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Pacific Division Turf Wars

by Chad Ford

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Also Below: Spree told to go stand in the corner | Is Rashard Lewis headed for season-ending surgery? | Why are the Bucks dragging their feet on Redd? | Magloire ready to start for Hornets? | Peep Show

Eastern Conference predictions: Will the Nets stay on top?

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The Pacific Division is hands down, the best division in the NBA this season. The Lakers and Kings are the two top teams in the NBA, the Blazers, Sonics, Clippers and Suns all have the talent to make noise in the playoffs, and even the lowly Warriors finally look like they're headed in the right direction.

Just how good can the Pacific be this year? Much of their success will depend on the outcome of these turf wars . . .

PACIFIC DIVISION TURF WARS

Also see: Atlantic Division | Central Division | Midwest Division

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

PF: Antawn Jamison vs. Danny Fortson

The Jamison vs. Fortson war is perhaps the most damning evidence left of Garry St. Jean's ineptitude. One year after drafting Jason Richardson and declaring that Larry Hughes would be a point guard, St. Jean drafted Mike Dunleavy and declared that Jamison would move to power forward. Where does that leave Fortson, the fourth-leading rebounder in the NBA? On the trading block. The problem is that St. Jean drafted Dunleavy and announced his plan before he had a trade in place for Fortson.

By the end of the summer, the Warriors were so desperate to move Fortson that they offered him to the Knicks and asked for Travis Knight and Charlie Ward in return. Ugh! When Scott Layden turned the deal down, the team was forced to backtrack and coach Eric Musselman had the problem dumped in his lap. Let's just say that Fortson is less than thrilled with the whole situation.

For now, Musselman has played it cool. For starters, expect Fortson to keep his job and Jamison to keep his old one. Dunleavy isn't ready to start and Musselman isn't ready to watch Fortson stew on the bench. They'll keep playing Fortson until they can move him or until Dunleavy pushes him to the bench.

PG: Bobby Sura vs. Gilbert Arenas vs. Rafer Alston

The Warriors would've loved to get their hands on Jay Williams in the draft, but the pingpong balls bounced the Bulls' way instead. This year's three-headed monster is a short-term stop gap until they can get into the draft again next season. Of the three guards, only Alston is a true point guard. He's quick as lightning, has the flash to be come a fan favorite and Musselman believes he has the talent to eventually win the job. But that's down the road. For now, it looks like Sura is beating out Arenas for the starting duties on opening night. During most of training camp Sura has been running the first team while Arenas has been playing two guard with the second team. Although Arenas performed well at the end of last season, Musselman is looking for someone with more experience to run the team.

"Gilbert played 40 games [47 actually], but it was 40 games when the season was basically over," Musselman told the Contra Costa Times. "I've got a lot of confidence in Bob Sura. The more film we watch and the more people we talk to who have coached Bob Sura, the more excited we get as far as him being a competitor."

Projected Starting 5:

PG: Bob Sura

SG: Jason Richardson

SF: Antawn Jamison

PF: Danny Fortson

C: Erick Dampier

LA CLIPPERS

SG: Eric Piatkowski vs. Quentin Richardson

The camp battle may be over for now. Richardson suffered a sprained right knee (not a partially torn ligament as was previously reported) and isn't expected to play much in the preseason. When Richardson does get healthy, expect the battle to be fierce. Piatkowski started 64 games for the Clippers last season and ranked third in the league in three-point field goal percentage. Richardson played the role of sixth man, averaging an impressive 13.3 ppg and 4.1 rpg in just 26 mpg.

Both players are playing for contracts; Piatkowski will be an unrestricted free agent next summer and Richardson will be eligible for an extension. Both players are pushing for minutes and Richardson, who was happy coming off the bench last season, expects to get a legitimate shot at the starting position this year. While the talent clearly favors Q, Piatkowski is the only Clipper with a reliable outside J. While coach Alvin Gentry has yet to commit to a starter, he is clear that the Polish rifle is still in his team's plans. "I want Pike to shoot every open shot he has," Gentry told the L.A. Daily News. "I'm not sticking him out there to lead the team in assists."

Projected Starting 5:

PG: Andre Miller

SG: Eric Piatkowski

SF: Lamar Odom

PF: Elton Brand

C: Michael Olowokandi

LA LAKERS

SF: Rick Fox vs. Devean George

Fox may have the starting job, but there was a reason why George passed on offers from the T-Wolves and Jazz for a chance to return to L.A. Yes, he likes the victory parades, but he was also promised a bigger role in the team's rotation this season. Is it possible that George could supplant Fox in the starting lineup sooner rather than later?

"I'm sure they're looking for more from me, and I'm looking for more out of myself, too," George told the Daily News. "Along with more money, I think more responsibility and more playing time comes along with that." While coach Phil Jackson isn't about to hand over the starting job to George just yet, he is committed to getting him more time on the court.

"We know what he can do, and we believe that what he did last year is no fluke," Jackson said of George, who averaged 21 mpg last season. "We think he can fill a greater role than he did last year. ... Now he's got an open opportunity to play guard, to play forward, be the multiple-position player for us."

Projected Starting 5:

PG: Derek Fisher

SG: Kobe Bryant

SF: Rick Fox

PF: Samaki Walker

C: Shaquille O'Neal

PHOENIX SUNS

SG: Joe Johnson vs. Penny Hardaway

The Suns shocked about everyone last season when they handed Johnson, a rookie, the starting job over Hardaway after a mid-season trade. In his first 55 games, Hardaway was averaging 14.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 4.5 apg in his first healthy season in years. Not too shabby. But a nagging injury, chemistry issues with point guard Stephon Marbury and a terrible record convinced the Suns they needed a change. Johnson struggled to replace Hardaway, averaging 9.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 3.7 apg in the Suns' last 27 games. Johnson had the talent, but his lack of aggressiveness raised eyebrows both in Phoenix and in Boston. Meanwhile, Penny stewed on the bench and saw his minutes dwindle to under 20 a game.

Fast forward to this summer where Johnson, coming off a solid summer league, looks like a different player. "Joe is who he is, and he's not going to change from that perspective," Suns president Jerry Colangelo told the Arizona Republic. "But I do think he's made a very conscious effort to pick it up in that sense. He'll still be quiet in how he plays the game, but I believe he'll be more aggressive and you'll hear from him more. I think he's come a long way." That's great news for the Suns, but how is Penny responding? Penny has been receiving a lot of praise from coaches and for once he claims he's totally healthy. "I feel great," he told the Arizona Republic. "I didn't play as well as I wanted to, but I had a lot of energy. I didn't make enough shots, but I feel really excited about this team."

How will coach Frank Johnson ease the logjam? The team has been experimenting with Johnson running the point in camp. If he can give them a good 10 minutes a night in relief of Marbury, there should be around 30 minutes a game for Hardaway.

PF: Tom Gugliotta vs. Bo Outlaw vs. Amare Stoudemire

Finally, the future is beginning to look bright for the Suns in the post. The Suns have been searching for a replacement for Antonio McDyess since he left in the summer of 1998. They may have found him in the form of another high school phenom. Stoudemire, the Suns' lottery pick, has wowed teams this summer with his combination of athleticism and toughness in the post. Yes, he is still very raw, but several GM's think he has the potential to be one of the top two or three players in this year's draft class.

He won't be the immediate answer for the Suns at the four, but he may not have to be. Gugliotta is finally playing pain free for once and that could make a dramatic difference on a Suns team that slipped into the lottery last season. "The last two seasons — whew, they've been frustrating," Gugliotta told the Arizona Republic. "Just when you feel like you're starting to get somewhere, you have a setback." This year, there hasn't been in setbacks and Suns sources told Insider Gugliotta is rounding back into his old all-star form. While Gugliotta finally looks healthy, the Suns are being cautious with him. Coach Johnson has limited his minutes in camp and will use Outlaw to help keep his minutes down, especially at the start of the season.

Projected Starting 5:

PG: Stephon Marbury

SG: Joe Johnson

SF: Shawn Marion

PF: Tom Gugliotta

C: Jake Tsakalidis

PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS

PG: Damon Stoudamire vs. Jeff McInnis vs. Antonio Daniels

Blazers GM Bob Whitsitt is the Vince McMahon of turf wars. Every year he seems to go out and deliberately pick up a player or two who will spark a controversy. Last summer it was the acquisition of Derek Anderson and Ruben Patterson. This summer it was the pickups of McInnis and Daniels. The Blazers have coveted a big playmaker for years and suddenly they have two of them.

Right now, the edge goes to McInnis, who is 6-foot-4 to Stoudamire's 5-foot-9. McInnis is a better playmaker, a better defender, better at posting up and he seems to have the edge in attitude at this point. With the exception of Stoudamire's outside shooting, what's holding the Blazers back?

At the moment, Stoudamire is the starter, but getting a bigger playmaker has been a Blazer priority for the last two seasons. Stoudamire may be starting, but it's likely that McInnis will be finishing games. To his credit, McInnis has remained positive about the fray. While Stoudamire has demanded a trade if he loses his starting job, McInnis said he's happy whatever the outcome.

With the writing on the wall in Portland, Stoudamire has pressed the Blazers for a trade. But given his enormous salary ($12.4 million this season), Whitsitt hasn't had any takers.

SG: Bonzi Wells vs. Derek Anderson

Last year's camp battle is expected to wash over into this season. With almost all of the minutes at point guard being shared among McInnis, Stoudamire and Daniels, exactly where will Anderson get his minutes this season? Both Anderson and Wells are capable of starting, but Wells' toughness and ability to post up weaker two guards will give him the starting job again this season. With coach Mo Cheeks promising to use a big lineup of Arvydas Sabonis, Dale Davis and Rasheed Wallace up front, Cheeks' opportunites to play Wells and Anderson together appear to be limited. When Wallace isn't playing small forward, Scottie Pippen and Ruben Patterson will be fighting over the scraps.

In other words, what a mess. The Blazers have the talent to go 11 players deep, but Cheeks is looking for a solid eight- to nine-man rotation. That means that in all likelihood Daniels and rookie Qyntel Woods are out of the picture. The battle for the eighth spot will be between second-year power forward Zach Randolph, Anderson and Stoudamire.

Anderson has tried to pre-empt the battle by becoming the team's most vocal leader in camp. Will that translate into minutes on the court? "I'm going to compete, and I'm going to make it hard for the coach not to start me," Anderson told the Oregonian. "But whoever starts is going to know he worked his butt off. And that's going to make him better, and, therefore, the team is going to win."

Projected Starting 5:

PG: Damon Stoudamire

SG: Bonzi Wells

SF: Scottie Pippen

PF: Rasheed Wallace

C: Dale Davis

SACRAMENTO KINGS

SG: Doug Christie vs. Hidayet Turkoglu

Christie is still haunted his performance in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, when his 2-for-11 performance and errant three-pointer that could have secured the lead with 17 seconds remaining helped sink the Kings.

Taking notice, from the bench, was Turkoglu, whose maturation on both ends of the court makes him a legitimate threat to take Christie's starting job. Turkoglu has been vocal about wanting to start this summer and if the Kings feel that they need more offense from the two spot, the job is Turkoglu's. But it's Christie's defensive presence that helped the Kings to their best record ever last season and coach Rick Adelman is loathe to mess with what worked last season.

Both players have come into camp in good shape and, from all reports, are waging a fierce battle. Turkoglu has even seen time at the point, backing up Mike Bibby. Christie is philosophical about the whole situation.

"On this team, it's not so much about competing for a spot," Christie told the Sacramento Bee, "because if we're trying to get where we're going, we'll do it as a unit, and everybody is a piece of the puzzle. Ultimately my goal is to win the championship. If someone came in and they were better than me? Hey, have at it," he added, chuckling. "But they have to earn it. I will play the way I always do, giving everything I've got."

Projected Starting 5:

PG: Mike Bibby

SG: Doug Christie

SF: Peja Stojakovic

PF: Chris Webber

C: Vlade Divac

SEATTLE SUPERSONICS

SG: Brent Barry vs. Desmond Mason

Brent Barry is coming off the best year of his career, but coach Nate McMillian is seriously considering giving Mason the starting nod this season.

"Brent has done a good job," McMillan told the Tacoma Tribune. "He did a good job last season and played well. Mase wants an opportunity and he is working hard. So that is a decision that I have to look at. If Mase is playing well enough to move into that spot, then that is definitely something we have to consider. That is a part of me making the decision and the players respecting that decision and making it work."

The issue right now for the Sonics is two-fold. While Barry had a career year last season, the team has clearly tagged Mason as its future at that position. With Rashard Lewis locked up, Calvin Booth and Jerome James healthy and second-year forward Vladimir Radmanovic getting a huge jump in minutes, there's pressure to get Mason in there so the Sonics can start their future drive now. Secondly, Mason is a much better defender than Mason. McMillian has been stressing defense in camp, leading to speculation that Mason could beat out Barry. For now, McMillian seems torn.

"Brent is good for Gary [Payton] because he shoots the ball well enough to keep people honest," McMillan said. "And it allows Gary an extra second to have one-on-one opportunities because Brent shoots the ball so well.

"Mase can defend a bigger guard. He also can punish smaller guards if they want to switch their point on him. I will give them both opportunities. It is a matter of what is best for the team, what makes us comfortable."

The question may be moot if Lewis has to undergo shoulder surgery. With Lewis out of the lineup, either Mason or Barry will likely move into the starting small forward position until he returns. But until then, it's all out war.

C: Calvin Booth vs. Jerome James

Booth has the quickness and shot blocking, James has the power and rebounding. Who will get the starting nod? Both players have had trouble distinguishing themselves in training camp.

Booth is still recovering from a surgically repaired right ankle and won't have his hops back until sometime in December. "I haven't done it in so long," Booth told the Seattle Post Intelligencer. "It's just going to be good to be out there and be able to go in an NBA game. . .I don't think my athleticism is all the way to where it was before. I'm doing all right, right now. I'm moving pretty well and jumping fairly well."

James, on the other hand, is healthy but showed up to camp overweight and out of shape. In camp, McMillian has experimented with James and Booth on the floor together. Booth has some experience playing power forward and his passing skills from the high post make it workable. "It takes getting used to because we occupy the same spots when we're not on the floor together," Booth said. "But especially against some of the bigger lineups in the NBA, it can be effective."

Projected Starting 5:

PG: Gary Payton

SG: Brent Barry

SF: Rashard Lewis

PF: Vladimir Radmanovic

C: Jerome James

Piatkowski remains a mainstay

Joe Stevens / Los Angeles Daily News

George can finally relax

Howard Beck / Los Angeles Daily News

Suns encouraged by Johnson's aggressive play

Bob Young / Arizona Republic

Hardaway, Gugliotta impressive

Bob Young / Arizona Republic

Depth may sink Blazers again

Dwight Jaynes / Portland Tribune

Kings' athleticism is providing flexibility

Martin McNeal / Sacramento Bee

Blazers' auditions will begin tonight

Jason Quick / The Oregonian

Sonics seek Payton's backcourt mate

Frank Hughes / Tacoma News Tribune

Booth's sore, but he's never felt so good

Danny O'Neil / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Spree told to go stand in the corner

Forget for a second about the $250,000 fine the Knicks slapped on Latrell Sprewell Monday. It will never stand and the Knicks know it. The important part of Scott Layden's Spree smackdown session occurred after the fine, when Layden told Spree to go stand in the corner for an unspecified amount of time.

The corner is an effective discipline tool. My 5-year-old son gets it regularly and it works. No one likes the humiliation, even if Spree's corner is his houseboat on Lake Michigan.

Layden admitted Monday that the Knicks were running out of options. "Frankly, we've tried other things," Layden told the N.Y. Daily News. "We're going to try something different this time. We have not been able to get it right so far. We're going to get it right. We're going to get everyone together on the same page, and we're going to get everyone together and win."

Of course, Spree didn't see it that way. "I don't understand why they are alienating me from the team," Spree told the Daily News. "I don't think my relationship with Scott Layden and Steve Mills will ever be the same. It's like they're kicking me when I'm down. They talk about being a family but they're not sticking with me. To keep me away from the team ... that's just saying I'm a big distraction. All I've ever tried to do is make the team better. The only thing you can say is that I sometimes come late for games. But you can never say I don't play hard ... I do everything I can to help this team win."

While Spree maintained that he still wants to end his career on the Knicks, Layden's actions all summer indicate the Knicks are ready and willing to go in a different direction. Allan Houston is stuck there for life as are many of the other free-agent mistakes Layden has made. But Antonio McDyess has only two years left on his deal. If he decides that the Knicks aren't really that big an upgrade from the Nuggets, Layden's draft-night gamble will be lost.

So the Knicks are putting their foot down early. Don Chaney's the boss (at least until his contract runs out or the Knicks find someone better). If the Knicks can find anyone to take him off their hands at this point, they'd probably jump. It won't be easy. Layden spent the summer trying to move Spree and the closest he got was a proposed Glenn Robinson-for-Spree swap.

With his value dropping by the minute, the Knicks, like the Warriors before them, may just have to give him away and hope someone else's problem is less of distraction.

Finding any takers will be a monumental task, even at discount prices. Spree still has three years and roughly $40 million left on his contract. In this era of belt tightening, most teams are trying to dump contracts like that — not add them on.

The Blazers and Mavs wouldn't be afraid of his salary, but neither team needs another two guard. The Suns would be willing to swap Penny Hardaway for Spree, but Penny could actually make things worse in New York if that's possible. The Bucks have shown interest in the past, but where would he play with Ray Allen and Tim Thomas on the roster? The Wolves have shown interest in Spree, but all they have to offer is a broken down Terrell Brandon. The Jazz need a two guard in the worst way, but Spree in Utah has disaster written all over it.

Of course, so does another season of Spree in New York.

Spree roars over 250G & banishment

Frank Isola / New York Daily News

Sprewell Wearing Out His Welcome

Ira Berkow / New York Times

A penalty yes, but this is where it gets out of hand

Mike Lupica / New York Daily News

If discipline backfires, Layden must trade him

Shaun Powell / Newsday

Is Rashard Lewis headed for season-ending surgery?

The speculation continues to swirl in Seattle around the sore right shoulder of Rashard Lewis. He will be evaluated and X-rayed this morning in Seattle.

"We'll find out a little more because I'm really not sure," Lewis told the Seattle Post Intelligencer. "It may be more serious or it may not be. I'm really not sure."

However, Lewis sounded like a player ready to concede that season-ending surgery may be his only real option.

"I'm hoping everything will be all right," Lewis said. "But if not I might have to go ahead and get it [any surgery] out of the way now while I'm still young and it's early in my career instead of keep rehabbing and rehabbing and it just keeps happening over and over. If I have to have surgery, I'd rather go ahead and have surgery so I can prevent this from happening again. Whatever the doc tells me I have to do [today], that's what I'm going to listen to."

Now you know why the Sonics drug their feet so long this summer. Lewis injured his shoulder last season, but didn't want to undergo offseason surgery while he was a free agent. The team tried to get Lewis into rehab over the summer, but Lewis chose to work on the shoulder in Houston.

A Tacoma News Tribune report, citing Kevin Smith, a prominent specialist at the University of Washington, claims that surgery is inevitable.

"The writing is on the wall here," Smith said. "This is going to happen over and over again until he gets it fixed. He has two options. He can live with it the way it is, and most likely it will get worse over time. Or he can have it fixed. The only reliable way for these symptoms to be fixed is to have surgery. I have not seen him to examine him, but I know a lot about shoulders. He has all the signs."

GM Rick Sund acknowledged the Sonics required Lewis to pass a physical before signing his seven-year, $60 dollar deal. "His therapist had constant communication with our doctors," Sund said. "Our doctors looked at the shoulder before he signed the contract and they said it was pretty strong."

If Lewis must have surgery, the Sonics do have options to replace him. Coach Nate McMillian has already been toying with a lineup that has Jerome James and Calvin Booth playing up front with second-year star Vladimir Radmanvoic playing small forward. Desmond Mason and Brent Barry are also capable of playing the three.

Sonics await tests on Lewis

Danny O'Neil / Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Surgery possible for Lewis

Frank Hughes / Tacoma News Tribune

Why are the Bucks dragging their feet on Redd?

Seven days after receiving an offer sheet from the Mavs, restricted free agent Michael Redd is still waiting by the phone to learn his fate.

According to Ray Allen, Redd wants to return to the Bucks next season. "There's a little disappointment on his part, that it took the whole summer and now we're playing and he's still home," Allen told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "But it's not an us-vs.-you thing. It's business. At least now, he's comfortable that he has an offer on the table. He's not as nervous as before, when he thought he might have to play for minimum. He thinks Dallas would be a good situation if it comes to that. But his first choice is here."

The Bucks initially indicated that they would match any offer for Redd, but GM Ernie Grunfeld has said little since Tuesday.

According to coach George Karl, the Board of Governors meetings that are underway in New York may have a huge bearing on how the Bucks deal with the Redd offer sheet because at those meetings, the owners will discuss how the luxury-tax money is to be allocated next summer. The Bucks, who are already over the luxury-tax threshold, are trying to ascertain how much of the player's escrow money they'll lose if they're over the tax.

As it stands now, the Bucks have until Wednesday, Oct. 16th to match the Mavs' offer.

Redd hoping to stay

Tom Enlund / Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

Magloire ready to start for Hornets?

The camp battle was expected to be fierce, but an early injury to veteran center Elden Campbell has forced third-year center Jamaal Magloire into the spotlight. Will he earn the starting job on opening night?

"I'm excited," Magloire told the Times Picayune. "I'm excited that coach has given me an opportunity to play with the starting unit and have more of a role on this team, and get more repetitions in practice. I feel good. I'm confident in myself and in turn, my teammates are confident in me. I worked tremendously hard in the summer, and I can feel it paying off now."

Magloire isn't the only one developing in Campbell's absence. Third-year forward Jerome Moiso is also having a great camp. "Moiso is giving Jamaal all he can handle," coach Paul Silas said. "It's been good for Moiso, also. Jerome has had a chance to play and get familiar with everything. So where there's a negative with Elden not being here, there's a positive."

Campbell, who will test his knee today for the first time, seems eager to return to the daily battles with Magloire.

"He challenges me. It's a fight every day," said Campbell. "We're actually fighting for minutes. It makes both of us better. I know it makes me better just having somebody here to challenge me. Before him we didn't have a guy to do that. Not that it was a negative impact on my game, but I really didn't have a guy challenging me every day like Jamaal. I think I'm better for it, and I hope he's learned some things, too."

Magloire steps up in Campbell's absence

Jimmy Smith / New Orleans Times-Picayune

Peep Show

Lakers: A buffed up Kobe Bryant sounds ready to take on the world. "I feel stronger in the post, I feel stronger on the boards. It just benefits your game," he told the L.A. Daily News. "You're just a stronger player. You can dish out more contact, you can take more contact. On top of that, it makes me quicker and faster, too." . . .Watch out, Samaki Walker is referring to himself in the third person. "This season is going to make other guys respect Samaki Walker," Walker told the O.C. Register. "I have a year in this offense, and I'm looking forward to being more aggressive from the offensive standpoint. I'll still maintain and do the essentials, because the power forward needs to be rebounding and doing those things, but this year I want to do those things and add the offensive stuff."

Rockets: Where's Yao? "We're making progress," agent Erick Zhang told the Houston Chronicle. "You can say we made major progress. The glitches are very minor." Said Rockets attorney Michael Goldberg: "Everybody realized we've got to get this done. We've been working to that end."

Hawks: It looks like Ira Newble may beat out Dion Glover for the starting shooting guard position, sources in Atlanta told Insider. Newble, a 6-foot-7 swing man, averaged 8.8 ppg and 5.7 rpg in the 35 games he started last season. The Hawks feel that Jason Terry, Glenn Robinson and Shareef Abdur-Rahim will give them plenty of offensive options. They are hoping that Theo Ratliff and Newble will anchor the defense for the team.

Grizzlies: Drew Gooden is quickly beating out Stromile Swift as the backup for Pau Gasol. "He's not scared like a normal rookie," Griz point guard Jason Williams told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "He's going to help us a lot right away. The way it's going right now, he might be the first guy off the bench." Coach Sidney Lowe agrees. "The whole training camp he's done well. The kid goes after every ball. He's a quick leaper. We saw some of this in college and we saw a little bit of it in summer league, but now he's really focused and you can tell. He set out to send a message."

Heat: Pat Riley is still riding rookie Caron Butler's butt about his conditioning. "He needs to learn how to run better," Riley told the Palm Beach Post. "That doesn't mean to make him less of a basketball player. It will make him more efficient. I'm not a track coach, but I know that he needs somebody who knows how to sprint and use his arms and use his legs and use his hands. We'll move in that direction with him and try to make him a better athlete in the next couple of years."

Bulls: Second-year big men Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry are getting good reviews from coach Bill Cartwright. Apparently, Pete Newell's big man camp in Hawaii helped both players overcome some of their biggest weaknesses. "They're worlds from where they were last year," Cartwright told the Chicago Tribune. "Last year they got a sample of what this league is about as far as travel and preparation for games. Physically, they're better. But now they need to learn how to attack guys and learn how to defend guys. I'm concerned about our experience. If we can get good minutes defensively out of our big guys, we'll play really well. If we can't protect our middle and rebound, we're not going to win."

Suns: Rookie Casey Jacobsen has been shooting the lights out in training camp. "I guess the guys forgot he could shoot it," coach Frank Johnson told the Arizona Republic. "He was on a roll, and he got them within the framework of the offense. That's what we wanted when we drafted him, that ability to hit the outside shot."

Raptors: Free agent Jelani McCoy has been a surprise for the team at center. With only one roster spot left on the team, McCoy not only looks like a lock to make the team, some teammates are privately suggesting he could be the starter when the regular season begins the Toronto Star reported.

T-Wolves: Forward Joe Smith, who pulled his groin Friday, probably won't practice for at least another 10 days, coach Flip Saunders told the Pioneer Press. A groin injury kept him out of much of training camp last season, too. "He did the other groin a year ago, almost one year to the day," Saunders said. "He's gone through maybe one [total] training camp."

Jazz: John Amaechi may finally be out of coach Jerry Sloan's doghouse. "Everyone talked about how he was in my doghouse last year. Well, he wasn't in shape. What am I supposed to do?" Sloan told the Salt Lake Tribune. "This year, he came in with a different approach, a different attitude. He said to me, 'I made a mistake. I wasn't in shape.' It's bound to make you a better player." Amaechi swears he's ready to contribute. "I'm ready for whatever's thrown at me. When I play like I'm capable of, I can definitely help this team," said Amaechi. "Nobody likes to repeat having a bad season. The fact is, I'm a good player and good players want to be at the top of their game. I'm trying to get back there."

Mavs: It looks like all of Mark Cuban's complaining about officiating is having an effect. Ed T. Rush, the director of officials for the NBA, addressed the Mavericks before practice Monday to review some of the changes in what refs will stress this season. "He went over some new things that they are going to clamp down on," assistant coach Del Harris told the Dallas Morning News. "They're going to enforce traveling more and watch for carrying of the ball."

Bryant flexing muscles

Howard Beck / Los Angeles Daily News

There is an "I" in Samaki

Kevin Ding / Orange County Register

What about Yao?

Jonathan Feigen / Houston Chronicle

Grizzly rookie making grade

Ronald Tillery / Memphis Commercial-Appeal

Riley: Butler needs to shape up

Jamey Eisenberg / Palm Beach Post

Chandler, Curry work on flaws at Newell camp

K.C. Johnson / Chicago Tribune

Initial cuts might come today; Jacobsen shoots well in practice

Bob Young / Arizona Republic

Money talks, Raps walk

Doug Smith / Toronto Star

Ready for action

Robbi Pickeral / St. Paul Pioneer Press

New-Look Amaechi Impresses

Phil Miller / Salt Lake Tribune

Mavericks day in camp

Eddie Sefko / Dallas Morning News

[Diesel]

Would we look into taking him for this trade:

Spree to Atlanta.

Hendu/CC/Email to NY.

The way I see it we give them good players in return we get their problem. All the good reports about Hendu's summer might help the deal go through.

JT/Spree/Big Dog/SAR/Theo?

We'd have to sign Bennett or Harvey?

[Boondocks]

3 for 1?

I doubt it they would do it for the roster spots involved and the Hawks would actually have 4 large contracts (Spree, Big Dog, SAR and Theo) and with JT up for a bigger contract this would limit all movement for the hawks in the future.

[Diesel]

Actually, I think Spree's contract ends before CC's and Hendu's. It would seem to me that he would be more valuable as a player than those two anyway.

[beav]

this sounds pretty unsubstantiated....

"The Suns would be willing to swap Penny Hardaway for Spree, but Penny could actually make things worse in New York if that's possible. "

Didn't the Suns owner trade the best PG in the game (Kidd) because of "character issues"? Why in the hell would he take on Sprewell?

[hds428]

I wonder if the Two Live Stooges on 790thezone are still crappin their pants to get Sprewell for JT???