Keyon Dooling (Rocky Widner/ Getty)When Keyon Dooling retired last week, it was a surprising development. He had just signed a new contract with the Boston Celtics in July, and by all accounts he still had much to contribute to the team and locker room as a veteran leader and capable perimeter defender. Many grasped at reasons for his decision, and the logic wasn't always there.

On Thursday, Jessica Camerato of CSNNE.com published a story on Dooling's decision and the life experiences that went into it. It's a brave set of revelations from Dooling, who discusses his history of abuse and his hopes for the future. A small sampling of a must-read piece:

Isaiah Thomas spots a possum (Mike Ehrmann/ Getty).

At this point, most of the NBA is on Twitter. It's a wild world of training updates, questions as to which movies they should go see, and explanations of their Call of Duty prowess. Every so often, though, you also get a picture into the more interesting aspects of NBA life. This feature is your window into that world.

Daniel Gibson: Never really had a Hero. Just fascinated with wealth

Evan Turner: My I.D. Photo for my internship at Men's health Magazine http://instagram.com/p/QC5sKKTSCt/

J.J. Redick: Shout out to everyone that got the "24 hours to live" reference in my tweet last night. #jadakiss #mase #dmx

Isaiah Thomas: I need some overalls. So I can only have 1 strapped and 1 off my shoulder lol... Where can I get them at?

Jeremy Lin: This guy just said, "oh my god im your biggest fan!! nice to meet you mr. lee" ahhaha

You can also follow Eric Freeman on Twitter at @freemaneric.

Darko Milicic makes a very normal and expected face (David Sherman/ Getty).

Since 2003, new Boston Celtics big man Darko Milicic has carved out a reputation as perhaps the most notorious bust in NBA history. That wasn't entirely earned — Darko hasn't been worthy of the second-overall pick in the 2003 draft when Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Carmelo Anthony were also available, but he also hasn't been as bad as such luminaries as Nikoloz Tskitishvili. Whether because of his initial prospects or some bizarre bet on the part of NBA general managers, Darko survives.

The Celtics signed Milicic for just the veteran minimum, but they still harbor hopes that he can be a real contributor, especially given their need for big men beyond Kevin Garnett and Brandon Bass (and rookie Jared Sullinger, if he turns out to be a player). Those guys have spent their careers as power forwards, for the most part, and Darko figures to be a center. Never mind that he has stunk for years, or that his mere presence makes fans take a team less seriously.

Like any good coach, Doc Rivers is keeping an open mind. In fact, he is openly stating that he doesn't know what to expect from his new player. From Mark Murphy for the Boston Herald (via SLAM):

The Brooklynettes prepare for battle in the Thunderdome (via Brooklyn Nets).

Female dance troupes (once called "cheerleaders") are effectively a prerequisite for an NBA team these days, but few have a strong individual brand. Apart from the iconic Laker Girls, most of the groups do little to distinguish themselves from their counterparts around the league. That's especially true when it comes to their outfits, which range from short-shorts and low-cut tops to shorter-shorts and lower-cut tops. That's fine, of course, and fans seem to like it for obvious reasons. But there's nevertheless an opportunity for one team's dancers to show some individuality, if they so choose.

Leave it to the Brooklyn Nets and the dancing Brooklynettes, then, to be the innovators. On Tuesday, the Nets revealed their dancers' new outfits, which are heavy on leather, boots, gloves, and plenty of other looks not seen on most NBA floors. Check out the image above, plus another after the jump, and read this report from Annie Karni of the New York Post (via Deadspin):

Andrew Bynum wows the Philadelphia press with acceptable jokes (David Dow/ Getty).

When the Los Angeles Lakers traded Andrew Bynum for Dwight Howard back in August, pretty much anyone with an opinion thought it was a clear win for L.A. While Howard acted like a big jerk and struggled with back issues last season, he's also one of the two or three best players in the NBA, a game-changing big man capable of dominating for long stretches at both ends. Bynum is a great player and deserving All-Star, but he's also the sort of guy you give up to get a player of Howard's caliber. There's a reason that everyone's more afraid of the Lakers now that he has replaced Bynum.

Still, the Philadelphia 76ers have every reason to be excited about their new center, because he's not that far from Howard's level. Although that doesn't mean that fellow new acquisition Dorell Wright should say that Bynum is the best center in the league. From John Mitchell for Deep Sixer:

Steve Blake demonstrates how he managed to step on a spike (Harry How/ Getty).

Injuries are an everyday reality of high-level professional sport, which means that sooner or later a few of them are going to be really weird. That goes for what happens on court, where sometimes players suffer debilitating knee ligament tears by slipping on a wet spot, but it's especially true off the court. Which is to say that even though the physicality of basketball itself is incredibly demanding on the body, the world sometimes acts like a big jerk and plays a practical joke on a person paid millions for feats of athletic greatness.

Los Angeles Lakers reserve point guard Steve Blake is not an athletic dynamo by any means, but only the meanest fan would term him a slouch — like any professional basketball player, he's within the top 1 percent of athletes in the general population. However, that natural ability could not save him from a nefarious spike strip in a parking lot. Here's the entirety of the very short statement on Lakers.com:

Sonics fans troll the Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2011 NBA Playoffs (Doug Pensinger/ Getty).

Since the SuperSonics left for Oklahoma City after the 2007-08, the city of Seattle has tried desperately to get a new NBA team. It's a basketball-mad city that's produced many players in today's NBA — Jason Terry, Brandon Roy, and Jamal Crawford, to name just three — and they loved the Sonics with real passion. However, it takes a long time to navigate the legal and political aspects of bringing in a new franchise, and much of the last four years have spent investigating various avenues.

On Monday, proponents of a new team saw a major victory when the Seattle City Council voted in favor of a proposed arena deal. The Associated Press reports:

Baron Davis gets dapper on the Knicks bench (Jim McIsaac/ Getty).

Last May, Baron Davis suffered a very serious knee injury, the sort that made it look like his career was over. Somewhat surprisingly, Davis has plans to come back. Complicating matters, of course, is the fact that he's now a free agent, and teams aren't much interested in signing a rehabbing 33-year-old who hasn't yet proven that he's healthy enough to succeed in the NBA. If Davis is going to play again, it's been unclear how he would stick around the league in the interim.

Davis seems to have found a solution to that problem. As reported by Ian Begley for ESPNNewYork.com (via SLAM), Baron will play multiple roles off the court for the Knicks this season: