If there is "any positive that can be taken" from Wizards G John Wall being cut from the USA Basketball team yesterday, it is that that he will now have a "chance to complete" an adidas promotional tour through China and Japan next week, according to Michael Lee of the WASHINGTON POST. Wall has become "one of the faces" of adidas. Wall last week said that he will have a "signature shoe line, complete with a personal logo, released in October." Wall signed a five-year, $25M deal with Reebok before he was drafted by the Wizards, but that relationship "came to an end in the third year." Wall's move from Reebok to adidas in '13 took him from being the "foundation of one brand into a situation where he had to prove his worth as a player." Wall said of his signature shoe line, "It wasn’t planned at all, because they didn’t know I was going to produce, coming off my injury for one. And then they were like, ‘We can’t put no money into a guy that ain’t going to be playing.’ And things like that." Lee noted Wall had "more input in his new shoe design than he had with his first Reebok shoe." When he sat down with adidas designers, Wall said that he wanted to make sure that the shoe "would be a lifestyle brand." Wall: "You see (Kevin Durant), LeBron (James) got wild colors you can wear off the court" (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 8/5).
BIG MARKET COURTSHIP: In N.Y. Frank Isola writes if Durant signs a sponsorship deal with Under Armour, it "could also be beneficial" to the Wizards when Durant becomes a free agent in '16. Wizards Owner Ted Leonsis and UA Founder, Chair & CEO Kevin Plank have been involved in "several philanthropic endeavors" in the DC area. But the Nets "could have a friend" in Roc Nation Sports Founder Jay Z, who once "held a minority stake in the club" and signed Durant as a client. Furthermore, Nets and Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark is the "twin brother" of Roc Nation Sports President & Chief Strategy Officer Michael Yormark (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/5).
