Around the League: July 2014

[Superbone]

Good for Jay Humphries but didn't D'Antoni hire him over Tom Thibodeau?

It's now Suns' assistant coaching East over in Brooklyn. Hollins, Westphal, and now Humphries too?! Might as well grab Al Bianchi while they're at it.

[LazarusLong]

Where's Gar Heard ?

[Superbone]

Where's Gar Heard ?

Heh, I saw him on somebodies bench not so long ago. I'm sure he's available.

[Superbone]

https://twitter.com/BobCavsinsider/status/489852073807056896

[TOO]

Was only a matter of time. LBJ is in win now mode.

[Superbone]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11225 ... mer-league

Once upon a time, NBA offenses were almost entirely about isolation possessions and exploiting mismatches. A corner-3 shooter was a novelty act, and drive-and-kick schemes were regarded as gimmicky.

Goodbye to all that. The shooting revolution reigns supreme, which is why it's difficult to find naysayers in Las Vegas on Channing Frye's 4-year, $32 million deal, and there's more support for Jodie Meeks' 3-year, $19.5 million contract than you might imagine.

A $32 million deal for Channing Frye? Not so outrageous the way teams play these days, execs say.
"This is where the analytics movement is driving the market," says a general manager who can be fairly characterized as middle-of-the-road on analytics. "We're seeing the extinction of the mid-range game. It's a driver-and-putter league now. Nobody wants to play with their irons."

Players who wouldn't have gotten a look 15 years ago are now in high demand, and non-athletes with a reasonable shot fake are the NBA's answer to the left-handed relief pitcher.

"You have to be able to shoot the ball" said the NBA veteran. "Especially big men. You look at Spencer Hawes. Look at Channing Frye. That's good money. You can have a job for a long time if you can shoot."

The coaches consulted had more holistic views of what's happening on the floor in 2014. Yeah, shooting is vital, but there are plenty of teams leveraging other strengths to succeed.

"You're seeing as much diversity as you've ever seen before," says a head coach. "It used to be that coaches were afraid to be unconventional because they were worried about criticism."

Today, there's cover to be unconventional, and the game and its fans are the beneficiaries. And the very best teams in the league are those that can switch up styles on cue. See the San Antonio Spurs.

[SwingMan]

Good for Jay Humphries but didn't D'Antoni hire him over Tom Thibodeau?
https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/status/489640852474433537

Better them than us.....

[Wally_West]

https://twitter.com/BobCavsinsider/status/489852073807056896

[carey]

https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/489878829981511681 Lakers win amnesty bid on Boozer.

[carey]

https://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/status/489888546900041728 Ish is Houston bound.

[AmareIsGod]

Hopefully he doesn't fail his physical. I can imagine it now... "Houston.. we have a problem.."

[carey]

Hopefully he doesn't fail his physical. I can imagine it now... "Houston.. we have a problem.."

GROAN

[Mori Chu]

Ish was better than I thought he'd be. But I won't miss him.

[Superbone]

Ish was better than I thought he'd be. But I won't miss him.

Yeah, but what about Steve Albert's "Ish dish" calls?!

[carey]

Ish was better than I thought he'd be. But I won't miss him.

Yeah, but what about Steve Albert's "Ish dish" calls?!

I wouldn't miss Steve Albert either. How long is his contract for?

[Charlie Smithy!]

Eternity.

Surriously though, his attempts at humor give me a sense of secondary embarrassment and make me feelbad for the guy. That, and he always seems to be a few seconds behind on the game itself.

[Uncle_Gene]

https://twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/status/489878829981511681 Lakers win amnesty bid on Boozer.

.......& I'm pissed off about that !!

Lakers got him for.......$3.25 million ???? The Suns could've offered $4 million and GOT him !!

[Uncle_Gene]

I just look at if like this:

Who would you rather have as the starting PF ?

Markieff Morris, Anthony Toliver, or.........Carlos Boozer ?

I'd take Boozer. And to know Lakers got him for $3.25 million pissed me off.

[DrSublime]

I just look at if like this:

Who would you rather have as the starting PF ?

Markieff Morris, Anthony Toliver, or.........Carlos Boozer ?

I'd take Boozer. And to know Lakers got him for $3.25 million pissed me off.

I'd much rather have Markieff at this stage in both their careers, Boozer is over the hill big time

[Shabazz]

Ish was better than I thought he'd be. But I won't miss him.

Yeah, but what about Steve Albert's "Ish dish" calls?!

Or his very, very, very infrequent "Ish Swish" calls.