NBA Summer League

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

For the past six years Robert Battle has been playing professional basketball overseas. He's doing pretty well, but it doesn't matter where he goes because everyone thinks he's none other than NBA legend Michael Jordan. In this FanHouse video we talk to MJ's look-alike about his adventures. We also hear from two members of the media, NBA writers Dave McMenamin and Sam Amick, who some people also say look alike.

Check out the video after the jump.

LAS VEGAS -- Blake Griffin, who will miss USA Basketball's minicamp because of a strained shoulder, came away from the Las Vegas Summer League with much to work on, despite being named MVP of the league.

Griffin, the Clippers forward, said defense will be his biggest obstacle during his adjustment to the NBA, and he learned a great deal about communication and spacing during the five-game summer league stint.

"For me, it's just about getting the things down that I need to get down like defensive schemes and understand where to be at what time because those things won't change too much," he said. "The competition is gonna be better but for the most part the sets are the same and everything like that. Everything's been kind of what I expected and I am just trying to handle it the right way. Defense. [I've got to] learn things quickly and react off of instinct."

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

Adam Morrison of the Los Angeles Lakers is an outstanding shooter, but due to a knee injury and a stacked roster, he saw limited action after being acquired at the trade deadline. But during summer league in Las Vegas earlier this month, Morrison was balling, big time -- he averaged 20.8 points and 5.0 rebounds in 32.8 minutes a game. We talked to him one-on-one about the Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Shannon Brown and more.

Check out the video after the jump.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

In the playgrounds of New York, Smush Parker is a legend -- his game would stop traffic and he earned such nicknames as NBA Live, Grim Reaper and The Aviator. Other players who shared the courts with him included Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Rafer Alston and 7-foot-2 big man Josh Moore, who's taken up coaching after stints playing in the NBA, China and Iran.

In a recent radio interview, Artest mentioned Smush as one of the best ballers out of New York. In this FanHouse exclusive, we ask Parker if he ever dunked on Artest -- watch the video to hear the answer.

Check out the video after the jump.

Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.

DeMar DeRozan is a bright, young rookie selected ninth overall by the Toronto Raptors, and even though he can shoot, pass and defend with the best of them, he is missing something: a cool nickname. In this FanHouse exclusive, DeMar tells us how you can help him out.

Check out the video after the jump.

The Thunder waived guard Earl Watson on Friday and Watson is expected to sign with the Indiana Pacers as soon as his one-week waiver period expires. The Thunder will have to pay Watson a portion of final $6.6 million of his contract and it gives Oklahoma City more roster flexibility.

The move may be an indication that former lottery pick Shaun Livingston has cemented himself as the reserve point guard and it gives Watson a chance to play significant minutes. That wasn't going to happen this season for OKC, which is preparing for the future.

There was a time, not that long ago, when Chris Paul was not into the whole Twitter thing. In fact, due to various impostor accounts that popped up, it became kind of a joke/meme to tweet -- in all caps, of course -- CHRIS PAUL IS NOT ON TWITTER!

Right about now, he probably wishes that he wasn't.

After a report appeared in Pro Basketball News on Friday that had Paul on the record acknowledging the fact that given the Hornets' financial situation, there was the possibility that he could be traded, Paul updated his Twitter page with a complete denial, which effectively accused the reporter of making the whole thing up.

The only problem? The reporter in question, Chris Tomasson, has the whole thing on tape.

LAS VEGAS -- They were chanting "50" late in the fourth quarter. A Fro-Hawked Anthony Morrow was humbled by the adulation. The former Georgia Tech standout made his way to the NBA the hard way last year and now was more popular in Las Vegas on Thursday night than Wayne Newton.

Morrow, the Golden State Warriors guard, was brilliant in an easy win over the New Orleans Hornets, setting the Summer League record with 47 points and earning whole new slew of admirers.

"I heard them say '50' and it felt pretty good," said Morrow, who exited the game in the final two minutes to a rousing ovation. "I was just trying to get off good shots and my teammates kept feeding me. It was a good feeling."

LAS VEGAS -- Mark Cuban enjoys the attention at Summer League. As he sits in the front row of Cox Pavilion watching games, a horde of kids ask for autographs. This is an unusual occurrence for NBA owners.

Cuban is hoping that his brotherly relationship with his players and relentless desire to bring Dallas an NBA title will encourage Dirk Nowitzki to stay with the Mavericks. Nowitzki has a $21 million player option for the 2010-11 season that Cuban would prefer he accept. If not, Nowitzki will be an unrestricted free agent and part of the elite class that will include LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Cuban has signed Jason Kidd to a three-year deal, traded for Shawn Marion and continues to chase available free agents instead of rebuilding. All of that is a play to convince Nowitzki to stay.

It isn't just the players on the fringe of the NBA who are leaving the country to play overseas. It's the coaches, too, who are being courted.

Eric Musselman, former head coach of the Golden State Warriors, is weighing an offer to join Spartak St. Petersburg in Russia for the 2009-10 season, according to sources at the Las Vegas Summer League.

Musselman has been around the NBA, as an assistant or head coach, since his father, Bill Musselman, coached the Minnesota Timberwolves from 1989-1991. Eric was head coach of the Warriors from 2002-04. They improved 38 games his first season, which was 17 more than they had won before he arrived.