchups with Shaquille O’Neal and Greg Oden. “When you’re playing the Shaqs of the world and now Portland with their young big guy (Oden), just size alone hurts you when Yao is out of the game. We’ll address that as we go. I feel good about the depth everywhere, but when you play a big guy, it’s really hard for Carl (Landry) and Chuck (Hayes) and Luis (Scola) to try to play some big strong, physically dominating player.”
InsideHoops.com editor says: I say Mutombo should record a music album, where he sings rock and pop classics of the 70’s and 80’s. His voice is too golden not to get utilized in a recording studio.
The Press-Enterprise (Jeff Eisenberg) reports: Luke Walton said he’s still “a couple weeks” from playing in 5-on-5 games during practice, but his surgically repaired right ankle is strong enough for him to run and lift weights in the meantime. “It (stinks) because there’s so much you get done in training camp,” Walton said. “Everyone knows we have a deep team and guys who can play multiple positions, so there’s going to be a lot of competition for playing time. To be out early, is a little disadvantage, but hopefully they know what I can do.”
InsideHoops.com editor asks: I wonder who will be getting more minutes per game a few months from now, Walton or new Laker Trevor Ariza. Lots of fans may want to say it’ll be Ariza, but Luke knows the system well already, and under Phil Jackson that means a lot.
The Detroit News reports: Rasheed Wallace said that he didn’t really have a disconnect with former coach Flip Saunders, though it was clear that Saunders had lost the respect of the older players. “It was just with us as vets and he really didn’t want to listen to us,” Wallace said. “That’s what really hurt him.” Speaking on radio station WDFN, Wallace used this analogy: “If you mess up a guy’s desk and throw coffee on it every day and he doesn’t do anything to stop you, are you going to respect him?” Wallace, though, didn’t blame Saunders for the team’s failures against the Celtics. “Basically, it was just not our time,” he said. “That’s just the way the ball bounces sometimes. I think we were all positive and thought that we would beat Boston. But we can’t cry over spilled milk now. We just have to go out and prove to all the naysayers that are saying we’re too old and our window is closed and all this and that — we have to prove them wrong.”
The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Ronald Tillery) reports: Something rather amusing popped into Hakim Warrick’s head while he looked around the gym as the Grizzlies’ conducted their media day. Warrick, who is entering his fourth NBA season, is the only remaining player from the Grizzlies’ playoff era… “It’s strange,” Warrick said. “None of the coaching staff is here. It’s just funny to see how much this has changed.” … After all, 10 of the 15 players on the training camp roster are indeed younger than Warrick. “It’s crazy,” Warrick said. “I’m like one of the grandpas of the team right now.”