I'm just feeling a little bit scottish today...wo here's the Wright family Tartan in hunour of my dear old Grampie...

Could Jordan have gotten 81 points in today’s NBA? Of Course…why? Well, Jordan was not exactly an economical shooter, but his 22.9 shots-per-game career average is about five fewer than Kobe is taking right now….with his greater efficiency and the better enforcement on hand checking, he could probably get 100…

Rumour: Warriors GM Chris Mullin will fier coach Mike Montgomery and hire former Warriors coach Don Nelson…

JR…what happened? Former NBA player Isaiah Rider was arrested Thursday on charges of kidnapping a female acquaintance…Rider, 34, was being held on $2 million bail at Marin County Jail on charges of kidnapping and battery…he allegedly got into an argument Wednesday night with the unidentified female acquaintance and drove off with her against her will, Baker said. The woman began to scream, attracting the attention of police. Authorities tracked Rider down early Thursday morning and arrested him, Baker said. The woman was not injured…

Quote of the Day: "I bet that will change the balance of power . . . I think UConn can beat them." - TNT analyst Charles Barkley, casting a sarcastic tone toward the Celtics, who made a seven-player deal with Minnesota.

1) Chris Sheriden of ESPN.com reacts to the Babacock firing:

Babcock leaves lamentable legacy

The news of Rob Babcock's firing came as a surprise, but not a shock, to Rod Thorn, the man partly responsible for his colleague's demise. "To have been a part of it, even in an ancillary way, I'm not happy with that," Thorn said via cell phone Thursday from Portland about an hour after the Toronto Raptors pulled the plug on their general manager. "He's a good guy, he has a lot of experience in the league and I'm sorry that it happened." Plenty of poor decisions contributed to Babcock's demise, but none stood out anywhere near as much as the Vince Carter fleecing.
Babcock got only a pittance for one of the league's few superstars, accepting Eric Williams, Aaron Williams, Alonzo Mourning and a pair of No. 1 draft picks from the Nets. A little-known fact that makes the decision look even worse: Babcock decided not to pull out of the trade a day later, as was the Raptors' right, when it became clear that Mourning would refuse to report to Toronto. The team ended up giving Mourning a $10 million buyout, a decision that benefited no one but Mourning and made the trade even worse, by several degrees, than it already was. "What happened was, they were going to trade him to Portland in a deal for Shareef Abdur-Rahim. We came in and asked what it would take, and they were looking for two first-round picks. It was as simple as that. We had five of them, and we gave them two," Thorn said. "The reason they did the deal was because what we were offering was the best thing being offered." A look at the other moves made by Babcock, who lasted only a season and a half into his four-year contract: Draft picks: The second-biggest blunder of the Babcock era was taking Brazilian center Rafael Araujo with the No. 8 pick in 2004, passing on Andre Iguodala, Sebastian Telfair, Delonte West, Al Jefferson and Jameer Nelson, among others. He also used the No. 7 pick in the 2005 draft on a power forward, Charlie Villanueva, when the franchise's entire rebuilding plan was centered around Chris Bosh, who plays the same position. Took Joey Graham at No. 16 with one of the picks acquired from New Jersey. Second-round picks Roko Ukic and Uros Slokar are playing in Europe, and the recent recall of Pape Sow from the D-League -- against the wishes of coach Sam Mitchell -- ended up being one of Babcock's final battles. Trades: Babcock might have been fired weeks ago if he hadn't made the Mike James-Rafer Alston deal, which has worked out in Toronto's favor in the short term but might not in the long term. James can opt out of his contract after this season, and his recent level of play has lifted him into the upper tier of what will be a weak free-agent class. The Raptors could lose him for nothing, which is what happened last summer with Donyell Marshall -- another move that Babcock rightfully took heat for. Babcock also failed to find takers for Eric and Aaron Williams, a pair of serviceable players with movable contracts. If he had wanted, he could have dealt Carter and Jalen Rose to New York last season for Tim Thomas and Penny Hardaway, which would have given Toronto $29 million in expiring contracts. Free agents: Long before he lost Marshall for nothing, Babcock gave Alston a six-year, $30 million contract when no other team was offering anything remotely near that amount. The jury is still out on Jose Calderon, whose production has dropped precipitously in the past month. Intangibles: Fans were angered to hear he was supposedly wearing earplugs to games to drown out the boos. Had a very strained relationship with Mitchell, to the point where the two were speaking to each other mostly through Embry over Babcock's final few weeks in power. "I was somewhat stunned," Babcock said in a telephone interview. "They told me they wanted someone with more experience, someone with a proven track record."

2) Chad ford of ESPN.com with an inside look at how the Artest-Peja trade went down:

The inside story of the Artest-Stojakovic trade

The Ron Artest saga (at least this episode) is finally over. After a six-week wait, Artest is a Sacramento King and Peja Stojakovic is an Indiana Pacer. How did it happen? What went on behind the scenes? Pacers president Donnie Walsh spoke with ESPN.com on the phone on Thursday and laid out what happened and why the Pacers did what they did. When did the Pacers decide to trade him? Why did it take so long? Did they almost trade for Corey Maggette? What other deals came close? And what happened in those last crazy 48 hours when the deal almost happened died and then was resurrected again on Wednesday? Walsh provides the answers.

The trade demand - The Pacers came into this season with high expectations. The team, despite a rash of suspensions and injuries last season, made it to the second round of the playoffs. Confidence was high. All the major starters from the team, with the exception of veteran Reggie Miller, were returning. The Pacers got a draft-day steal with Danny Granger and landed one of the hottest free agents on the market, Euro star Sarunas Jasikevicius. Oh . . . and Ron Artest, one of the best two-way players in the league, was coming back from a year-long suspension. Artest looked great in the summer league. The Pacers felt confident that his off-court problems were finally behind him. He looked focused in the preseason and the Pacers looked poised to provide a serious challenge to the Detroit Pistons for the Eastern Conference title. Then, out of the blue, in a one-on-one interview with the Indianapolis Star on December 10, Artest suggested the Pacers trade him. The impetus for his request? He had heard a rumor that the Pacers had rekindled year-old talks with the Kings about a Stojakovic-Artest swap. "If the trade rumors, if there is any truth -- maybe it won't be a bad thing," Artest said. "They probably could win more games without me. . . . If I go to the West Coast, I would come back to New York after my contract is up. . . . I would go to Cleveland. I wouldn't mind coming off the bench behind LeBron James. There's a lot of players I wouldn't mind coming off the bench behind." Artest also criticized coach Rick Carlisle: "I like Coach as a person, but I don't like playing for Coach. I like my team, though. . . . Don't get it twisted. He's a very good coach. He knows what he's doing. I personally don't like playing for him." The Pacers were stunned. According to Walsh, Artest had never approached him with any of the concerns. In fact, the rumors weren't true, Walsh says: The Pacers had not spoken with the Kings about Stojakovic in over a year. Walsh set up a meeting with Artest on December 11 and tried to calm his fears. "I told Ronnie that he should have come to me if he had an issue," Walsh told ESPN.com. "That he went about it the wrong way. I told him there wasn't any truth to the rumor and I wanted him to come to practice on Sunday [December 12] and we'd try to work through it." Walsh described Artest as apologetic, and Walsh thought that the issue could be resolved. However, on the evening of the 12th, Walsh saw Artest on TV, reading statements that seemed to contradict what was said in the meeting. Artest appeared to still be standing by his trade request. Walsh said it was at that moment that he knew Artest couldn't play for the Pacers again. "I just couldn't keep him," Walsh said. "We had gone out of our way to help Ronnie. Probably too much so. We were so in love with his talent and I thought, and still think, that he's a really good kid. After all the things we did to help him, I finally realized, we can't help him." Walsh, after consulting with Larry Bird and his owners, acted quickly. "I called Ronnie back up and told him that we were going to trade him," Walsh said. "I also told him we were going to keep him away from the team until we found a trade partner. He seemed OK with it."

Early offers - The Pacers have taken some heat for their decision to put Artest on the inactive list. Many in the media have claimed that it hurt his trade value. Walsh didn't see it that way. Rather, he was pleased to be able to take advantage of the inactive list, a new option provided in the collective bargaining agreement, which did away with the injured list. "It was a blessing," Walsh said. "Before the rule change, you had two choices. You could either suspend a player or put him on the injured list. If Ronnie was healthy, he could refuse to be put on the list. If we suspended him, it would've gone to arbitration and would've been a mess. By putting him on the inactive list, it bought us time to get the right deal." The Pacers needed the time. Walsh said that they received inquiries from "about half" of the teams in the league. But the offers were neither good nor concrete. Walsh ended up making some calls of his own, trying to persuade teams that Artest would help them -- that they were overestimating his problems and underestimating his talent. "A lot of GMs told me they thought or heard he was crazy," Walsh said. "I told all of them he's not. He's very emotional, but he's not crazy. That's not fair to Ronnie." One of those early calls was to Kings GM Geoff Petrie. According to Walsh, Petrie said he wasn't interested. As time passed, Walsh said he was beginning to get nervous. "We were willing to patient," Walsh said. "But we had a drop-dead date of the trade deadline. I was starting to get worried about it."

The deal that almost happened - While reports were flying around the Internet about imminent deals with the Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks and Minnesota Timberwolves, Walsh said that only one other deal ever came close to happening. The Pacers had strong interest in Los Angeles Clippers swingman Corey Maggette, and after a foot injury sidelined him, the Clippers decided they would be willing to swap him for Artest. "We would've done the deal," Walsh said. "However, when we got the MRI on his foot, we sent it to one of the leading authorities on this particular type of injury. His opinion was that Maggette would be out months, and likely the season. When we couldn't get a clear answer on how long the rehab would take, we decided that it wasn't worth the risk. Having just been through [a similar situation] with Jonathan Bender, there were just too many question marks." While the Pacers (and the Clippers) were disappointed that the deal didn't go down, the fact that it leaked ended up helping Indiana. "The offers started getting better," Walsh said. "People started offering players of that caliber for Artest. I started to get confident that we were going to get a deal that worked for us." After the Maggette deal fell apart, the Pacers focused much of their attention on two other Pacific division teams. The Warriors had shown interest in Artest from the beginning. While Walsh refused to speak about the specific players talked about in his conversation with the Warriors, rumors had been floating since the beginning that the Pacers were after rookie forward Ike Diogu and Frenchman Mickael Pietrus. "I had some good talks with Mully [Warriors GM Chris Mullin]," Walsh said. "I don't think he ever was sure whether he could take the risk with Artest. I think Ronnie would've been a great fit there and I think Mully could've been a great mentor to Ronnie. They both played at the same school [St. John's] and I know that Ronnie respects guys who can get on the floor and work with him. But they never made us the offer we were looking for, so it didn't happen." The Lakers were also in hot pursuit of Artest. Walsh declined to discuss the specifics of those talks either, making it unclear whether it was the Lakers who refused to part with Lamar Odom or whether it was the Pacers who were uncomfortable taking on his huge contract. Shortly after the leak, another team entered the fray. Walsh received a call from Petrie roughly two weeks ago. According to Walsh, Petrie said that his owners, the Maloof brothers, were big fans of Artest and might be willing to do a deal.

The Peja deal - Walsh said Stojakovic had a lot of fans in the Pacers organization. He was the type of player they were looking for. "We actually worked out Peja the year he entered the draft," Walsh said. "He really had an amazing workout for us and we almost drafted him. Had he been able to come over right away [it took another two years for Peja to make it to the NBA], we probably would've drafted him. I remember Mel Daniels standing next to me in the workout and saying that Peja was the best-shooting forward he'd seen since Larry Bird. I think he was right." Walsh said the team was also looking for a player who had a great work ethic, could score and would be a good citizen on and off the court. "The team has really struggled with all the distractions they've been put through," Walsh said. "We really needed a player like him. I think he brings a lot more than a jump shot to the table." While Walsh declined to elaborate, sources told ESPN.com 18 months ago that the Pacers were willing to swap Artest for Stojakovic and that the Kings had cold feet then, too. After Petrie's call earlier this month, the trade talk between the Kings and Pacers got hotter. By Saturday, January 21, the talks had progressed to the point that the Kings sent over MRIs of Stojakovic's back so that the Pacers' doctors could make sure that Stojakovic was healthy enough to justify the trade. Things got even hotter on Monday, when the Pacers signed off on the deal. By Tuesday morning, January 24, the Kings were ready to pull the trigger. Walsh said that the Pacers scheduled a trade conference call with the NBA for 4 p.m. for the league to approve the trade. When the league tried to get Petrie to join the call, he was on the phone. "We waited for about an hour and half," Walsh said. "By then, I knew there was trouble. Geoff got on the phone at about 5:30 p.m. and told me that the deal was off. That Ronnie's agent [Mark Stevens] had called and told him Ronnie didn't want to play there and then called the owners. It scared them both off. "I told Geoff that I didn't think that Ronnie meant what his agent was saying and asked him if they'd wait until the morning for us to get this sorted out. But, to be honest, I thought it was dead. And I thought it might scare off the rest of the teams we had been talking to. I wasn't happy." Walsh scheduled a 10 a.m. meeting the next day with Artest and Stevens. Over the course of the 12 hours or so before the meeting, the Pacers explored their legal options with the league. They believed Artest, or his agent, had violated parts of the collective bargaining agreement, and they were exploring whether they could suspend Artest without pay. Late Tuesday, Stevens issued a statement saying that Artest didn't want to play in Sacramento: "Ron Artest did not want to be traded to Sacramento weeks ago, and he does not want to be traded to Sacramento now. Basketball is Ron Artest's passion. In order for Ron to fully demonstrate his natural skills and abilities, to the best of his abilities, he not only must be in an environment that is conducive to his growth an development as a player, he must also ensure that his family is happy and content as well. Ron does not believe that will be the case if he were in Sacramento. Period." Walsh still didn't believe that Artest actually meant that. "I basically wanted to find out whether Ronnie felt the way his agent said he felt about the deal," Walsh said. "I tried to explain to Ronnie why the deal would be a good one for him. I really got the impression that Ronnie didn't have any real hang-ups about going to Sacramento." According to Walsh, he believed something else was at play. "I think people were telling Ronnie that if he held out, we would deal him to a team that he really wanted to go to, like one of the teams in L.A.," Walsh said. "I can't prove it. But I really felt, and I think Geoff felt, like there was something else going on. It didn't really have anything to do with Sacramento. I think he thought if this deal didn't work out, he'd get what he wants. I made it clear to him that it wasn't the case and that we had recourse available to us. He needed to get on with his career and start playing again. The path that he was taking wasn't going to allow that." While Walsh said that he never threatened Artest with a suspension, it appears he did turn up the heat a bit. For their part, Artest and Stevens left the meeting without giving a firm indication which way they were leaning. In the meeting, Artest and Stevens had agreed to speak with the Maloofs by phone. During that phone call, Walsh said he received an e-mail from Artest saying that he wanted the trade to go through. Shortly thereafter he received a call from Sacramento saying the deal was back on.

Postscript - The day after the trade, Walsh says that the both teams are better off. "I think Ronnie will be great for them," Walsh said. "They're a much better team with Ronnie on it. I think he'll love Sacramento; it's kind of Indy West. He'll get there and be fine. He won't do the big things that got him in so much trouble here. As long as the team is playing well, I think they'll be surprised at how good a teammate he can be. It's just when the team is losing, Ronnie starts feeling pressure, and he loses it. They're going to have to be prepared for it." With that said, when asked what he learned from the experience, Walsh said something that should frighten the Kings. "I learned that when you add a dysfunctional person to a functional group, sooner or later, the whole group is dysfunctional," Walsh said. "I thought I knew that before, but I really know that now. You think the group will help the one player, but it's really the other way around." As for the Pacers, Walsh said that adding Stojakovic will allow them to open up the floor as they did when Reggie Miller and Chris Mullin played for them. "I'm not sure he's a perfect fit on our team as it stands right now," Walsh said. "But Rick is going to pull out some of the old plays and eventually I think we'll move to a different style of play. Peja will help us spread the floor, give [Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal] more room to operate and free us up." Walsh emphasized that the Pacers still believe Stojakovic, 28, has plenty of good years left in him. Injuries, not age, have kept him from playing up to his potential the past season and a half. With a change of scenery, a chip on his shoulder, and pending free agency, Stojakovic should have plenty of motivation to return to his former self at the end of the season. For Indiana, this might present a new problem: If he does thrive, the Pacers might not be able to afford to keep him this summer when he hits unrestricted free agency. Walsh said that because of NBA rules, he hasn't been able to discuss Stojakovic's impending free agency with him. Walsh wants to see how Stojakovic fits with his teammates and the coach before making a decision. But he seems pretty confident about this. "If Peja returns to his old form," Walsh said, "Believe me, I'll find a way to pay him to come back next year."

3) Marty Burns of Si.com thinks the Artest to the Kings saga has just begun:

A matter of time - Artest-Kings marriage destined for ugly divorce

The Ron Artest Era has begun in Sacramento, and so far it's been encouraging. No smashed TV cameras. No wild forays into the stands. No requests for time off to promote a music album. On the court, Artest has been pretty good, too. He had 24 points and nine rebounds in Sunday's OT loss at Toronto, including a huge basket that tied the game with three seconds left and sent it into the extra session. It followed a 15-point, six-rebound, four-steal performance in his debut at Boston on Friday night. Of course, it's only been two games. With Artest, it's only a matter of time. That's the bottom line about last week's blockbuster trade that sent the talented swingman from the Pacers to the Kings in exchange for Peja Stojakovic. As much as Artest will help Sacramento on the court in the short term (the rest of this season ... maybe next), eventually it will end messy. The Kings will find out what the Bulls and Pacers learned the hard way. The difference is that Kings GM Geoff Petrie knows it, and will probably trade Artest this summer or next year before the inevitable eruption. You don't have to be a psychologist to know that Artest has ... well, let's see how to phrase it diplomatically ... "issues." Serious issues. The kind of issues that make one say and do strange things, but aren't really all that funny when you stop to think about it. This isn't exactly news to those who follow the NBA closely, but it's worth repeating if only because so much of the focus since the trade has been on how Artest will perform in the coming days. Will he run in the stands again? Will he get along with Rick Adelman? But those who expect Artest to act up right away miss the point. Artest isn't a raving lunatic. He's more like a very slow ticking time bomb. Artest was on his best behavior when he first got to the Bulls, before a succession of bizarre minor incidents caused them to ship him to the Pacers. In Indiana, he toed the line again for a long time before finally wearing out his welcome. Artest has fought with teammates and opponents since his days in college at St. John's. He has punched scorer's tables and smashed TV cameras in frustration. Even his famous request to take time off to promote his music album wasn't a first. As a rookie with the Bulls, he once applied for a job at a local Circuit City so he could get a discount on merchandise. That's not to say that Artest is a bad guy, or malicious, or a thug. Far from it. He is one of the more engaging players to interview. Most everybody likes him. His generosity for his family and friends is well-known around the league. Artest, however, is impulsive and prone to quick reactions without thinking. The Kings are going to have to watch him closely. Make sure he stays on his medication. Make sure his friends and family keep him in line. In the meantime, Artest is going to help the Kings big-time on the court. For a guy who hadn't played in nearly two months, the 6-foot-7 bull looked surprisingly smooth in his first two games. He scored inside and out Sunday night in Toronto while using his quick hands to dig out loose balls and his linebacker body to bang on defense. With the game on the line, Adelman went to Artest repeatedly down the stretch. He delivered, too, hitting the game-tying basket on a dribble drive against Pape Sow (apparently the Raptors don't have a better defender to throw at Artest, but that's another story). Later he added a step-back fadeaway in the paint over Jalen Rose to put the Kings ahead 117-113 before his teammates ultimately gave it away. Artest is a lot like Dennis Rodman. Both were basically harmless. But both are not all there. Rodman was a problem in Detroit, San Antonio, Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas. He kept it together enough in Chicago because he was so respectful/afraid of Michael Jordan (another reason Kobe Bryant is no MJ, but that's a story for another day as well). The Kings don't have a Jordan -- or anybody with much leadership standing at all -- in their locker room. That's why Artest will eventually find himself in trouble again, and Petrie will be looking to send him elsewhere. Kings fans can only hope Artest helps them win a lot of games before that day arrives.

Who's up - Ricky Davis, Timberwolves So far, so good for the goateed stat-conscious swingman. Davis, obtained in last Thursday's trade with Boston for Wally Szczerbiak, had 26 points, six rebounds and three assists in an impressive debut Friday at Houston. Despite getting just two hours sleep, the 6-7 slasher tallied 11 points in the first quarter to help Minnesota get off to a good start, then came up with several clutch buckets -- and a key blocked shot -- in the final minutes as the T'wolves prevailed to snap a three-game losing skid. Davis followed with a 20-point, three-rebound effort in Saturday's loss at San Antonio. He'll get a chance to show more -- and perhaps quiet some of the protests over the trade in the North Star State -- when he and T'wolves play host to the Celtics and Szczerbiak on Monday night.

Who's down - Chris Andersen The free-spirited 6-10 reserve center was banned by the NBA on Friday for violating the league's drug abuse policy. According to the league's collective bargaining agreement, a player only can be disqualified for a fourth positive test for "performance enhancing drugs" or a first test for "drugs of abuse" (cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, etc. ...). Andersen, 27, has never been suspended for performance enhancing drugs. Known as the Birdman for his high-flying dunks and shot-blocking, Andersen was averaging 5.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in 32 games. Under terms of the league's CBA he is eligible to apply for reinstatement after two years. He is the first NBA player to be banned for drugs since Stanley Roberts in 1999. And here you thought his performance in last year's Slam-Dunk Contest was embarrassing.

Rumor mill - Reggie Evans to T'wolves? If reports out of the Pacific Northwest are to be believed, Kevin McHale might not be finished rearranging deck chairs on the S.S. Timberwolf. According to the Tacoma News-Tribune, Minnesota and Seattle have discussed a deal that would send Sonics forward Reggie Evans and guard Ronald Murray to the T'wolves in exchange for newly-acquired point guard Marcus Banks. Evans, one of the NBA's leading rebounders per minute, has lost his starting spot to Vladimir Radmanovic while Murray is stuck behind Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. Evans and Murray might get a better look in Minnesota under coach Dwane Casey, a former Sonics assistant, but it's not entirely up to McHale or his counterpart, Sonics GM Rick Sund. As part of his one-year, $1.1 million contract he signed this summer, Evans has veto rights over any deal.

Three seconds - *Rob Babcock might have made some mistakes in Toronto during his brief tenure as GM, but he didn't get much support in the end from coach Sam Mitchell. Also, it's disingenuous for CEO Richard Peddie to cite Babcock's lack of experience when they touted his youth and vigor when they hired him. *Don't know whether there's any truth to the sexual harassment lawsuit against Knicks boss Isiah Thomas, but judging from the media coverage in New York, it's clear the Garden is engaging in a full-scale defense of their embattled club president. If only the Knicks' full-court press was that effective. *Is there a more underrated rookie so far than Clippers forward James Singleton? The 6-8 forward from Murray State, signed as an undrafted free agent, has been a defensive stalwart all season. He made Carmelo Anthony (25 and 16 points, respectively) work for everything in consecutive wins over the Nuggets this past weekend.

Around the rim - Speaking of Rodman, he got a reported $44,000 to make a one-game appearance for the Brighton Bears of the British Basketball League on Saturday. Rodman, who signed the deal after being evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother TV reality show in Britain, finished with seven rebounds and four points before a capacity crowd. ... The first-round pick owed to the Celtics in the Szczerbiak trade has protection based on the Wolves' place in the standings and won't even be sent to Boston until after the Clippers decide what to do with a previous option on a T'wolves pick. In all likelihood Boston won't see it until 2008. ... Al Harrington now moves to the top of the list of most-likely stars to be traded before the Feb. 23 deadline ... Carlos Boozer says his sore hamstring is healthy enough for him to rejoin Jazz practices, maybe later this week ... Manu Ginobili made a quicker return than expected from his ankle injury. The guard had 14 points to help the Spurs beat the T'wolves on Saturday night. ... Am I the only one who would like to know the beginning of the joke that Kevin Garnett, in his stand-up comic persona, tells the crowd in his latest TV commercial? "You said that too fast!," KG says before thanking the audience and saying good night. What could possibly be the set-up for that joke?

4) Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune is dreaming:

Pierce could make Bulls a power

Time to get serious. Only 25 shopping days until the NBA trading deadline. And I'm looking for a star for the Bulls. The trading floor is officially open now that Ron Artest has gone to Sacramento. A half dozen teams were holding onto players until the Artest deal went through. Boston and Minnesota followed immediately with a seven-player deal that seems, at least to me, a precursor that Boston will trade Paul Pierce. The Celtics insist the trade was made to get supporting players, but Pierce now is the only player on the roster not acquired by Danny Ainge. The Boston general manager has a vision for a young, up-tempo team that I don't see including Pierce, though Ainge has never deferred to my alleged expertise. I've long believed Kevin Garnett will one day ask the Timberwolves to trade him to a team with a chance to make a strong playoff run. It seems more likely now as the Timberwolves grow desperate. General manager Kevin McHale is under attack from fans and media in Minneapolis with senior columnist Sid Hartman calling the Wally Szczerbiak deal the worst ever and another Twin Cities columnist saying avid golfer McHale should only be allowed to choose between a driver and a 3-wood. McHale blasted the team after a loss last week along with, for some odd reason, scout Rex Chapman, and insiders say Garnett rarely speaks with McHale anymore. Still, I don't see any Garnett deal involving the Bulls because the Bulls don't have the big players to deal if Minnesota eventually chooses to move its best big man. But Boston has a developing front line. The Bulls could put together the kind of package that could attract the Celtics - I believe Boston is looking to hit a home run with Pierce in a Garnett-type deal - and put in place the team that could move forward as a serious contender. I don't believe the Bulls will make a deal in the next month, but why hang onto all the salary-cap room and draft picks if you can get a star now, especially a veteran? As someone who doesn't have the job as general manager, I also don't risk of losing it. Perhaps Adam Morrison of Gonzaga or J.J. Redick of Duke will be stars in the NBA. They and Texas' LaMarcus Aldridge are considered the top picks along with another big guy from Europe named Andrea Bargnani. The way the Knicks are going, the Bulls could have one of the top picks, out of the Eddy Curry deal. But are any of those players the star the Bulls need? The Celtics need a point guard. They like Delonte West, but more as a shooting guard. So consider this proposal: Chris Duhon, who has shown he can run a team and make a three-pointer, local favorite Ben Gordon from Connecticut, Eric Piatkowski and Tim Thomas (who have expiring contracts) along with the Bulls' No. 1 pick for Pierce and Raef LaFrentz? Gordon can score almost as much as Pierce, the Celtics would get another No. 1 - give them the Knicks' pick if they want top-five protection - they get their point guard and save tens of millions of dollars by getting rid of LaFrentz's contract. And in Szczerbiak, they now have a scorer who can be popular with fans to replace Pierce. And where have they gone with Pierce? The deal also works for the salary cap. The deal would eat up all the Bulls' salary-cap room, but if you have the chance to get a player like Pierce who can carry a team for a quarter and draw a double team, you have to take a shot with the high-level complementary players the Bulls have. If the Bulls wait until summer, would Al Harrington be that player? I doubt it. And LaFrentz, albeit overpaid, can be a serviceable big man who can shoot outside. With Tyson Chandler playing as he has lately, the Bulls could really be one top player away with a lineup of Kirk Hinrich, Pierce, Luol Deng, Chandler and a Udonis Haslem power forward-type they might get in the draft or free agency.

81 VS. 100 - The Great Kobe 81 debate continues with the Portland Oregonian finding then-Knicks center Darrell Imhoff, who, ever the competitor, said Bryant's effort was better than Wilt Chamberlain's. "Kobe's 81 is better because of how he had to do it. Plus he did it on 46 shots. Wilt took 63 that night," Imhoff noted. Imhoff fouled out as Chamberlain scored his 99th and 100th points on a dunk with 46 seconds left and the crowd came on the court. At the end, Warriors guards were fouling the Knicks to get the ball back for Chamberlain to score. What would they say now if the Lakers had done that for Bryant? They didn't say much then because there was no TV and the New York and Philadelphia newspapers didn't send reporters to cover the game in Hershey, Pa. No, no one loved this game back then. Since Chamberlain's last 70-point game, in 1963, no player has hit 70 without his teammates deferring to him. David Robinson had 71 in 1994 to win the scoring title by a half-point over Shaquille O'Neal on the last day of the season, no small reason O'Neal made Robinson's life miserable for years. David Thompson got 71 on the last day of the season in 1978 to try to win the scoring title over George Gervin, who had 63 that same day to edge Thompson in the closest race ever. Compared to those guys, Bryant looks like John Stockton.

ALL THINGS ARTEST - When Indianapolis reporters were interviewing the departing Artest from his car, they wondered why someone was videotaping the interviews from inside the car, though strange behavior around Artest is hardly unusual. It seems Artest is now trying to sell the events of those last few days as a reality show. Whose reality, no one is sure. . . . Peja Stojakovic makes his debut for the Pacers this week, and they shouldn't expect much defense. The 6-9 forward has two blocks this season in more than 1,100 minutes played. . . . The Warriors' Troy Murphy, whose contract averages almost $10 million per year, said he didn't renew his private health club membership because he expected to be traded for Artest. . . . The Pacers believe one of the Los Angeles teams was trying to derail the trade to get the price down so it could make a deal. It's why Artest's agent supposedly told the Kings that Artest didn't want to go there.

MORE FROM MINNEAPOLIS - Flip Saunders had a nice time beating the Timberwolves in his return last week after overmatched rookie coach Dwane Casey had said upon getting the job: "One thing for sure is we will hold the players accountable on defense." The Timberwolves' defensive stats were better in Saunders' last full season and in his first five than the Timberwolves' are now. And in a little rubbing it in, Garnett said he's supporting Detroit's Chauncey Billups for MVP. Billups was let go by Minnesota after the 2001-02 season because Minnesota wanted to play Terrell Brandon, who never played another game. Billups said he never would have left Minnesota had McHale made him an offer.

JOB MARKET - The Raptors' firing of general manager Rob Babcock last week was perhaps as surprising as his hiring. It didn't help team morale when he predicted before the season they'd be worse than last season. Longtime Portland general manager Bob Whitsitt is supposedly up for the job, though a good candidate would be John Gabriel, who did a nice job of building and clearing cap space when the Magic skunked the Bulls in free agency in 2000. He's a scout for Portland.

HOUSTON'S WOES - Yao Ming is due back from his foot injury this week. Houston hasn't done much without Yao, but former Bull Lonny Baxter, back from Greece, put in some good minutes. ... The Rockets lost again at home Sunday to Miami and have the league's worst home record. To try to change that, coach Jeff Van Gundy locked the players' lounge, the usual buffet was replaced with cold sandwiches and ballboys and injured players were kept out of the locker room. "Nonsense is always a distraction," Van Gundy said.

CRITIC'S CORNER - Sensing he doesn't have the old Shaquille O'Neal, Heat coach Pat Riley offered a gentle criticism of Dwyane Wade, saying, "I think (Wade) could be a lockdown, shut-anybody-down defender if he chose to be. And we have to get him there." . . . Free agents Christian Laettner, Glenn Robinson, Latrell Sprewell, Tom Gugliotta and Elden Campbell are in the home stretch of their careers. . . . Chris Webber is complaining again. Big surprise there. This time he admitted he ripped his 76ers teammates after a loss to the Wizards.

FINAL SHOTS - The Hornets play host to the Bulls on Wednesday with word expected soon that the team will be in Oklahoma City next season too. Let's get this over with and move the Hornets permanently to Oklahoma. New Orleans didn't support the team in its first season. I understand the sympathy aspect in the Katrina aftermath, but you can't sentence a team to sure bankruptcy and an inevitable move. . . . With the Clippers blowing out the Nuggets so badly Saturday night, the Nuggets' radio station switched to a hockey game.