Blazers coach plays defense

There might be some Sebastian Telfair critics out there, but don't look for any parting shots from Nate McMillan, the coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. He had Telfair for one season and says he really likes the kid.

The decision to trade Telfair to the Celtics was based more on what style the Trail Blazers want to play rather than any perceived deficiencies in the point guard. That's McMillan's assessment of the deal, which brought Raef LaFrentz, Dan Dickau, and the No. 7 pick (which ended up being Brandon Roy after a deal) to Portland for Telfair and Theo Ratliff.

``We had to make a decision," said McMillan. ``In our minds, Sebastian was the future, but did the combination of Sebastian and Zach Randolph work? And do the players we have fit the style of play that Sebastian brings to the floor? They don't."

With all the teams that hope to run these days, the Trail Blazers are looking to go in the other direction. Because of Randolph, a monster in the low post, they have opted to slow it down and become more of a halfcourt team. (In truth, most teams that say they want to run end up being halfcourt teams, for a variety of reasons, from lack of rebounding to lack of commitment to the running game.)

``Sebastian is a Ferrari and Zach is an 18-wheeler," McMillan said. ``And that Ferrari is running while the 18-wheeler is saying, `Hold up.' Even though they were two young guys and the core of our group, it really wasn't working. We had to make a decision: build around Sebastian or build around Zach. And the decision was to build around Zach."

What McMillan didn't say is that the decision also made economic sense because Randolph has a huge contract and, frankly, has shown some character issues that basically make him untradeable.

But what about the fact that, in the end, Telfair couldn't even supplant the since-traded (Milwaukee) Steve Blake? How could that not be construed as some kind of indictment of Telfair? Again, McMillan said, it was a combination of Telfair getting hurt, the coach experimenting with his young guards (Juan Dixon also was in the mix), and the decision to play a slower-paced style.

``It wasn't so much that Steve beat out Sebastian," McMillan said. ``Sebastian got hurt. We were experimenting. I like all three of them. I could have kept them all, but we couldn't do that. Don't look at it like [Blake beating out Telfair].

``Boston got a good player and a kid with a heart. He's fearless. He wants to take the big shots. Once he consistently learns to knock down his perimeter shot, it will be very difficult to defend him."

The Celtics want to play an up-tempo style, and in Telfair they have a player whose natural position is point guard and who is at his best when the game is more of a free-wheeling style.

``I think Sebastian will do extremely well in Boston," McMillan said. ``He can play with their wings. He'll be able to push the ball and have the wings play with him.

``We don't have great perimeter shooters. That took away from Sebastian's game, his ability to create and drive. I'll give him credit: He tried to play the way we wanted to play. But it tied him down. It didn't allow him the freedom to get up and down the court and create.

``So we had to make a decision: big or small. We felt like our bigs were the ones we were going to build around. Telfair and Zach, it just didn't mesh well. But I think it will work for him in Boston."

Different shades of Orange

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim talks like a proud papa when the subject turns to Carmelo Anthony -- and like a puzzled parent when the topic shifts to Gerry McNamara.

Boeheim, who is an assistant on the US National team, loves what he sees in Anthony and cannot understand all the bits and pieces of bad news that occasionally surface around him. Last April, for instance, Anthony was fined $15,000 for kicking a ball into the stands, his second such infraction. It came a few days after he had been named Player of the Month in the Western Conference for March.

``When Mike [ Krzyzewski] and Jerry [ Colangelo] were picking this team, I told them that Carmelo was a great kid," Boeheim said. ``He's one of the most fun kids that I've ever coached and the least maintenance of any of the great players that I've ever had.

``That Olympic thing [in 2004]? He wanted to play. How do you find fault with that? I'm convinced he's matured more, and he's been through a lot and I think it's helped him. But he has always been a good kid."

McNamara, who played four years at Syracuse (Anthony played one), went undrafted and played three games for Orlando in recent summer league action.

``He got hurt and people are down on him. He didn't miss a game for me in four years," Boeheim said. ``That's the NBA. They want to label players and say things like, `Well, he didn't guard Randy Foye one-on-one.' Who can?

``I can't believe that there isn't an NBA team out there that he can't help. But he may have to go to Europe first."

McNamara didn't shoot the ball well in Orlando (3 for 11, 0 for 4 on 3-pointers) and that is his bread and butter. Plus, the Magic drafted J.J. Redick and have Travis Diener back from last season.

Hooking up with Rockets should be a booster for Battier

On the night of the NBA draft, Shane Battier was at a dinner in Memphis for his basketball camp when he got the following text message from his wife, Heidi: ``Houston?" Thought Battier, ``News to me."

But it was true; the Rockets had acquired the Memphis forward for Stromile Swift and the draft rights to Rudy Gay. (Swift was needed to balance out the salaries.) So after spending his entire career (five years) with the Grizzlies, Battier will head to Houston and join a team that, if healthy, could make things interesting in the Western Conference.

``If you are in the same place for five years, you can get into a comfort zone," said Battier. ``And sometimes it's good to be shocked out of that a little bit, and that is what the trade did.

``I'm excited about it. I'm excited about playing with two superstars."

Battier said the deal was not totally unexpected; he had heard rumors. But he was not counting on going to a team with Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.

``It's just time," he said. ``It's time to make new relationships and start over with a clean slate. But as I told my friends in Memphis, it's good night, not goodbye."

Another of Battier's teammates will be Vassilis Spanoulis, who signed a three-year deal worth slightly less than $5.9 million, with the third year being a team option. Spanoulis is on the Greek roster for the World Championships and also played well in the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

Etc.

Since the Charlotte Bobcats were welcomed into the NBA, the league has had to go to an unbalanced schedule of sorts for teams playing conference opponents not in their division. The Celtics, for instance, play 36 games against the Central and Southeast Divisions, which means they play six of those teams four times a year and four of those teams three times a year. Boston catches a major break this season because the four conference teams against whom it plays only three games are Miami, Cleveland, Chicago, and Washington, all playoff teams last season. Additionally, the Celtics have to make only one trip to Miami, and that is on April 16, their 81st game of the season. They also make only one trip to Cleveland (Nov. 11), while the Bulls (March 11) and Wizards (Jan. 28) make only one appearance in Boston.

Of the 15 players training to make the final cut of 12 for the US team in the World Championships, only one was part of the disastrous 2002 ensemble that finished sixth in Indianapolis: Elton Brand. (Paul Pierce also was on that team and is on this roster, but is not with the team because of impending elbow surgery.) That 2002 team was the first US team with NBA players to ever lose in international competition. ``We didn't get the job done," said Brand. ``I guess you could say we started the decline of the US in international competition. I definitely wanted another chance. I played in Puerto Rico two years ago [in the zone qualifier] so we could qualify, and then I didn't get the opportunity to go to the Olympics." Maybe that was just as well, as the US went 5-3 in Athens, settling for the bronze, after going 6-3 in Indianapolis. ``We're 11-6 in the last two championships," Brand said. ``We know we can't just throw any 10 or 12 NBA players out there and win. It's totally not our game anymore. We understand that now."

The Celtics' deal with Leon Powe, the 49th pick in the draft, makes it look as though he'll be sticking around for at least this season. According to a league source with knowledge of the rather convoluted arrangement, the deal is for three years, with the first year guaranteed at $432,000. The second year ($687,456) becomes guaranteed if Powe appears in 41 games and if his average of points, rebounds, and assists totals at least 14 per game. (There's also a clause that guarantees the second year if he makes the All-Rookie team.) There's a similar arrangement for the third year ($797,581) in terms of appearances and averages (the magic number in Year 2 goes from 14 to 16). However, if Powe appears in fewer than 41 games next season and doesn't make the All-Rookie team, the Celtics can get out of the last two years of the deal simply by placing him on waivers prior to July 1, 2007. Powe and first-round pick Rajon Rondo were in Las Vegas this past week participating in the annual camp run by veteran NBA assistant coach Tim Grgurich, who was UNLV's head coach for one year and an assistant on Jerry Tarkanian's Runnin' Rebels teams for 12 years.

The decision by the US not to bring Amare Stoudemire to China, Korea, and Japan for the World Championships made a ton of sense because it was clear that the kid wasn't ready to play. He may not even be ready to play for the Suns on Opening Night. But just because Stoudemire isn't going doesn't mean there's suddenly a lot of room on the team plane. USA Basketball chief Jerry Colangelo decided well before the selection process began that it would be players, coaches, and staff only on the initial trip to the Far East. (That must explain why Stephon Marbury didn't get chosen.) The team left Friday morning for China. No family members will be allowed until the team reaches the medal round in Japan, slated to begin Aug. 26. Colangelo said he just didn't want the distractions that posses/entourages might pose. As he put it, ``You can tell as much about this team by who isn't here as who is here." The players were allowed to have their families with them in Las Vegas for the two separate training sessions.

It was somewhat strange to watch Puerto Rico play the other night and not see Jose Ortiz, who apparently has played his last game for his country. The man they call ``Piculin" was a Puerto Rican institution for years after a brief NBA career in the mid-1980s. Another missing face was that of Northeastern's Jose Juan Barea. He played for the Golden State Warriors in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 6.8 points and 2.8 assists in 21.4 minutes a game. Julio Toro, coach of the Puerto Rican national team, said Friday that Barea is still in the mix for a spot on the World Championship team.

Material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.