Each weekday morning, Ball Don't Lie serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your potato skins.

Chris Dempsey, Denver Post: "If you think the Nuggets organization would sit back and watch this season collapse without doing something about it personnel-wise, you would need to rethink that. By a long shot. Though Denver is expected to be one of the best teams in the NBA this season, Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien said the organization would not be hesitant to make a deal to improve the team if the circumstances warrant doing so. 'We'll see where we're at,' Warkentien said. 'I think one thing, and history's proven it, if we indeed have slipped and we get to that analysis, I think our group has proven that we'll take the driver out and give it a big swing.' In addition to accomplishing the priority of re-signing forward Chris Andersen(notes), the Nuggets made a series of small moves during the summer to maintain the continuity of the team. Some fans were a bit antsy that the Nuggets didn't bring in a big-name free agent ala San Antonio, which added Richard Jefferson(notes) or the Lakers, who added Ron Artest(notes). But the Nuggets have made big moves in the past. [...] 'We're in a good spot,' Warkentien said. 'If we get stuck, Big Bertha's coming out. Big Bertha's still in the bag. We've swung that stick before. Institutionally, we're not afraid to make a move. We'll pull the trigger.'"

K.C. Johnson, Chicago Tribune: "Speaking calmly yet passionately and without rancor or even a hint of unprofessionalism, Tyrus Thomas(notes) eloquently detailed why he should be the Bulls' starting power forward. Which meant, of course, that Thomas wasn't Monday night at the United Center as the Bulls fell to Orlando 101-98 in their next-to-last exhibition game. 'I don't even think it should be questionable from what I've contributed to this team last season and what I did throughout camp,' Thomas said. 'But ( Vinny Del Negro's) the guy who makes the decisions. Whatever decision he makes, I have to go play.' [...] 'I want (Thomas) to get some practice in,' Del Negro said. 'It's nothing. Taj has worked hard and played well. He's young. We're just trying to get him as much experience as we can. That's all. But all positions are up for grabs. Tyrus missed a lot of time. We got into a little routine. I just want to stay with it right now.'"

Briand Stensaas, Star Tribune: "Eight days before the Timberwolves kick off their 21st season at home against New Jersey, Minnesota tonight will play a preseason game in Denver with its two biggest pieces facing uncertain futures — short and long term — because of injuries. As expected, forward Kevin Love(notes) will undergo surgery today to repair the fractured fourth metacarpal bone in his left hand. He suffered the injury last weekend in Chicago and is expected to miss six to eight weeks. But in a surprising development Monday, Al Jefferson(notes) did not practice because of a sore Achilles' tendon that caused him to play less than six minutes in the second half Saturday at Milwaukee. Wolves coach Kurt Rambis, growing tired of injury questions, did not elaborate much on either player's condition. 'I just deal with the players that are out there on the floor,' he said. 'If they're not out there, then that's the trainer and the medical staff's responsibility.' [...] Like it or not, Rambis now faces the reality that his two best players are either out (Love) or questionable for the time being (Jefferson)."

RealGM/ESPN: "Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro admitted on Monday that guard Derrick Rose(notes) could miss the start of the regular season. Del Negro said that it wasn't out of the 'realm of possibility' that Rose could miss Chicago's opener against San Antonio next week. Rose has an inflamed tendon behind his right ankle and hasn't played since the team's first preseason game against Indiana. 'We want to use this time to get him out there practicing and get everybody comfortable with things,' Del Negro said. 'But we always want to be smart, knowing the regular season's around the corner and looking at [the] big picture.' Rose, who says he's at about '80 percent' right now, insists that he's going to play."

Terry Foster, The Detroit News: "Richard Hamilton uses stretch time before games to look around The Palace. That's when trainer Arnie Kander turns him into a human pretzel and Hamilton's eyes roam. When he looks up, he sees championship banners from 1989 and 1990. He sees banners with the names of Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Bill Laimbeer. His dream is to see a banner with his name up there. 'Man, I would look up there and say I got to get there,' Hamilton said Monday. 'And the only way to get up there is to win championships and win games. We won a championship. I did that. Now my job is to win another and be the best player I can be.' Hamilton wants to remain a Piston for life. That's why he hopes trade rumors involving him aren't true."

Marcus Thompson II, Contra Costa Times: "Warriors swingman Stephen Jackson(notes) promises there won't be any drama between him and Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant(notes) when the two match up tonight in Ontario. 'I guarantee you I won't feed into the nonsense,' Jackson said after Monday's practice. 'Because I know if it comes down to it, if we had a real fight, I know what would happen. So I'm just going to leave it alone and go out there and play basketball.' The last time Jackson and Bryant matched up, on Oct. 9 at the Forum in Los Angeles, Jackson wound up getting suspended for two games after a run-in with coach Don Nelson. [...] 'I love competing and guarding the best guy. I just don't like getting treated (as) less,' Jackson said. 'If I play against a guy and we play the same, a physical game, and we get treated the same and he outplays me, I'll give him his props. But if the game is one-sided and I'm not treated fair, obviously I'm going to be upset.'"

Mike Ganter, Toronto Sun: "Dave Hopla has little to no problem getting the attention of NBA shooters when he arrives for a shooting clinic. He just starts shooting and when it takes him forever to miss, he has his audience captured. The Raptors — well three of them anyway — have seen this show before when Hopla was part of Sam Mitchell's staff. Invited back yesterday by Jay Triano for a three-day clinic, Hopla laced up the sneakers one more time and reeled off 141 in a row before one of his shots failed to drop. Then he went to work correcting tiny flaws in form or bigger flaws depending on the shooter. 'Dave and I are friends from when he was here a few years ago and I thought he helped the team,' Triano said. 'He's no longer affiliated with any NBA team and he's out doing clinics so we found three days that fit our window and three days that fit his window and brought him up to work with some of our players on the technique of shooting.'"

Jonathan Abrams, The New York Times: "Knicks Coach Mike D'Antoni said Monday that he had not settled on a rotation, much less a starting lineup, heading into next week's season opener, but he indicated that forward Danilo Gallinari(notes) was likely to start the season on the bench. D'Antoni acknowledged that the development of Gallinari, the team's first-round draft pick in 2008, was probably woven into any team success. Gallinari played in only 28 games last season, when he was limited by a back injury. He has struggled with his shot and his aggressiveness in the preseason. 'I probably would like to start him, but this is kind of his rookie year and we'll go through some stuff and we'll see,' D'Antoni said. 'But I think eventually, he will be a starter because he's that good.'"

Frank Dell'Apa, The Boston Globe: "It has not taken long for Marquis Daniels(notes) and Eddie House(notes) to develop an understanding during the Celtics' exhibition season. House converted his first 3-pointer after a Daniels penetration and assist in the team's opener against Houston on the Mexican border. And they hooked up again north of the border Sunday afternoon, Daniels assisting on all three of House's 3-pointers in a 101-82 win over the Raptors. 'He's just a great passer, a great cutter, he has a high basketball IQ, and that fits our team,' coach Doc Rivers said of Daniels. 'Eddie's going to have a big year this year because he's playing with Marquis. He's able to play the point from the ‘3' spot, which takes Eddie off the ball and allows Eddie to be what he is, and that's a shooter.'"

Matt Steinmetz, NBA FanHouse: "Sacramento Kings coach Paul Westphal continues to maintain he hasn't yet settled on a starting small forward. He talks of possibly using either Kevin Martin(notes) there or perhaps rookie Tyreke Evans(notes). And Westphal also claims he hasn't ruled out Andres Nocioni(notes) — despite acknowledging that he likes Nocioni off the bench. But if you've been watching the Kings in the preseason, it's starting to seem apparent who's going to get the nod for the regular-season opener against Oklahoma City: Desmond Mason(notes). When asked if Mason was his starting small forward after the Kings defeated the Warriors 101-94 in a preseason game on Saturday, Westphal responded: 'He was the last two games. Let's see where it goes.' The small forward free-for-all was brought on by the fluke forearm injury to Francisco Garcia(notes), who is expected to be out approximately four months. After missing the first two preseason games because of a bad back, Mason has begun to assume the starter's mantle."

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