Gordon Talking To CSKA: Let's face it - in order to force a move, you must have leverage and for Ben Gordon and his stalemate with the Chicago Bulls Gordon has no leverage, hence the talks with CSKA. Sources close to this situation say CSKA Moscow is indeed interested in Ben Gordon and would offer him a deal; now whether that deal is in the $8 to $9 million per year range is unclear and unlikely (reports say the deal was $5.5 million). Bulls' sources maintain that the team does not view Europe as a threat for Ben Gordon for two key reasons: first, they know Ben pretty well and do not believe he'd play in Europe, and the second is that regardless of Ben signing a one-year deal in Russia, the Bulls would still retain his rights. Gordon refused to comment to media on the stories coming out of Russia that his agent is indeed talking with them. The Bulls are reported to have a six-year, $60 million offer on the table, which Gordon and his camp have turned away. It is safe to say that CSKA Moscow does not have anywhere close to that much money on the table for Ben. It would be unfair to characterize this recent news as a bluff on Gordon's part, but this surely does not line up with what league and Bulls' sources believe will occur. Most people close to this situation believe Gordon has two viable options: take the one-year $6.9 million qualifying offer and become unrestricted next summer, or concede and sign a Bulls' deal in the $9 million per year range. With 25 days until NBA training camps open Gordon does not have a lot of time.

The Return Of Melo: Carmelo Anthony addressed the media in Denver yesterday to talk about his Olympic medal among other topics. Melo in his typical "speak before you think" style dropped a gem on the media saying - "I always tell people there is no 'I' in 'defense' and there is no 'I' in 'lose.' But there is an 'I' in 'win.' You know what I'm saying? There's not an 'I' in 'Team,' either. And I think this year I can bring what I brought to Team USA back to the Nuggets." If you're saying to yourself – "he said what?" - you're right, it's just that crazy. Carmelo Anthony has been killed over the years about his lack of desire on the defensive end of the floor, including his approach to rebounding. A Nuggets source joked that with Marcus Camby gone to the Clippers in trade, Melo can no longer hide behind Camby as the reason he doesn't crash the boards. In a genuine way Carmelo seems to have heard his critics and he enjoys nothing more than to stick it to the media that criticize him. It should be an interesting year for Carmelo and the Nuggets, as every member of the Gold medal Olympic team has returned with a new passion for the game. As you listen to these guys talk about their experiences in China, you can't help but wonder how much of the "team first" mantra will carry over into this NBA season? There is not a bigger poster child for "selfish, me-first basketball" than Carmelo Anthony. Maybe Melo is right – there is an "I" in Win, but for Denver to get any of them in a tough Western Conference "me-ball" has to become "we-ball" and that's Denver's biggest problem.

OKC's Big Day: So today is the day The Thunder becomes official. It's not been a secret that the franchise formerly known as the Sonics, will officially become the Oklahoma City Thunder. Late yesterday a cell phone photo of some promotional items surfaced on the web, giving a glimpse at a color scheme and a "secondary" logo pattern, and to be honest it's pretty lame. New team names, jerseys and logos are always fun. It's Christmas Eve for the sports fan, because of the unknown and the guessing that takes place. The mind's eye is a fun place for things like logos, and now that we've seen it – less than impressive has been the general response. Clay Bennett and his partners will "unveil" the colors, the jersey and the logo this afternoon, but so far the sneak peek we've seen seems to be anti-climatic.

New Chats: Last year when HOOPSWORLD rolled out the new website design that we are currently using, we had a number of cool "toys" built into the system – Courtside Blogs, robust video, Mock Draft tools and so on. One feature that we had built last year that we never got around to using was Chats… ESPN has built a pretty nice chat feature into their system, so last year we thought we'd embark down a similar system, and just never got around to scheduling them. So for the next few months, as more of a trial of concept we will be holding chat sessions. Every Wednesday at 4pm EST, I will answer your questions about anything going on at HOOPSWORLD or in the NBA. You can swing by at any time and drop your question in, but for an hour every Wednesday I will try and tackle as many as I can get to. Now every Monday at 11am CST (12pm EST) Bill Ingram will tackle your Western Conference questions. As we get the bugs and kinks worked out of the system, we'll expand to more and more of our staff. So if you have a question for today's chat, drop it here [link] – and I will see you at 4pm EST.