Phase 1 of the plan…

It seems the entire NBA has relocated to Vegas these days. Of course you’ve got the Team USA training camp leading into the FIBA Americas tourney this week. And just a few days ago, some of the Dime crew was in Vegas for the Jordan Brand ad shoot, where we hung out with Chris Paul, ’Melo, Ray Allen and the rest of the Jumpman roster. And today we’re back; in Sin City again for a special Nike event with LeBron that we’ll be keeping you up on as it happens … Of course, this is an important week for ’Bron, as the Olympic qualifying tourney is a big step in making his “08/08/08” takeover a reality (if you don’t know what that means, find yourself a copy of Dime #31 with LeBron on the cover) – since it’s gonna be hard to dominate at the Olympics if Team USA doesn’t qualify first … And on that note, the roster is down to 12 now, as Kevin Durant and Nick Collison were cut yesterday. From what Coach K said about Durant the other day (basically “he’s good, but very young”) and assuming Collison never had a shot to begin with, it’s not a huge surprise. So that makes your Olympic qualifying squad: J-Kidd, Kobe, LeBron, Carmelo, Amare, Billups, Mike Redd, Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, Tyson Chandler, Mike Miller and Tayshaun Prince … Speaking of Team USA, remember the controversy/conspiracy theories back in the day over Isiah Thomas not making the original Dream Team? And according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Isiah wasn’t even the 13th guy on the list. When John Stockton was in danger of not being able to play in the ’92 Olympics with a stress fracture in his leg, said one team official, Joe Dumars’ name came up. “If Stockton couldn’t have played, Dumars would have replaced him,” the official told the paper. “Not Isiah.” Hmmm … Earlier Monday we caught a replay of a ’98 Eastern Conference Finals game between the Bulls and Pacers. That was the year everyone on the Pacers decided to go baldie, which was no big deal for guys like Reggie, Jalen and Mark Jackson. But Rik Smits and Chris Mullin looked absolutely ridiculous … So much for learning from the vets. With Chucky Atkins already gone to Denver and Damon Stoudamire now looking for a trade out of Memphis, Mike Conley Jr. and Kyle Lowry are gonna have to learn on the job. Stoudamire told an Arizona paper, “Hopefully I can get out of Memphis – that rebuilding process is hard. I’ve got to be professional but it’s one of those situations where you never think you’ll be in. You want to get put in a situation where you want to win,” Damon said, later adding, “I’m going to keep my fingers crossed (about being traded) but I’m not going to make any demands or nothing.” Thing is, every player wants to play for a winner, but all 30 teams can’t be winners. So what makes guys like Damon and Juwan Howard and Marko Jaric feel like they should be publicly calling for trades? It’s a little different with someone like KG (who never actually said he wanted to leave Minnesota), who’s given a lot to the franchise and could never get over the hump due to bad management (and, to be fair, his huge contract). What have Damon, Juwan and Marko done to where the Grizzlies/Wolves owe them? You have your team, so play for that team … The initial reports out of Orange County, Fla., yesterday morning were that an NBA player had been shot in the leg at DeShawn Stevenson’s house. It turns out somebody was shot, but it wasn’t DeShawn or Brandon Hunter, who was also at the scene. The victim is apparently OK – he drove himself to the hospital … Daequan Cook – who’s been working out with Penny Hardaway this summer – to the Dayton Daily News on how Penny is looking: “He can still pass the ball real good and hit shots.” … Caught some of the Bears/Colts preseason game on the plane to Vegas. Anyone wanna tell us how is it Devin Hester is still fast as hell on slow-motion replay? That ain’t fair … We’re out like Damon …

Related posts:

1. Someone needs to sign Damon Jones. Now. Like, right now.
2. DeShawn Stevenson: “I’m the New Dennis Rodman”
3. Manu Ginobili needs surgery, Amare is making excuses, and hanging with MJ in Vegas