NBA Capsules: Mavericks bring back Najera in trade with Nets
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks have acquired Eduardo Najera from the New Jersey Nets in exchange for forwards Kris Humphries and Shawne Williams.
The trade announced Monday brings Najera back to Dallas, where he was a fan favorite in his first four NBA seasons. He played in 39 postseason games with the Mavericks, including 19 in 2003 when Dallas lost to San Antonio in the Western Conference finals.
The native of Mexico was traded to Golden State in the Erick Dampier deal in 2004 and was later sent to Denver. He averaged 3.8 points in 13 games in his second season with the Nets.
Humphries averaged 5.2 points in 25 games for the Mavericks. Williams hasn't played for Dallas since last January.
NBA players see no need for gambling restrictions
NEW YORK — NBA players aren't ready to turn in their cards.
If commissioner David Stern is considering gambling restrictions in the wake of the Washington Wizards' troubles, he'll find plenty of objection within the league.
"I'm not in favor of that at all," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
Jackson said card games are a "great release" for players and haven't seemed to be a problem on his team, a sentiment echoed by coaches and players on several teams. And forget keeping the card games but banning the wagering.
"Guys wouldn't want to play," Memphis forward Zach Randolph said. "They're too competitive."
Players can relax, at least for now. Stern's preference is to leave the decision to the clubs, who are given broad rights to make rules regarding player conduct.
"Historically this has been a team issue, and we have teams that currently ban gambling during team activities," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.
The New York Times reported last week that there were indications the league was considering new gambling restrictions for players. At least two teams banned gambling on the team plane following the Wizards' troubles, which started with a card game. Now, authorities are investigating Gilbert Arenas, the guns he kept at the Verizon Center and the Dec. 21 spat between Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton that prompted Arenas to take the guns out of his locker.
Arenas was suspended indefinitely by the NBA last week, pending the outcome of the investigation. Crittenton has been excused by the team from practices and games while the legal process plays out.
Players counter the problem's not gambling, but rather individuals' behavior.
"I don't think it's necessary," New Orleans center Emeka Okafor said. "For the most part, people act in an adult manner, and if this situation had never happened, you would never hear anything about it. For the most part, they're gentlemen games. There's nothing really big at stake, just guys having fun."
The fun got out of hand on Washington's team plane, so coach Flip Saunders banned card playing on Dec. 21, the date of the locker room confrontation between Arenas and Crittenton. There are conflicting reports about what happened between the two players, but their dispute began during a card game on a trip home from the West Coast two days earlier.
The New Jersey Nets instituted a similar ban last week, but a number of teams questioned over the weekend said they have no policy and see no need for one.
"We haven't had any problems like that," Minnesota coach Kurt Rambis said. "I don't feel like we have to go out of our way to step up new rules to circumvent the rules that we already have. I feel comfortable right now, if something comes up then we'll address it, but right now we're not even close to that."
Stern didn't seem terribly concerned with the issue 15 months ago.
On a conference call to discuss his findings after leading the investigation into the NBA's referees operations following the Tim Donaghy betting scandal, former federal prosecutor Lawrence Pedowitz noted his concern with players gambling.
Asked about it during a subsequent call, Stern said Pedowitz would have difficulty owning a team "because players of all sports have been playing cards in the back of buses and planes forever." He allowed he would be concerned if the stakes got too high, but added anything he considered would be in conjunction with the players association, which likely would expect any restrictions involving penalties to be collectively bargained.
Players insist the stakes aren't exorbitant, especially in a league where they make millions.
"I haven't seen guys lose big money," said Detroit's Charlie Villanueva, who has played for three NBA teams. "Guys don't really bring money like that. They don't bring $50-60,000 to play with. If anything, it's like an IOU."
For now, the league is still too focused on its investigation into what happened in the Wizards' locker room to think about any changes that will come from it. And while the league absorbs another public relations hit, players and coaches don't think card games caused it.
"If it's not card playing, it could be something else," Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy said. "Problems are going to come when people don't treat teammates with respect, when you don't live up to obligations, things like that.
"You're not going to be able to ban all the things that could possibly upset teammates."
-- Brian Mahoney
Three more Wizards meet with authorities in gun query
WASHINGTON — Three players were meeting with authorities involved in the Gilbert Arenas gun investigation. Two were suspended, including one who had nothing to do with Arenas.
Another was excused. Another was sore and was scheduled for an MRI.
That left the Washington Wizards without enough players to hold a decent practice Monday morning. No wonder Flip Saunders cut things short after less than an hour, and no wonder the coach had an obvious answer when asked if things were starting to get back to normal.
"Considering that we had three guys meeting with lawyers and the district attorney this morning during practice? No," Saunders said. "We have people still meeting with people. We had only eight people available. That's something right now that we have to live with and fight through."
Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson were the players called away because of the investigation. Saunders sat before the grand jury looking into the case last week, and Randy Foye met with authorities Friday. Investigators appear to be working their way through the roster to obtain every detail possible about the guns Arenas kept at the Verizon Center and the Dec. 21 spat between Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton that prompted Arenas to take the guns out of his locker.
"You pretty much look at it as two guys really made poor judgment," said Antawn Jamison, one of the team's captains. "They let something heated dictate a poor judgment."
Arenas was suspended indefinitely by the NBA last week, pending the outcome of the investigation. Crittenton has been excused by the team from practices and games while the legal process plays out. While Arenas has acknowledged keeping guns in his locker and taking them out in a "misguided effort to play a joke," Crittenton has kept a low profile, revealing no details about the incident and saying through his lawyer that he did nothing wrong. Crittenton has an injured foot and hasn't played this season.
The last thing the Wizards need is yet another distraction, but a new one was added to the list when Saunders announced that Andray Blatche was suspended for "conduct detrimental to the team," including a series of unspecified actions during Sunday's loss to New Orleans. Blatche missed Monday's practice and will sit out Tuesday's game against Detroit, returning for Wednesday's game at Atlanta.
Saunders said Blatche's actions were unrelated to the Arenas investigation. Blatche has already been penalized by the team for an Arenas-related incident — he was one of four players fined $10,000 last week for clowning around when Arenas pantomimed shooting guns before a game at Philadelphia.
Then there's Mike Miller, who finally returned Friday after missing 21 games with a strained right calf — only to aggravate the injury during the third quarter Sunday. Saunders said Miller would be day to day, but the veteran was having an MRI just in case.
"It's too much already," Jamison said. "But this is our job. This is what we get paid to do. When things are going well, you still got to do your job, and when things are not going well, you still got to do your job. ... I can't be down. I'm going to enjoy it, whether I have six guys out there."
The Wizards have actually played relatively well the last two games, despite the absence of Arenas and the accompanying swirl of attention. They beat Orlando on Friday and were tied in the fourth quarter with New Orleans before losing by five.
But Jamison is starting to wonder how much adversity the team can handle.
"We've learned just as much as you can possibly learn," Jamison said. "With injuries and off the court distractions and things of that nature, knock on wood, what else can we learn from? It wears on you."
-- Joseph White
Jefferson isn't worried about trade rumors
MINNEAPOLIS — The NBA trade deadline is inching closer and closer, and Minnesota Timberwolves center Al Jefferson knows what that means.
Rumors are going to start swirling fast and furious, and he heard his name right in the middle of one of them over the weekend. His reaction? Just a chuckle and a shrug.
"I laugh at rumors," Jefferson said after shootaround Monday in Denver, a few hours before the Timberwolves were set to play the Nuggets. "That's why they're rumors."
Jefferson was responding to a report by Yahoo! that cited anonymous sources in saying Timberwolves president David Kahn offered Jefferson to Indiana in exchange for Danny Granger. Given that Jefferson was billed as the centerpiece of the seven-for-one trade that sent longtime Timberwolves star Kevin Garnett to Boston three years ago, the report raised eyebrows around the Twin Cities.
The Associated Press left a message with Kahn seeking comment. He has said previously this year that he did not envision a scenario where he would trade any of his core players this season. Kahn and Rambis want a full season to evaluate who fits into the new, more uptempo, scheme that has elements of Phil Jackson's triangle offense.
Jefferson said he and his agent met with Kahn last week and were assured that he was staying put. Jefferson is averaging 17.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game and is still working his way back from a torn ACL suffered last February.
"He talked to us and let us know that nothing like that was going on," Jefferson said. "When you see stuff like that coming on TV and coming up out of the woodworks, that's why it's in one ear and out there other one.
"I've been in this league long enough to know, this time of the year, every year, you're going to hear rumors about trades and stuff before the trade deadline. That's why it didn't bother me. Actually, me and my teammates, they all are making jokes about it."
In his two and a half seasons with the Timberwolves, the 25-year-old Jefferson has emerged as one of the best low-post scorers in the game. He has 71 games with more than 20 points and 10 rebounds in a game since 2007, the third-highest total in the league behind Orlando's Dwight Howard (91) and San Antonio's Tim Duncan (73) in that span, even though he missed nearly three months at the end of last season with the knee injury.
Jefferson was averaging more than 23 points and 11 rebounds before the injury last season, and he is still working his way back into shape following the long layoff.
Kahn took over for Kevin McHale as the team's architect last summer and has made huge changes to the organization since then in an effort to restore some legitimacy to a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2004. He has said in the past that he views Jefferson as a good second-option on an elite team, not a No. 1 player.
The question remains whether the 6-10 Jefferson and the 6-10 Kevin Love can play together in the same frontcourt. Jefferson currently plays out of position at center for the smaller Timberwolves. While both players are putting up big numbers on offense, they have had trouble matching up on the defense against taller opponents.
"When you look at the elite teams in the league, the length, the height, the size, (Jefferson and Love) are both power forwards," Rambis said last week. "Do they do their jobs very well? Yes. Do they need to do it much better, particularly on the defensive end to compete with those guys? Certainly."
Chemistry certainly is not an issue. The 25-year-old Jefferson has tried to take on a mentoring role with the 21-year-old Love, who is in his second season out of UCLA, and the two get along very well.
"Kevin is like a son to me in this league," Jefferson said.
Love said he's braced himself to hear similar rumors involving the Timberwolves in the coming months, especially leading up to the Feb. 18 trade deadline.
"I heard I was getting traded in the summer. I heard everybody was getting traded in the summer," Love said. "We'll see what happens before the trade deadline. I don't think Al's going anywhere. I don't think I'm going anywhere."
-- Jon Krawczynski
Bucks' Redd out for season with injured left knee
MILWAUKEE — Michael Redd's first season with a surgically repaired left knee ended the same way his previous one did.
Redd tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee for the second time in less than a year on Sunday night in the second quarter of Milwaukee's 95-77 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.
An MRI on Monday in Phoenix revealed the injury, which will require surgery. The Bucks guard previously had surgery in March after tearing the same ligaments last January.
Redd was on crutches outside of the Bucks' locker room before Monday night's game against the Phoenix Suns.
"I'm shaken. You never expect it to happen and it happened again," he said. "Today has been a very hard day. But I've had incredible encouragement from my teammates. I'll get through it."
Redd said he knew something was wrong immediately against the Lakers.
"I cried. I had worked so hard to get back to where I was. It hurts. I'll get back to where I was again. As soon as I tried to explode, I heard a pop," he said. "I was talking to my wife today about this and I said I wouldn't give up. I hurt and I was devastated by it. But my wife encouraged me."
Redd, a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, will have surgery later this month and begin rehab as soon as possible. He had mostly struggled this season. He had already missed 16 games this year with knee soreness and was averaging just 11.9 points in 18 games, 12 starts.
"We are deeply disappointed for Michael who worked so hard to make it back from this injury," general manager John Hammond said. "Although Michael is out for the season, we still have over half the season to play. That gives all of our players, especially our younger guys, the opportunity to earn more playing time the rest of the season."
Both Charlie Bell and rookie Brandon Jennings posted messages on their Twitter accounts encouraging their teammate.
"The team will miss u Mike Redd," Bell wrote. "Really unfortunate for a guy who worked so hard to get back healthy."
The injury casts doubt on his long-term future with the franchise.
The 30-year-old Redd has a player option worth $18.3 million remaining on his $90 million contract signed in 2005, but he will have missed 152 games over the previous four seasons going into 2010-11.
The Bucks also had struggled with Redd on the floor after his previous knee injury, with the offense sputtering in deference to him. Milwaukee was 6-12 this year when Redd played and was 9-7 without him heading into Monday night's game at Phoenix.
Redd was a second-round pick by Milwaukee in 2000 and is the last link to the George Karl-led team that reached the Eastern Conference finals his rookie year.
In three postseason appearances since 2001, Milwaukee has won just four playoff games and failed to reach the second round each time.
Through it all, Redd had been the Bucks' top offensive threat, averaging 20.3 points per game for his career and moving up this season to fourth on the franchise's career scoring list with 11,510 points.
-- Colin Fly
Anthony says he'll play Monday against Minnesota
DENVER — All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony returned to the starting lineup for the Denver Nuggets on Monday night, taking the court against the Minnesota Timberwolves to end a five-game absence due to a bruised right knee.
Anthony, the league's leading scorer, said after the morning shootaround that his bruised right knee was healed enough to play.
"I'm really not feeling any pain," Anthony said. "It's good to be back out there."
Nuggets coach George Karl said during a pregame news conference that Anthony was returning without any limitations, though he would monitor him closely during the game.
"No one has given me any (restrictions) and I talked to them about that this morning," Karl said. "I'll just observe his conditioning and his ability to run up and down the court."
Anthony, who is averaging 30 points a game, banged up his knee Dec. 28 at Sacramento. He was hoping to make it back in time for the much-hyped matchup with LeBron James last Friday. But he wasn't ready, watching from the bench in a fashionable suit as his team beat Cleveland. Anthony sat out the game in Sacramento the next night to give the knee more time to heal.
The extra rest has done wonders, although Anthony wouldn't put a percentage on how healthy he is.
"The area where it's bruised at, it can't get any worse," said Anthony, whose team went 3-2 in his absence. "Maybe if something hit it or something like that. Pretty much, I'm not feeling any pain. Last week, I was feeling pain when I was trying to jump and trying to get my first step going."
Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis just grinned when he was asked to assess the problems Anthony presents on the court.
"You mean besides his ability to create his own shot, pass to his teammates, post up, hit 3-point shots, go one-on-one, drive and cause foul situations," Rambis said. "Besides all those?"
Besides all those.
"Obviously, he's playing at a very high clip," Rambis said. "He's one of the elite players in the league."
The injury-plagued Nuggets are beginning to return to full strength. The only player questionable for the game Monday was rookie guard Ty Lawson. He remained inactive, however, because of a sprained left ankle, missing his third consecutive game.
Celtics F Wallace (sore foot) to sit against Hawks
BOSTON — Boston Celtics forward Rasheed Wallace will miss Monday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks with a sore left forefoot.
Wallace was replaced in the starting lineup by Brian Scalabrine.
Celtics spokesman Jeff Twiss said a few minutes before the game that Wallace had trouble pushing off when he jumped so coach Doc Rivers decided to give him the night off.
Wallace was averaging 10 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
Wallace's absence is a problem because he was replacing Kevin Garnett in the lineup. Garnett has not played since he hyperextended his right knee on Dec. 28, and Rivers said Monday that he expects him to miss another 10 days.
"He got to start working out today for the first time," Rivers said. "Now it's just a conditioning thing. We want to make sure he gets strong and back in shape because he literally hasn't done anything. We figure 10 days to two weeks, that's what it'll take."
Detroit's Prince out with sore left knee
CHICAGO — Detorit Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince missed Monday night's game against the Chicago Bulls with a sore left knee.
Prince, who has already missed 26 games with a back injury, injured his knee in Saturday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Prince is averaging 8.9 points and 3.8 rebounds in nine games this season.
Detroit guard Rodney Stuckey was in the starting lineup Monday after missing the second half against Philadelphia on Saturday with a sore right knee. Ben Gordon was also listed on the active roster for Monday's game after injuring his thigh on Saturday.
The Pistons will try to avoid its 13 straight consecutive loss against the Bulls on Monday.
Kings acquire Armstrong from Hornets
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Kings acquired forward Hilton Armstrong from the New Orleans Hornets for a conditional 2016 second-round pick and cash considerations.
Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie announced the deal Monday, saying Armstrong would contribute immediately at power forward and center.
Armstrong is in his fourth NBA season out of Connecticut. He is averaging 2.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 18 games this season. He has played 209 career games, averaging 3.6 points and 2.7 rebounds per contest.
Armstrong was the Big East defensive player of the year in 2006.
Celtics coach tossed from Hawks game
BOSTON — Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers has been ejected from Monday night's game against the Atlanta Hawks.
Rivers drew two quick technical fouls arguing a flagrant foul call on Glen "Big Baby" Davis in the third quarter.
Assistant coach Armond Hill took over for him — and then drew a "T'' of his own.
The Celtics led 67-57 with 6:16 left in the third quarter when Davis rode Marvin Williams away from the basket on a fast break.
Jamal Crawford made three free throws, then Williams hit one of two for the original foul to cut the deficit to six points, and then the Hawks got the ball out of bounds.
Knicks' Harrington to return after 2-game absence
OKLAHOMA CITY — Al Harrington is expected to play in the New York Knicks' game against the Oklahoma City Thunder after sitting out with a strained left calf.
Harrington has missed the Knicks' last two games but coach Mike D'Antoni says the forward has healed enough to play Monday night.
Harrington is the Knicks' second-leading scorer at 18.4 points per game.
New Jersey waives former No. 1 pick Sean Williams
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Former first-round draft pick Sean Williams has been waived by the New Jersey Nets.
Nets president Rod Thorn released the 17th overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft on Monday.
Williams, a 6-foot-10 forward out of Boston College, averaged 4.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 126 career games. He saw limited action in 20 games this season, averaging 2.6 points and 2.3 rebounds.
Elsewhere
Jayson Williams pleads guilty in fatal N.J. shooting
SOMERVILLE, New Jersey — Former basketball player Jayson Williams pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated assault and will serve at least 18 months in prison for accidentally killing a limousine driver in his bedroom, finally closing one chapter in his troubled post-NBA life.
Williams was awaiting retrial on a reckless manslaughter count but pleaded guilty to the lesser count for the 2002 death of Costas Christofi.
Williams remained poised during the hearing and mostly answered yes and no questions, though he did tell the judge that he had not fully checked the gun's safety before snapping it closed.
"I didn't look in the direction the muzzle of the gun was pointed," he said, before admitting that his handling of the gun was reckless.
Williams, who was charged with drunken driving after crashing his SUV into a tree in New York last week, had about 25 stitches visible above his right eye.
The assault charge carries a minimum 18-month sentence because a gun was involved. The reckless manslaughter count would have carried a maximum 10-year prison sentence. Under his plea agreement, Williams will serve 18 months to five years in state prison and would be eligible for parole after 18 months.
Williams was acquitted in 2004 of aggravated manslaughter and convicted of trying to cover up the crime. The jury deadlocked on a reckless manslaughter count, and a retrial on that charge was due to start this week.
Witnesses testified during the trial that Williams was showing off a shotgun when he snapped the weapon shut and it fired, hitting Christofi. They also testified that Williams initially put the gun in the dead man's hands and told witnesses to lie about what happened.
The defense maintained the shooting was an accident and that Williams panicked afterward.
Years of legal sparring followed the trial.
Defense attorneys tried to get the case tossed out, citing a racial slur uttered by a white investigator during a meeting with other law enforcement officials. A judge, however, ruled against Williams, who is black, on appeal.
In November, it appeared a plea deal had been reached, but was indefinitely postponed at the last minute. His lawyers asked to be removed from his defense, citing client communication issues.
Williams had been free on bail since the Feb. 14, 2002, shooting and will remain free until his Feb. 23 sentencing. He and his attorney declined to comment, citing a gag order.
The Christofi family, who was in the courtroom when Williams pleaded guilty, declined to comment. Williams paid the family more than $2 million in 2003 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.
The 41-year-old Williams played nine seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets before a leg injury forced him to retire in 2000. He was in the second year of a six-year, $86 million contract.
He became an NBA analyst for NBC but was suspended after Christofi's shooting. He attempted a short-lived comeback in the minor league Continental Basketball Association in 2005.
Williams has suffered several recent personal setbacks.
His wife filed for divorce last year, and police used a stun gun on him in a New York hotel after a female friend said he was acting suicidal. He was charged with assault in May after allegedly punching a man in the face outside a North Carolina bar, but charges were dropped.
Williams' father, E.J., with whom he owned a construction business, died in South Carolina in November.
Last week, Williams was charged with drunken driving after crashing his SUV into a tree in New York. He is due back in a Manhattan court March 3 on that charge.
-- Samantha Henry
