Mark Bradley of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: A month ago, Ferry was regarded as the best thing the Hawks had going for them. He’d remade the team in the Spurs’ image and hired Budenholzer, who could be the NBA’s next great coach. He’d built a competitive team without overspending to do it, and he’d positioned the Hawks to have the financial wherewithal to land any big-name free agent at any time. To date they hadn’t, and that was before the franchise had to defend itself against charges of racism. After the AJC’s Vivlamore obtained a tape of the infamous phone call, Carmelo Anthony — who was discussed as a potential target in free agency before the talk turned to Deng — told Tim Bontemps of the New York Post: “Nobody would want to go there now. At the end of the day ... it puts Atlanta back even further, from that standpoint.” At the end of the day, that’s still where we are. For as much as Ferry can say he’s sorry and as much as people insist they believe him, it will be very hard for him to remain in a job that requires him to attract free agents. I’m not discounting Ferry’s powers of persuasion — indeed, that’s why I say he has a 15 percent chance, as opposed to zero — but his task remains daunting.

Staff of CSNNE.com: Rajon Rondo broke the third metacarpal bone in his hand and walked around Celtics media day with his arm in a sling. The team's All-Star point guard is set to miss at least six weeks of action, with possibly up to eight weeks. That means he'll miss the first few weeks of the season ... or will he? "Hopefully I won't miss any games this year," Rondo said in an exclusive interview with CSNNE's Mike Gorman. "Lord willing I heal correctly and I'll be back in no time. "They're telling me 6-to-8 [weeks]. But that means nothing to me." Gorman then asked if Rondo would be a possibility for Opening Night at the end of October. "Always," Rondo said.

J. Michael of CSN Washington: Paul Pierce has to be smiling like a proud Poppa. The rivalry between the Wizards and the Cleveland Cavaliers is taking on a fever pitch, and it only took one day of training camp to do it. John Wall, in a dismissive tone, said Dion Waiters is hardly qualified to offer an opinion about anything regarding which team has the NBA's best backcourt. "Why he thinks that? They haven't seen a playoff game yet so when they make one they can start talking," said Wall, who took the Wizard to the second-round of the postseason for the first time in his four-year career and became a first-time All-Star, when asked about Waiters' comments. The Cavs, despite having an All-Star point guard in Kyrie Irving and Waiters together for two seasons, have won an average of just 28 games per year. "If you're going to be the best backcourt, he has to start," Wall said. "This is a year he's probably starting, so let's see if they can be the best backcourt. You've got to be a starting backcourt to say you're the best backcourt." ... These teams meet Nov. 21 at Verizon Center in a nationally televised game and again five days later in Cleveland. There'll likely be some technical fouls called, and maybe even an ejection. Or two.

Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: Steven Adams turned heads and raised eyebrows when he arrived at media day with an epic mustache. A day later, it was gone. The second-year center has shaved his hilariously-thick whiskers. Adams told reporters Monday that the look was inspired by actor Tom Selleck but was solely a media day joke that never was intended to be taken into the season. “Honestly, that’s all it was — so when they call out my name, it’s just ‘Stache,’ or when someone opens up the (media guide): ‘Stache.’ It’s gonna be so good,” Adams said.

Peter Botte of the New York Daily News: J.R. Smith wasn’t bothered by Phil Jackson’s recent public assessment that the volatile guard reminded him of Dennis Rodman with his antics on and off the court. “Last time I checked Dennis Rodman’s got what three, four rings?” Smith said Tuesday about the Worm, who actually won five NBA titles with the Pistons and Jackson’s Bulls during his career. “I'm not offended by that. It’s an honor. He’s a Hall of Famer. And to be put in the same words as a Hall of Famer is something special. So I’m not offended at all.” Former Knicks coach Mike Woodson said last season that the 29-year-old Smith “needs to grow up” after Smith was fined for making threatening tweets about Detroit’s Brandon Jennings and for twice untying the shoelaces of an opponent during games. He also was suspended for five games to start the season for violating the NBA’s drug policy.

Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle: Center Dwight Howard said the next few days are all about getting things together. "It's just practice, practice, practice," he said. "We have to get our timing down and get some work done." Howard, who is entering his second season with the Rockets, said as he walked into practice Tuesday, he felt prepared and was thrilled to be back in the gym. "It's just really good to be around these guys again," Howard said. "I think we are all on the same page and that we are ready for the grind." Howard said he and James Harden talked several times throughout the summer about this season and the team's goals. Harden said heading into camp with Howard this season felt a lot more comfortable than it did last year.

Bob Finnan of The News-Herald: Every team seems to have a built-in scapegoat. In Cleveland, that man has always been Dion Waiters. Anything that went wrong on the Cavaliers, Waiters seemed to get the blame. Cavaliers forward LeBron James wants all that to change. “I told him he can’t get involved in that, what people say about you” he said. “It’s not what people think of you, it’s about what you think of yourself. The only way to rewrite the notion of whether Dion can fit is to play the right way and dominate the opposition every night. That’s all he should worry about.” Even though James didn’t rejoin the Cavaliers until this summer, he has heard all the scuttlebutt regarding the 6-foot-4, 225-pound Waiters. “Can Dion play alongside Kyrie (Irving)?” he said. “When I came, can Dion take the role that D-Wade (Dwyane Wade) took? Is he a selfish player? Is he not a selfish player? Can he move without the ball? I’m not saying stuff that hasn’t already been said.”

Dei Lynam CSN Philly: "Career best fitness" is one of Brett Brown's favorite phrases. Brown uses it often when setting goals with his players for the season. When addressing the media after a practice, it is a given we’ll hear "career best fitness" in some capacity. The phrase falls under the umbrella of sports science. It is a subject that captivates Brown's imagination. Brown strongly believes a strict regimen involving one's diet, sleep and hydration helps the body’s performance during physical activity. Sports science makes for interesting conversation, but for a 20-year-old coming from a college environment, implementing the ideas can be challenging. "I play a lot of video games so maybe sleeping at night is hardest," Joel Embiid said. "I know I need to get healthy. I know my diet is going to help me a lot. I need to lose weight, but sleep is always going to be hardest because I play video games all the time."

Candace Buckner of The Indianapolis Star: The light, as David West describes it, may no longer flicker, and he admits that he doesn't know the source of his motivation to jump back into his 12th season – "Honestly, when I got back here, that's what I'm looking for. I'm looking for some energy from camp and getting to know Rodney (Stuckey) and C.J. (Miles) and some of the new guys we have," West said. However, in preparation for the season, West still trained like he has in previous summers and showed up ready for camp like he has every other year. West never dogged it during those full-court sprints at the end of Tuesday's practice. And don't expect West to slack off this season. Though the team's chase may have changed, his marathon continues.

Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News: Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t always see the glass as half-empty. Sometimes, he sees it as completely empty. OK, maybe he’s not that much of a pessimist. Let’s just say he is cautious with his optimism when analyzing any situation. That means his attitude going into the Mavericks’ new season is proof that an old Dirk can learn new tricks. Or at least allow some good old-fashioned positive vibes to flow through his veins. With the infusion of new players led by Tyson Chandler, Chandler Parsons and Jameer Nelson, Nowitzki seems genuinely upbeat about his 17th season. “We got all the talent in the world,” the future Hall of Famer said. “We just got to make it work. The chemistry has got to be there. The top teams in the league are loaded and stacked. We have to work hard during the season and get the highest seed possible, and we’ll go from there.”

Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer: Will small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist ever have a reliable jump shot? Kidd-Gilchrist, a third-season pro who turned 21 last week, would just as soon talk about the great condition he’s in entering training camp or his excitement over new teammates Lance Stephenson and Marvin Williams. But he knew the question was coming Monday and he was ready with an answer. “Does it feel that different? Well, it’s going in a lot more,” Kidd-Gilchrist said with a big grin. “I believe in the process. I started in April and it feels great." “Process” is the buzzword in this topic. Kidd-Gilchrist used it three times during a 10-minute discussion. Assistant coach Mark Price used it a constantly during another interview at media day Monday. Process is code for “If this were easily fixed, it would have been a long time ago.” Consider the numbers: Over his first two NBA seasons Kidd-Gilchrist attempted 18 3-point shots. He made three of those, a gruesome 16.7 percent success rate.

Peter Socotch of CSNNW.com: Jumping into the NHL as a potential owner has never looked more attractive, especially with the $2 billion TV contract the league signed with NBC last year. So, with all of the talk of expansion in the NHL, is it possible that professional hockey will grace the Moda Center anytime soon? And would Paul Allen be the owner? "It's something we look at from time to time," Paul Allen said. "Obviously we'd probably need to have a strong partner in terms of the ownership of the team and those things and the financial picture would have to all pencil out. There are a number of hurdles to get over and the price of NHL teams keeps accelerating. It's something we look at but there's certainly nothing imminent at this point." A Trail Blazer source told Dwight Jaynes that "Allen continues to be very supportive of investing in things that are good for the Portland market."