NBA Insider with Ken Berger

Here we are for opening night at the IZOD Center, which has a lot of new stuff displayed on the outside except for the one thing you would expect – the alligator logo.

Anyway, the Bulls are here, and if anyone was expecting Kobe Bryant to be lacing ‘em up in the visiting locker room, they were sorely disappointed. There is a ton of buzz about the Kobe-to-the-Bulls talk, but I’ll start with what I know first:

More than any other day up to this point, Wednesday was the day for Kobe to be traded to the Bulls. That’s because the Lakers want both Ben Gordon and Luol Deng in the deal, and Wednesday was the last day for both players to sign extensions before next summer. With a few hours left until the midnight deadline, both Deng and Gordon said before the game that talks are shut down and their deals won’t get done.

That figures to be a integral factor in the ongoing talks between the Lakers and Bulls. Had Deng and Gordon signed extensions, they couldn’t be traded for 30 days and their cap numbers to make the trade math work would have gone up enough to complicate matters. As it stands now, Gordon and Deng are as tradable today as they’ve been at any time since the Lakers and Bulls started talking.

A person with knowledge of the discussions told Newsday before the game that at this point, nothing appears imminent between the two teams. The person, who would be notified if a trade were imminent, had not yet been brought into the discussions.

The Lakers-Bulls talks aren't dead, because right now the Bulls are the only team on Kobe's list. WSCR radio in Chicago started chatter of a potential three-team deal involving Sacramento, but soon was refuting its own report, which is believed to have been off the mark.

The sticking point has been Deng, whom the Bulls don’t want to include in a deal. Nor does Kobe want to play in Chicago without him. Deng, however, can’t figure out why, if he’s so valuable, would the Bulls not budge from his agent’s five-year, $50 million offer on the extension.

Will be back as needed with updates on a very fluid situation.

According to a source close to David Stern, the NBA couldn't open the season Tuesday night without Newsday's NBA Insider blog getting a facelift.

It's out with the old, cumbersome format and in with all the newfangled techno treats that make blogging fun. Once the finishing touches are applied, you'll be able to check out a list of Web sites I visit every day for NBA news, notes and commentary. You can subscribe to the RSS feed, so you'll know when I've posted something new without having to look for it, and you can recommend something good you've read here to people in other corners of the blogosphere with links to content-sharing sites like Digg.com, Google, Yahoo!, and Newsvine. Pretty cool stuff for a guy who used to transmit high school football and basketball stories to the Bloomington Herald-Times on a Tandy TRS-80. And I'm the same age as Allan Houston!

Enjoy the new site, and enjoy the season-opening doubleheader tonight on TNT -- Blazers at Spurs at 8 p.m., followed by Rockets at Lakers at 10:30. The Kobe Watch is officially on.

I'll be at the Bulls-Nets opener tomorrow at the Meadowlands and will give you all the latest pregame buzz on Chicago's pursuit of No. 23+1.

Hope you enjoyed, are enjoying, or will enjoy Newsday's NBA preview section in Sunday's paper. Alan and I got paid extra for all that work, and I've got a bridge in London I want to sell you.

Speaking of London, check out Bob Glauber's NFL blog from across the pond. You know how they say wherever you go, you run into someone from Long Island? Well, Bob scored a ticket to the Chelsea-Manchester City "football" match from a group of guys that included a former Newsday paperboy from Wantagh. I kid you not.

Anyway, the Kobe Bryant situation is getting more and more interesting. Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com reports that the Lakers and Bulls have been engaged in daily trade talks, with the Lakers asking for Luol Deng, Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, and Joakim Noah. The Bulls so far aren't willing to give up that much, and Kobe apparently would veto such a deal anyway because the Bulls wouldn't have enough talent left to compete for a title.

According to the L.A. Times, Phil Jackson is beginning to question Kobe's commitment. Ya think?

Interesting thought: If the Bulls land Bryant with something similiar to the above package, they would be parlaying two assets they got from the Knicks for Eddy Curry -- Thomas and Noah -- into the best player in the NBA. So for this reason and many others, I have to believe that Isiah Thomas is involved in this situation on two levels: one, he must be among the dozens of GMs who've called the Lakers to see what it would take to get Bryant, and two, he must be talking to Bryant's agent, Rob Pelinka, to see under what circumstances Kobe would waive his no-trade clause for a deal to the Knicks.

Lost in our obviously heightened interest in David Stern's decision not to discipline James Dolan and Isiah Thomas over the sexual harassment judgment against them were some intriguing comments from the NBA commissioner about the Tim Donaghy scandal.

While Stern was careful to point out that all the information won't be in until Donaghy is sentenced in January, he said the league's preliminary findings so far have confirmed his initial suspicion: that no refs besides Donaghy bet on NBA games or provided information to gamblers.

But it was somewhat stunning and unsettling that Stern admitted Thursday after the league's Board of Governors meeting that every single one of the 56 referees had technically violated the NBA's gambling policy by betting on poker games and golf matches, by buying lottery tickets, or by participating in NCAA Tournament pools.

Even more alarming was Stern's admission that more than half of the league's 56 referees were found to have gambled in casinos -- though on slot machines, black jack and the like, and not with sports books.

Stern said he decided not to punish any of the refs because he considers these not to be "capital offenses," and went so far as to say he told owners that he actually plans to loosen the gambling restrictions on referees by, for example, allowing them to gamble in casinos during the offseason.

Strange stuff, don't you think?

Maybe it's a good thing.

While some alarmists and moral police will point out that this might not be the best time to allow NBA referees to engage in more gambling, this development was among the signs Thursday that Stern is losing some of his previously draconian opposition to gambling in all forms. Another was his statement that the league soon will hire some sort of security detail with connections to both legal and illegal bookmakers, thus allowing the NBA to monitor unusual swings in point spreads and other potential betting irregularities.

I also applaud his decision to publicly identify officiating crews on the morning of games, as opposed to 90 minutes before tipoff. The identity of officials was among the "insider information" that Donaghy admitted sharing with gamblers, some of whom believe the over-under can be influenced based on a particular referee's penchant for calling fouls.

Maybe Stern has decided that acknowledging gambling as a way of life in America, and by more closely monitoring referees and expecting them to adhere to more realistic standards for conduct, the NBA will be able to move past the Donaghy scandal without taking any more public hits.

But Stern also knows that he and his league are not in the clear until after Donaghy is sentenced, because everything there is to know about the scandal won't be out of the bag until then.

NBA Commissioner David Stern addressed league owners Thursday in Manhattan about the sexual harassment judgment against Knicks coach Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden, saying he has decided not to take any disciplinary action against them while the matter is under appeal.

Stern called the matter "frustrating" and said it has resulted in a league-wide policy change that will require employees of all 30 teams to participate in workplace sensitivity training. But for now, Thomas and Garden chairman James Dolan have escaped punishment.

However, Stern warned that the matter is under review, and while he wouldn't reveal what course of action he might take, stated, "My powers are very broad if I choose to exercise them."

Dolan attended the Board of Governors meeting at the St. Regis Hotel, but left about 25 minutes before Stern addressed reporters.

Stern also addressed the league's ongoing investigation into gambling activities by referees, which I'll be back in a bit to expand on. Long story short, the league's internal review will not be completed at least until federal authorities close their case against former ref Tim Donaghy. Stern said the probe has found that about half of the 56 refs violated the gambling policy by betting in casinos, but that he has decided not to discipline any of them.

Just got back from New Jersey, where I watched Jason Kidd scrimmage for the first time since he had an epidural injection in his sore lower back. Kidd looked fine, and could play in one of the Nets' two remaining preseason games -- Thursday night against the Sixers or Friday night against the Knicks.

More importantly, my favorite lookalike in the sports world was on hand to watch. Marquette coach Tom Crean watched the practice and chatted with team president Rod Thorn and coach Lawrence Frank afterward. If you are a loyal reader of Bob Glauber's NFL blog, you are well aware that there is no more frighteningly accurate lookalike than Crean and Glauber:

I know, scary. You should see Glauber with his glasses on.

Cablevision shareholders on Wednesday rejected the company’s $10.6 billion bid to go private, a serious blow to the Dolan family’s effort to escape public scrutiny in running the Long Island-based cable company that owns Madison Square Garden, the Knicks, and Rangers.

The company’s three largest outside investors had opposed the privatization bid, which offered shareholders $36.26 per share. Garden chairman James Dolan has made it clear that Cablevision wouldn’t sweeten the offer if shareholders rejected it and said he was prepared to keep the company public if that happened. That means Cablevision will have to remain publicly accountable for financial decisions such as, hypothetically, releasing Jerome James after signing him to a five-year, $29 million contract in 2005.

I was just watching ESPN First Take (yes, I’m the one) before heading to N.J. to check in with the Nets before the season starts.

Why was I watching, you ask? Not to see my pal, Bob Glauber, who is packing his bags to follow the Giants to London. To be honest, I really don’t know why I was watching. But I did note that LZ Granderson of ESPN The Magazine has hopped onto my Kobe-to-the-Knicks bandwagon.

Like me, LZ wasn’t saying that the Knicks are any more than a longshot in the Kobe sweepstakes. He was merely reiterating the points I made in my column in Sunday’s paper – that if Jerry Buss fails to get a comparable superstar for Kobe, the Knicks can give them a busload of players on rookie contracts, at least $30 million in contracts expiring in the next two years, plus two first-round picks – and thus, the assets they will need to make a free-agent run at LeBron or D-Wade in a couple of years.

Dozens of readers commented on the Web version of my column, most of them calling my bluff and calling me crazy. For the record, I spoke with an Eastern Conference GM this week who shares the opinion that I’m nuts. That GM doesn’t think the Lakers will trade Kobe, period, because he thinks it doesn’t make sense to give up the best player in the NBA for anything less than the best player in the NBA. And since Kobe can’t be traded for himself, there will be no trade, the GM said.

Here are a few other interesting items around the league before I make the trek to Jersey to see if J-Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson are ready to be more than so-so in the East:
· Suns GM Steve Kerr was among the hundreds of thousands of San Diego residents forced to evacuate their homes in the face of the horrifying wildfires.
· NBA GMs have weighed in with predictions in their annual preseason survey. The Spurs received 37 percent of the votes as the likely NBA champions, ahead of Phoenix (26 percent), and Dallas (15 percent). Detroit (7 percent) got the most votes among Eastern Conference teams. The GMs picked LeBron James as the league MVP with 30 percent of the votes, followed by Tim Duncan (22 percent), and Kobe Bryant (19 percent). Last year’s MVP, Dirk Nowitzki, didn’t receive a single vote.
· John Hollinger of The New York Sun is back with a sobering assessment of the Knicks’ mismanagement of assets under Isiah Thomas. The latest evidence Hollinger cites is something that Alan Hahn pointed out in Tuesday’s paper – the fact that the Knicks apparently will have to release second-round pick Demetris Nichols Friday after barely giving him a look in preseason.
* Sonics rookie Kevin Durant left a preseason game against Golden State on crutches after spraining his left ankle, but Gary Washburn blogs that he's OK and will likely be back for the regular season opener.
· David Stern will be available Thursday at the Board of Governors meeting in Manhattan, where he is expected to have something to say about fallout from the Tim Donaghy scandal and possible discipline for Thomas and/or James Dolan in the wake of the sexual harassment verdict against them.

So Allan Houston’s comeback ended before it really began. The Knicks announced Saturday that the 36-year is done trying to rejoin his former team.

“While my body, and knees, in particular, feel fine, I know what is required for me to be truly effective in the NBA again, and it involves a timing and progression that would not be fair to Isiah and the Knicks right now,” Houston said in a statement released by the team. “With the season opener less than two weeks away, I think it is best for the team to move on without me.”

Houston was not with the team Saturday at the open practice for fans at Hofstra but will discuss the situation Sunday before practice at the MSG Training Center in Westchester County.

Coach Isiah Thomas said Houston decided before the preseason game against the Nets Thursday that he was going to abandon his comeback. Nobody said anything about that when Houston surprisingly didn’t dress for the game, though. Thomas indicated at the time that Houston was sitting out to avoid playing back-to-back games, and acknowledged that slim was an “accurate” characterization of Houston’s chances to make the team. Houston first said not dressing against the Nets was “their call,” then changed his tune and called it a “mutual agreement.”

For the record, Houston is holding out hope that he can stay in shape and be available if another team with an open roster spot needs him.

I never thought Houston had much of a chance, or that a team in the Knicks’ situation had much use for him. Your thoughts?

Even though my blog is one of the few that has yet to get a nifty redesign (I’m told it’s coming soon), I nonetheless feel compelled to share some pre-game info from the Knicks-Nets preseason game tonight. Here goes:

Isiah Thomas is tinkering with his starting lineup, starting Jared Jeffries at small forward, Quentin Richardson at the 2, and Jamal Crawford at the point. Isiah talked up Nate Robinson big before the game, and said N8 will get a long look at the point, too. Stephon Marbury and Allan Houston didn’t dress.

Isiah explained that you have to reward people when they work hard and get better, which explains why both N8 and Jeffries will see a lot more floor time tonight. The cynic in me can think of only one word to explain this: Showcase.

Some interesting trade possibilities could present themselves in the coming weeks, so why not put some potentially enticing assets on the floor? Not the least of these scenarios could involve Ron Artest, whose Sac-Town Kings aren’t going anywhere this season. Based on the way the Knicks have defended thus far in preseason, they could use a little jolt of defense from someone like Ron-Ron.

But I digress. They could also get a jolt of defense from Jeffries, who worked his tail off this summer at the IMG Training Center in Clearwater, Fla., and deserves a shot to get his confidence back – especially in the preseason, because that is what preseason is for. They could also get some better perimeter D from Robinson, who has shown signs that he’s renewed his commitment to the things that will keep him on the floor and has distanced himself from the things that will not. We’ll see.

I found Isiah’s explanation for the lineup change a little strange, but I’m not going overboard trying to figure out how he’s trying to spin things. But here is the telling quote anyway, for your discussion:

“I look at our situation as really no different than football,” Thomas said. “When a guy’s not doing it, they bring in somebody else. Rex Grossman led the Chicago Bears to the Super Bowl last year, and now he’s playing behind Brian Griese. You want to keep getting better, and the best people play, and that’s why you open up the process every year and you want competition. You look at it and you put the best people out there that can win the basketball game.”

I asked Isiah if he’s more open to tinkering with his starting five than he was at this point last season, because it sure seemed that way to me as I listened to him before the game.

“No, I was pretty open-minded last year and I’m pretty open-minded this year,” he said. “I would say the only difference is, you’ve got to reward people for getting better and working harder. Everybody deserves a fair shot and a fair look. This process is about taking the best nine or 10 guys that you can go and win games with.”

There might be nothing more to this than tinkering. Look at George Karl in Denver, giving looks to J.R. Smith, Chucky Atkins, and Yakhouba Diawara at shooting guard, and Avery Johnson in Dallas toying with the idea of starting Jerry Stackhouse over Jason Terry. But giving Marbury a night off certainly is noteworthy, considering the obvious fact that Isiah certainly needs to find more chemistry in a starting five than the group that got run off the court in Boston last night. Stay tuned.

I’m sure my man Alan Hahn is all over this, but for the record: Thomas acknowledged that Jerome James does, in fact, have something more than tendinitis in his knee. He has loose particles from a previous surgery and may very well need another operation. Asked if Jerome would be able to play this season, Thomas said, “That I don’t know.”

No surprise here, but Thomas also admitted that “slim” is a fair characterization of Allan Houston’s chances of making the team. Houston didn’t dress tonight, with Thomas saying he didn’t think it was fair to put him out there in a back-to-back. Allan, we hardly knew ye.
…
Care for an update on the Nets? Point guard Jason Kidd wasn’t at the arena because he opted for an epidural pain shot in his strained lower back and needs to stay immobile for a while. He’s expected to return to practice sometime next week. It’s got to be a concern when your 34-year-old point guard is down for the count in the preseason with a balky back, but coach Lawrence Frank said the injury is not believed to be as serious as what he experienced last season. We’ll see. The ancient Darrell Armstrong is getting the start at point.

This also meant that Kidd didn’t have to answer any questions about allegations from a woman who claims he groped her at a Manhattan night club earlier this month. Kidd’s spokesman, Scott Miranda, is calling the allegations “a complete fabrication.”

Oh, and Nenad Krstic is starting and will get his first game action since tearing his ACL last December.

I bumped into Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com tonight before the Knicks-Nets game, and he informed me that one of my posts about Kobe Bryant on Wednesday had a bogus video link. Chris reads everything about Kobe, because he and I are probably the only basketball writers in New York who believe he is going to get traded.

If you want to see how disinterested in being a Laker Kobe appears to be, here is a page with a working video link from his media session Tuesday:

http://cbs2.com/lakers/local_story_289184701.html

Be back in a few with some interesting pregame stuff from what is now called the IZOD Center. (Let's just call it the Meadowlands, shall we?)

This is my last Kobe update of the day. Promise. (Unless he gets traded before I go to bed.)

John Hollinger of ESPN.com also writes for The New York Sun, and he provides a pretty interesting take on how the Knicks could pull off a trade for Kobe. Check it out here. One hint: Isiah Thomas isn't going to like this, because Step 1 in Hollinger's recipe for making the Knicks a viable destination for Bryant is to fire Isiah.

Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times reports that Kobe Bryant resumed practicing with the Lakers Wednesday and is expected to suit up Thursday night for a preseason game against Seattle in Bakersfield, Calif. Strange times in LakerLand ...

Here's the link.

Also, check out Alan Hahn's blog for his thoughts on the Kobe mess, as well as an audio clip of Isiah Thomas addressing the matter at Wednesday's shootaround in Boston. You can try out your own Kobe trade proposals here at RealGM.com.

Amid hysterical reports in L.A. that Kobe Bryant had cleaned out his locker, the superstar’s future with the Lakers has reached what could be the final crossroads.

Kobe denied to reporters Tuesday that he’d emptied his locker, and his agent, Rob Pelinka, peddled the notion that Kobe had merely “reorganized” it. Either way, check out Kobe’s demeanor in this video and tell me he looks like someone who a) wants to be a Laker, and b) expects to be one for very much longer.

It’s not clear whether Bryant will play in Thursday night’s preseason game against Seattle after sitting out three straight days of practice. Kobe has either been resting his legs, or if you believe coach Phil Jackson, he’s “OK” and missed practice again Tuesday “by mutual agreement.”

This is getting weird.

“He’s in the training room,” Jackson said. “I think that’s about all I’ll say. He asked me about resting his legs, but I think he’s OK.”

Further confusing the matter, Jackson said he wasn’t sure if Bryant would travel to Bakersfield with the team Thursday if he’s not playing. Asked if Bryant had played his last game as a Laker, Jackson said cryptically, “I don’t know that at all. Who knows that? There’s certain things that have to be discussed and I think they will be. There’s nothing imminent. I’m on the inside of this, so I know all the statements before you ask the questions. We can’t project anything right now. I think there’s a certain progression of things we have to go through.”

Huh? Sounds like Kobe’s days as a Laker are more numbered than they’ve ever been.

When Bryant was asked the same question Tuesday about whether he’s played his last game as a Laker, he responded, “I don’t know, talk to Mitch [Kupchak] and Mr. [Jerry] Buss about that. I’m just getting ready. If I’m here, I’m ready to strap it up.”

After Buss’ comments last week that he’s open to trading his disgruntled superstar, Kobe has apparently resorted to referring to the Lakers’ owner as “Mr. Buss,” instead of the previously respectful “Dr. Buss.”

The Mavericks and Bulls have the inside track on a Kobe trade, which for the first time seems possible before the regular season begins. Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports that Dallas is Kobe’s No. 1 choice. Bryant holds all the cards because he is the only player in the NBA with a no-trade clause.

Mavs owner Mark Cuban, interviewed during a recent taping of “Dancing With The Stars,” left the door wide open to pursuing the player most consider to be the best in the NBA.

“No one from our organization has talked to Mitch at all about it,” Cuban said. “Kobe is a phenomenal player, and the Mavs have always been opportunistic since the day I bought ‘em. If something were to present itself, we’d always have to explore it, but we have a great team.”

Kobe put out word through intermediaries last week that he’s taken the Knicks off his wish list because of all the turmoil at the Garden. Isiah Thomas has suddenly clammed up about the Kobe situation, but you can bet he’s working it hard behind the scenes.

I wanted to make the 100th post of my NBA blog something special. Instead, I decided to just make it business as usual. I'm not big on milestones.

I came across a column by John Canzano of the Oregonian that I thought you Knicks fans would find interesting. Essentially, Canzano is waxing poetic about how the Blazers have become "a family" with the departure of Zach Randolph and his entourage, known as the Hoops Family.

You need to know that Zach Randolph's entourage of swaggering, sweating, swearing sycophant friends have been replaced by Brandon Roy Jr., not even a year old, who was napping on his mother Tiana's shoulder along one wall.

Diapers.

Canzano is an excellent columnist who replaced a ridiculously good writer, Chuck Culpepper, a few years ago when Chuck left the Pacific Northwest to join Newsday. Alas, Chuck has since left Newsday to pursue other interests, and your sports section has been noticeably less literary as a result.

In any event, I can appreciate all the feel-good vibe coming out of Portland with Zach and his band of alleged thugs out of the picture. It is always this way in sports. When a team parts ways with a player, coach, or manager, the revisionist history begins. The stories are all about how much better things are around here without THAT GUY.

The jury, of course, is still out on Randolph and his entourage in New York. (Maybe that was a poor choice of words, considering Zach's legal history.) But the stories about how sane and family-friendly the Zach-less Blazers have become strike me as somewhat convenient and predictable. We'll see if Zach's entourage causes any trouble in NYC and surrounding burbs. I'm just a little skeptical of this snapshot of the Blazers' locker room, which makes it out to be some sort of Montessori school. Let's not get carried away, people.

Anyway, happy 100th to Newsday's NBA blog. Thanks for keeping things going ...

I thought it would be interesting to get your thoughts on Kobe deciding that the Knicks are too much if a circus to be bothered with waiving his no-trade clause for a trade to New York.

This is extraordinary: The best player in the NBA takes a look at the landscape at the Garden and says, "No, thanks. Too crazy for me."

This is the word coming out of the Kobe camp, as I wrote in today's paper. It won't be stunning if the Knicks aren't able to trade for Kobe. It was always a longshot from the beginning. But the fact that he is ready to thumb his nose at what used to be the most honored stage in basketball is, quite honestly, sickening.

It should sicken every Knick fan out there and make you reevaluate the direction of your franchise.

As has been the case since Bryant first requested a trade back in May, he holds all the power. He has a no-trade clause (the only player in the NBA with one) and an opt-out clause after the 2008-09 season. After Lakers owner Jerry Buss made it clear he's ready to say good-bye in an interview this week, it appears more likely than ever that Kobe will be traded.

The Bulls and Mavericks are the new 1 and 1a in the Kobe sweepstakes. The Knicks are not on the list, in part because Bryant believes there wouldn't be enough talent left after the trade. Mostly, though, the message that Kobe is sending out through intermediaries is that he believes the situation at the Garden is too chaotic.

The Knicks' only chance to get into the Kobe mix is for Isiah to turn on the charm and change his mind. Nobody is better equipped than Isiah to pull that off, but it certainly appears that the odds are stacked firmly against him.

Be back later with some practice notes ...

You poor Fixers are going to have to slum with me today while Alan takes a breather for the weekend …

The Roderick Wilmont era is over. The Knicks released him today after practice, which explains why he was walking around the court shaking hands with everybody. That leaves 19 on the roster. Still bloated, but Isiah said he’s needed the bodies because of all the injuries.

After the media were treated to a lengthy scrimmage viewing on Friday, no such luck today. Only a live play or two followed by the usual free-throw shooting. This way, we were not able to detect whether Allan Houston was still running with a limp.

After Day 2 of his comeback, Houston said he feels good moving around but is still getting used to the pace after two years out of basketball. Though he said he feels “a lot better than I felt two years ago,” it can’t be a good sign that Houston is “happy to get through the day.” This after only two days!

Isiah had some interesting comments about Houston’s chances, but I have no idea what he was talking about. Asked if two weeks would be enough time to evaluate him, Thomas said, “Yeah, I think we’ll know.” The tone of the question suggested that the organization was putting Thomas in a tough spot by giving him limited time to make a judgment on a player of Houston’s stature and popularity, a notion that Thomas rejected.

Then he was asked if he has an opinion of Houston right now, to which Thomas said, “Uhhh, I have a pretty good idea. It’s a good idea.”

“What’s the idea?” I asked (kicking myself for not asking, “What’s the big idea?”)

“It’s good. It’s good,” he said. “He looks good. I have no issues, complaints or concerns at this time.”

You can draw your own conclusions on that one, but Thomas continues to seem less than enthused about Houston’s tryout. Solicited by another reporter obviously working on a Fred Jones story, Thomas continued to say nice things about Jones.

Other tidbits:
· Isiah continued to sidestep questions about Kobe Bryant, saying as far as he knows, Kobe is in camp and happy to be there. He wasn’t touching questions about Jerry Buss’ recent comments about his continued willingness to trade Kobe.
· Jerome James still isn’t scrimmaging and has yet to be medically cleared to play. (No surprise there.)
· Demetris Nichols missed practice for personal reasons, but his absence isn’t expected to be lengthy.
· Thomas praised Wilson Chandler, especially for his work on the defensive end. A pleasant surprise, Thomas said, has been Chandler’s knack for blocking and altering shots.

The Knicks will work again tomorrow at the MSG Training Center, as will yours truly, so stop by for more updates …

Jerry Buss has given new life to the Kobe Bryant sweepstakes.

In an interview with Lakers beat writers Wednesday at training camp in Honolulu, Buss acknowledged for the first time that he tried to grant Kobe’s wish by trading him this summer. Far more interesting was the fact that Buss left the door wide open to considering more offers for his superstar if Kobe continues to threaten to opt out of his contract after the 2008-09 season.

“If he’s still in that frame of mind, then hopefully we can do the sign-and-trade and get some comparable value,” Buss said.

You can go through the articles from the various L.A. papers here and draw your own conclusions:

L.A. Times

Press-Enterprise

Orange County Register

You should also pay attention to what Ric Bucher of ESPN The Magazine has to say about this, because Bucher has a pipeline directly to Kobe.

Like me, Bucher is skeptical about how serious the Lakers really were about trading Bryant because he believes G.M. Mitch Kupchak was telling teams he wasn’t listening to offers for Kobe this summer.

This fits with what I know to be true about the Knicks’ involvement in the whole scenario. The Knicks were one of three teams Kobe is believed to have agreed to waive his no-trade clause for, and yet discussions between Kupchak and Isiah Thomas never got to the point of specific trade proposals being exchanged. That doesn’t sound like a team that was serious about trading Kobe.

What does it all mean? If the clock on Kobe’s time in a Laker uniform didn’t begin ticking May 30 when he first asked to be traded, then it’s certainly begun ticking now.

David Stern held a news conference in London today before Kevin Garnett and the Celtics played KG’s former team, the T-Wolves, in a preseason game.

Any stunning revelations or updates on the Tim Donaghy situation or fallout from it? Nah.

Stern said he is analyzing interviews that were conducted with all 60 officials and will “have something more to say before the regular season begins.”

“We remain, based upon all of the information we have, of the strong view that Donaghy was an isolated instance of criminal activity,” Stern said.

Stern said some officials revealed “violations” of league rules. Presumably, these are the minor gambling issues – outside of betting on NBA games – that Donaghy was reported to have divulged to federal authorities.

“I told the officials at their meeting, actually, that we won’t be terminating any officials for violations of league rules,” Stern said. “There were some violations but they’re not hanging crimes.”

Stern gave no specifics on how the league intends to improve background checks for referees or enhance the performance review process.

“We’ve got to be quicker in admitting when mistakes have been made by officials and be more transparent when it comes to that, rather than waiting for the public to come to us,” he said. “But I don’t think any more than making reporters personnel files public that we should be having referees’ human resources file being made public.”

As far as fan reaction to the scandal, Stern said, “For the most part, people appreciate the fact that we we’re out front with it, that we’ll be dealing with it in due course before the season begins.”

If you want specifics, you apparently have to buy an NBA franchise. Stern said he plans to “unburden” himself of all the facts he’s uncovered at the owners meeting Oct. 24-25.

Lastly, Stern reiterated his belief that it’s unfair to impugn the integrity of all officials based on Donaghy’s actions.

“It would be like me saying, ‘I understand that Jason Blair lied in his reports in The New York Times, how can I trust you?’” Stern said. “But I don’t say that to media. What I do is, I deal with officials as human beings doing a good job, telling them that we’re going to have to have more transparency with respect to their bad calls. We’re going to have to make sure they’re happier, make sure their work environment is one that they feel well supported and protected, and helping to develop them in their careers.”
***
OK, enough is enough. I just got off the phone a while ago with Allan Houston’s agent, Bill Strickland, who shared some thoughts on why Houston is returning to the Knicks.

While the Nets were in hot pursuit of Houston, the Knicks were the only one of the six teams that worked him out recently that could give Houston a chance to play and practice near his Westchester home. Houston’s fourth child, a daughter, was born last week, and he “just came to the realization that he wanted to stay close to home,” Strickland said.

Houston has been aware all along that there are no guarantees he’ll make the roster. He concluded that the Knicks provided the best opportunity for him to find a niche in terms of providing veteran leadership.

“Isiah made it very clear from the very first time I contacted him about this that Allan would have to compete and perform because Isiah wants to win,” Strickland said. “Allan understand that’s the nature of the beast.

“One of the things that he factored into his thinking was an opportunity to exert or contribute a certain level of veteran leadership to a young ballclub,” Strickland said. “It’s not to denigrate the Knicks in any way. It’s just that he feels they’re a young ballclub and they’re looking for veteran leadership.”

Houston got a one-year deal, but the real mystery is whether it’s guaranteed. Since a roster spot isn’t guaranteed, logic would suggest that the contract isn’t either. But with the Knicks, you never know. They won the Randolph Morris derby, for example, by guaranteeing his two-year deal and not prorated his salary last season. Either way, Houston’s deal would have to be heavily incentive-laden.

If he makes the team, Houston could provide more than a few three-pointers and a little leadership. By reconnecting the Knicks to their successful past, Houston could bring some sanity and positive publicity to what has been a dreadful summer for the Knicks. Your thoughts?

I’m glad to see some of you enjoyed my rant about Al Sharpton. I’m equally happy that some of Alan’s Fixers are making their way over here. Alan and I make a pretty good 1-2 punch – Alan providing the size and pounding inside, while I can give you a little outside shooting and perimeter defense.

I even enjoyed James’ criticism of my points about Sharpton, in which he essentially made my argument for me that Sharpton is an irrelevant clown. Maybe I gave him too much credit by taking the time to make that argument, but I just wanted to make sure everyone was clear on where he’s coming from on this. He’s coming from a bad place.

A couple of thoughts: I’m nervous about Eddy Curry’s shoulder, and you should be, too. A torn labrum is nothing to sneeze at. As with Lamar Odom, it may not require in-season surgery, but it could affect his play all year. Sort of makes the Zach Randolph acquisition all the more important, no?

As for Orange and Blue’s points about Jerome James: There is no arguing that the signing has been anything but a complete waste of time. However, since he’s here and money is no object at the Garden, the argument for keeping him around would be this: You don’t discard 7-foot-tall human beings if you can help it. Especially with Curry hurt, it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that Jerome could play a few important minutes here or there, if for no other purpose but to grab a rebound or two and commit a foul or six. Is that worth $6 million a year? Nope, but Anucha Browne Sanders is getting twice that and her rebounding days are over.

In the next couple of days, I will endeavor to empty my mailbag and address some of the questions/comments/concerns that readers have emailed me. So if anything is on your mind – any questions you need answered or opinions you would like me to render – now is the time to post them here or email them to me at ken.berger(at)newsday.com. Just keep it a little cleaner than 50 Cent lyrics and we’ll be fine.

What a surprise! The Rev. Al Sharpton wants someone to apologize. This time, it is Isiah Thomas.

Sharpton says he will protest outside Knicks home games this season if Thomas doesn’t apologize for his comments about calling black women the b-word during his deposition for the sexual harassment trial he just lost.

How about this, instead, Rev. Sharpton? How about you and the Rev. Jesse Jackson apologize for railroading the innocent Duke lacrosse players first, and then you can tell other people what to do?

How about you mind your own business for once and stop trying to use people for no other purpose except to generate publicity for yourself and continue to create the illusion that you are relevant in the arena of ideas?

As usual, Sharpton is jumping into the political debate before he has the facts.

He says he is calling on Thomas to apologize “because of what came out during the deposition … when he said it was all right for black men to call black women ‘bitches,’” according to published reports. “It is inexcusable for any man of any race to call black women or any women ‘bitch.’”

Sharpton went on to say his National Action Network would picket the Garden during Knicks home games unless Thomas apologizes.

UPDATE: After speaking with Thomas by phone Saturday, Sharpton agreed that his National Network Decency Initiative would review the deposition before picketing the Knicks. “He further asserted that there must be one level of standards for all people, and as he held Mr. Imus, hip hop artists and others accountable, Mr. Thomas also had to clarify his position on behalf of all women or there will be further action,” a spokesman said in a statement released on Sharpton’s behalf.

My question to Sharpton, based on that statement, would be this: Is the Rev. Sharpton going to demand that 50 Cent and Justin Timberlake apologize for the lyrics in the following chart-topping song I was subjected to on the radio while driving my 3-year-old home from a birthday party on Saturday? Is he going to demand sanctions against the radio station, Z-100, that plays it every five minutes?

She work it girl, she work the pole
She break it down, she take it low
She fine as hell, she about the dough
She doing her thing out on the floor
Her money money, she makin' makin'
Look at the way she shakin' shakin'
Make you want to touch it, make you want to taste it
Have you lustin' for her, go crazy face it
Now don't stop, get it, get it
The way she shakin' make you want to hit it
Think she double jointed from the way she splitted
Got you're head ___ up from the way she did it
She's so much more than you're used to
She knows just how to move to seduce you
She gone do the right thing and touch the right spot
Dance in you're lap till you're ready to pop

I think I can answer my own question: No, he isn’t.

Alan Hahn is down in Charleston, where people with much better things to do (including him) are instead spending their time chasing another Sharpton non-story. Rev. Al apparently backed off after Isiah explained to him that his deposition testimony was edited in such a way to maximize his embarrassment to the jury. Now Sharpton apparently is going to take aim at the lawyers who spliced the testimony, presumably those representing Anucha Browne Sanders.

Frankly, Isiah should have told Sharpton to mind his own business.

Kevin Mintzer, one of Browne Sanders’ attorneys, is asserting that Thomas’ attorneys made no objections to the portion of the deposition that was played in court. A Garden spokesman had no comment, beyond pointing out that Thomas stated outside the courthouse that it is “always wrong for any man to call a woman a bitch. I didn’t do that, and I would never do that.” He also pointed out that Thomas addressed this matter in his direct testimony from the witness stand, which Sharpton evidently didn’t take the time to read before spouting off and demanding apologies again.

The point is, once again Sharpton is pretending to stick up for a group of people who supposedly have been wronged, when in reality he is just using someone – this time, Isiah Thomas – to give him an excuse to hear himself have a tantrum so he can raise more money for his political agenda. Thankfully, unlike the Duke lacrosse case, no one is in danger of going to jail this time over his irresponsible ambulance chasing.

Alan and I are in the process of finding out what the various attorneys in the case think about this development. My guess is, they’re either bored or laughing.

Thanks to those of you who offered your congratulations on little Z-Berg, who is getting a lot more sleep than I am these days.

After two solid weeks of getting woken up at all hours of the night to feed, diaper, cuddle, and otherwise parent our new addition, I wound up flat on my back for the better part of four days with some sort of infection. I had to do the unthinkable – cancel my trip to Charleston, which promised a couple of good stories, sunshine, delicious food, and several consecutive uninterrupted nights of sleep. Thankfully, Alan has been keeping his Fixers – and presumably himself – well fed during the first few days of camp.

In response to Orange and Blue’s question about what David Stern might do to either Isiah Thomas or Jim Dolan as a result of the verdict in the sexual harassment trial, my firm belief is that he will do nothing. Stern is rarely afraid to discipline anyone with a pulse, but he has long been opposed to getting involved in matters of civil litigation. I expect him to stay as far away from this fiasco as he can. For additional thoughts on this, see my column that will run in Sunday’s paper.

I know most of you are probably sick of hearing about the trial, but I thought this was an interesting tidbit for you. Can anyone guess how much Anucha Browne Sanders will actually receive after paying her lawyers and her income tax bill?

I’ll spoil the suspense and tell you: After paying the presumed standard contingency fee to her attorneys (typically 33 percent), and after satisfying the IRS, Browne Sanders will walk way with about $4.2 million of the $11.6 million in punitive damages awarded by the jury.

If the attorneys get one-third, that means they will receive $3.9 million – almost as much as their client. Considering the legal army they were up against, I have to admit it was well earned. But depending on the arrangement Browne Sanders made with her lawyers, she may also have to pay them for expenses – everything from copies to courier fees.

Assuming a 35 percent federal tax bracket and about 11 percent combined for state and city taxes, the government walks away with about $3.6 million of Browne Sanders’ money – money that may or may not benefit working women, or anyone else for that matter, depending on how the government decides to waste it.

While Browne Sanders does not have to pay tax on the attorney fees, in accordance with a 2004 law passed by Congress and signed by President Bush, Uncle Sam will get his mitts on a sizeable portion of that money anyway because it counts as income to the law firm.

My friend Craig Miller, partner in the D.C. law firm Simeone & Miller, says that before the law was changed, many victims in employment discrimination cases actually wound up owing money once they paid their taxes because attorney fees were considered taxable income.
Either way, the biggest winners are the lawyers and the government – as is usually the case in matters such as this.

U.S. District Judge Gerard Lynch is expected to rule next month on Browne Sanders’ request for up to $10 million in compensatory damages. If she receives all she asks for, Browne Sanders will wind up with about $3.6 million of it after paying her lawyers and the IRS.

Nobody should be shedding any tears for Browne Sanders, nor do her financial obligations diminish the unnecessary embarrassment the Garden suffered by insisting to go to trial.

This little math exercise only illustrates how a verdict like this isn’t always the slam dunk it appears to be.

…

Now, something basketball-related. Allan Houston’s wife gave birth Thursday to a baby girl, which explains the delay in his decision on whether to sign with the Knicks or the Nets. A person close to Houston says his decision, and a news conference, are expected in the coming days.
I’m with Alan Hahn on this one. I don’t quite see the benefit of adding Houston to this roster. But I’m not sure the Garden could stand seeing one of the popular former Knicks playing across the river in Jersey. So you never know.

As if my head weren’t spinning enough after two weeks of helping care for the newborn in the Berger household – Z-Berg is the nickname Alan Hahn has given to little Zachary – now I am woozy like Michael Spinks was against Mike Tyson after going a few rounds with Stephon Marbury at Knicks media day.

I spent the entire allotted time sitting at a table with Marbury today at the Knicks’ training center, because unless Kobe Bryant or Ron Artest walked through the door, I felt like Steph was the most compelling story on the eve of training camp.

Part of me is glad I spent so much time with him, because it took the better part of 40 minutes to get Marbury to really open up about the source of his apparent transformation this summer. The Cliff’s Notes version is that he no longer cares what anyone thinks about him, and he has found G-d.

With word that a verdict was imminent in the sexual harassment lawsuit against the Garden and coach Isiah Thomas in Manhattan, Marbury was the only person available at media day who had anything to do with the trial. In fact, he played a starring role in one of the salacious sideshows generated by the proceedings when he was forced to testify about his 2005 tryst with a college-age intern in his truck outside a strip club.

All Marbury kept saying about the matter was a cryptic line – “It shall be well” – which Google tells me is a Biblical reference from Psalm 128: “When thou eatest the labour of thy hands, happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.”

At $20 million this season, Marbury should be able to eat just fine.

Steph’s trademark combative side showed itself, but for the most part he was engaging and willing to talk – on his terms. He called this the “best summer that I’ve ever had,” which seemed like an odd statement considering all the controversy he generated with his bizarre appearance on a local TV show, his stated desire to play in Italy when the final two years of his Knicks contract are up, his defense of Michael Vick, and finally, his testimony at Isiah’s trial.

“I don’t have any concerns at all,” Marbury said of the potential fallout from the messy public trial. “This is something that’s being dealt with and in time it’ll go away. It’s something that’s going on right now.

“You’re talking about a civil lawsuit. Somebody’s trying to make some money and we’re talking about basketball. When you start playing ball, hopefully that’s what people will concentrate on.”

You can read all about the real source of Marbury’s new perspective in tomorrow’s paper. As far as basketball, Marbury predicted that the Knicks would be a better team with the addition of Zach Randolph and the stability of playing for the same coach. He acknowledged that he needed more time to recover from a nagging toe injury than he might’ve needed when he was younger, but vowed defiantly that he is not wearing down.

“Going into training camp, everybody’s mindset is right where it needs to be,” Marbury said.

Alan Hahn was racing to the airport to catch his flight right after media day, so he urged me to tell his loyal Fixers that he’ll post something as soon as he arrives in Charleston. I’ll be joining him later in the week. In the meantime, I’m wondering what Knicks and league stuff is on your mind. As long as I can manage to keep my eyes open, Berger’s blog is open for business again.