Dale Davis got his wish on Saturday when he obtained his release from the New Orleans Hornets, now will he return to the place where he spent the first nine seasons of his career?

Davis requested a release from the lowly Hornets in order to sign with a playoff team, and the Indiana Pacers certainly are interested.  According to Davis' agent James Wells the Pacers are the forward's first choice, and Mark Monteith of the Indianapolis Star reports that he could sign by Tuesday.  However, the Pacers are not the only team interested in his services with Detroit and San Antonio also are trying to lure the 14-year veteran.

"He's really fond of Indiana," said Wells, who acknowledged the Pacers' mutual interest. "It's a class organization and he had a good run when he was there.

"We just need to sit down and make a decision."

He was traded from Golden State to New Orleans on Thursday in the deal that sent Hornets guard Baron Davis to the Warriors.

Carmelo Anthony scored 17 of his 31 points in the 4th quarter to lead the Nuggets back from 11 points down in a 94-93 win over the Hornets.

Anthony stepped up with one of his most impressive performances of the season following the ejection of Kenyon Martin.

``We were a little rattled, so we had to get everybody together and just tell them, 'Look, let's cut the lead down and we'll fight back from there,''' Anthony said. ``Somebody had to get it going out there.''

Dan Dickau scored 22 points for the Hornets.  Speedy Claxton scored 5 points in his first game for New Orleans.

Dale Davis has not reported to the New Orleans Hornets and his  agents James Wells has told The San Francisco Chronicle that he is seeking a buy out.

Wells said he was in negotiations with the Hornets for a release and expected a resolution this weekend. Davis would like to join a playoff contender, and he would need to sign with a team by March 1 to be included on its playoff roster. Though Wells declined to name interested teams, a league source said the likeliest destinations are Indiana, Detroit and San Antonio.

The Golden State Warriors have acquired two-time All-Star point guard Baron Davis from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for point guard Speedy Claxton and center Dale Davis, it was announced today by Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin.

"We're thrilled to be able to acquire a proven All-Star like Baron Davis," said Mullin. "He ranks among the best point guards in the NBA and we feel that he will be a tremendous addition to our roster - not only with what he brings to the table on his own, but also what he can provide to the continued development of our team."

Baron Davis, 25, earned All-NBA Third Team honors in 2003-04 as he ranked sixth in the NBA in scoring (career-high 22.9 ppg), fourth in assists (7.5 apg) and first in steals (career-high 2.36 spg) to become just the third player since the 1976-77 season to finish in the top-10 in those three categories (joining Gary Payton and Michael Adams).  Last season he was also a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team, an honor he received in 2001-02, as well, en route to averaging 18.1 points and a career-high 8.5 assists per game that season.  For his career, Davis has appeared in 381 regular-season games in six seasons with the Hornets, averaging 15.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.89 steals per contest.  Over the last three-plus seasons (since the beginning of the 2001-02 campaign), the Los Angeles native has averaged 19.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 7.6 assists and 2.08 steals in 217 games.

This season, the 6-3 guard has appeared in 18 games, averaging 18.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.72 steals in 32.9 minutes per contest. He has also missed 34 games this season due to injury.  Originally drafted by the then-Charlotte Hornets with the third overall pick in the 1999 NBA Draft out of UCLA, Davis has also appeared in 35 playoff games, averaging 18.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.5 assists per contest.  

Claxton, 26, appeared in 46 games this season (44 starts) for the Warriors, averaging 13.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.89 steals in 32.6 minutes per contest. He tallied a season-high 27 points versus Seattle on January 14 and scored 20-or-more points eight times this season. The 5-11 guard also posted eight double-doubles on the season and led the team in assists 31 times. He missed eight games due to injury, including six-straight games from January 21 - February 2 due to a right thigh contusion. After being signed as a free agent on July 23, 2003, Claxton appeared in 60 games for the Warriors last season, averaging 10.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.62 steals per contest.

Dale Davis, 35, appeared in 36 games this season, averaging 3.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 16.0 minutes per contest. He recorded his second double-double of the season with a season-high 16 points and 10 rebounds in the Warriors final game before the All-Star break - February 17 at Seattle. Davis also recorded 13 DNP-CDs this season and missed five games from January 5-12 while on the injured list due to lower back soreness. Originally acquired by the Warriors from Portland on July 20, 2004, the 6-11 center is currently in his 14th NBA season.

"I'm on the phone right now,'' Jason Richardson said. "Me and B.D. are good friends. That would be huge for the franchise. He can do a lot of things when he's healthy.''

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have acquired forward Glenn Robinson from the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for forwards Jamal Mashburn and Rodney Rogers.

"This trade will help us reach our goal of returning the Hornets to their winning traditions," said Hornets General Manager Allan Bristow.  "It will allow us to develop and evaluate our core of young and exciting players over the remainder of this season."

Robinson was placed on Philadelphia's Injured List on Nov. 1 and had not appeared in a game for the team this season (he averaged 16.6 points and 4.5 rebounds in 42 games for the Sixers last season).

Robinson, a 10-year veteran, spent one-and-a-half seasons in Philadelphia
(2003-04 and 2004-05), one season in Atlanta (2002-03) and eight seasons in Milwaukee (1994-2002).  He holds career averages of 20.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 679 games and averaged 20 or more points per game in eight of his first nine seasons.  The two-time All-Star (2000 and
2001) ranked 108th among the all-time top NBA career scorers with 14,144 career points coming into this season.  Robinson was originally selected by the Bucks with the first overall pick of the 1994 NBA Draft, making him just the second number one overall pick in Hornets history (along with Larry Johnson).

Mashburn averaged 21.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 217 games during his four-and-a-half seasons with the Hornets.  He played in all 82 games for the Hornets in 2002-03 (the first time in his career that he had done so) and averaged 21.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.6 assists to earn All-NBA Third Team honors and his first All-Star nomination.  Mashburn was originally acquired from Miami along with PJ Brown, Otis Thorpe, Rodney Buford and Tim James in exchange for Eddie Jones, Anthony Mason, Ricky Davis and Dale Ellis on Aug. 1, 2000.

Mashburn had not appeared in a game for the team this season after being placed on the Injured List Nov. 1 with a patella femoral irritation of the right knee (he missed the final 19 games of last season and all of the playoffs with the same injury).  He began the 2003-04 campaign on the Injured List following arthroscopic surgery to remove loose particles in his right knee and missed the first 44 games of the season.  In 2001-02, Mashburn missed 42 regular season games with a lower abdominal strain and missed all but one game of the playoffs due to positional vertigo.

Rogers, who was signed as a free agent on Aug. 3, had averaged 9.2 points and 4.7 rebounds in 30 games for the Hornets this season.  He missed 24 games (including 23 on the Injured List) with a sprained left knee.

The Philadelphia Sixers have acquired forwards Jamal Mashburn and Rodney Rogers from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Glenn Robinson, Comcast Sportsnet is reporting.  The deal is the second within 12 hours by GM Billy King and the Sixers after Philadelphia was able to pry Chris Webber from Sacramento in a major coup.

Neither Robinson or Masburn have played this season due to injury.

According to Marc Stein of ESPN.com, Golden State Warriors are engaged in serious discussions with the New Orleans Hornets involving PG Baron Davis.

Going the Hornets' way would be the expiring contract of Dale Davis, as well as an accompanying package of other players and/or draft picks.

Davis has strong ties to the state of California; he was born in Los Angeles and graduated from UCLA in 1999. Earlier this week in an interview to ESPN.com Davis said that it no longer felt like he was wanted in New Orleans.

Phil Jasner of the Philadelphia Daily News could not help but follow up on a report published in yesterday's New York Post about the Sixers possibly sending forward Glenn Robinson to the New Orleans Hornets for Rodney Rogers and the injured Jamal Mashburn, but he had trouble getting confirmation from GM Billy King on a potential deal.

"There's a lot of speculation," said Sixers president/general manager Billy King, who confirmed he has had discussions with New Orleans, as well as many other teams. "Nothing's changed from when I talked to [reporters] last week."

The Sixers have made clear to other teams what they're offering.

"A lot of people call, but it's still the same conversation were talking about 6 weeks ago," King said. "Nothing's really changed. We've got a great young core, and they're going to be here. We're not going to move any of our young players; we'll go from there."

Asked what kind of player he would want in a trade, King smiled and replied, "A good one."

Peter Vecsey is reporting that the Toronto Raptors are interested in executing a trade for Hornets' point guard Baron Davis.  The Hornets would likely receive Rafer Alston, Donyell Marshall and Lamond Murray.  

The 76ers are also in the mix for Davis, who would love to insert him beside Allen Iverson in what would become one of the league's best backcourts.

Hornets star Baron Davis returned to practice on Monday but according to ESPN.com he feels that last week's criticism from coach Byron Scott about the speed of his recovery from an ankle injury made him feel unwanted by the Hornets.

Yet Davis insists he won't push for a deal before Thursday's trade deadline and that he'll have no problems playing for Scott, even though Davis said they didn't speak at Monday's workout.

"I think it is getting to a point to where I just don't feel like I'm wanted (by New Orleans)," Davis said Monday night. "I have a great relationship with my teammates, but at certain times I do feel that way -- I'm not going to lie. But I'm here to play basketball and play as hard as I can. Once I'm 100 percent and back on the court, Byron will coach and I'll respect him as my coach. I'm going to listen to my coach like I've always done."