Real Madrid Wants Fernandez, Mavs Sign Wafer

Real Madrid wants to sign Rudy Fernandez for next season. The Spanish player is not comfortable in Portland and would be amenable to a return. Real Madrid would welcome him with open arms. The player's camp has let it be known that he's willing to return. Florentino Perez (Real Madrid's president) knows about this and is interested. - HoopsHype

The Dallas Mavericks announced today they have signed guard Von Wafer to a 10-day contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. Wafer (6-5, 210) joins the Mavericks after spending the 2008-09 season with Houston. He averaged 9.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 19.4 minutes in 63 games (11 starts) with the Rockets. - NBA

(Dwyane) Wade went through his second day of rehabilitation with an extensive pregame workout with trainers Tuesday, two days after he was cleared to remove a walking boot. His return remains uncertain, but the team is cautiously optimistic that Wade will recover during the three days Miami has off before a back-to-back set against Milwaukee on Saturday and Sunday at Orlando. - Miami Herald

The trade deadline has passed. And also soon will the flurry to sign players bought out by the March 1 deadline in order to be playoff eligible. But even after that there will be hope for at least one team that needs more depth in the post. Big man Mikki Moore is on the mend. Moore's agent, Mark Bartelstein, told FanHouse on Tuesday that Moore, who had surgery Dec. 18 to repair a right heel spur, should be fully healthy by mid-March and ready to return to the NBA.- FanHouse

With Jarvis Hayes sidelined and Trenton Hassell starting, Chris Douglas-Roberts was out of Kiki Vandeweghe's doghouse and back in the rotation for the Nets' 102-93 loss to Portland. But when dealing with Douglas-Roberts and his inconsistent minutes -- up-and-down like a yo-yo -- one never knows how long that will last. - New York Post

Between the latest two absences, Iverson played in three games, beginning Feb. 16 against Miami. He averaged just 8.0 points on 25 percent shooting from the floor, playing 26.3 minutes per game. "You could tell that maybe his mind or maybe his heart was still with his family, wanting to see his daughter get healed," guard Willie Green said. "I think the best thing was for him to definitely make sure his family situation is fine first." - Philadelphia Inquirer

Second-year center Hamed Haddadi's sudden appearance last Sunday has earned him a supporting role. Griz coach Lionel Hollins announced Tuesday night that Haddadi would supplant rookie Hasheem Thabeet as the backup to starting center Marc Gasol. - Memphis Commercial Appeal

But (Nate) Robinson also seemed to harbor no hard feelings toward his former team. “They gave me my first opportunity to showcase my talent and be part of the NBA,’’ he said before the game. “They gave me my first chance, so I’m always going to respect the organization and everything they did for me. It’s a great opportunity, we get to learn from some of the NBA’s greats right now. - The Boston Globe

Rockets guard Trevor Ariza will be out for the remainder of the week, missing games against the Magic, Spurs and Jazz, with a severe left hip pointer. He underwent an MRI on Monday and will be re-evaluated next week. Guard Kevin Martin will move into the starting lineup, coach Rick Adelman said. - Houston Chronicle

But the same source–who was the first person to tell me outright that Ellison and Cohan held purchase talks in July–said that West might have more serious involvement with another, unnamed group interested in buying the team and eventually moving it to San Francisco. “West’s name is coming up,” the source said. “I think he’s in play on this.” The source didn’t know if West was possibly just advising groups looking at the Warriors or if West could come aboard as a part- owner, basketball kingpin if a sale goes through. - San Jose Mercury News

The Mavericks are also holding out hope, faint as it is, that they will have a shot to sign former All-Star center Zydrunas Ilgauskas after Ilgauskas completes his forthcoming buyout from the Washington Wizards, which is expected as early as Wednesday.  Although the overwhelming expectation around the league is that Ilgauskas will return to Cleveland following a mandatory 30-day wait, Dallas is still on the list of Ilgauskas suitors -- albeit pessimistic suitors -- along with Atlanta and Denver. - ESPN



One season as Kobe Bryant's teammate helped make Caron Butler an All-Star. Butler didn't become an All-Star until a couple of seasons after he left LA, but he firmly believes that the lessons he learned from Kobe played a major role in his development. "That was the best thing that ever could have happened for me personally for my career," said Butler, who will match up against Kobe tonight. "To play alongside a guy like that, see his preparation and what it takes to get to that level, that’s why I was able to be so good in Washington. I took everything I learned from him, being under his wing, and took that to Washington and it made me very successful." - ESPN

He will go to Las Vegas, though, with the experience of winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics, an advantage when Colangelo has been clear in wanting to reward players with a history in the program. Plus, heading into what will be an extended schedule when the exhibition tour is factored in, followed by the tournament itself that United States has not won since 1994, Odom owns the other meaningful experience of having played in countless big games. The pressure of the international stage will not faze him. - NBA

Haywood could not have mouthed the words more perfectly or more precisely himself. More than anything, the 60-year-old feels both scorned and unappreciated. He is a vital part of the league's history, having led an unprecedented cultural revolution by countering the NBA's requirement that a player must complete four years of college eligibility before turning pro. Forty years after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in his favor - a decision that forever changed the landscape of the league and its stars - Haywood can only look back on decades of obscurity, while fellow icons like Bill Russell sat courtside at every major NBA event and has been feted by an endless procession of adulators.  Haywood wants to be remembered in the same light as Jackie Robinson. But he finds himself closer to Mark McGwire."I was raised with the idea that you are supposed to make things better for the generation that comes after you," Haywood said. - Sports Illustrated

On Friday, Artest will play host to the “1st Annual Rhyme n’ Reason Concert Event” at the Conga Room L.A. Live, in an effort to raise funds and awareness for the growing needs of communities in Southern California area by assisting Homeboy Industries, and earthquake-devastated Haiti through Partners in Health. “My new L.A. Lakers fans have been unbelievably supportive and I wanted to do something to help give back to this community, which has so warmly embraced me,” Artest said in a statement. “There are so many youth in Southern California who need help, guidance and direction, and Homeboy Industries is doing so much to help disadvantaged youth stay on the right path and away from gang life. “Haiti is obviously in desperate need of funds, and will be for quite some time. I wanted to try to put something together where people could have fun and raise money for two great causes at the same time.” - Orange County Register

Boozer was asked how aggressive he thought the Jazz would be in re-signing him this summer as a free agent given the $32 million commitment the team made in matching Portland’s offer sheet to Paul Millsap last summer. “I hope very aggressive,” Boozer said. “This is a team that I’m proud to be a part of and I hope it’s an option for me to come back and stay. “I’ve made that very clear and I’m really happy that we have a great team, we’re a very deep team and we have a chance to stay good and hopefully get better as well. But this is a place I’d like to be and I hope the option is there for me this summer.” - Salt Lake Tribune