We have some good news and some bad news today. The good news is, we are only days away from the start of training camp, where all the madness of an NBA season will begin for our pleasure. The bad news? Some players are already down and out due to injuries – the buzzkill of the sport (of any sport). See why a couple of Grizzlies players are out for a while, who is likely to miss some or all of training camp and plenty more below:

• Chris Bosh tried to distance himself from the Heat after injuring his abdominal muscle in the playoffs because he thought it was “over” and did not want to feel emotional pain, from Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press: “The abdominal injury that nearly ended his season – and probably would have doomed Miami’s title chances – is behind him now, Bosh said. But when things looked most bleak, when the Heat lost two straight games to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals after he got hurt, Bosh was preparing himself for a long offseason without a championship to savor. ”I thought it was over,” Bosh said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I didn’t want to fully emotionally invest myself anymore because I didn’t want to get hurt like last year when we lost the finals. I kind of had a letdown. I’m not going to lie. I was defeated. And then my wife came to me and said, ‘You know, you said things were going to look bad, but you have to keep going.”

• Josh Smith is unlikely to re-sign with the Hawks before the end of the season, if only because that’s the most sensible thing to do under the new CBA, according to Chris Vivlamore of Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Josh Smith is entering the final year of his current contract with the Hawks but it is “unlikely” that he will be re-signed before the end of the upcoming season. The forward is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent next summer. Don’t panic yet Hawks fans. Under the rules of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement, it could be advantageous for Smith, and to some degree the Hawks, to wait on a new contract. In simplest terms, if Smith re-signs with the Hawks before June 30, the extension can be for only a maximum of three years. If he waits until after his contract expires, he can re-sign for up to five years. According to Hawks general manager Danny Ferry, Smith and his agents have said he would like to remain in Atlanta.”

• Nene may not be ready to go when training camp begins due to plantar fasciitis, from Gene Wang of Washington Post: “Washington Wizards center Nene’s status for the start of training camp next Tuesday remains in doubt after his plantar fasciitis flared up during the Olympics, team president Ernie Grunfeld said in a news conference today at Verizon Center. Playing for Brazil, Nene’s condition apparently became acute during a game against Australia. Nene scored 10 points and added seven rebounds in a 75-71 win in the opening round but walked with a slight limp after the game. “He hasn’t had must time to rest this summer because of the commitment he had to his national team,” Grunfeld said of Nene, who missed a game in the Olympics because of soreness in his left foot. “So we’re going to be very, very cautious. We’re going to take it very slow with him and make sure he’s 100 percent when we put him out there full time.”

• Kevin Love like what he sees in the current make of the Timberwolves roster, from the Associated Press: “When last season ended, Kevin Love didn’t hide the fact that he expected big changes to occur this offseason to upgrade the talent around one of the NBA’s rising stars. Now that he’s returned to Minnesota with a gold medal around his neck and seen the new faces that Timberwolves president David Kahn brought in this summer to add some much-needed experience to one of the youngest teams in the league, Love can’t wait to get to work. ”I have faith in this team,” Love said on Tuesday. “I have faith in what we’ve done this offseason.”

• No good news came out of Memphis today, from Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports:

• D.J. White will be playing for Yao Ming’s team for at least one season, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports: Free-agent forward D.J. White has reached agreement on a one-year contract to play for owner Yao Ming and the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, sources told Yahoo! Sports. White, who played for the Charlotte Bobcats last season, has a chance to become an elite player in the CBA and could help elevate Yao’s franchise into serious contention. Yao bought the cash-strapped Sharks in 2009 and has resurrected one of China’s proudest basketball franchises. White will play for respected American coach Dan Panaggio for the Sharks. After numerous injuries, Yao retired from the Houston Rockets in 2011.”

• Mark Jackson made sure there was no confusion about who his starting point guard would be for the upcoming season. He also touched on Jarrett Jack’s role with the team, which should catch the attention of second-year guard Klay Thompson, from Marcus Thompson of Bay Area News Group: “You can absolutely do that,”Jackson said when asked if he would play Curry and Jack together down the stretch. “Part of the credit for ownership and (GM) Bob Myers and the front office, they went out and got a guy that can defend the position, has size, not afraid of the moment, can play on the ball, can play off the ball. So he’s a guy that can complement Steph and he certainly gives us some toughness. And there’s no question about it, he’s insurance.  We’re not trying to create and panic. We’re going to miss Steph if anything happened to him. But we have a guy that’s a proven starter and is as good as it gets as a back-up in this league.” Wait for it … “But Jarrett Jack knows his role. He’s going to play. He’s going to play both backcourt positions. But Steph Curry is my starting point guard.”

• Metta World Peace appears to be in the best shape he has been in for years, according to Woj:

Several NBA people who've been watching Metta World Peace work in L.A. insist he's in the best physical shape they've seen him in years.

September 26, 2012 12:58 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@WojYahooNBA

Adrian Wojnarowski

• Kendrick Perkins could miss the entire preseason to recover from his wrist injury, from Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman:

Presti says the team is hoping Kendrick Perkins (wrist) will be ready for the first game of the regular season. Could miss entire preseason.

September 26, 2012 12:48 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@DarnellMayberry

Darnell Mayberry

• Dorell Wright believes Andrew Bynum is the best center in the league hands down, from John Mitchell of The Inquirer: “He’s going to need two defenders to stop him; I would say he’s the best big man in the NBA right now, hands down,” Wright, speaking at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine,  said. “He’s a guy that can give you baskets with his back to the basket; a guy who makes free throws at 7-feet. You’ve just got to respect him.” At that point I interjected, asking him if he calls Bynum the best big man in the league because they are now on the same team. Or could it be because Howard is on the mend from back surgery? “No way, I’d say it any day. It’s because I know  he can put his back to the basket and give us a basket and request a double team and make free throws,” Wright continued.  “It’s his all-around game. Hopefully he can stay healthy and we can ride, he can put us on his back and he can take us as far as we can go.”

• Rajon Rondo told Spears of Yahoo Sports that he doesn’t believe Ray Allen’s reason for leaving the Celtics had anything to do with their relationship: ”People act like because me and Ray didn’t get along or they think me and Ray didn’t get along that I’m a bad person or he’s a bad person,” Rondo said. “No. It’s just life. If you look at your job, everyone doesn’t always get along with every co-worker they work with. It’s just part of life. People are blowing the Ray thing out of proportion. We had some words, but other than that it was no big deal. ”There were so many rumors like I was looking Ray off. Why would I look Ray off? That doesn’t make sense. He’s the best shooter, so why would I look him off? People can see it how they want to. They can talk to Ray. But from my standpoint, he made his decision. I don’t know why he made the decision, but he made the decision. I don’t think it had anything to do with me.”

• What does Doc Rivers expect from Darko Milicic? Even he has no idea, according to Mark Murphy of Boston Herald: “Rivers won’t treat Milicic like a former No. 2 pick. “I don’t know (what to expect),” he said. “I like a lot that he has size. What we want Darko to do is fit a role for us, and not push all of these expectations on him that he’s had all of his career. His first concern should be our team, instead of trying to establish himself. It’s the second pick in the draft thing. I think that hurt him over his career. We’ll find out. I’ll tell you if that’s true in January. I hope it’s true.”

• Mike Wells of Indianapolis Star has the most updated information on the Pacers. Here is the scoop on Danny Granger and David West: “Forward Danny Granger, the team’s leading scorer the past five seasons, will be limited some at the start of training camp after an issue with his left knee, which happened while working out in Los Angeles late in the summer, caused him to get an injection in it.  Granger’s at the fieldhouse working out with the rest of his teammates daily, but the Pacers, who don’t believe it’s a major issue, plan to take it easy with him early on and allow him to use the preseason to work on his conditioning. Granger’s expected to play in some of the preseason games. I ran into forward David West in the building and immediately noticed that he spent a lot of time in the offseason toning up his upper body. It helps that he was able to work on his entire body during the summer instead of just focusing on rehabilitating his surgically repaired knee like in the summer of 2011.”

• Why should you pay attention to Bismack Biyombo heading into the season? Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld has the answer (pay attention, fantasy freaks): “Last season, Biyombo was the youngest player in the NBA and, at times, it showed. That’s expected when a teenager with very little experience is matched up against grown men. However, as the season went on, Biyombo showed progress and was moved into the starting lineup last February. He showed why the Bobcats selected him with the seventh overall pick in last year’s draft, recording 10 double-digit scoring games, 11 double-digit rebound games and 10 games in which he blocked four or more shots. Biyombo has been working hard this summer, training on his own and then playing in the Las Vegas Summer League. He’ll enter the season as Charlotte’s starting power forward and will only continue to develop. If the last few months of the 2011-12 season are any indication, Biyombo’s development could be ahead of schedule and this may be the year that he begins to make huge strides and realize his full potential.

• Deron Williams and Reggie Evans stuffed MarShon Brooks car with popcorn, from The NBA Mistress. You’ll also want to check out the Nets dancers’ uniforms. You’ll be glad you did.

Billy King says Nets can win championship

Gordon Hayward wants to be an All-Star

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