by FOXSports.com

Updated: October 6, 2008, 10:21 AM EST 1243 comments

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During the Nets' summer overhaul, Vince Carter learned that people were speculating and some said he would ask for a trade because he didn't want to go through a rebuild. That was news to him. Carter insists he wants to remain a Net and believes he proved it by helping organize the voluntary workouts and pickup games at the team's practice facility in August and September. "When they said, 'You're going to jump ship,' I don't believe that," Carter said. "I'm here. It says New Jersey on my jersey and I'm going to do my job." -- Bergen Record

Suns Nash not planning on retiring soon

Steve Nash is just four months away from turning 35. But the two-time MVP has no plans to hang up his sneakers in the near future. Nash, who has an all-but-guaranteed team option for next season, said he knows he wants to play two more seasons beyond that contract -- which would take him through the 2011-12 season and his 38th birthday -- and he might play longer if he still feels healthy and passionate about the game. "I know I want to play four more years. That's my goal, to sign another two-year contract. After that, I'll evaluate where I am and how I feel," Nash said. "I know I feel great right now and I think I have a lot left." Nash said the Suns haven't come to him to talk about any contract extension, which is understandable since they haven't officially exercised the option for next season. But $7.5 million of the $13.125 million he is due is already guaranteed whether he plays or not, so barring any serious injury, that figures to be a slam dunk. Nash said his preference would be to continue and even complete his career in Phoenix. "My number one priority would be to stay here, but I'll think more about that when the time comes." -- East Valley Tribune

Heat keeping locker space for Mourning

Although he is unsigned and still uncertain about a comeback from last year's knee injury, Alonzo Mourning retains his corner stall in the locker room, even as roster members such as Chalmers have to share space elsewhere. -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Source: Nuggets coach tells Iverson and Carmelo to shoot less

NBA sources said Nuggets coach George Karl told Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony at the beginning of training camp that they would have to make a much stronger effort to get their teammates more involved offensively. Iverson averaged 26.4 points and 18.9 field goal attempts per game last season while Anthony averaged 22.5 points and 19.2 field goal attempts. In light of the team defense being ridiculed last season, Karl also worked on nothing but defense during the first four days of practice. -- Boston Globe

Artest set to play wherever needed for Rockets

Asked his preferred and best position, Ron Artest thought about it and said he liked playing all three. "I used to want to (be at one position)," Artest said. "When I first started playing and they were trying to give me a position, I would say I wanted to be a two. I always wanted to be a two so I could come off screens and shoot. But I can still do that. I put so much emphasis back in the day on the position, it was affecting my mentality of how the game should be played. It was affecting my relationship with coaches; it was affecting my relationship with players because I so much wanted to play two. "If I didn't play two, I would take it so personal. "I don't have a favorite position now. I like the hardest position, whatever is going to be the most work for me. If the best defender is playing the small forward position, I'm going to play that position. If the best offensive player is playing the point guard position, I want to guard that position. Whatever will be the toughest. "When you're on the court, if you just go out and play, your skills come to light. That's the approach I take now." -- Houston Chronicle

Celts Cassell planning to retire after season

Guard Sam Cassell actually has a guaranteed one-year deal this season, not the nonguaranteed deal as previously thought following a misinterpretation from an interview with a team official. Cassell, who turns 39 Nov. 18, said Saturday that this will definitely be his last season. "It will be time. It's time," said Cassell, who could become an assistant with the Celtics. -- Boston Globe

Marbury expects to start for Knicks

All indications during Camp Saratoga was Mike D'Antoni desperately wants his new pickup, Chris Duhon, to start at point guard and envisions Stephon Marbury as sixth man, playing more wing. When the 197-pound Marbury was asked about his competition with Duhon, Marbury predicted he'll be in the starting five opening night Oct. 29 at the Garden against Miami. "You can't assess it yet," Marbury told The Post. "When the 29th comes, when the lights come on, it will be different. It doesn't matter now who is on the court at what position. I know when that the game starts, I'll have the ball or I'll be receiving the ball to make plays for others and myself." Because D'Antoni has a high-school crush on Duhon, Marbury's prediction may turn inaccurate. Most league scouts regard Duhon as a very good backup point guard, not a starter. But a source said when D'Antoni watched tape of Marbury's 24 games last season, he felt the club ran the ball more fluidly when Marbury was on the bench and Nate Robinson was in. The knock on Marbury is he dribbles too much and doesn't make enough vertical passes to make the high-tempo hum. -- NY Post

Bulls to feature Drew Gooden in contract year

In a contract year, these are the words any player wants to hear. "He's going to be used a lot," Vinny Del Negro said. The Bulls' coach was referring to Drew Gooden, who, other than journeyman Michael Ruffin, is the only veteran frontcourt player at training camp. But Gooden, entering the final year of a three-year, $23 million contract he signed with Cleveland, insists he is focused on nothing but winning. "Nah, nah, nah, I'm not thinking about my contract," Gooden said. "I've been in this position before, and I put too much pressure on myself that time. This time I know if I play my [butt] off, things will take care of themselves. "I'm comfortable, no added pressure. Sometimes I even forget about it." Kind of like how it's sometimes easy to forget that Gooden averaged 14.0 points and 9.3 rebounds in 18 games with the Bulls last season, including a 31-point, 16-rebound effort against Atlanta. That's because Gooden, acquired in the Ben Wallace trade, sat the final 10 games with a strained abdomen. -- Chicago Tribune

Bucks Redd hopes to rediscover fun in the game

The low point for Michael Redd came last season when the Bucks won 26 games and he admitted after the season that he'd had more fun as a rookie when he didn't play. . . because the team had won. The question now is what's next for Redd? Where does he go from here? "I don't know," said Skiles. "That's a difficult assessment for me to make when I've only coached the guy (a short time). I have coached against him. He's a top-10 scorer in this league and I have no reason to think that he won't continue to be that type of scorer. "But any other stuff. . . what I can't do is pre-judge things that have happened before I got here. I do believe, always, that it's hard to know where you're going until you know where you've been. I totally believe that. So it's nice to have some background on things that went on or whatever, but I think Michael will be a very good individual defender on his spot and a very good team defender and will play within the offense and also get his share of scoring." Asked about his approach to the coming season, Redd said, "Just play. That's my philosophy. Just play. Just have fun. Have fun again. That's the one thing I didn't have last year. I didn't have fun." -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Woodson wants Hawks to win in preseason too

Hawks coach Mike Woodson won't apologize for his Al Davis approach to preseason basketball. When asked what his approach to the Hawks' eight-game preseason slate would be, Woodson borrowed one of the longtime Oakland Raiders boss's most famous slogans. "Just win baby," Woodson said with a smile Sunday after the Hawks wrapped up their final practice in preparation for tonight's preseason opener in Orlando. "It's time to play, man. Some people view preseason game as something to get players in shape and get ready for the season. "To me, it's huge in terms of using that time to bond and get used to doing things in a winning way. I don't think you can do it any other way. You have to play to win." Woodson's players are used to his 100 mile an hour routine during the preseason, be it practices or preseason games. Last year the Hawks piled up a 7-1 preseason record and Woodson has no doubt that early success, even though it didn't count on the final tally, was invaluable. -- Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Lakers Ariza needs minutes in contract year

The Lakers small forwards are also in different contract stages. Including this season, Luke Walton has five years and $26 million, and Vladimir Radmanovic has three years and $19.4 million. Trevor Ariza is in the final year of a contract that pays him $3.1 million this season. Ariza tried to put a positive spin on all of it. "We all do different things," he said. "We all bring different aspects to the game. Either way you go, you can't lose." -- LA Times

Sixers Dalembert thinking about All-Star game

When Samuel Dalembert said, "I expect to be an all-star this year" one week ago at Sixers media day, a few writers raised their eyebrows. After all, Dalembert has never received an All-NBA vote or averaged more than 10.7 points in a season.Several of Dalembert's teammates and coach Maurice Cheeks said they understand why the Sixers' starting center would say it. -- PhillyBurbs.com

O.J. Mayo emerges for Grizzlies

O.J. Mayo clearly wants his game to speak at a high volume. And the Grizzlies like the tone from their 6-5 rookie guard after one week of training camp.He arrives early and stays late. His competitive spirit never needs booster cables. Mayo is making a smooth transition so far. "He's shown everything he's shown before," Griz head coach Marc Iavaroni said, referring to Mayo's offseason work. "He's tremendous competitor. He pays a lot of attention to defense. He's got a balanced game. He's learning that he can be an assassin in this league." That Mayo isn't trying to do too much is perhaps his best characteristic. He's delivered the wow factor at times with spectacular plays in practice, but Mayo seems to focus more on asking questions, learning and blending into a framework established by returnees Rudy Gay, Kyle Lowry and Mike Conley. Asked what he's learned after one week of an NBA training camp, Mayo responded with "patience." -- Memphis Commercial Appeal

Pivotal campaign awaits Spurs' Bonner

Back in Spurs training camp, and back on the job, Bonner is facing perhaps the most pivotal season of his basketball-playing life. Robert Horry, the primary obstacle in Bonner's path to playing time the past two seasons, has been shipped off to the NBA's version of the old folks home. Entering his third season with the Spurs, Bonner stands first in line for those Horry minutes as a shooting big man off the bench. As such, Bonner, 28, should finally have ample opportunity to justify the three-year, $9-million contract the Spurs awarded him last summer. "This is really the first time he's going to be the lead character in the play at his position," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's always kind of been in the shadow of Robert Horry. He's got a chance to step out of the shadows and show he deserves those minutes." -- San Antonio Express-News

Charlie Villanueva headed to Bucks bench?

One area of focus will undoubtedly be the power forward position, where the Bucks might take a look at Malik Allen and Francisco Elson as the starter and bring Charlie Villanueva off the bench to provide some scoring punch. The Bucks are also thinking that bringing Villanueva off the bench would allow him to avoid early foul trouble and enhance his chances of being a finisher in the fourth quarter. -- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Blazers Oden stars in ads supporting Obama

Trail Blazers rookie center Greg Oden made headlines in February when he publicly endorsed Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for president. Now, less than a month away from Election Day, Oden is poised to use his national popularity and celebrity to help lift the Democratic presidential nominee to victory. Oden plans to take part in a series of commercials today in support of Obama and said he would do "anything else they can come up with" in the coming weeks. Oden was asked last month to campaign for Obama in battleground state Ohio, where Oden went to college, but the 20-year-old had to decline because he was preparing for training camp. "It's my first time voting and he's the guy I latched onto and I really like," Oden said of Obama. "He's just a guy that I like. Honestly, I feel that he can best run this country. And it's not about all his policies, because if you think about it, I would probably, with my tax bracket, need to vote Republican. But he's the guy I really like and I'm going to vote for." -- Oregonian

Boston will have to wait for NBA All-Star Game

While there has been talk about the NBA All-Star Game coming to Boston, it wouldn't be for at least two years. NBA commissioner David Stern said last week that a decision on the 2010 game is expected to be announced at the beginning of the upcoming season. While the Celtics have looked into the process of hosting an All-Star Game for the first time since 1964, a team source said no official application has been filed. The 2009 All-Star Game is in Phoenix, and projected candidates for 2010 include Dallas, Toronto, Charlotte, and New York. "There are several places that we're considering," said Stern. "We are aiming to have a decision shortly after the season starts." Dallas seems to be the front-runner for 2010. There has been a proposal to have the game at the new Cowboys stadium in nearby Arlington, which would allow all the Mavericks season ticket-holders to be able to attend. -- Boston Globe

Heat's Livingston could need another year to regain pre-knee injury form

One executive whose team considered signing new Heat guard Shaun Livingston believes he could need a year to regain his pre-knee injury form but if he does, would be better than any point guard in the next three drafts. ''He has excellent instincts, sees the floor well, is unselfish,'' a scout said. ''It's worth the gamble - Miami had no [legitimate] starting point guard.'' His shooting percentage improved each season with the Clippers - 41.4 to 42.7 to 46.3. -- Miami Herald

Fewer minutes are almost a guarantee for Lakers

It's not a bad problem, but, well, it's definitely lingering there for the Lakers -- too many players fighting for too few minutes. There's a logjam at small forward, especially since Kobe Bryant shifted there from shooting guard to make room for Lamar Odom's move to the backcourt. Even if Bryant played less than 38.9 minutes a game (his average last season), it would be hard to squeeze enough time out of the position for Trevor Ariza, Vladimir Radmanovic and Luke Walton. "As far as I've heard from the coaches, everybody is going to be playing shorter minutes," Radmanovic said. "So, we have to prepare mentally." Walton averaged 7.2 points in 23.4 minutes a game last season. Ariza averaged 6.5 points and 18 minutes a game, and Radmanovic averaged 8.4 points and 22.8 minutes. -- LA Times

Heat Chalmers inconsistent at point guard

Miami started Mario Chalmers at point guard, Dwyane Wade at shooting guard, Shawn Marion at small forward and Mark Blount at center in the second half. They went against Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Amir Johnson and Rasheed Wallace. The Heat kept that unit on the floor for the first 7:10 of the third quarter. It tied Detroit, 12-12, for that time span. Chalmers, who has had good days and bad days in training camp, ended with four turnovers and four fouls, but ran the offense fairly well. "Today was a microcosm of what he was all week for us," Spoelstra said. -- Palm Beach Post

Heat would love Shawn Marion trade?

An NBA GM said the Heat are still interested in trading forward Shawn Marion for "a great piece that could improve their team," since they are probably not interested in giving him a lucrative long-term contract. For the time being, you can forget talk of Miami dealing Marion for Chicago's Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni. Gordon signed a one-year, $6.4 million qualifying offer with Chicago last week that will make him ineligible to be traded until Jan. 2, and he has a no-trade clause. -- Boston Globe

Former Heat GM Pfund upset

Friends who spoke to former Heat GM Randy Pfund described him as unhappy about his departure, said his authority had diminished in recent months and that he doesn't have another job lined up. -- Miami Herald

Nuggets scared of Jamaal Tinsley's contract

One NBA general manager said the Nuggets were very interested in trading for Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley but his hefty contract ultimately kept the deal from happening. Tinsley, who has been barred from Pacers training camp because of off-the-court issues, is making $6.75 million this season and has three years and $21.45 million left on his contract. -- Boston Globe

Jawad Williams trying to find home with Cavs

Jawad Williams is a familiar face in a tough place as the Cavaliers tune up for the 2008-09 season. Williams is a 25-year-old Cleveland native and former St. Edward High School standout who played collegiately at North Carolina. The 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward is one of the Cavs' five training camp invitees. "I had to give this a chance," Williams said during a Media Day interview. "The biggest thing is, I get to come home. It will be a great opportunity for me. I know how hard I worked. Maybe I can bring something to this team." This is Williams' third NBA training camp. After averaging 12.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in four seasons at North Carolina, Williams went to camp with the San Antonio Spurs in October 2005. He did the same in 2006 with the Los Angeles Clippers. Both times, he was released before the start of the regular season. During the last three seasons, Williams had stints in the NBA Development League with Anaheim and Fayetteville. He's also played for pro teams in Japan, Israel and Spain. -- News-Herald

Knicks Marbury producing fitness video

So proud of his off-season conditioning program, Stephon Marbury is producing a 45-minute fitness video due out for the Christmas shopping season. Marbury's weight loss to his lightest since Lincoln High - after long hikes and jogging the Hollywood Hills - motivated him to do the video. "It's for all different types of people, not just basketball players," said Marbury, whose video is called "Starbury & Aim Sports Medicine Presents: The Rebuilding of the Mind, Body and Soul of a Superstar." -- NY Post

Celts Garnett, Jazz Sloan have choice words for refs

An NBA source said the consensus among the league's referees is that the player and coach who use the most choice words during games are Boston's Kevin Garnett and Utah's Jerry Sloan. The source also said the referees take into account that it's just part of their intense makeup and they have learned not to take it personally. -- Boston Globe

Bell adjusts to Suns' new system

Nobody had a more inquisitive Suns training camp than guard Raja Bell, whose inquiring mind was emblematic of how much the Suns' inner workings have shifted under new coach Terry Porter. "Everything is different," Bell said. "If you don't know, you better ask. When everything changes on you, sometimes you've got to ask questions to make sure you're on the same page. "It's a 180 but that's what we've decided we need to do to win. Now, it's about us all understanding the way we're going to play and the schemes." Bell was frequently the player Mike D'Antoni couldn't bring himself to take off the floor in recent years. He averaged a team-high 35.3 minutes last season because D'Antoni needed Bell's All-NBA defense and his 3-point shooting to spread the floor offensively. -- Arizona Republic

Barkley-like figure would benefit TBS' coverage

The obvious suggestion for TBS: Add Charles Barkley to its playoff baseball studio show. That would be pretty heavy-handed. But TBS' studio needs more of a pulse -- and its game coverage needs more of a big-game feel. TBS, which has all of Major League Baseball's first-round playoff games and the American League Championship Series (Fox has the National League Championship Series and the World Series), faced an unusual challenge. Most postseason TV coverage, in various sports, is handled by networks who also carry plenty of regular-season action. During the MLB season, TBS aired one game -- and no studio show -- each week. It had to throw together a postseason on-air lineup. And while TBS' coverage so far is mostly adequate, it lacks any sort of buzz. Unlike TNT's NBA crew of Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson, who can make humdrum regular-season action into something worth talking about, TBS' baseball studio seems overly earnest and lacks the storytelling and opinions that could help draw in casual viewers. Dennis Eckersley, who works Boston Red Sox local TV coverage, was added this season and sometimes manages to rouse his moribund co-star Cal Ripken-- but you don't sense either would necessarily be watching the playoffs if they weren't paid to. -- USA Today

Cavs guard's wife to be featured on Bravo docu-series

The latest Bravo Real Housewives docu-series debuts Tuesday focusing on five Atlanta women, including the wives of Cleveland Cavalier Eric Snow and ex-NFL player Edgerton Hartwell. -- USA Today

Kevin Garnett TV commercial star

Kevin Garnett stars in an NBATV ad that will begin airing in about a week. Numerous clips of his interviews from last season are shown, and the spot ends with his interview after winning the NBA championship when he simply says: "What are you going to say now?" He also is in an Adidas website ad that features Tim Duncan, Chauncey Billups, Tracy McGrady, Dwight Howard, Josh Smith, Jordan Farmar, and Sebastian Telfair playing pickup basketball at UCLA. Garnett has a humorous exchange in which he debates whether he should call Howard by his nickname, "Superman." -- Boston Globe

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