J. Michael of CSN Washington: Training camp hasn't even started, but Paul Pierce already has laid down the law in the locker room for the 2014-15 season: Protect home court. It happened earlier Thursday, before Marcin Gortat and Otto Porter arrived at The Unseld School to promote an Oct. 20 preseason game at Baltimore Arena. "You like competitive guys that take things serious. He's not the type of guy that has a lot of friends in the NBA. Like the old days," said Otto Porter, a rising second-year player who'll be Pierce's backup at small forward and has been taken under his wing. "That's good. That's what our team needs. Today I heard him say, "Hey, we got to protect home court this year. Anybody who come up here, they're going to get beaten up.' I was like, 'That's what I'm talking about.' I hadn't heard that in here. I'm about that. That's how it was at Georgetown. Protect home court, always. ... That's going to change."

Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer: On Oct. 30, 2013, Michael Carter-Williams torched the Miami Heat for 22 points, 12 assists, 9 steals, and 7 rebounds in his inaugural regular-season game. There's a chance that the 76ers' second-year point guard won't get a chance to duplicate the feat in his second season opener. "I don't know," coach Brett Brown said Thursday regarding Carter-Williams' availability for the start of the regular season. "But at the start of our preseason games, I expect to give Tony [Wroten] the ball" at point guard. Carter-Williams, last season's rookie of the year, had surgery May 6 to repair the labrum in his right shoulder. He will not be a full participant at training camp, which begins Tuesday at Richard Stockton College in Galloway Township, N.J.

Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer: There is never a good time to get arrested on a charge of domestic assault. But Jeff Taylor might have picked the absolute worst. Taylor was arrested Thursday morning at a Marriott hotel in Michigan. The Charlotte Hornet forward was arraigned in East Lansing District Court and charged with one count of domestic assault, one count of assault and one count of malicious destruction of property. He was released from jail on a $5,000 bond. There isn’t much more detail than that as of yet, but there’s no doubt Taylor is in trouble. The NFL just showed everyone exactly how not to handle a domestic violence case with Ray Rice, and the fallout from that “punch in the elevator” video has reverberated nationwide. The Panthers let defensive end Greg Hardy play in Week 1, but then the video of Rice punching his fiance surfaced and everything changed. Hardy, embroiled in his own case, is going to miss at least 10 games this season (and get paid $770,000 a week anyway). Now the NBA and the Hornets get to try and avoid the mistakes of the NFL, and the best way the league can do that is to make sure it punishes violators severely. ... Taylor was mostly known as an injury-prone leaper, defender and 3-point shooter for the Hornets. Now he has made headlines for something else. And there’s no way it’s going away quickly.

Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald: Is Chris Bosh a franchise player? According to his bank account, he most certainly is, but Bosh has plenty to prove to himself, his teammates and the NBA at large when the season begins on Oct. 29 against the Wizards. No one doubts Bosh’s ability, versatility and unique skill set, but he did average fewer than 15 points per game in the 2014 NBA Finals. There is room for improvement. Bosh was a franchise player before he joined the Heat, and he led the Raptors to the playoffs twice. More will be expected of him in Miami as the franchise’s front man, but only because he has improved and evolved so much since those Toronto days of “CB4,” long hair and made-for-YouTube sketch comedies.

Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman: The early deadline looms. The James Harden memory lingers. But Sam Presti refuses to panic. “We want to invest in Reggie Jackson,” Presti stated firmly. “There’s not a lack of clarity in that regard.” This time around, despite the obvious similarities to the Harden scenario — an emerging guard feels he’s ready for more minutes, shots, money and shine — Presti and the Thunder feel there’s a better chance they can find a way to get it done. Not a guarantee, but certainly more plausible. Jackson’s value spiked during last year’s breakout season, when he morphed into one of the league’s best bench players. And his price tag increased even more this offseason, when comparable peers such as Chandler Parsons, Gordon Hayward and Eric Bledsoe got massive deals. Jackson has openly admitted to following those negotiations closely. It’ll undoubtedly make him harder to keep. But Jackson, unlike Harden, is not a max player. He’ll come a bit cheaper. And he wouldn’t fetch as much as Harden did in a trade, making it less likely the Thunder would be persuaded to deal him before he’s tossed into restricted free agency next summer. ... “These things aren’t easy to do,” Presti admits of a possible extension agreement in the next month. “But we’re gonna give it our maximum, best chance to make it happen, knowing that if it doesn’t, we come back at it next summer and pick it up again.”

Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News: The hordes of fans waited patiently outside the store, hoping they could either scream Jeremy Lin’s name or touch his hand. But instead of further inciting a mob scene near the Foot Locker at Westfield Mall in Culver City on Thursday, Lin slipped through the back entrance. Will Lin navigate his first season with the Lakers just as easily? “I just got to by myself and play my game. Everything else will take care of itself,” Lin said shortly before promoting his Adidas shoes and signing autographs for fans. “Going into my fifth year in the league, I’m not too worried about all the unknowns and uncertainties. I’m just focused on my own performance.” Lin’s shoe unveiling attracted both heavy turnout among fans and Asian media outlets and reinforced his following stays strong after sparking “Linsanity” amid a breakout season with the New York Knicks three years ago. As the first American-born NBA player of Taiwanese descent, Lin’s global appeal only heightened his breakout season. Yet, Lin dismissed any ensuing hype, including whether he could win the starting point guard spot over Steve Nash. “I’d be just as excited as if I didn’t (start),” Lin said. “I honestly believe it’s more about what my role looks like in the grand scheme of things. I’ve started and not played in the fourth quarter. Then I haven’t started and I played the last 16-18 minutes of the game. For me, starting is pretty irrelevant.”

Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press: Greg Monroe hadn't talked all summer. Not about free agency. Not about his DUI arrest. Not about his new coach or his new teammates or his new contract. To his credit, he met with reporters after the ribbon-cutting ceremony to answer questions at the elementary school. "I understand I made a mistake," he said. "I also understand that doesn't define me." Let's hope it doesn't, because if it does, that means he has made the same mistake again. We can debate whether our society penalizes drunken drivers as it should. There is no debate about what drunken driving is. Until this summer, Monroe never has created negative headlines off the court. He deserves the chance to show what happened last winter was an isolated decision, but only a chance. As Monroe pointed out, he has fulfilled every obligation the state asked of him. Now he must do the same for the Pistons. His future contract is at stake, and so is the Pistons' success this winter.

Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star: Even as the newest Indiana Pacers were making their first appearance together Thursday morning at the Brickyard Golf Course – C.J. Miles, Rodney Stuckey, Damjan Rudez and Shayne Whittington looking like quite the foursome in matching white zip-up jackets – the one who wasn't there at first dominated much of the conversation. That would be the injured forward Paul George; just call him the elephant in the green pavilion during the Pacers Foundation golf outing. While coach Frank Vogel shared an encouraging update about George's broken leg, he also took to the microphone and boldly stated that Indiana won't fold without its All-Star. "Paul's going to be OK. Equally as important, we're going to be OK, too," Vogel said. Since George broke his right leg on August 1 – he is expected to miss the entire 2014-15 season – the Pacers have roundly been forgotten as a contender in the Eastern Conference. But the Pacers believe that giant absence can lead to greater opportunities. "We still got the mindset that we're going to come out, we're going to play hard and we're going to win games," said Miles.

Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News: For the first time since he bought the team in 2010, the Nets reduced payroll in an attempt to suppress monetary losses. It’s hard to imagine he’ll think about binge spending again until the summer of 2016, when the Nets will try to make a run at Kevin Durant. But what if the Nets get to the trade deadline with a chance to make a run? Will Prokhorov throw more money into this team, perhaps jeopardize that precious cap space for 2016? There is a lot of uncertainty with Brooklyn’s ownership. Bruce Ratner is trying to sell his percentage of the team. Prokhorov was testing the market last season to see how much his majority stake is worth.

Marc Berman of the New York Post: A year later, former Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald has dropped much of the bitterness and has moved on. Grunwald now is the athletic director of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He’s back in Canada, where his sports executive career started with the Raptors. However, Grunwald takes exception with one item from his stunning firing by the Knicks a year ago Friday — four days before training camp. Grunwald’s Knicks were coming off a 54-28 season. He had just made the final tinkering to the roster by signing center Cole Aldrich, still a Knick. Owner James Dolan, in rehiring Steve Mills for a second stint with the team, told The Post’s Mike Vaccaro soon after the firing that Grunwald wasn’t well-versed in basketball’s new age of sabermetrics and technology, calling him “a classic GM." Dolan didn’t mention Grunwald also has a law degree and formerly ran the Toronto Board of Trade. "I think I’ve been one of the most involved in basketball’s advanced analytics since the late 1990s," Grunwald told The Post. “I don’t agree with [Dolan]. Everyone is entitled to their opinion."

Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer sat down with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for an exclusive interview. Budenholzer spoke about a wide range of topics including the current controversy facing the Hawks, his new role of assuming the general manager duties and the health of Al Horford. Q. What was your initial reaction when the news broke about the comments made by owner Bruce Levenson and general manager Danny Ferry? A. It’s really unfortunate and you feel for the people who are hurt and the community. It’s really unfortunate on a lot of different levels. You are hoping we can come together from something like this and learn from something like this. Your initial reaction is you are not sure where this will all go but you feel for everybody that has been hurt in this process. Q. What has been the most difficult to deal with? A. It has been difficult. Danny is a friend and somebody I care about. I think he’s made mistakes and I think he’s acknowledged them and he wants to learn and grow from this. He put me in this (coaching) position and I have strong feelings for him. I understand that he has made mistakes and I understand that we need to build and repair the trust. He’s a friend of mine.

Tony Bizjak of The Sacramento Bee: The Sacramento Kings announced Thursday they will add the Uber ride-sharing service to the team’s mobile app this fall, allowing fans to tap in for rides to and from Sleep Train Arena. The service will start with the team’s home-opening game this season on Oct. 29. Uber, a San Francisco company that’s operating in 45 countries, is a smartphone-based service that connects riders with drivers, offering variable rates depending on rider demand and car availability. The Kings said in a news release that they are the first professional sports franchise to include Uber on their team mobile app. Kings President Chris Granger called the collaboration a step forward in fan service.