Magic at Raptors

Who: Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors.
When: 8 p.m. today.
Where: Toronto's Air Canada Centre.
TV, radio: TNT, UPN-65; WMEL-AM 920, WDBO-AM 580.
Starters: Orlando -- guards Darrell Armstrong, Tracy McGrady; forwards Mike Miller, Pat Garrity; center Horace Grant. Toronto -- guards Alvin Williams, Vince Carter; forwards Morris Peterson, Keon Clark; center Antonio Davis.
Magic notes: Orlando makes its way to Toronto tonight, the third game in an 11-day, seven-game roadtrip. This is the longest roadtrip in franchise history. Orlando plays in Detroit (Friday), Washington (Sunday), Indiana (Tuesday) and Boston (March 6). Then, 14 of the Magic's final 21 games will be played at home. . . . Orlando has split two games with the Raptors this season. The Magic won 114-85 in the season-opener in Orlando. The Raptors won 106-97 in Toronto in late January by jumping on the Magic early. Magic standout Tracy McGrady had 27 points and 10 rebounds, but his early defense against Vince Carter (32 points) was poor. McGrady played his first three NBA seasons in Toronto. . . . Orlando entered Tuesday's game 12-16 on the road this season.
Raptors notes: The Raptors have struggled since Carter, who since has returned, went on the injured list with a quadriceps injury. Toronto has not won since before the All-Star break, losing an unthinkable eight games in a row. The Raptors even lost Sunday in Carter's first game back, falling 101-92 to Seattle in Toronto. In that game, Carter led the Raptors with 28 points, but he had little explosion and missed 16 of his 27 shots. Again showing a reluctance to attack the basket, Carter attempted far more 3-pointers (11) than free throws (two). . . . Keon Clark, who originally was drafted by the Magic in 1999, has played well as a replacement for Hakeem Olajuwon. Clark, who had 20 points and made 10 his 14 shots Sunday, can be a free agent at season's end. The 6-foot-11 forward is averaging 11.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in just 26.5 minutes a night. . . . The signing of Hakeem Olajuwon has been a disaster for the Raptors. He has played in just 37 games because of a variety of injuries. His scoring has fallen off to 7.9 points a game. He played just 13 minutes off the bench in Sunday's loss.
Next for the Magic: Friday, at Detroit Pistons, 8 p.m. (UPN-65).

Officially, it went down as a trade. Unofficially, it was widely considered to be as one-sided as the Louisiana Purchase.

Back in August of 2000, the Orlando Magic signed power forward Ben Wallace and point guard Chucky Atkins and traded them to the Detroit Pistons for All-Star Grant Hill. Basically, Orlando walked away with the prize, Detroit the parts.

Two seasons later, the trade has been an uneven one, all right. Except it is the Pistons who have reaped the most from the summertime swap.

Hill's injuries combined with Wallace's steady rise to where he now is one of the game's most rugged defenders and rebounders has turned the trade into a disastrous one for the Magic. Hill, one of the game's five best players when healthy, has played just 18 games the past two seasons and is out again for the rest of this season because of the break in his ankle.

Magic fans undoubtedly remember that Wallace clearly was the team's most valuable player in 2000. And he has since just gotten better and better.

Although he only is 6-foot-9, he can guard centers and power forwards equally well because of his power and quickness off the floor. Averaging an NBA-best 3.37 blocks and 12.2 rebounds (second in the NBA), Wallace is a big reason why Detroit is one of the league's most surprising teams and why he should be the leading candidate for the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year. Magic head coach Doc Rivers still refers to Wallace as "the power forward version of Jason Kidd."

Wallace never was better than last week, averaging 11.0 points, 13.8 rebounds and 6.0 blocks in four games. He also registered a jaw-dropping triple-double, putting up 10 points, 17 rebounds and 10 blocks against Milwaukee. It was enough to earn him the Eastern Conference Player of the Week award.

The Magic get another look at Wallace Friday when they play in Detroit. Forgive them if they are still wondering what might have been had they not pulled off the trade that still haunts them to this day.

Marcus Camby reportedly is hurt that the New York Knicks worked furiously to move him prior to last Thursday's trade deadline, offering him to Dallas, Denver and Phoenix. Camby hurt? Now there's a shocker.

Speaking of Charmin-soft players, Penny Hardaway left the Suns this week to get more treatment on his troublesome knee. Wonder if it had anything to do with Phoenix acquiring Joe Johnson, a promising rookie who will dramatically cut into Hardaway's playing time?

Like most who play for the Philadelphia 76ers long enough, Matt Harpring has grown tired of head coach Larry Brown's incessant criticism and controlling nature. Harpring, who spent his first two seasons with the Magic, looked out of rhythm and lost in the Philadelphia offense when the Sixers were dismantled in Orlando last Saturday. Brown has been on him most of this season to forgo shooting and to instead just focus on rebounding and defense. Basically, he wants him to be George Lynch, the small forward Philadelphia unwisely traded away last summer.
"If they wanted me to be like George Lynch, then they should've just kept George Lynch," Harpring said. "Otherwise, I'm not George Lynch, and I don't really want to be like George Lynch. He's a great guy, but I don't think I play like him."

Wonder what the suits at NBC are thinking now that Michael Jordan will have knee surgery. Just this week, NBC finagled its TV schedule in order to pick up two more of Jordan's games (March 24 vs. Toronto and March 31 vs. Dallas). The latter change knocked the Magic-Knicks off the air, the third time that has happened to Orlando this season. Orlando will appear on NBC on Sunday -- but only because it is playing the Wizards.

Talk about your programs being ravaged by guys bolting for the pros. Could the University of Florida possibly handle losing Steve Spurrier and Billy Donovan to the pro ranks in the same year? Expect those Donovan-to-the-Knicks rumors to begin heating up any day now.

Shaq on Dallas' chances of upsetting the Lakers after acquiring Raef LaFrentz and Nick Van Exel: "It won't work. They added a lot of shooters, but their shooters have to play defense. Shooters always come out hot. But after banging with me for four quarters their legs are not going to be there."

Chris Webber is talking to the Sacramento news media again, breaking his vow of silence after fuming about the report of his budding relationship with model Tyra Banks. But it was Kings' teammate Peja Stojakovic who stole Webber's thunder last week when he made this pronouncement to the media: "Chris said to tell you that he was going to San Francisco with Tyra Banks, and he was going to have caviar, flowers, Cristal, strawberries and whipped cream."
No word yet on whether Webber still is speaking to Stojakovic.

Denton's top 10: 1. Lakers; 2. Nets; 3. Mavericks; 4. Kings; 5. Spurs; 6. Timberwolves; 7. Pistons; 8. Jazz; 9. Bucks; 10. Trail Blazers.John Denton writes for Florida Today. You can reach him by calling (321) 242-3690. You can e-mail him at jdenton@flatoday.net

Oakley wants a change

Chicago power forward Charles Oakley sat in the Orlando locker room after the game, explaining his unhappiness with the Bulls. Oakley, a 16-year NBA veteran, has been asking the Bulls to waive him so he could sign with a playoff-bound team like the Magic.

He is close friends with Horace Grant, and he was once a teammate with both Coach Doc Rivers and center Patrick Ewing.

Oakley, who has been feuding with Chicago management, remained in street clothes after being told he would not be playing much the rest of the season. The Magic have been hoping that Oakley is waived so they could sign him for the veteran's minimum. He would have to be signed before March 1 to be part of a playoff roster. It was virtually impossible to trade for him before the deadline because of his $7 million salary.

?I don't know what's going to happen,'' Oakley said. ?Sure, this would be a nice team [the Magic] to play for, but who knows? I don't know what's going on.''

Glad to be back

Tracy McGrady wasn't the only one who returned to action Tuesday after missing Sunday's loss in Cleveland because of an injury. Pat Garrity returned to his starting spot at power forward, playing with a bruised right thigh that was tightly wrapped.

"I guess that means they won't be throwing me any lob passes tonight," Garrity joked before the game. "They will probably just utilize me as a spot-up shooter."

Grant feeling his age

Horace Grant chuckled before the game about his matchup at center, shaking his head in amazement. Grant, who won three NBA titles in Chicago, is 37. Backup center Patrick Ewing is 39. Bulls starting center Eddy Curry is 19, as is teammate Tyson Chandler.

"It's really kind of unbelieveable, when you think about it," he said. "I have a daughter who is 19. She's at the University of North Carolina. To be playing against someone the same age is pretty incredible. It really makes me feel old."

Buechler has 3 rings, too

It isn't just Horace Grant who has great memories of playing here. Magic reserve Jud Buechler played here, too, from 1994 to 1998, sharing in the second half of the Michael Jordan era.

"As soon as the bus pulls into the parking lot, it opens the floodgate to a lot of good memories for me," Buechler said. "I had two beautiful daughters here, and won three [championship] rings. I don't have anything but good memories."

This wasn't a win. It was a spanking.

The Orlando Magic resumed their chase of a top-four playoff seeding in the Eastern Conference Tuesday night, paddling Chicago's Baby Bulls 112-97 at the United Center.

Riding the return of Tracy McGrady and Pat Garrity ? who both missed Sunday's loss in Cleveland ? the Magic took the Bulls to school, making them dizzy with excellent ball movement that produced wide-open shots.

?It's amazing how good a coach I am when Tracy and Pat are shooting like they did tonight,'' Magic Coach Doc Rivers said. ?One thing we really do well as a team is shoot the ball. If we get the open shots, we're going to make them.''

The Bulls, who started three rookies and one second-year player, never seriously challenged after the second quarter began. Center Eddy Curry and power forward Tyson Chandler ? their pair of 19-year-old bookends ? at times looked like they had gotten stuck on the playground merry-go-round.

McGrady, still relieved after learning Monday that there was no evidence of any stress fracture developing, showed no signs of a problem with his sprained right foot. He wore a special pad in his shoe, and he required some extra treatment after the game.

McGrady led the Magic with 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 41 minutes, hitting nine of his 19 shots.

Garrity, who missed Sunday's  game with a right thigh bruise, had 18 points (16 in the first half) and eight rebounds.

The Magic (30-26) closed to within one game of the Boston Celtics (31-25) and the No. 4 playoff seed, which would mean home-court advantage in the first round. They play tonight in Toronto.

Although the final score sounded reasonably close, it never was. After dominating for three periods, the Magic just got sloppy and too casual in the fourth quarter, letting the Bulls keep the game close enough to hold fans in their seats. But they never felt threatened.

The only downside was the inability to put the Bulls away early, which would have allowed McGrady to play fewer minutes, which would have helped for tonight's game against the Raptors.

?Don't worry, I'll be lacing them up in Toronto, and the game after that, and the game after that,'' McGrady said. ?I'm good to go now.''

Magic center Horace Grant, who didn't even play in the fourth quarter, outplayed the much younger but more athletic Curry. Grant had 16 points, hitting eight of his 10 shots.

Darrell Armstrong had just nine points, but he dished 11 assists, making sure the ball kept moving to the open shooter.

The Magic led 90-68 going into the final period, but they started their coast a little too soon. The Orlando victory snapped Chicago's three-game winning streak ? longest in two seasons. It was the first time that Jalen Rose lost in a Bulls uniform after he was traded from the Indiana Pacers last week.

?I don't think we were ever in trouble,'' Armstrong said. ?But we just need to learn how to put teams away. We stopped executing our plays, and that let them hang around.''

Rose led the Bulls (15-41) with 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds, but the frustration with his young teammates was obvious. Bulls reserve Marcus Fizer had 18 points and five rebounds.

The Magic had another good shooting night, making 49.4 percent. They hit 10-of-24 from 3-point range. They also had 11 more assists than the Bulls.

The Magic led 64-51 at intermission, riding some hot shooting and the return of McGrady and Garrity. The two combined for 34 points in the first two periods. Grant, who loves returning to visit Chicago, had eight points in the first eight minutes, still hearing the boos with each basket.

The Magic shot 64 percent and scored 38 points in the first quarter. Rose had 11 points in the first 12 minutes, but he was topped by Garrity, who had 12 points and four rebounds.

Patrick Ewing played just six minutes in the first half, but he managed four points and six rebounds, scoring one basket when he grabbed an offensive rebound in front of Chandler.

?You can't give up 38 points in the first quarter to a good basketball team like that and expect to get back in,'' said Bulls Coach Bill Cartwright. ?We were never the aggressors. We were never able to get back and make it a real game.''

Magic at Bulls

Who: Orlando Magic (29-26) vs. Chicago Bulls (15-40).
When: 8:30 p.m. today.
Where: Chicago's United Center.
TV, radio: UPN-65; WMEL-AM 920, WDBO-AM 580.
Starters: Orlando -- guards Darrell Armstrong, Tracy McGrady; forwards Mike Miller, Pat Garrity; center Horace Grant. Chicago -- guards A.J. Guyton, Trenton Hassell; forwards Jalen Rose, Tyson Chandler; center Eddy Curry.
Magic notes: Orlando began its 11-day, seven-game roadtrip in dreadful fashion Sunday night. Not only did the Magic lose 111-96 in Cleveland, but they also lost Tracy McGrady and Pat Garrity to injuries. McGrady missed the game because of a sore right foot he originally injured late in Saturday's game when he landed on Dikembe Mutombo's foot. X-rays before Sunday's game were negative, but McGrady was held out for precautionary reasons. Garrity likely is to return tonight after missing Sunday's game with a deep thigh bruise. He suffered the injury late in the first quarter of Saturday's home win against Philadelphia, but returned to the game. . . . With McGrady and Garrity out, the Magic were without 35.2 points a game. But scoring was not a problem against Cleveland. Instead it was rebounding as the Cavs pounded the Magic in the glass, 55-28. . . . Troy Hudson continued his remarkable improvement from last season, scoring a team-high 24 points. He has boosted his scoring average to 9.9 points a game. He also ranks fifth in the NBA in free-throw shooting (89.3 percent). . . . The Magic defeated Chicago 102-74 in December in Orlando. Mike Miller helped offset an off night from McGrady (14 points) with a game-high 21 points. Orlando has won 11 of the past 12 games against Chicago. The lone loss came last November in Chicago. . . . This is the longest roadtrip in franchise history. Orlando plays in Toronto (Wednesday), Detroit (Friday), Washington (March 3), Indiana (March 5) and Boston (March 6). Then, 14 of their final 21 games will be played at home.
Bulls notes: Chicago enters this game having won three games in a row for the first time since Jan. 8, 2000. Also, it has won three in a row at the United Center for the first time since April 11, 1998. The Bulls' 15 wins match last season's total and have pulled them even with Golden State and Memphis. . . . Chicago dramatically altered its team last week, trading Brad Miller, Ron Artest and Ron Mercer to Indiana for Jalen Rose and Travis Best. In his three games with the Bulls, Rose has averaged 24.3 points. However, he has made just 27 of 60 shots. Best, still coming off the bench, has played well. He has made 57.7 percent of his shots and is averaging 11.3 points and six assists in three games. . . . Power forward Marcus Fizer was the star of Saturday's 105-91 victory against Golden State. He came off the bench and made 13 of 24 shots for a game-high 30 points. . . . Rookies Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry have shown some progress of late and both now are starters. Chandler had 14 points and seven rebounds in Saturday's win. The 7-foot, 300-pound Curry had nine points and eight rebounds in the victory.
Next for the Magic: Wednesday, at Toronto Raptors, 8 p.m. (UPN-65, TNT).

The Orlando Magic head into Game 2 of the longest road trip in franchise history not knowing if Tracy McGrady will be able to play tonight.

While the Magic received good news about McGrady's right foot -- it's a minor sprain -- McGrady's status for tonight's game against the suddenly hot Chicago Bulls won't be determined until right before tip-off.

"If I had to play [Monday], I probably couldn't, but I hope things will go well in the next 24 hours," said McGrady, who missed Sunday's 111-96 loss to Cleveland. "Now I can concentrate on playing again -- as long as I can take the pain."

The Magic feared a stress fracture would put McGrady on the injured list for anywhere from two weeks to the rest of the season, effectively killing the team's playoff hopes.

There was some more good news Monday: The Magic announced that forward Pat Garrity is expected to play when the seven-game, 11-day trip resumes tonight. He also missed Sunday's game because of a bruised right thigh.

"I'll be ready to play," Garrity said. "But things really change when Tracy is out."

The effect of McGrady's absence was obvious against the lowly Cavaliers. Although the Magic still scored 96 points, their defense was poor and their rebounding worse. McGrady is leading the Magic this season in scoring (24.8 points per game) and rebounding (7.6 per game).

"When I'm gone, it changes everything," McGrady said. "It just puts people in roles they aren't real comfortable with. You're taking 25 points out of the lineup. That's going to have a huge effect. But we don't have to worry about that now."

Despite losing to Cleveland, the Magic (29-26) remain in the No. 5 playoff position in the East. They are 1 1/2 games behind Boston for the No. 4 spot and home-court advantage in the first round.

The Bulls (15-40), although anchored at the bottom of the Central Division, have won three straight since a trade with Indiana that brought Jalen Rose and Travis Best to Chicago.

Tim Povtak of the Orlando Sentinel reports: A sprained foot never felt this good.

Tracy McGrady and the Orlando Magic breathed a sigh of relief Monday after a magnetic resonance imaging exam and X-rays revealed no stress fracture in his right foot.

"It's all good. I'm back," McGrady said after he was examined by a Chicago Bulls physician. "I was worried. I didn't know what to expect. But there was no fracture, nothing like that."

McGrady sat out Sunday's loss in Cleveland as a precaution, worried that the soreness was the start of something serious. But doctors said it's a mild sprain on the outside of his foot, which occurred in Saturday's win over Philadelphia.

McGrady's status tonight against the Bulls will be a game-time decision. He was fitted for a shoe insert to help cushion the pounding and will spend today getting treatment.

Brian Schmitz of the Orlando Sentinel reports: Add another name to the growing list of candidates interested in owning the Orlando Magic.

David McDavid Sr., a Texas auto dealer, has expressed interest in buying the club, sources close to the team said. McDavid once held a minority ownership in the Dallas Mavericks with Ross Perot Jr. He sold his 13 percent share after the Mavericks were purchased by Mark Cuban in 2000 for $280 million.

McDavid's family has been in the automobile-dealership business for more than 60 years.

McDavid is among a whopping 18 ownership candidates, a figure Magic Senior Vice President Pat Williams says is "really unheard of. It's staggering. You have baseball teams who have only one or two potential buyers."

Magic President Bob Vander Weide said Monday the process has moved along to the point where some candidates have signed confidentiality statements so they can examine the club's finances.

But other than that, Vander Weide said, "We are not pushing the process. We're in the paper stages."

Both Nick Van Exel and Raef LaFrentz ended up in Dallas. Marc Jackson ended up in Minnesota.

And the Orlando Magic, who were reported to be in the market for those three players before the NBA trading deadline last Thursday, ended up with their roster unchanged.

"Nothing really came remotely close," general manager John Gabriel said, claiming that the salaries of most of the players who were available -- especially Van Exel and Jackson -- discouraged any activity by him.

Other than the Magic's assortment of future first-round draft picks, teams were most interested in obtaining backup center Don Reid. But Jackson, who isn't much bigger than Reid, comes with a $4.5 million price tag that would have all but wiped out the salary-cap room Gabriel has created to pursue free agents in 2003.

LaFrentz, a first-round pick by the Denver Nuggets in 1998, will be a free agent after this season. But Magic coach Doc Rivers believes the Mavericks already have an agreement to retain LaFrentz.

Another trade of significance had the Boston Celtics picking up forward Rodney Rogers and guard Tony Delk from the Phoenix Suns. Magic guard Jud Buechler, who began the season with the Suns, was as stunned by that as he was by the resignation of Scott Skiles as their head coach.

"Bryan Colangelo (the Suns' president) knows what he's doing," Buechler said. "They've got a bigger plan. What that plan is, I'm not quite sure."

WHAT GOES UP...

Monty Williams, who was a 74.1 percent free-throw shooter for the Magic two years ago, saw his figure drop below 60 percent this season after an 0-of-6 performance Feb. 16 at Houston. Rivers places the blame on Williams' unusually high arc.

"That thing is as high as I've ever seen a free throw," he said. "I told him at the beginning of the year, Monty, why did you change your free throw?' And he didn't realize he had, which scared the hell out of me."

"I've always shot them like that," Williams said. "So I've just got to go up there and make them. That's it."

Assistant coach Johnny Davis worked with Williams for three days between games after the Magic's victory over the Rockets. Williams was perfect on all three attempts from the line Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Clippers.

"It'll pay off," he said. "I've just got to realize how important they are instead of just junking them up there like I have been. I want to do better. I will do better."

BETTER BENCH

The Magic got only 18 and 11 points from their bench in consecutive games before the non-starters regained their form in the 119-102 win over the Clippers.

Even without the 29 points registered during fourth-quarter garbage time, the bench got contributions early from Williams and Patrick Ewing. Rivers brought in Ewing for Horace Grant with 4:08 to go in the first quarter, and while the 39-year-old center was beaten more than once by Michael Olowokandi on the defensive end, he hit his first three shots.

The Magic had gone into the game averaging 32.2 points a contest from their bench, second only to the Detroit Pistons (33.5). And Rivers was unconcerned about the lack of production at Houston because the starters put up 42 points in the first quarter.

"There was no bench in the NBA that could have kept that going," he said. "If we play like that every first quarter, we're going to win them all."

HOCKEY TOWN?

The Magic weren't the only major-league team practicing Friday at the RDV Sportsplex in Maitland. The Detroit Red Wings -- or at least those players who didn't have Olympic commitments -- used the facility's ice rink in preparation for a game at Tampa when the NHL season resumes.

For all the grief they have received in recent years -- the Mavericks' maverick owner and the maverick coach -- Mark Cuban and Don Nelson should take a bow.

They will get the last laugh now.

The blockbuster trade last week that brought budding center Raef LaFrentz and irascible point guard Nick Van Exel to Dallas was a bold move that took deep pockets and lots of testerone.

It probably won't get them past the Los Angeles Lakers -- not as long as Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant stay healthy -- but it should push them past everyone else in the NBA for several years.

Watching them hammer the Sacramento Kings -- with the league's best record -- Saturday was a good example of what's to come

Maybe they didn't get a brute to arm-wrestle Shaquille O'Neal, but they now have the deepest, most talented team in the league, putting the pressure on Nelson to make it all work.

He has been waiting for years for something like this, giving him a chance to validate his personal belief that he is the smartest coach in the league.

LaFrentz gives them a shot-blocking center who can also score and rebound, a player who every team in the league wanted to put on its free-agent wish list in two summers. He won't go anywhere now.

Van Exel gives them another big-time scorer in the backcourt, a chance for Nelson to try several more of his offbeat theories on how to win games with unorthodox lineups. Nelson has promised eventually to start Van Exel alongside point guard Steve Nash, even though it could be a defensive liability.

The Mavericks will also move Michael Finley to small forward, where he belongs, and Dirk Nowitzki back to power forward, moving both Evan Eschmeyer and Shawn Bradley into backup roles at center.

It gives the Mavericks three 7-footers who can consistently hit 3-point shots in Nowitzki, LaFrentz and ZhiZhi Wang.

"This makes my team more consistent," Nelson said. "I have some players now who are alike in the things we like to run. I have three big men who can take the shot outside, making it difficult for matchups with other big men."

The only thing puzzling about the trade with Denver is why the Nuggets agreed to it. How can they possibly sell tickets with a straight face, knowing they now have the worst team in the league? In the deal, they got Juwan Howard, who walks around with a sign on his back that says "overpaid," and a breaking-down Tim Hardaway, who must have swallowed a lemon when he heard.

Although Van Exel has been a disruptive force before, with the Los Angeles Lakers and in Denver, the Mavericks are betting it won't happen now, believing he will be so happy to leave Denver that he will behave.

Naturally, the Mavs had to take some guys they didn't want -- like Tariq Abdul-Wahad and his $43 million contract -- but Cuban wasn't fazed by that. He plays this game like some people play with Monopoly money.

And he wants to win now.

"We're flexible now," Nelson said. "Everything is going to work out just fine."

Magic officials waiting

Although new ownership for the Orlando Magic likely will bring some changes in the front office, they haven't started jumping ship just yet. John Weisbrod, the chief operating officer, turned down a chance recently to become the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning when Rick Dudley was fired. Weisbrod, who has a hockey background, came to Orlando originally to be the general manager of the Orlando Solar Bears. A few years ago he might have jumped at a NHL position, but not now.

Chocolate Thunder speaks

Some guys grow old, but they never grow up. Listen to this question-and-answer session with still lovable Darryl Dawkins, the Orlando Evans High School star who jumped directly into the NBA before it became so popular.

Dawkins, who now coaches the Pennsylvania Valley Dogs in the United States Basketball League, was an assistant coach at the NBA Rookie Game, working alongside veteran Chuck Daly. Bet there were some interesting discussions between those two.

But this is the one we know about:

Q: Is Chocolate Thunder still in effect?

Dawkins: Chocolate Thunder is still in effect. I'm still funking for Jamaica and enjoying life.

Q: Who's that on your cell phone [when it rings during the interview]?

Dawkins: It's just the president calling: `Mr. Bush, don't worry about it.'

Q: Was that the planet Lovetron?

Dawkins: No, they can't call me from there. I've got to go there.

Q: What does it mean to have the all-star game in Philadelphia [where you once played]?

Dawkins: It's great because this is the cheesesteak capital of the world. And if you ain't got grease on your bag, you ain't got a cheesesteak.

Jordan's play paying dividends

Want to know how important Michael Jordan's presence is to the Wizards? Here are some numbers that should catch your eye:

Their per-game ticket gross last season was an estimated $400,000. Their per-game ticket gross this season is $850,000. Over the course of a season, that's nearly a $19-million difference.

Don't bet on this Magic move

Don't hold your breath on that Magic-moving-to-Charlotte story last week. Bruton Smith, the North Carolina billionaire who told everyone he wanted to buy the team and use it to replace the Hornets, has been known for his unrealistic bluster in the past.

If you are betting, it's a good bet that he'll never get that chance. And here's why: Watch for the NBA to scuttle the Hornets? proposed move to New Orleans despite the desires of George Shinn, the current Hornets owner.

Most of the league owners hate the city of New Orleans and don't believe it could support a team. The league will force Shinn to stay in Charlotte, effectively forcing Shinn to sell the team to someone else in North Carolina.

Once Shinn is gone, a new arena will be built and the Hornets will live happily-ever-after in Charlotte -- possibly with Smith as the new owner.