DeMar DeRozan chatted with the media tonight about the team picking up the option on his rookie contract, what the identity of the team will be this season and being ready to play a bigger role with the team this season.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Toronto Raptors are talking during training camp about wanting to place an emphasis on defence during the upcoming season.

The Los Angeles Clippers announced on Wednesday that they exercised the team’s fourth-year contract option on guard Eric Gordon and third-year contract option on forward Blake Griffin.

Here is a collection of team previews for teams in the Central Division written by NBA bloggers.

With a rookie head coach (Monty Williams), a rookie General Manger (Dell Demps) and a training camp roster that consists of 11 players that weren’t with the team last season, the Hornets are in a transition period and they are in the process of figuring out what exactly they will strive to be this year.

The Southeast Division is, quite simply, stacked with superstar players, elite teams, a compelling rivalry and intriguing sub-plots. Four teams in the division reached the postseason last year, a feat that could be matched once again this season, and even the also-ran Washington Wizards have No. 1 over-all pick John Wall in tow.

There was a lot of chatter at Clippers Media Day regarding who would be the leader or alpha male for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2010. It seemed to be the one question that kept being asked over and over with no player stepping up to answer it. At one point it actually became funny, because all of the media in attendance — no doubt avid Clippers followers — knew the answer.

Last week ESPN released their first power rankings of the season and the fact they had the Raptors at the bottom of their standings didn’t sit well with some of the players on the team.

Here are some of the highlights from the Oklahoma City Thunder’s media day.

After their underwhelming exit from the playoffs, the Hawks have been one of the lowest regarded 50 plus win teams in the league. With a new coach, an increasingly inpatient sixth-man of the year recipient and a very minimally upgraded roster, the Hawks still have some questions to answer.