A look around the league and the web that covers it. It’s also important to note that the rotation order and starting nods aren’t always listed in order of importance. That’s for you, dear reader, to figure out.

C: Dwight’s Twitpic, via NBA Off-Season 2009. Dwight was sure having fun with his iPhone yesterday …
PF: NBA FanHouse. Phil Jackson will donate proceeds of his "X" hat to American Indian College Fund.
SF: The Wages Of Wins Journal. Pondering potential first round point guards.
SG: The 700 Level. Andre Iguodala is being sued by "hip hop model" Clayanna Warthen for child support.
PG: That NBA Lottery Pick. One thing you can say about Westphal, guy played a mean game of HORSE.
6th: The Scores Report. What is the NBA Draft class of 2006 worth?
7th: Deadspin. Tim Legler likes to party and apparently sponsors some sort of team with his namesake.
8th: Friedell’s Blog. Wade isn’t sure how many points he’d spot President Obama if they played 1-on-1.
9th: SRI. Ron Artest talks about his buddies smoking blunts while golfing, steroids and Twitter.
10th: Silver Screen & Roll.
C.A. Clark: "The Lakers don’t care what you think. They don’t care if
you love them or hate them.  They don’t care if you think their effort
was commendable or shameful. All they care about, all they’ve ever
cared about, is the pot (ball?) of gold at the end of the rainbow."

Got a tip/link for Ball Don’t Lie? Hit me up at jeskeets@yahoo.ca or follow me on Twitter.

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Trey Kerby of The Blowtorch searches high and low across the Internet for NBA-related goods you never knew you needed. You know, phenomenal swag. Email Ball Don’t Lie any relevant products you find here.

Hey, basketball fan. Do you hate sleeping? Enjoy scaring small children? Abhor personal contact with the opposite sex? Or maybe you just have an unquenchable desire for Kobe Bryant memorabilia. No matter what your reason, I’ve got the perfect product for you: a life-size Kobe Bryant bobblehead.

For just $13,000 — yes, that’s right, count those zeros! — you can guarantee that neighborhood kids will run, not walk, past your abode. You can usher in a new era in awkwardness, as the room housing BobbleKobe becomes everybody’s least favorite. Why waste time sleeping when you can worry about this enormous monstrosity toppling on to you, smothering your every breath. And of course, that haunting grin, which is sure to guarantee you endless nights alone.

All in all, a great investment piece.

Ball Don’t Lie’s Swag Rating: One measly Muggsy Bogues …

H/T: Dime

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Who’s trying to fool whom, ‘ere?

Whom is trying to fool who, even?

I’d like to think we’re on to the whoms and whos in this
situation, but as it’s been for the third summer in a row, discussing rumors
about Ben Gordon in a forum like this leaves open the possibility that you’re
completely re-telling someone’s fabricated talking points, while ignoring the
truth on the other side of the fence. Or vice versa, with the fence still in
the picture.

The other day, Sam
Smith of Bulls.com reported a supposed "$11 million promise from the
Pistons," sent Ben Gordon’s way. The idea itself, without even trying to
consider the sources of the bluster or bollock, is enough to make your head
spin.

Starting with the fact that Ben Gordon is not worth $11
million a year, not in the first year of a new contract (he’s an unrestricted
free agent, starting July 1^st), not in the final year, and not as an
average. He scores, he works his tail off during the offseason, and he scores.
But he does absolutely nothing else. And I like Ben Gordon. A lot.

Beyond that, the "promise" idea gets even more confusing.

The Pistons, with Rodney Stuckey and Rip Hamilton already in
place, would seem to be set in the backcourt. Even if Stuckey is a bit
overrated and Hamilton declining to the point of being about average (with a
ridiculous contract), you wouldn’t seem to want to add Gordon to that mix, and
set up yet another rotation soap opera with Gordon in the middle.

Trading Hamilton and his onerous contract would seem to be
one way out of that conundrum, but with Rip working as a significant part of Worldwide Wes‘ stable,
Joe Dumars wouldn’t really want to make Rip unhappy, would he? Sure, he’d still
get paid no matter what team he’d play for, but after reading about the
emotional state that Chauncey Billups’ Detroit
departure left CB and his former team in, wouldn’t Hamilton react the same way?

Then there’s the idea that the Pistons, flush with cap space
that could possibly be parlayed into 2010 room, would take themselves out of
the running for a franchise talent by handing an eight-figure deal to Gordon.
Makes no sense.

And why would the Pistons toss something out there so
quickly? It’s a long offseason, and the team will have plenty of cap space. And
cap space doesn’t have to mean signing the best free agent available (or,
apparently, one of the worst; as Chicago did back in
the summer of 2006). It means you can swing trades for players making huge
gobs of money that teams don’t want to pay, while absorbing any salary
difference into your flexible payroll, legally.

Then there’s the whole tampering issue. If there has been
any sort of communication between the Pistons, their reps, and Gordon’s agent,
then we have a team in direct violation of the NBA’s collective bargaining
agreement.

So, if we can safely assume that there isn’t much fire
behind this little late-June plume, who passes this info on to Smith? Who
stands to benefit the most?

Gordon’s agent? Something to ease his client into thinking
that there is significant interest in his services? Something to help him get
over the fact that he continually turned down contract extension after contract
extension last year? And a desperate move to get the Bulls or even the Pistons
to come to the table with bigger checks in hand?

The Pistons? Letting their fan base know that they plan on
doing big business this summer, a year removed from an offseason that started
with Joe Dumars essentially threatening to completely revamp his roster through
trades, only to wait until the season started before submarining his team
(which may not have been a bad thing; as he grabbed cap space and revealed
Rasheed Wallace to be the un-re-signable prat that he is) by trading for Allen
Iverson.

The Bulls? Quick to throw out a number that a good chunk of
the team’s fan base (and certainly the majority of the fair-weather folk) will
see as outrageous for a player of Gordon’s abilities? Steeling the fan base
(and, possibly, their roster holdovers) for Gordon’s likely leaving?

If the luxury tax does indeed drop a few million, Chicago is right at the
luxury tax level with the current roster, sans Gordon, plus their two
first-round draft picks. So even the cheapest re-signing efforts would put
Chicago (long one of the NBA’s most profitable franchise, if not the most profitable franchise) into the
luxury tax strata, an area owner Jerry Reinsdorf (despite his profits) has
shown no interest in spending any amount of time in, no matter the on-court
payoff. Or off-court, apparently.

And it’s sickening how much of this
post is coming true.

So what’s your take on the spin? Where did Sam get his spin,
and why was it spun his way? Let us know below.

Sure beats talking about the Timberwolves.

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Lakers guard Derek Fisher and "Entourage" actor Jeremy Piven celebrate at the Lakers’ 2009 NBA championship private party at Club Nokia on Thursday night. Best caption/imaginary conversation — besides "Let’s hug it out, Fish" — wins a small role in "Queens Boulevard." Walk with me, people.

After the jump, Jordan takes summer math classes.

Winner, Allen:
How does that math problem go again? 2 + 3 = millions?"

Runner-up, zero-2-hero:
Professor: "In around 300 B.C., Euclid presented the triangle …"
MJ: "Sir, isn’t it Phil who invented the triangle?"

Runner-up, Nick B:
A rare photo of the 1982 North Carolina blackjack team.

Runner-up, Jermaine:
The real reason Michael Jordan left UNC early. That unforgettable day in history class during his junior year when Sam Perkins spent the whole class period laughing at MJ for wearing a matching pink shirt with Beth despite Jordan’s claims it was not planned because his shirt was short-sleeved. Jordan declared his intentions to turn pro shortly after class.

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Via the Knicks-lovin’ Disciples of Clyde, our second Peter Vescey blurb of the day:

"… Charles Oakley is under consideration by [Donnie] Walsh to help big men get down and dirty at the defensive end. Does that mean the Knicks president is unhappy with how easy and how often opponents scored last season? My second question is, how do you teach bringing intimidation and intensity to work every time you get on the court? Oakley also was contacted by Portland officials who suspect it might be good for the team’s health if a trace of his brutish attitude rubbed off on Greg Oden."

Wow, forget those Kardashians; if "Coach Oak" doesn’t warrant his own reality show, I don’t know who does.

After the jump, a quick photo book look at some of the "skills" the intimidating ex-power forward might consider teaching Al Harrington, Chris Wilcox and the young Danilo Gallinari. Claw, Rooster! Claw!

*****

*****

*****

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