Tuesday Bolts – 8.19.15
Mark Deeks for NBA.com: “I am an Englishman, born and raised in a country that basically does not have basketball in any substantive form. Basketball here is a widely played game amongst inner city youth, but a jarring lack of facilities, a semi-professional domestic league, a lack of history and inexplicably little media coverage make it an afterthought sport roughly equal in stature to lamenting the fall of the empire. Rolling cheese down a hill gets more media coverage in my country than basketball does.”
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on the Raptors re-signing Valanciunas: “The Valanciunas deal doesn’t eliminate the Kevin Durant chase, but it does lessen their chances and limit their options in such a pursuit. That’s a good thing. Chasing the pipe dream of Durant isn’t worth risking your long-term goals and development. The Raptors believe in Valanciunas and got him back at a decent rate. That’s a win for them, no matter what happens with Durant.”
Also: Valanciunas getting 4/$60 makes Enes Kanter’s deal look not very good.
KD giving away backpacks to help a sad place.
Marc Hinton for Stuff in New Zealand: “Kiwis love Steven Adams. They adore his freakish size and wonderful athleticism, his quirky personality, his grounded attitude and, most of all, his success in the NBA. They appreciate that he represents New Zealand in the greatest hoops league on earth and they savour the fact that he plays a key role for one of the better teams in the competition. But right now they are a little confused. If Adams is smart, he clears this situation up as soon as he can Lord knows, when he wants to be he is a heck of a communicator. People in Oklahoma love Steven Adams, and will do so as long as he pulls on that singlet of the Thunder and keeps playing as hard as he does. But people in New Zealand will adore him for life. Unconditionally. If he’ll just let them.”
Billy Donovan talking about Wall Street.
Anthony Slater: “Meanwhile, his old life lingered and teased. Every time he entered the office, everyone wanted to talk sports with the former star. His old team, the Knicks, led by his old coach, Rick Pitino, played blocks away. Donovan found himself continually wandering uptown for games after work, watching his old teammates live the life he loved while growing cold about the new life he didn’t. Before Wall Street, Donovan never thought about coaching. But given time to reflect and something to pair it against, he realized he needed to get back in the game. Donovan revealed this desire to Pitino one night after a Knicks game. His old coach told Billy he was crazy. Stick to the business world. You don’t want to coach.”
