Andrei Kirilenko is expected to receive significant minutes defending LeBron James in games between the Brooklyn Nets and Miami Heat this season.

Still, Kirilenko cited two other players -- Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant -- as tougher players for him to defend.

Kirilenko did not mean it as a slight to James, pointing to the reigning MVP's passing ability.

Manu Ginobili was upset when the San Antonio Spurs decided to trade George Hill to the Indiana Pacers for Kawhi Leonard.

"When he came to the Spurs, I got really angry because enjoyed playing with George Hill," said Ginobili to Ole.com. "I was frustrated that they had traded him for a rookie (Kawhi Leonard). But I did not know who he was. Since his first year, despite the lockout, he showed some things. One glimpsed at his potential. But in the second half of last season, it was crazy."

Leonard averaged 11.9 points and 6.0 rebounds in 31 minutes per game last season.

Andrea Bargnani heard some boos in his home debut with the New York Knicks on Wednesday night.

Bargnani finished the Knicks' season opening win six points and shooting 3-for-9 in 17 minutes of play.

Bargnani's teammates believe the former No. 1 overall pick will get adjusted to the environment at Madison Square Garden and perform well.

"This is New York. It's the Garden. And it's the show," center Tyson Chandler said. "Once he gets past all of that he'll be fine. All of his teammates love him and we think he's going to be the key. He's going to be huge for us."

Dan Gilbert is already declaring that he will do whatever it takes for the Cleveland Cavaliers to keep Kyrie Irving with the franchise for his entire career.

"It's still a little bit early, but we feel good about Kyrie being here for his entire career," Gilbert said before Wednesday's season opener. "We think we set up an environment and a culture that is conducive to him being not only an All-Star but hopefully the leader of our championship-contending team. We'll keep going until we get to that point, whether it's this year or next year, whatever it might be."

Gilbert believes that Irving and Mike Brown are building a great relationship.

"That head coach/leader-star relationship is absolutely critical, as you all know in building a championship team," Gilbert said.

Gilbert can see a difference in the culture of the Cavaliers.

"I think it's a whole different feel around here," he said. "We have higher expectations, obviously, than the last few years. There's just a whole different chemistry and feel, not only in the locker room, but also in the whole organization when you walk around, you talk to people in the business office, you talk to the coaches, you talk to the players.

"That was a feel we had all summer, even at the practice facility. It's one of the years where talent's evolved and we picked up some players and we have a defensive-minded coaching staff. Expectations are higher, not only for us, but the fans – as they should be."

James Dolan met with Mike Woodson and his coach staff in early October and told them that he believes they have enough talent in place to win the 2014 NBA Championship, according to sources.

“In terms of an edict, we try to win every year,” Steve Mills said on Wednesday. “And our goal is to try to win a championship and try to be as competitive as we can possibly be.”

Woodson is signed with the Knicks through the 14-15 season.

Erik Spoelstra signed a four-year contract with the Miami Heat on the eve of training camp and may be one of the biggest reasons why LeBron James also re-commits to the franchise this July.

"They're more intertwined than they've ever been," says a league source closely connected to James and Spoelstra. "LeBron knows he plays for one of the elite coaches in the game, and that maybe wasn't the case when he got there."

Spoelstra has never let the story become about him and has been relentless in remaining innovative. Spoelstra has studied football teams that use the spread option, which helped him develop position-less basketball.

Spoelstra and James were strangers when their partnership began in 2010 and he survived calls for his firing when the Heat struggled initially in 10-11.

Jacque Vaughn benched Andrew Nicholson after he scored 18 points in the first half of the Orlando Magic's season opening loss to the Indiana Pacers, all coming in a 12-minute, 39-second stretch.

Nicholson's hot streak did not last. Nicholson was subbed out with 4:51 left in the second quarter and didn’t return to the court until the beginning of the fourth quarter.

When asked why he sat Nicholson in favor of Jason Maxiell, Vaughn said: “I thought Max was unbelievable against David West, and [Pacers coach Frank] Vogel ended up playing David West the entire third. So I thought that matchup was great for us.

"Andrew scored all his points against Scola. And, so, Scola wasn’t in the game, and so it was on me to make that call, and I did.”

Masai Ujiri would have liked to make more significant moves to the Toronto Raptors' roster during his first few months on the job, but deals didn't materialize beyond the Andrea Bargnani trade with the New York Knicks.

“It’s our first time all together,” said Ujiri. “It’s an evaluation time for us.

“We are still evaluating. I don’t know (about the team). I can’t tell you yet. Maybe after a couple of weeks, I will be able to say.”

The Raptors are counting on development from Jonas Valanciunas, another step from DeMar DeRozan, and Rudy Gay getting his career back on track.

“My team is now,” said Ujiri. “My time is now. All I know is now and the future. So they (fans) can start criticizing from today. We’re excited about the season. We’re going to do what’s best for the team and the organization.”

Kevin Durant believes he was too obsessed with winning an NBA championship last season and that he often took it out on others.

"Last year, I was obsessed with it," Durant told The Oklahoman of winning a title. "Like, I wasn't going to sleep because I wanted to win so bad. I was screaming at my teammates, at the refs, at the coaches. I got mad because I thought 'if we have a bad game here, we're not going to win a championship.'"

Durant was called for 12 technical fouls last season as the obsession manifested in that way as well.

"So I'm not going to let that overtake my mind," Durant said. "I mean, of course I want to win it, but I'm not obsessed with it. I'm going to put in the work to help my team, but I'm not going to be obsessed with it because that's when I compromise myself, and most of the time it doesn't work out."

The ways in which NBA teams build a roster have been brought tightly into focus this season with so many teams unwilling to put a competitive team on the floor with the hopes of landing a high pick in the upcoming deep draft.

"Our team isn't good enough to win and we know it," said an anonymous general manager. "So this season we want to develop and evaluate our young players, let them learn from their mistakes -- and get us in position to grab a great player. The best way for us to do that is to lose a lot of games. This draft is loaded. There are potential All-Stars at the top, maybe even franchise changers. Sometimes my job is to understand the value of losing. 

"I know that sounds crazy, but if you're an NBA general manager like me, the last place you want to be is in the middle. There are only two outcomes there: Either make the playoffs and be first-round fodder for one of the premier teams or miss the playoffs and pick somewhere around 11th to 14th in the draft. Either way, the odds are that you stay in that middle range. It's a recipe for disaster.

"You need superstars to compete in this league, and the playing field for those guys is tilted toward a few big-market teams. They are demanding trades and getting together and deciding where they want to go in free agency. It's tough for us to compete with that. So a high lottery pick is all we have."