Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld touches on several topics in his NBA AM piece today, talking to a handful of players and weighing in on the new face in the Grizzlies' front office. Let's dive in and round up the highlights….
- Coming off a summer during which they overhauled their roster, the Suns are off to a slow start as the team's new additions work to develop chemistry. "You got to find each other’s games out," said returning Sun Jared Dudley. "Coaches got to find what players work good with each other, what plays for which players. We’ve shown spurts and glimpses of what we can do, we haven’t put it together for a whole 48 (minutes)."
- Goran Dragic tells Kyler that, while it's nice to be playing with Luis Scola, who was his teammate in Houston, there's still plenty of work to be done in Phoenix: "Two don’t make a team. Everybody needs to know each other and what we do. We’re struggling a little bit in the process, but we still have to find a way to win basketball games."
- A week after signing a four-year contract extension to remain with the Nuggets long-term, Ty Lawson says the only thing that's changed is that he's more sure of the confidence and trust the team has in him.
- Maurice Harkless, who underwent hernia surgery in the offseason, is being brought back slowly, and understands why he has yet to make his NBA debut with the Magic. "I think it’s good to just learn as much as I can because being that I missed the whole training camp," Harkless said. "Learning is important. Naturally, I’d rather just be out there playing, but I think coach is doing a good job."
- Kyler notes that Jason Levien, who was hired as the Grizzlies' new CEO and managing partner, negotiated big deals for Luol Deng and Kevin Martin back when he was an agent, and also spent over a year in the Kings' front office, where he had a hand in "several cap-clearing trades."