Mired in a 12-game slide and facing the distraction of supended guard Gilbert Arenas's sentencing on Friday, the Washington Wizards have another potential mess on their hands with the benching of Andray Blatche in Tuesday's 95-86 loss to Charlotte. Wizards Coach Flip Saunders removed Blatche from the game after he played 7 minutes 31 seconds in the first quarter. Saunders said initially he wanted to talk to the power forward about not getting back on defense. Blatche, however, wanted no part of the discussion and essentially boycotted the rest of the game. That left the Wizards short-handed in a game they may have won had Blatche been reinserted. - Washington Post Blog
Knicks president Donnie Walsh said yesterday he would talk to Raja Bell's representative now that Bell has been waived by the Warriors. Bell, the defensive guard who starred for Mike D'Antoni in Phoenix, will become a free agent when he clears waivers today, but more important Bell becomes a free agent this summer. - NY Post
If Drew Gooden had his way, he'd still be playing for the Mavericks. And he said he hopes the door is open for a possible return this summer. Gooden is with the Clippers after getting traded in the Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, DeShawn Stevenson deal. Washington moved Gooden on to LA. - Dallas Morning News
Enthused by the play of the NBA Development Leaguers and the potential on the injury list, Warriors coach Don Nelson said Tuesday that he intends to coach the team's summer-league team in Las Vegas. "It's exciting for me to watch them develop, and I can put them in creative situations," Nelson said. "I want them to use those situations going into next season. Not a lot of coaches do those sorts of things, so it would be nice to have a summer with it." - San Francisco Chronicle
After pregame comments in which Pistons coach John Kuester said he felt he had a playoff team in the beginning, the first-year coach's frustrations boiled over during another loss to the Pacers -- somewhat symbolic of a season in which the Pistons are anything but a playoff team. In the third quarter of Tuesday night's 98-83 loss at the Palace, Kuester was quickly ejected for arguing an offensive call that went against Ben Gordon, so he wasn't around to watch his team fall to 23-48 after eight consecutive playoff appearances. - Detroit Free Press
Kobe Bryant is expected to sign an extension and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers core players are signed into the future. Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson, however, is not under contract next season. In a wide-ranging interview with ESPNLosAngeles.com, enigmatic Lakers owner Jerry Buss delivered some thoughts on the process and addressed recent reports of family tension regarding the re-signing of Jackson for next season. - ESPN
76ers swingman Andre Iguodala intends to play all 82 games this season. Never mind that he's currently struggling with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, never mind the pointlessness of the Sixers' final games, and never mind his numbers, which lately have been dropping quicker than an elevator. The only missed games of Iguodala's career came during the 2006-07 season when he missed six games with a lower back strain. - Philadelphia Inquirer
Carmelo Anthony is one of the five best players in the NBA, and will be highly coveted if he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2011 season. But any discussion now about him coming to the Knicks is a waste of energy. It shouldn't be mentioned, and it shouldn't be insinuated, especially by any member of a Knicks organization looking to protect itself if its free-agent signings go poorly this summer. For now, Anthony should be treated as the enemy, the way Danilo Gallinari treated him last night at the Garden. It was the first time in a long time one of the NBA's elite stars didn't dominate on the Knicks' home floor. - NY Post
When Anthony came out, he talked about the gall of Gallinari, who was trash-talking with the all-star. And he also discussed the not-so-ambiguous comments Knicks president Donnie Walsh made to the New York Post, suggesting that even though the Knicks have money to spend this summer, they are looking at rebuilding over the next couple years — and Melo could be available after 2011. "I really don't know what's going to happen the next year," Anthony said. "I don't know what's going to happen. But I don't see why anybody wouldn't want to play here in New York." - Denver Post
There are two things Donnie Walsh loves talking about – the wonders of cap space and the passion the Garden crowd has shown during this trying season. "I've never see anything like it,'' Walsh says. Last night in their stirring 109-104 win over Denver, the sold-out Garden rocked as the Knicks eked it out down the stretch. When Danilo Gallinari heated up in the third quarter, going mano-mano vs. Carmelo Anthony, the arena was bedlam. "That's why it's New York, it' the best,'' said D'Antoni, whose team now hits the road for a five-game West Coast trip and have only three home dates left among their remaining 11. - NY Post Blog
Chauncey Billups shares Donnie Walsh's vision for the 2010-11 Knicks. "I think it would be pretty cool to come in this place," Billups says, "and see No. 6 out there." Billups was referring to LeBron James, who plans to change his uniform number from 23 to 6 next season....Magic Johnson and former Garden president Steve Mills sat courtside. - NY Daily News
His numbers say David Lee is a keeper, but the free agent market may dictate otherwise. And there is a very strong chance that Lee is about to play the final 11 games of his Knicks' career because New York will not be able to keep him for financial reasons if they hit the jackpot and bring in two of the top unrestricted free agents on the market. - ESPN
Only three games separated fifth and eighth place in the West standings as of Tuesday morning, which means there are quite a few potential first-round playoff opponents for the Lakers (52-18). The Spurs (42-27) could be one of them. "I think all the teams that are going to be opponents in the West are going to be good," Phil Jackson said. "You've got teams that are fighting to see what position they're going to be in - fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth - that are good basketball clubs. "There really isn't much to separate eight from five right now." - LA Daily News
The Pistons simply don't have a go-to scorer like Danny Granger. Richard Hamilton tries to fill the role, but he's never been more than average creating his own shot. If opponents make an effort to take away Richard Hamilton's open looks on off-the-ball screens, they can seriously limit his impact. More of that in a minute. The Pistons have put a lot of faith in Rodney Stuckey, but he doesn't have Granger's range and hasn't shown the ability to consistently dominate a game off the dribble. It's hard to imagine Stuckey will ever be the top scoring option on a playoff team. - Michigan Live
"I think my role on this team, especially now, is to be a defender first," Morris Peterson said. "That's what I try to concentrate on. I don't worry about the shots. You're going to get shots with this team. I work on what I have to work on. But I think defensively, that's where I feel my niche can come on this team." During the seven years Peterson spent in the Eastern Conference with the Raptors, his path crossed often with James, so his familiarity with James' boundless abilities is vast. - New Orleans Times Picayune
No one was happier to see Zydrunas Ilgauskas on Tuesday than Anderson Varejao. Grinning from ear to ear, Varejao bounded over to the mob of reporters at Cleveland Clinic Courts, who asked if he was excited to have Ilgauskas back. "Yes, I am," Varejao said. "It was good to see him today. He didn't practice with us today. But he has been part of this team for a long time, and it was great to have him back. "It was like when I go back home and see my mom and my dad. It was great to see him this morning." - Cleveland Plain Dealer
Knicks president Donnie Walsh said yesterday he would talk to Raja Bell's representative now that Bell has been waived by the Warriors. Bell, the defensive guard who starred for Mike D'Antoni in Phoenix, will become a free agent when he clears waivers today, but more important Bell becomes a free agent this summer. - NY Post
If Drew Gooden had his way, he'd still be playing for the Mavericks. And he said he hopes the door is open for a possible return this summer. Gooden is with the Clippers after getting traded in the Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, DeShawn Stevenson deal. Washington moved Gooden on to LA. - Dallas Morning News
Enthused by the play of the NBA Development Leaguers and the potential on the injury list, Warriors coach Don Nelson said Tuesday that he intends to coach the team's summer-league team in Las Vegas. "It's exciting for me to watch them develop, and I can put them in creative situations," Nelson said. "I want them to use those situations going into next season. Not a lot of coaches do those sorts of things, so it would be nice to have a summer with it." - San Francisco Chronicle
After pregame comments in which Pistons coach John Kuester said he felt he had a playoff team in the beginning, the first-year coach's frustrations boiled over during another loss to the Pacers -- somewhat symbolic of a season in which the Pistons are anything but a playoff team. In the third quarter of Tuesday night's 98-83 loss at the Palace, Kuester was quickly ejected for arguing an offensive call that went against Ben Gordon, so he wasn't around to watch his team fall to 23-48 after eight consecutive playoff appearances. - Detroit Free Press
Kobe Bryant is expected to sign an extension and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers core players are signed into the future. Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson, however, is not under contract next season. In a wide-ranging interview with ESPNLosAngeles.com, enigmatic Lakers owner Jerry Buss delivered some thoughts on the process and addressed recent reports of family tension regarding the re-signing of Jackson for next season. - ESPN
76ers swingman Andre Iguodala intends to play all 82 games this season. Never mind that he's currently struggling with plantar fasciitis in his right foot, never mind the pointlessness of the Sixers' final games, and never mind his numbers, which lately have been dropping quicker than an elevator. The only missed games of Iguodala's career came during the 2006-07 season when he missed six games with a lower back strain. - Philadelphia Inquirer
Carmelo Anthony is one of the five best players in the NBA, and will be highly coveted if he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2011 season. But any discussion now about him coming to the Knicks is a waste of energy. It shouldn't be mentioned, and it shouldn't be insinuated, especially by any member of a Knicks organization looking to protect itself if its free-agent signings go poorly this summer. For now, Anthony should be treated as the enemy, the way Danilo Gallinari treated him last night at the Garden. It was the first time in a long time one of the NBA's elite stars didn't dominate on the Knicks' home floor. - NY Post
When Anthony came out, he talked about the gall of Gallinari, who was trash-talking with the all-star. And he also discussed the not-so-ambiguous comments Knicks president Donnie Walsh made to the New York Post, suggesting that even though the Knicks have money to spend this summer, they are looking at rebuilding over the next couple years — and Melo could be available after 2011. "I really don't know what's going to happen the next year," Anthony said. "I don't know what's going to happen. But I don't see why anybody wouldn't want to play here in New York." - Denver Post
There are two things Donnie Walsh loves talking about – the wonders of cap space and the passion the Garden crowd has shown during this trying season. "I've never see anything like it,'' Walsh says. Last night in their stirring 109-104 win over Denver, the sold-out Garden rocked as the Knicks eked it out down the stretch. When Danilo Gallinari heated up in the third quarter, going mano-mano vs. Carmelo Anthony, the arena was bedlam. "That's why it's New York, it' the best,'' said D'Antoni, whose team now hits the road for a five-game West Coast trip and have only three home dates left among their remaining 11. - NY Post Blog
Chauncey Billups shares Donnie Walsh's vision for the 2010-11 Knicks. "I think it would be pretty cool to come in this place," Billups says, "and see No. 6 out there." Billups was referring to LeBron James, who plans to change his uniform number from 23 to 6 next season....Magic Johnson and former Garden president Steve Mills sat courtside. - NY Daily News
His numbers say David Lee is a keeper, but the free agent market may dictate otherwise. And there is a very strong chance that Lee is about to play the final 11 games of his Knicks' career because New York will not be able to keep him for financial reasons if they hit the jackpot and bring in two of the top unrestricted free agents on the market. - ESPN
Only three games separated fifth and eighth place in the West standings as of Tuesday morning, which means there are quite a few potential first-round playoff opponents for the Lakers (52-18). The Spurs (42-27) could be one of them. "I think all the teams that are going to be opponents in the West are going to be good," Phil Jackson said. "You've got teams that are fighting to see what position they're going to be in - fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth - that are good basketball clubs. "There really isn't much to separate eight from five right now." - LA Daily News
The Pistons simply don't have a go-to scorer like Danny Granger. Richard Hamilton tries to fill the role, but he's never been more than average creating his own shot. If opponents make an effort to take away Richard Hamilton's open looks on off-the-ball screens, they can seriously limit his impact. More of that in a minute. The Pistons have put a lot of faith in Rodney Stuckey, but he doesn't have Granger's range and hasn't shown the ability to consistently dominate a game off the dribble. It's hard to imagine Stuckey will ever be the top scoring option on a playoff team. - Michigan Live
"I think my role on this team, especially now, is to be a defender first," Morris Peterson said. "That's what I try to concentrate on. I don't worry about the shots. You're going to get shots with this team. I work on what I have to work on. But I think defensively, that's where I feel my niche can come on this team." During the seven years Peterson spent in the Eastern Conference with the Raptors, his path crossed often with James, so his familiarity with James' boundless abilities is vast. - New Orleans Times Picayune
No one was happier to see Zydrunas Ilgauskas on Tuesday than Anderson Varejao. Grinning from ear to ear, Varejao bounded over to the mob of reporters at Cleveland Clinic Courts, who asked if he was excited to have Ilgauskas back. "Yes, I am," Varejao said. "It was good to see him today. He didn't practice with us today. But he has been part of this team for a long time, and it was great to have him back. "It was like when I go back home and see my mom and my dad. It was great to see him this morning." - Cleveland Plain Dealer
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