Here is our regular look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT) — done in bullet point form. Because bloggers love bullet points like old people love In The Heat of the Night.
• Raymond Felton will start games at point for the New York Knicks, but don’t be shocked if Jason Kidd closes them.
• Every time some player says “I don’t care about my next contract” I think they are lying, but Manu Ginobili may be the exception to that rule.
• Watch Kevin Love go yard while taking batting practice before a Twins game.
• Rockets camp is getting off to a tough start, and the next three posts show why. First, Jon Brockman has an eye injury severe enough to keep him out of practice all week.
• Royce White has not been at the first two days of Rockets training camp as he deals with ongoing anxiety disorder issues, something that was a concern of some teams during the draft.
• Chase Budinger sat out some drills at Rockets practice due to a tweaked left hamstring.
• Zach Randolph says his knee is just fine, thanks for asking.
• Zaza Pachulia was held out of some drills at Hawks camp due to knee concerns Tuesday.
• There is plenty of buzz around the league that Monta Ellis will opt out of his deal in Milwaukee after this season and test the free agent market.
• The Nets are going to use Andray Blatche as a backup five, not so much at the four.
• Another story about how James Harden is confident he will work out a contract extension with the Thunder. Everyone says that but at this point I’ll believe it when I see it.
• Magic Johnson says the Miami Heat are the team to beat for the NBA title. Like a broken clock that is still right twice a day, Magic is correct here.
• The Mavericks waived center D.J. Mbenga Tuesday, and that made me a little sad.
• Little shake up in the agent ranks — following LeBron James leaving CAA, four other players have filed to do the same according to ESPN: Denver’s Ty Lawson, Cleveland’s Tristan Thompson, the Los Angeles Clippers’ Eric Bledsoe and the San Antonio’s Cory Joseph.
• A nice recap of Denver Nuggets media day. They are my early favorite for “most fun team to watch” this season.
• New Yorkers, you can hang out in one of the Jay-Z designed Vault Suites at the New Barclay Center — oh, and get to watch a Brooklyn Nets and meet Deron Williams — by submitting a short video “demonstrating their commitment as the ultimate fan of sports, music or entertainment” to this site at American Express.
• Mark Cuban dancing Gangnam style at a bar in Indiana. Just because we can.
