DENVER -- Chris Bosh said his contract situation could prevent him from playing for Team USA in next year's World Championships. But another big man off the 2008 gold-medal winning Olympic team has no such reservations.
Utah forward Carlos Boozer told FanHouse on Wednesday morning he wants to play for Team USA in Turkey, and his contract situation has no bearing on it.
"I definitely would love to play if I get invited,'' said Boozer, a free agent next summer. "Not at all (will Boozer's contract situation affect his decision to play). If I've got a chance to put USA on my chest again, I'll do it in a heartbeat. The contract stuff will take care of itself.''
Saturday is Halloween, but don't expect many NBA owners and general managers in this shaky economy to dress up as Bill Gates and throw money around.
Oct. 31 is the annual deadline for one-time first-round picks entering their fourth seasons to be eligible to sign extensions that would kick in for their fifth seasons. For stars, it's a chance to land their first really big contract.
But much is silent as the deadline approaches, meaning the overwhelming number of eligible players from the 2006 first round will become restricted free agents next summer. Three players from that draft -- Andrea Bargnani of Toronto and LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy of Portland -- have inked extensions, but not a lot more activity is expected.
You kids and your Twitter. There's something about 140 characters to get your point across that just seems to make sense. The whole idea got me thinking that instead of dragging out some fantasy basketball column that you'll likely just skim over, what do you say I give you 50 fantasy basketball tips and observations in 140 characters or less. You have no vote in this matter, so you're getting them anyway.
These tips are not only designed for those of you who have yet to draft your fantasy teams, but they're also for those who are looking to improve on their post-draft squads. Hopefully this is a helpful way to get out as much information as possible while keepin' it mainstream.
FanHouse previews a player to watch from each NBA team in advance of the 2009-10 season.
The problem with hard-nosed, legendary coaches is that they drive such a hard line, demand so much, that you often feel like it will never be enough for them. Players will work hard, impress fans, show themselves to be "one of his kind of guys" when it comes to the coach's demanded work ethic and selflessness, and yet, they'll never reach it. The coaches keep them just on the outside, hoping to continuously drive them to further and further heights, 'til they're the absolute best they could possibly be.
Heading into the season, Boozer's status is the biggest issue surrounding the team. He said during radio interviews during the summer that he wouldn't mind ending up in Chicago or Miami, and that Jazz officials told him they were looking to trade him.
The forward, though, didn't get moved. And now he's saying that, if the Jazz keep him throughout the season, impressive things can happen in Utah.
"If they keep us together, we can be very good,'' he said.
The shooting guard position is where you load up on scorers with three-point shooting range and the defensive ability to pick up steals. Of the top 24 scorers in the league last season, 12 of them were eligible at the shooting guard position. Dwyane Wade was out in front, leading the league in scoring and finishing ranked third overall in standard scoring systems.
Many of the top shooting guards from last season were selected in the value rounds. Rookie O.J. Mayo, veteran Jason Terry, and youngsters like Wilson Chandler, J.R. Smith, John Salmons and Nate Robinson all returned Top 75 value in the 9th round or later. Then there's the case of Eric Gordon, who as a rookie went undrafted and yet finished the '08-09 season ranked 48th overall. Looking at the average draft positions (ADP) as reported by Mock Draft Central (MDC) and Yahoo! Sports (Y!), let's see if we can find any value/sleeper picks from the shooting guard position.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
LeBron James, however, also didn't disappoint. Against a (typically) phenomenal defense, The Chosen One racked up 38 points on 21 FGAs, and added seven rebounds and six assists. All of that in 36 minutes.
The story's getting old, but Jazz fans won't mind if you repeat it. Utah again took down the Rockets in Salt Lake City, pulling away for a 99-86 win. The game remained in contention until the final two minutes, with Deron Williams finally spreading the margin with a few possessions of nasty.
But Houston can take something from this defeat: it is highly unlikely they'll shoot this poorly should the teams meet (again) in the postseason.
The Utah Jazz didn't advance as far in the playoffs as they did a year ago, but they're still optimistic about their future. Said Deron Williams to Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune as he cleaned out his locker, "If we can keep this team intact, I think we're only going to get better as we play together. I look forward to it."
Even Andrei Kirilenko, a man reduced to tears when talking about his role during the playoffs last year, has seemingly rescinded his desire to be traded: "This is the only team I know in NBA," Kirilenko said. "I know everybody. I love everybody here in the organization."
Maintaining the status quo isn't the recipe for success for most teams ousted in the second round, but the Jazz are so close to a title that I don't want them to change a thing. They could stand to get a few more points out of the two-guard spot, but Ronnie Brewer was extremely efficient this year, shooting a team-high 55.8%. Plus, rookie Morris Almond should be ready to contribute after lighting up the D-League to the tune of 25.6 points per game, including two 50-point performances.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded NBA Correspondent, brings his exclusive NBA reporting to FanHouse. Check back here regularly for more videos.
In this video, we find out how NBA Star Andrei Kirilenko feels about being so underrated. Around 2:00 into the video big man Paul Millsap tells us what he does when he does not play basketball.
DENVER -- Chris Bosh said his contract situation could prevent him from playing for Team USA in next year's World Championships. But another big man off the 2008 gold-medal winning Olympic team has no such reservations.
Saturday is Halloween, but don't expect many 
FanHouse previews a 
FanHouse 
The shooting guard position is where you load up on scorers with three-point shooting range and the defensive ability to pick up steals. Of the top 24 scorers in the league last season, 12 of them were eligible at the shooting guard position. 
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the "lig." 
The story's getting old, but Jazz fans won't mind if you repeat it. Utah again took down the Rockets in Salt Lake City, pulling away for 
The Utah Jazz didn't advance as far in the playoffs as they did a year ago, but they're still optimistic about their future. Said 
