Perry A. Farrel of the Detroit Free Press: New Detroit Pistons shooting guard Jodie Meeks was asked about his favorite Kobe Bryant moment. He didn’t need much time. It was his first day of training camp as a Los Angeles Laker. “Practice was at 11, we had to be there at 10. Well, I wanted to get there at 10,” Meeks said. “He was already there fully dressed and sweating. I got to the locker room at 9:30, got on the court at 10, and he had been there an hour and a half working on stuff. “I was like, ‘Man, it is true.’ This guy is working like this and at the time he was 34 years old. He felt like he still had a lot to prove, and he was still trying to prove people wrong. I was like, ‘Man, great player.’ ” Meeks, 27, has tried to follow that same work ethic. With Bryant out with an injury nearly all of last season, Meeks had the best season of his pro career, averaging 15.9 points and expanding his arsenal. “I feel like I learned a lot from him as far as the mental aspect of the game,” Meeks said of Bryant.

Gary Tanguay of CSNNE.com: On Sunday, a report emerged saying Rajon Rondo wanted to leave Boston. Rondo's representatives quickly denied the report, but not before the basketball world started discussing the possibility of Rondo being traded. Bob Ryan joined Arbella Early Edition to explain why he doesn't expect the point guard to be traded early in the season. "It doesn't matter if he wants to be traded," said Ryan. "They're not trading him. He's not tradable right now. Nobody's seen him play and that's that. If he is traded, it will be at the trading deadline. You can't trade him until somebody has looked at him and see what you're getting. Because it certainly was inconclusive based on what we saw at the end of last year."

A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com: When it comes to Rajon Rondo, you either love him or hate him. Which is why the reports of him demanding a trade, while those close to him indicate no such conversation ever took place, are only fitting. Rondo is a polarizing, maddeningly talented point guard with a high basketball I.Q. who'ssometimes too smart for his own good. He's a crossover-dribbling, ankle-breaking embodiment of the yin-yang theory. That said, the idea that he would demand a trade at this point is a bit of a head-scratcher. Why now, on the eve of training camp, rather than at the start of the summer, when teams had money to spend and would have been more eager to get something done? Multiple league sources have repeatedly said that Rondo wants to start the season in Boston and see where things go from there. A similar sentiment has trickled out of Celtics camp, as well. ... Multiple league and team sources agree the most likely scenario has Rondo beginning the season in Boston. Then, depending on how the team does, both sides will mutually agree to either ride it out or part ways sooner rather than later. While the Celtics have said publicly their desire is to keep Rondo in the fold long-term, it hasn't stopped them from remaining open to the idea of moving him for the right deal. And that deal is nowhere close to materializing, in large part because teams want to see Rondo play without limitations.

Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times: Derrick Rose is healthy. Two games into FIBA World Cup pool play, and the face of the Bulls franchise is without a noticeable limp. That’s the good news. Great news, actually. Is he the player that had spectators oohing and aahing at the start of the USA Basketball trials in Las Vegas in late July? No, but that doesn’t diminish his last five weeks. This always has been about building a mindset for Rose, letting him know he still can dominate. He did that in Las Vegas and even into Chicago early on before “fatigue’’ sidelined him for a few practices and an exhibition game in New York. ... For Rose, there are more important issues than numbers in this tournament, and that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Shamus J. Clancy of the Philadelphia Daily News: This weekend marked the beginning of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the first chance for Sixers fans to watch 2014 first-round pick Dario Saric of Croatia on a large, international stage. The 12th-overall pick has impressed, as Croatia holds a 2-1 record in Group B of the tourney. Saric is averaging 27.3 minutes, 13.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per contest in three tournament games while shooting 51.7 percent from the field. ... One play that stands as Saric's most memorable of the weekend occurred in Sunday's win over Argentina. Saric reportedly lost six teeth after getting elbowed by Andres Nocioni, a former Sixer. Saric subsequently nailed a three-pointer and remained in the game. His feisty nature of crashing the boards, diving for balls, arguing with referees and losing teeth will surely endear Saric to Sixers fans when he has the opportunity to join the Sixers in 2016.

Phil Mackey of 1500ESPN.com: All summer long, any spotlight shining near Target Center has focused mostly on Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, Thaddeus Young and Zach LaVine - the newest faces in the wake of the Kevin Love trade. Ricky Rubio has also received attention, as he'll need to step up his contributions and help form chemistry among this revamped roster. But maybe people should be talking more about Gorgui Dieng, who is apparently tearing up the FIBA World Cup for Team Senegal. Dieng dropped 27 points and grabbed eight rebounds in a 77-75 upset win over Croatia early Monday morning, pushing Senegal's record to 2-1 so far in the World Cup -- the country's first two wins in this tournament since 1998. Dieng inexcusably did not receive regular playing time with the Wolves until February last season. Over his last 18 games he averaged 12 points, 11 rebounds (4 offensive) and 1.5 blocks per game. More minutes from Dieng and inserting an energized Young into the mix won't necessarily make up for the void left by Love, but it's not a bad Plan B, especially if Dieng's game continues to evolve.

Ben Standig of CSN Washington: Chris Singleton has a new home. The combo forward and ex-Wizard has committed to a deal with the Indiana Pacers, David Pick with EuroBasket.com reported on Monday. The 6-foot-9 Singleton only played in 25 games for the Wizards last season, his third NBA campaign and all with Washington. The 2011 first-round pick passed on the opportunity to play overseas for a shot with an NBA club. Singleton worked out for several teams last month. Jan Vesely, Washington's other first round selection in 2011, signed to play In Turkey for the upcoming season. Indiana is certainly in the hunt for forward help following Paul George's serious leg injury.