First Cup: Wednesday

• Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press: "Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said Tuesday that Rick Adelman was the top choice of basketball president David Kahn when the Wolves began their search for a coach to succeed fired Kurt Rambis. 'Early in the process, David had put down Rick as his first choice,' Taylor said. Adelman will be officially announced as coach today at Target Center. Taylor, because the choice was primarily that of Kahn, isn't expected to attend the news conference. He said Kahn deserves the credit. Adelman's deal, the Pioneer Press has reported, is for $20 million for four years. The fourth year is an option year for both Adelman and the Wolves. 'Rick wasn't clear if he was going to coach or not coach, so we went through the whole process and interviewed everybody else,' Taylor said. 'We were prepared to go ahead, and then (Kahn) went back and talked to Rick, and Rick said he wanted to come in and interview.' "
• John Reid of The Times-Picayune: "With the NBA lockout approaching its third month, training camps are in jeopardy of not starting on time. But former LSU star Shaquille O’Neal, who announced his retirement after 19 seasons this past June, said there will be a season, though, it's not likely to start on time. Training camps are set to open in two weeks. 'They are stalling us out,' O’Neal said. 'All the issues they are talking about on TV, those aren’t real issues.' O’Neal said the owners are partly to blame for the league’s current financial woes. ... O’Neal points to the Atlanta Hawks’ decision to re-sign guard Joe Johnson to a six-year, $119 million contract in July 2010 as a prime example of a franchise overpaying for a player when they not bringing in significant revenue to offset the costs. 'I love Joe Johnson and I hope he doesn’t get mad with me, but he’s not a $20 million a year guy,' O'Neal said. 'Business-wise, Atlanta isn’t making that much money. But if you are going to offer a kid a lot of money, he’s going to take it. I think we need a system that protect the owners from each other.’ "
• Carla Peay of the Washington Times: "Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, the NBA’s two-time scoring champion, has been lighting up summer-league basketball courts for the Goodman League and said he’s locked in to the talks, even if he can’t be present during the meetings. 'Everybody knows that all the top-tier guys in the league want to be a part of [the labor talks] and are very locked into what’s going on,' said Durant, a native of the District. 'But just because of what we have going on as players throughout the summer, we can’t be in some of the meetings.' ... Durant added that he’s keeping a positive attitude and that the players trust the union leadership. 'I’m just trying to support [union president] Derek Fisher and [executive director] Billy Hunter and the players union and all those guys,' Durant said. 'Fisher has been emailing everybody keeping in touch with everybody. I’ve been staying in the loop, even though I haven’t had a chance to go to the meetings because of the obligations I have in the summer.' "
• John Rohde of The Oklahoman: "Even though the NBA is in the midst of a lockout, the Thunder still reached its full-season-ticket capacity and announced it has started a waiting list. The Lakers, Celtics, Bulls and Knicks reportedly are the only franchises to have sold out season tickets for 2011-12."
• Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star: "The Pacers held the first of several private workouts this week at an Indianapolis-area gym Tuesday. 'This shows the dedication of the team,' guard Paul George said. 'We're missing a couple of guys, but for the most part, we've got our team here. That's just the commitment this team has. Everybody is on board and everybody knows what the goal is for the future of this team.' Ten players traveled from around the country to take part in the two-hour workout. Veterans Jeff Foster and Danny Granger put together the workout that included George, Darren Collison, Roy Hibbert, Lance Stephenson, George Hill, Tyler Hansbrough, A.J. Price and Josh McRoberts. More players are expected to work out today. 'This is all about chemistry,' Collison said. 'It's as simple as that. You don't see a lot of young teams coming out and working hard. Things like this can take you a long way. You understand the importance of coming out here as a team with no coaches. That's a sign of great commitment. We all want this lockout to end so we can start the season.' "
• Michael Lee of The Washington Post: "Kevin Seraphin could’ve chosen the comfort of familiarity and stayed with the team that trained and developed him after he left his home in French Guyana at age 16. But when he decided that he wanted to continue playing professional basketball during the NBA lockout, Seraphin didn’t want to just bide his time. He wanted to challenge himself to get better. So, even though he has never been to Spain and doesn’t speak Spanish, Seraphin opted to sign with Caja Laboral Baskonia over his old team, Cholet Basket of France. Seraphin, 21, negotiated a buyout with Cholet in order to sign with the Wizards after they drafted him 17th overall in the 2010 NBA draft. But he couldn’t pass up the opportunity presented by Caja Laboral, a perennial contender in the rugged ACB Spanish league and the Euroleague. 'I think if I want to come back to the NBA and play good I need to progress on my game. I think to play in Spain, to play for a Euroleague team, I think that is a good thing for me,' Seraphin said in a telephone interview from Paris. 'I just say for me, for my position, I need to play Euroleague basketball.' "
• Tom Reed of The Plain Dealer: "Semih Erden has become the first Cavaliers player to find work overseas during the NBA lockout. He won’t have to leave his hometown to earn a paycheck. The 7-foot forward is planning to play for Besiktas, a Turkish team that also signed New Jersey Nets guard Deron Williams. The club is located in Erden’s native Istanbul. He was expected to finalize the contract either Tuesday or Wednesday. Under terms of the agreement, he can return to the Cavaliers once the lockout is resolved. Agents for several Cleveland players have said their clients are considering European options as the league’s work stoppage threatens the start of the season."
• Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News: "For the players at Impact, however, the Lockout League was never about the size of the crowd or the quirkiness of the venue. 'Typically, this time of year we're with our respective teams, getting ready for training camp,' said Knicks guard Roger Mason Jr.. 'You're playing five-on-five. You're getting competitive games in. We have to replace that somehow.' At times, the games at Impact might devolve into ragged, defensively challenged affairs better suited to the local blacktop. Occasionally, players have cranked up the intensity to NBA levels. On one such occasion, T.J. Ford and Dahntay Jones, teammates in both Indiana and Vegas, left the floor after a 125-124 loss bickering over a failed last-second play. It was as if the miscue had just cost the Pacers a playoff game. 'Guys out here have pride,' said Mason, who was on the victorious team that day. 'You always want to win.' "
• Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel: "J.J. Redick is eager to find out if he has recovered completely from surgery in late May to repair two muscle tears in his lower abdomen. The Orlando Magic guard says he feels great, and he’s gone full-speed with his workout regimen for a couple of months now. But even Redick acknowledges that he’s looking forward to seeing how he feels during and after a full-speed competitive situation. 'I haven’t tested myself in a competitive situation to say whether or not I’m 100 percent,' Redick said. 'But I’m feeling great. I really am. I don’t know what percentage I’m at, but I’m really, really, really happy with where I’m at right now.' "
• Mike Heika of The Dallas Morning News: "Allen Americans owner Doug Miller said Tuesday he has interest in possibly exceeding Tom Gaglardi's $267 million bid to buy the Stars. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, meanwhile, said he does not. ... Cuban, who put in a bid on the Texas Rangers last summer in bankruptcy court, said he does not expect to follow suit with the Stars, despite the fact he could get 100 percent control of American Airlines Center by doing so. Asked via email if he had interest in making a competing bid, Cuban responded: 'No. None. I wish him the best and look forward to partnering w/ him at the aac.' "
• Steve Luhm of The Salt Lake Tribune: "The teams for Jimmer Fredette's exhibition game Thursday night at the Marriott Center in Provo have been announced. ... Members of Team Fredette also include Kenneth Faried (Morehead State, Denver Nuggets), Chris Singleton (Florida State, Washington Wizards), Nolan Smith (Duke, Portland Trail Blazers), Tyler Honeycutt (UCLA, Sacramento Kings), Jackson Emery (BYU, undrafted), Chris Wright (Dayton, undrafted) and Charles Jenkins (Hofstra, Golden State). Members of Team Leonard also include Kemba Walker (UConn, Charlotte Bobcats), Bismack Biyombo (Charlotte Bobcats), Tobias Harris (Tennessee, Milwaukee Bucks), Malcolm Lee (UCLA, Minnesota Timberwolves), Vernon Macklin (Florida, Detroit Pistons), Isaiah Thomas (Washington, Sacramento Kings) and Jake Kelly (Indiana State, undrafted)."

Source: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/32047/first-cup-wednesday-176

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