How much should a team pay for signing Greg Oden?

A team should take him for a one year deal at the vets minimum, simply because if he can’t suit up then you’ve only wasted a little bit of money, but if you can get him on the court and playing well he’d likely be so grateful that he’d re-sign after the one year deal expired.

Is he out for the season again?

The Washington Wizards, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz and Detroit Pistons still have sizable chunks of MLE to offer. Saving it may come in handy if a quality player is bought-out mid-season.

Both sides would rather the latter, which is why they will work hard to get something done in the coming weeks. Doing so is in the best interest for both Gibson and the Bulls.

I envision the scene somewhat differently. I imagine White flushed with panic somewhere, his heart beating out of his chest, his knuckles whiten as his hands grip the chair he is sitting in, extra and unnecessary adrenaline coursing through his veins. Most likely on the edge of tears, White is praying and wishing that this debilitating and merciless fear that is quickly overtaking his mind would just leave him alone. “This was supposed to be a new beginning, a fresh start. Why is this happening… why now?” I imagine White asking himself, feeling some combination of agony and anger. For those that have ever felt the cruel clutch of anxiety, they know this scenario isn’t all that far-fetched.

This absurd, but undeniably prevailing ideology is one of the reasons why there so many gay athletes that are unfortunately forced to spend their careers in the closet. Eventually, there will be a Jackie Robinson-esque barrier-breaker that is somehow strong enough to endure the inevitable slings and arrows the first openly gay pro athlete will encounter. But once those first few brave and bold athletes clear the path a bit, it will likely ease the way for those that follow their lead.

It probably would have been easier to just keep quiet and continue chugging along. Fortunately, at this stage of my life, anxiety actually doesn’t adversely impact my day-to-day life. But, it’s there. It always will be. And it is obviously much, much worse for millions of others, many of them suffering in silence.

First, they built a 50-29 lead in dominating Chicago in the first half. Then, they held on for an 86-83 victory Friday in Champaign, Ill. — but only after the Bulls Jimmy Butler missed a near-banked-in heave at the buzzer.

The base system is known as the “Corner” offense, and – although Adelman once had former Princeton coach Pete Carril on his coaching staff in Sacramento – the structure is not as close to the Princeton offense as many have assumed. With more high-post action, the Corner has some similarities to the Triangle.

“You just have to read how the defense plays it,” Dragic said. “If they (defense) block the top side (on the corner screen), you just go back door.”

“I tell Steve, you won MVP but I was playing with Smush Parker,” Bryant said. “He’s playing with [Leandro] Barbosa. I’m playing with Smush and Kwame [Brown]. My goodness. Smush Parker was the worst. He shouldn’t have been in the NBA, but we were too cheap to pay for a point guard. We let him walk on.”gt3w432

With the Suns demonstrating enough trust to give up the ball to the high post more frequently in Friday’s second half, corner-screen opportunities led to several easy third-quarter buckets. Phoenix shot 62 percent in that period and rang up 30 points.

With the NBA removing the center position from the All-Star ballot, many players who used to be center eligible will likely see a significant drop in the number of fan votes. Of course, many of these same players’ games more closely resemble that of a traditional power forward than that of a center. Anderson Varejao of the Cleveland Cavaliers may be the classic example of a power forward playing center in the NBA over the past few seasons, but apparently, that is about to change.

Building something special in Cleveland will require the handful of remaining veterans to sacrifice and play outside of their comfort zone so young players like Tristan Thompson and Zeller can grow. Fortunately for Varejao, he can play both center and power forward and once he gets used to playing at the four spot again, Varejao should be able to provide veteran support to all of the Cavaliers’ young big men.

“Yeah, I feel pretty good about this Hornets team,” Gordon said. “We’re a young and upcoming team. We definitely got a lot of new players, so we’ve got to build the chemistry and growth since we’ve got a lot of young players, but I think we’re going to be fine.”

“I feel pretty good with this Hornets team,” said Gordon, who was ready to jilt the Hornets to join the Phoenix Suns this summer before New Orleans matched the Suns’ max contract offer. “It’s a young and upcoming team, definitely got a lot of new players.”

The other part is you just can’t make a three and give up a three at the other end every possession. He is learning, believe me. This doesn’t mean Terrence Ross is not going to play for us or not a part of it. He is going to be big for us. He is our future, but right now he is just a typical rookie and you could stop every play for him [to teach]. He is learning.”