Each weekday morning, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related stories
to digest with your orange sherbet. Julian Benbow,adidas Running Shoes News, Boston Globe: "[Whenever Paul Pierce(notes)] checked on the NBA's free agent circus, all he saw was Eastern Conference teams adding on. Miami made the biggest splash by bringing in Chris Bosh(notes) and LeBron James(notes) to join Dwyane Wade(notes). The Chicago Bulls improved, adding Carlos Boozer(notes) and Kyle Korver(notes), and making an offer to Orlando's J.J. Redick(notes). The Knicks added Amar'e Stoudemire(notes). The Magic added Chris Duhon(notes). And while watching it all, a part of Pierce wondered why the Celtics weren't in the mix. "Sometimes, I'm sitting here and I'm looking at all these players sign and I wish we'd get on the ball a little bit,'' Pierce said. 'But I trust in Danny. He's done a good job putting a good team around us.' The Celtics have a lot left to accomplish in the offseason. Ainge acknowledged as much Wednesday when he introduced O'Neal in Waltham. They have a list of needs (another big man, a backup point guard, reinforcements for Allen and Pierce) and a list of targets and Ainge said the process could take until August to play out. With Perkins's knee surgery,adidas Originals Kids, Tony Allen's(notes) departure, and Rasheed Wallace's(notes) expected retirement, the Celtics have lost more than they've added. It all makes Pierce antsy. 'We've got a lot [to do] right now,' Pierce said. 'We don't have a bench. We don't have TA. We don't have Rasheed. We've got to add a bench. We've got to add a bench. So we've got our work cut out for us this offseason. We've got to add perimeter defense, some shooting, maybe we need to add a point guard to help Rondo out. Definitely got to add another point guard if we don't sign Nate [Robinson]. And we need another big. So we've still got a lot of work to do.'" Frank Isola, New York Daily News: "Mike D'Antoni called Isiah Thomas' last-minute involvement in the Knicks' recruitment of LeBron James a 'Hail Mary' and a sign that the club was doing everything in its power to land the NBA's top free agent. Thomas, the former Knicks president and head coach, was sent to Ohio on July 7 by Garden Chairman James Dolan to make a final pitch to one of James' representatives. Thomas did not meet with James, who in a televised special the following day announced that he was joining the Miami Heat. 'We were sitting around and thinking what can we do to try and get it back and Isiah had an in with someone in (LeBron's) entourage,' D'Antoni said. 'It was a Hail Mary pass and everybody knew it. Everybody was on board,Porsche Design Sport P'5510, and how it was reported wasn't accurate. It was trying to be a good thing for the Knicks.' 'We were coming up with 40 different things to try and get it back on track and that was one of them. Everybody was in agreement. But when we read the reports it was unbelievable. It was like aliens are reporting it.'" Rusty Simmons, San Francisco Chronicle: "Things haven't always gone as expected for the Warriors over the past two decades, right up to the sale of the team on Thursday. Now fans will have to wait and see if the latest twist turns their team's fortunes toward the positive. The name 'Larry Ellison' was the subject of every rumor throughout the four-month sales process. But the new owner isn't the Oracle CEO. It's Joe Lacob, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist whose name was rarely mentioned. Lacob's investment group, which also features entertainment executive Peter Guber, signed a purchase agreement to buy the Oakland NBA team from Chris Cohan for a league record $450 million. As late as Wednesday afternoon, sources close to negotiations still believed Ellison, the billionaire software tycoon, would be the team's next owner. And on Thursday, Ellison expressed some surprise at the result. 'Although I was the highest bidder, Chris Cohan chose to sell to someone else. In my experience, this is a bit unusual,' Ellison said in a statement. Sal Galatioto, whose firm brokered the deal, said that there were four offers of at least $400 million and that Ellison's final bid came too late." Ramona Shelburne, ESPN: "Free agent forward Tracy McGrady(notes) has scheduled a workout with the Los Angeles Clippers next week. 'We've said from the beginning we'd explore every option to make this team as competitive as possible,' Clippers general manager Neil Olshey said Thursday night after the team's summer league game in Las Vegas. 'From a due diligence standpoint, if Tracy McGrady wants to come work out for you, for the price of a plane ticket and a dinner, how do you not bring him in?' Olshey has known McGrady, 31, since the seven-time All-Star and two-time NBA scoring champion was in high school and Olshey worked for agent Arn Tellem. Despite drafting Al-Farouq Aminu(notes) eighth overall last month and signing free agent Ryan Gomes(notes), the Clippers still have a noticeable hole in their starting lineup at small forward. 'Tracy and I have a good relationship,' Olshey said. 'We've known each other for a long time. He and Baron [Davis] have a good relationship. We obviously have a need for playmaking and scoring on the wings. You're talking about one of the greatest offensive talents in our game, and if Tracy is motivated and he's right, and he wants to be with us ... how could you not bring him in and take a look?'" Indianapolis Star: "The city's Capital Improvement Board and the Marion County Convention and Recreational Facilities Authority, which issues its debt, are expected to vote today on $33.5 million in financial support for the Indiana Pacers. Under the deal, the CIB would provide the Pacers, who have sustained financial losses in recent years, $10 million per year for the next three years to offset the team's operation costs. The board also would pay $3.5 million for capital improvements that could include things such as a new scoreboard and updated telephone systems. In exchange, the Pacers must remain in Indianapolis the next three years. If the team left after that, it would have to pay back part of the $30 million on a decreasing scale, on top of the city's estimated $20 million in termination fees in the existing contract." ESPN: "J.J. Redick will remain a member of the Orlando Magic, according to numerous reports. Redick signed a three-year offer sheet worth nearly $20 million with the Chicago Bulls last week. The Magic had seven days to match and have done so, according to reports. By inking Redick, the Magic have put themselves over the luxury-tax threshold. The Bulls' offer had been front-loaded for that purpose." Eddie Sefko, Dallas Morning News: "New Maverick Tyson Chandler(notes) is usually in a jovial mood, and he couldn't stop smiling Thursday. He's happy to have a new team, and even a couple of tender subjects couldn't ruffle him. In fact, he seemed to welcome the skepticism about both his health and willingness to play behind Brendan Haywood(notes). 'I think we all have the same goal in mind, so I'm good with it,' he said of being Haywood's backup. 'I feel like I can definitely speed the pace up for us as well as be an anchor defensively. If you come in and work hard every day and you're a good player, the coach is going to find a place for you.' Chandler, a 7-1 center, also knows that situations often change in the NBA and that roles can change quickly. He's been a starter and solid contributor throughout his career when he's healthy. Mavericks fans won't forget the 2008 playoffs, when Chandler and New Orleans incinerated the Mavericks' interior defense." Vincent Goodwill, Detroit News: "Don't bet on the Pistons moving to Las Vegas. Team officials released a statement Thursday refuting a story the franchise, which is for sale, could end up in Sin City. 'While there is no substantive news to report regarding the sale of the Detroit Pistons, our ownership group has absolutely nothing to do with any proposal that would move the team to Las Vegas,' the statement read. 'As stated since the beginning of this process, the preference is to find an ownership group that is committed to Detroit and the surrounding area.' Wednesday, the Las Vegas Sun reported a developer had an NBA team 'under contract' if Las Vegas builds an arena. The Pistons were the only team named in the article, although a number of teams currently are for sale. Thursday, Tim Frank, senior vice president of basketball communications for the NBA, said the league 'categorically denies' there was any team under contract to move to Vegas."
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