The Basketball Jones: Jalen Rose once starred in a Master P music video. So did Stromile Swift’s Memphis Grizzlies jersey. All of this inspired me to do some research on Master P’s brief preseason stint with the Raptors. It seems that Charles Oakley wasn’t too keen on the whole experiment.
Youtube: A couple videos of Jeremy Lin and David Lee playing pickup ball in Taiwan. Nothing too exciting, but D-Lee does get hung on an off-glass dunk attempt early in the second video.
Sun Sentinel: Dwyane Wade is back on the court for the first time since his July knee surgery. He’s about a week ahead of schedule with exactly a month to go until the start of training camp. It seemed that Wade spent all of last season nursing some type of injury, so here’s hoping he’ll be able to stay healthy this year.
NJ.com/Twitter: Hilton Armstrong and Eddy Curry participated in workouts for the Brooklyn Nets yesterday. NJ.com’s assessment of the situation:
Curry’s chances of making the Nets are slim, and it’s almost a certainty that he wouldn’t be offered guaranteed money, but there’s definitely a chance he could get a camp invite as the Knicks are desperate to find a backup for Brook Lopez.
Armstrong has a much better chance because he’s always in shape, and while he’s not overly talented, he’s a respectable defender. He also took part in the Nets’ free agent minicamp in May.
It seems that NJ.com hasn’t been checking Armstrong’s Twitter, ’cause he signed with the Greek team Panathinaikos.
Eddy Curry will be in the NBA this season. Deal with it.
Pro Basketball Talk: According to Mario Chalmers, Mario Chalmers is better than [at least] one of the following players: Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Steve Nash, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo. Somewhere, Mario, there is a line that separates confidence and foolishness. You have crossed it.
LA Times: Steve Blake and his wife are doing some really nice things for children in Rwanda.
Dime: Are these actually the top 10 360 layups of all-time? Well, considering that the entire thing isn’t Vince Carter, I think there were probably a few omissions… but that doesn’t make the video any less fun.
Twitter: It appears that Steve Novak took just one shot in the paint last season, and he missed it. I think this makes his shot chart exactly the opposite of DeAndre Jordan’s.
ESPN: The Worldwide Leader is back again with their annual rankings of the top 500 players in NBA basketball. As of now, they’ve reached #238, Markieff Morris. How the hell is Lazar Hayward 49 spots better than James Singleton? Make me the 105th expert, ESPN; I watch the Wizards from time to time.
SLAM: Prior to Minnesota’s hiring of Rick Adelman, Don Nelson had interest in coaching the Timberwolves. I think Adelman was an excellent choice, but Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love, and Don Nelson? That sounds like run gun fun!
