NBA Insider with Ken Berger

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas isn't through with disgraced referee Tim Donaghy.

Thomas sent a letter to the United States Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn, New York, requesting information from the completed federal investigation of Donaghy, a former NBA official.

Thomas and his office want to determine if Donaghy broke any Arizona law. Donaghy refereed games between the Suns and Lakers in April and May of 2007.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn has said that the Donaghy investigation records would not be available until after the investigation was concluded.

Last month, a federal judge sentenced Donaghy to 15 months in prison after Donaghy pled guilty to two felony counts alleging he took payoffs from gamblers.

Thomas has now sent a follow-up letter requesting the information.

“As chief prosecutor of Maricopa County, the site of NBA games implicated in this matter, I wish to be given the opportunity to ascertain as to whether or not Arizona law has been
violated," Thomas said in the letter.

-- MIKE ROSE

The Knicks' hiring of former Magic and Blazers executive John Gabriel only underscores Donnie Walsh's stated plan -- to get enough cap room for a major acquisition by the summer of 2010.

Gabriel has been hired to a newly created position called director of pro scouting and free agency. His primary duties will be evaluating current NBA talent and recommending future trades and signings.

Gabriel's hallmark with Orlando was clearing a massive amount of cap space, which allowed the team to acquire Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill. This earned him executive of the year honors for the 1999-00 season.

After he was fired by Orlando in 2004, Gabriel went to Portland and cleaned out a closet full of massive contracts, egos, and bad apples to set the table for what is now one of the best-run front offices -- with one of the most promising rosters -- in the league.

If you didn't believe Walsh was committed to getting under the cap in time for the free-agent bonanza in the summer of 2010, this confirms it.

The Knicks also have hired Misho Ostarcevic -- Walsh's international scout with the Pacers -- as director off player personnel.

I'll be stepping away from the blog soon to take some vacation time with the family, and I hope -- I really hope -- this is not the last blog post I have a chance to put up here before I go.

But I am duty-bound to inform you that Charles Barkley is going to have a colonoscopy, and that it is going to shown on national television. As disturbing as this is, there is no doubt it's for a good cause. Barkley, 45, will undergo the procedure Friday and it'll be aired on ABC, NBC, and CBS on Sept. 5 as part of a "Stand Up to Cancer" broadcast.

I wish Charles all the best with the procedure. I've been there for some of the most significant moments of his basketball career -- such as the unveiling of the NBA's 50 Greatest at the '97 All-Star Game in Cleveland, when Barkley and his buddy, Michael Jordan, played hooky on the golf course.

My favorite Barkley moment that I've covered -- well, it's a tie. The first one was the civil trial in Cleveland after Barkley was sued by a man who fought with him in a Cleveland bar in 1996. There were a lot of memorable Barkley quotes from the trial, many of them coming out of Charles' mouth after his lawyers had fruitlessly objected to various questions. Here's a sampling, from memory supplemented by consulting Nexis for the stories I wrote for the AP:

At one point when Barkley was on the witness stand, he was asked if he'd ever called the man he tussled with a "drunk redneck."

"I would do it today, probably," Barkley said. "If you ask me, I thought he was drunk redneck."

Barkley also admitted with a flourish that he'd consumed several beers that evening.

"That's a safe bet," Barkley said. "If I'm not in good enough shape to drink a few beers the night before I play, then I'm just a sorry player."

And when asked if he understood that he was supposed to act differently in a public place than on a basketball court, Barkley said, "I don't know. You got a bunch of knuckleheads in both environments."

As for the confrontation itself, Barkley said, "I still don't think he got what he deserved. I was trying to get at him, I admit that. And if I did get to him, he'd have more lumps than those superficial little rug burns he had."

The plaintiff, Jeb Tyler of Spencerport, N.Y., didn't get a penny of the $550,000 he was seeking. Nor did he get the $12,000 he'd offered Barkley by way of a settlement, to which Barkley responded: "'Why should I give him $12,000? 'He doesn't get a rebound. He doesn't get hit in the head by Karl Malone.''

Gotta love Chuck.

Oh, moment No. 2: The farewell game in Philly, when Barkley -- as a member of the Houston Rockets -- was honored to the nines in what was supposed to have been his final game in the City of Brotherly Love. Barkley, no longer in good enough shape to pound beers the night before games, went up for a rebound about 20 feet from where I was sitting and ruptured his quadriceps tendon. Done for the night, and evidently for his career. (Despite the somber tone of the postgame news conference, Barkley wound up coming back and playing again after that.)

But back to the news conference. Barkley limps in and sits down between his mother and grandmother, both delightful Southern ladies I've interviewed on several occasions over the years. There is dead silence in the room. Everyone seems devastated that it would end this way for Sir Charles.

He adjusts the microphone on the table in front of him, surveys the dumbstruck reporters packed into the room, and says, "Well, guys, I guess this means sex is out of the question tonight."

I won't be there for the colonoscopy, but I do have one piece of advice. They better knock this guy out or they'll be laughing too hard to maneuver the scope.

The American are on their way to another blowout, leading Australia by 30-plus in the fourth in the Olympic quarterfinals. A few moments ago, Coach K had Deron Williams and Chris Paul on the floor at the same time. Talk about scary. That's more point guard talent than the Knicks have had in the last 15 years.

Not a good morning for Bucks G.M. John Hammond or coach Scott Skiles. Andrew Bogut, who signed a $76 million extension this summer, turned his ankle and is limping around on the sideline pretty severely.

Pau Gasol led defending world champion Spain to the semifinals with a 72-59 win over Croatia. Yao Ming and China were knocked out of the medal round with a 94-68 loss to Lithuania.

In other news, Celtics guard Ray Allen got married. Newsday is going to outbid People for the rights to publish the first wedding pics. Or not.

Warning: Reading this piece about Blazers point guard Steve Blake will make you wish the Knicks had been able to acquire him -- last summer and this one.

Team USA's undefeated romp through pool play in Beijing means nothing if there are any slip-ups in the single-elimination medal round that begins Wednesday (8 a.m. ET) against Australia.

As Alexander Wolff of SI.com points out, consider the players warned. When they boarded the team bus after their most recent practice, each player was greeted by a note placed neatly on his seat: "TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED (0-0)."

Some other Team USA items for you to chew on during the otherwise slow basketball days of August:

* Chris Tomasson of the Rocky Mountain News on Carmelo Anthony wanting to play in the 2012 Olympics. Team USA managing director Jerry Colangelo says there is "no plan" for how future Olympic teams will be selected.

* Elliott Almond of the San Jose Mercury News on Michael Phelps' visit with Team USA.

* Bill Plaschke of the L.A. Times found a Shaq statue in Beijing, strategically located near public toilets.

* David Stern spoke with The Associated Press about ramping up the NBA's presence in China and India.

* Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com imagines a matchup between the Dream Team and Redeem Team, and surprisingly gives the edge to the redeemers.

Mark Heisler -- a former Tribune Co. colleague -- caught up with NBA superfan Jimmy Goldstein, who evidently is as omnipresent in Beijing as he's been in NBA arenas for decades.

If you've spent a lot of time in NBA arenas, you've no doubt seen Goldstein -- with his wild attire, witch hat, alligator-skin pants, and crazy cowboy boots. Goldstein showed up in the front row for Team USA's game against Spain Saturday night. Not only that, he managed to crash the postgame news conference, somehow getting past Chinese security.

Apparently, the Chinese should have hired Madison Square Garden security.

Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star -- who is in China covering Team USA -- makes a pretty good case that there will be an NBA team in Beijing or Shanghai within 10 years.

Kravitz writes: "Sixteen years after Dream Team, we're talking about Americans trying to recapture their lost global basketball status and we're talking about expansion teams in Shanghai. Now that's a revolution."

I agree, but I have a suggestion. Before the NBA adds any teams overseas, it needs to get rid of a few teams on U.S. soil. Memphis and Charlotte, for starters.

Team USA continued its seemingly inevitable march to Olympic gold by thrashing Germany -- and its Dirk Nowitzki/Chris Kaman combo -- 106-57 this morning in the final pool game. Next victim is Australia -- the only team Kobe & Co. haven't blown out -- in a quarterfinals matchup.

Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press put it this way: "Not since the Dream Team rumbled through Las Ramblas 16 years ago in Barcelona has a team looked this unbeatable."

Said Kaman: “Nobody is going to beat them. No way, it’s just not going to happen."

Here's the boxscore. What's up, Michael Redd (1-9 FGs)?

Here's the column I wrote for Sunday's paper on the far-fetched notion that James Dolan would allow Cablevision to sell his beloved Garden, Knicks, and Rangers to an outsider. Much more likely, I'm told, that he'd try to placate shareholders by selling the sports properties to himself.

Stephon Marbury, as we already knew, is not going to stick around quite as long. The Boston Globe, which has a reporter in Beijing tailing Team USA -- and, thus, Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni -- has this piece on D'Antoni's rebuilding project. Included was a line from an NBA source saying Marbury has played his last game as a Knick.

Good. Have a nice day.

Today's NBA live chat will begin at 1 p.m. Please have your questions ready.

Don't forget: The live chat that got bumped by Brett Favre last Friday has been rescheduled for today at 1 p.m. Join me with your questions about Team USA, which takes on Spain tomorrow night, Ron Artest's arrival in Houston, or anything else basketball-related.

See you then.

The Rockets have announced that their trade for Ron Artest is official. It's a little different than the trade as it was originally reported. Here's the official news release.

Rockets Acquire Ron Artest from Sacramento

Bobby Jackson and Rookie Donté Greene Traded to Kings

HOUSTON – Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has acquired forward/guard Ron Artest, forward Patrick Ewing, Jr and guard Sean Singletary from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for guard Bobby Jackson, rookie forward Donté Greene and Houston’s 2009 first-round draft pick.

Greene (6-9, 222, Syracuse), who signed with the Rockets on July 15, had his draft rights acquired by Houston along with Memphis’ 2009 second-round pick for the draft rights to Darrell Arthur (27th overall). An early entry candidate for the 2008 NBA Draft, Greene was originally chosen 28th overall by the Grizzlies.

Artest is about to go on a conference call with the media. I'll be back in a bit with an update.

UPDATED 7:11 p.m. Artest said all the right things on his conference call. Here are a couple of memorable quotes, though it's nothing compared to what we're used to from Ron-Ron:

"When you get a chance to play with the same organization where Hakeem Olajuwon came through and Clyde the Glide and all those guys, you've got to appreciate that. This is definitely the high point of my career. This is the biggest opportunity that I’ve ever had playing professional basketball."

"To get a chance to play for a defensive specialist in Shane Battier ... I've never really had an opportunity to play with a wing player who can play defense as well as I play defense. Usually, I have to guard all the great wing players."

Not Atlanta, Georgia. The other Georgia -- Zaza's homeland.

Most basketball fans would only remember Pachulia as the Hawks' designated goon who tried to bait Kevin Garnett into a fight in the first round playoff series between the Hawks and Celtics. But Zaza's focus now is on Russia's military operation in his native country. As the NBA becomes global, so do the concerns of NBA players.

I absolutely love the following media advisory from the Rockets, in which they have announced a conference call with the "newest Rockets player."

WHAT: Conference Call Regarding Newest Rockets Player

WHEN: Thursday, August 14, 2008
5:30 p.m.
WHERE: Conference Call Number: xxx-xxx-xxxx

***Please call in five to 10 minutes before the 5:30 p.m. start time and say you are calling for the Houston Rockets Conference Call***

WHO: Rockets Owner Leslie Alexander

Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey

Newest Rockets Player

Hmmm, I wonder who that could be???

Undated photo of Ron Artest from www.detroitbadboys.com

Caught a few minutes of Team USA's supposed gut-check game against the supposedly tough, physical and determined Greeks this morning on the USA Network -- which, among other things, marked the first time I have watched the USA Network in 12 years.

From what I saw, the Americans stepped over the Greeks as though they were a pickle spill in aisle 8. Somebody get a mop -- I don't see anyone stopping the Americans from winning gold.

Here's the breaking lead from AP, and the boxscore.

It was a magnificent defensive effort from the Americans, who had 15 steals -- six by Dwyane Wade -- and forced 25 turnovers. Nice way to exact revenge for the semifinals loss to Greece in the 2006 world championships, when Team USA got pick-and-rolled to death.

Next up, a showdown with defending world champion Spain on Saturday night.

A three-team trade sending guard Mo Williams to the Cavaliers is close to completion, a person with knowledge of the situation told Newsday.

The deal, which also involves Luke Ridnour going from Oklahoma City to Milwaukee, is expected to be announced later Wednesday.

Several variations of the swap have been discussed, but the latest version has Cleveland sending Damon Jones to Milwaukee and Joe Smith's $4.8 million expiring contract to Oklahoma City. The Bucks also get Adrian Griffin from Oklahoma City and send Desmond Mason to OKC.

Talks reportedly had stalled because Cleveland was having second thoughts about taking on Williams' five years and $43 million. Restricted free agent Delonte West, who has been unable to reach agreement on a new deal with Cleveland, also had been mentioned as a sign-and-trade aspect of the deal. But with Smith's expiring contract included instead of West, it now appears the Cavs will continue efforts to re-sign the point guard acquired in the Ben Wallace trade.

The trade is largely a cost-cutting move for Milwaukee and OKC, but it gives Cleveland another scorer to complement LeBron James. Williams is a scorer -- not a true point guard -- so his presence isn't likely to take much ball-handling or distribution responsibility away from LBJ.

Who knew that Ron Artest wouldn't be the first member of the Rockets' all-Queens team to get arrested?

Cardozo product Rafer Alston is due in court Thursday for an arraignment on a misdemeanor drunken driving charge. Rafe evidently was arrested on suspicion of DWI last Thursday at 2:30 a.m., and nobody knew anything about it until Houston's WKRIV-TV reported it last night.

Lesson to the newspaper business: That's what massive buyouts and layoffs will get you. To paraphrase Channing Frye, "It'll get you smoked on a week-old story by a TV station, that's what it'll get you."

UPDATED 10:27 a.m. Houston Chronicle columnist Richard Justice writes that "hell will freeze over" before the Rockets trade or cut Alston over his latest legal transgression. My take: Rockets GM Daryl Morey should have a closed-door meeting with Alston and Artest, look both men straight in the eye, and say, "Next one to get arrested is a rotten egg."

Asked if 2007 No. 1 pick Greg Oden was favoring his surgically repaired knee during Tuesday's public workout, former Knick Channing Frye said, "He favors dunking on your head, that's what he favors."

Channing, where were these good quotes when you played for the Knicks?

Been working on some newspaper reporting today, so blogging has been limited. But saw this news that you need. So here you go:

Sixers swingman Andre Iguodala has agreed to a six-year, $80 million extension with the team, according to Henry Abbott of ESPN.com.

Turns out, Iguodala was right to wait out the market and let others set it. That's a hefty score for a guy who is not the No. 1 option, but who works his tail off and will complement Elton Brand nicely.

More tomorrow.

UPDATED 10:06 a.m. There is some fallout to the above-referenced report, with Phil Jasner of the Philly Daily News doing his due diligence and touching base with all interested parties, to no avail. Sixers G.M. Ed Stefanski emailed Jasner a vague "nothing to report" response, then said, "There's no deal yet," when interviewed during the Phillies-Dodgers broadcast. Seems like semantics to me. Note there are no denials, just vague statements about it not being done yet. I'll be back when the i's are dotted and t's crossed.

Henry Abbott of TrueHoop has done it again, bringing us the kind of basketball information you can't do without. His post on what members of Team USA are eating in China brought a smile to my face this morning (more on that later).

Henry linked to a Deadspin item quoting assistant coach Jim Boeheim, who described the coaches' trip to an authentic Chinese restaurant. Boeheim said the players stayed away, opting for Tony Roma's and California Pizza Kitchen, prompting Abbott to wonder if a diet of ribs and pizza would be enough to bring home the gold.

Upon more reflection and research, Abbott tells us that the Americans are traveling with a personal chef who is churning out traditional, nutritious meals. Shawn Loving, who is Rip Hamilton's chef and has a Michigan-based restaurant and catering business, is keeping the players out of McDonald's during the Games.

This reminded me of my trip to Tokyo a few years back to cover the Jets in a preseason game against the Bucs. Every night when the beat writer crew would venture out to find some culinary delights (as we were known to do), we would pass the McDonald's not far from the Tokyo Dome hotel. There, lined up as though waiting to buy copies of Madden '09, were beloved members of the Jets who wouldn't be caught dead in a traditional Japanese restaurant. (Picture Kerry Jenkins with an Alabama hat on backwards and Jason Fabini looking confused as they waited in line for a Big Mac in the heart of Tokyo.) We snickered as we hopped in a taxi for our seventh or eighth trip to Sushi Zanmai, which as far as I'm concerned is the best sushi restaurant in the world.

As I recall it, the regular group included yours truly, Judy Battista of the Times, Mark Cannizzaro of the Post, Rich Cimini of the Daily News, and Kit Stier of the Journal-News. The sushi chefs shouted something in Japanese every time we walked in. Perhaps it was, "Back to the docks! Gluttonous American writers back for more!" At one point, after inhaling spicy tuna hand roll No. 9, Cannizzaro gazed into my eyes and said, "Berg: This place is open TWENTY FOUR HOURS A DAY. Do you UNDERSTAND THAT?!?!?!?!?!"

It's true. It says so in this restaurant review. Of course, it also says that the place is packed "even at 3:30 in the afternoon with a largely elderly clientele, who have the time to spare." I take offense to that. As far as I was concerned, the elderly clientele were at McDonald's.

By the way, Team USA improved to 2-0 this morning by routing Angola. Tony Roma's, here they come!

Bill Ingram of Hoopsworld.com -- in a story for USA Today -- caught up with Josh Smith in Dallas shortly after the Hawks matched the Grizzlies' offer sheet for the restricted free agent.

For the record, it turns out that Atlanta G.M. Rick Sund was right about Smith having limited options. Memphis' offer was below market, and the Hawks retained Smith for what looks like a bargain price -- five years, $58 million.

Thanks to Henry Abbott for linking the following from Dan Steinberg of the D.C. Sports Bog. (Is re-linking like re-gifting? If blogs existed during Seinfeld, that could've been an episode, along someone posting video of Elaine dancing on Facebook.)

It seems LeBron James, upon meeting President Bush's father, Bush 41, greeted him by saying, "What's up, pops?"

What other athlete in the world could get away with that?

Here is the best thing I have read so far about Team USA's excursion into basketball-crazy China, with colorful descriptions of how the nation was transfixed by the Americans' blowout of China. Everything is cool about this piece, including the author, whose middle initial appears to be the numeral 8. I thought I was seeing things at first, so I increased the text size in my browser. But sure enough, the article was written by Jennifer 8. Lee.

That would be the most interesting thing I learned from the story, if not for this: Kobe Bryant's team translates into Chinese as the "Los Angeles Lake People."

Hope you are having a good day.

UPDATED 1:57 p.m. I feel obligated to update this post with a link to the Wikipedia entry for the above-referenced scribe, who used to intern for Newsday and once was referred to by NPR as a "conceptual scoop artist." Cool!

Pat McManamon of the Akron Beach Journal sums up a weekend interview by Cavs owner Dan Gilbert in his blog with all the money quotes about the rumor frenzy regarding where LeBron is headed in 2010.

It's worth the click, as is the story in its entirety. But if you're in a rush and you'd rather read an East Coast blog, here are Gilbert's salient points:

"The reason this thing is where it's at is that we've got a bunch of bored, East Coast sports writers who have nothing to do because the offseason is a few months away and the Olympics [hadn't] started yet. ... The undertone to the whole thing that I wonder is, 'Why him? Why not Dwyane Wade? Why not Chris Bosh? Why not whoever else is coming due?' The only thing you can come up with is there are certain writers, or people who live on the East or West Coast, who think that Cleveland, Ohio, is not a good enough place for a superstar of LeBron's caliber to spend his career. Despite the quality of the franchise, the quality of life in the Midwest, the fans — it's a complete slap in the face from people who do not live in Cleveland, Ohio, to Cleveland, Ohio. That's probably my biggest problem with the whole thing."

OK, let's clear a few things up, Mr. Gilbert. First, LeBron is dominating the chatter about the free-agent bonanza of 2010 (or 2011 if LBJ doesn't opt out) because -- duh! -- he's LeBron. He's better than Wade and Bosh and everybody else, so naturally, the focus is on him.

Second, if I were Gilbert, I'd be more concerned with why my star player continues to fuel the rumor mill every time he opens his mouth on the subject. If LeBron really liked Cleveland as much as Gilbert does, he would have come to New York with Team USA a few weeks ago and shot down the rumors, instead of furthering the frenzy by saying New York was his favorite city and Brooklyn his favorite borough.

Just a few days ago in Beijing, LeBron had another chance to shut down the rumor mill, but instead revved it up again when he said he'd consider going overseas when he becomes a free agent. Harvey Araton of The Times wasn't the least bit surprised, and neither was I. It's called leverage, and LeBron is using it the way he will use an Angolan wing defender in Team USA's next game Tuesday night.

I can only speak for myself, but when I have written about LeBron and what he might have up his sleeve a couple of summers from now, I have done so as an unbiased observer whose job is to report what LeBron says on the subject and provide context for those comments.

I don't know if Gilbert was lumping me into his description of "bored, East Coast sports writers." But 1) I am not bored; and 2) I am probably the NBA writer on the East Coast with least East Coast bias. Gilbert didn't own the Cavs when I lived and worked in Cleveland in the mid-to-late '90s, so he may not be aware that I not only lived and worked there, but absolutely loved doing both. If Cleveland has one fault, it's that the sports fans and media there are a little provincial and have an inferiority complex. That's not my fault, nor is it LeBron's. The idea of what chess moves LeBron will make in 2010 or '11 was never about geography or regional bias. It has always been about, and will continue to be about, where LeBron can expand his plan for world domination by winning championships and marketing himself.

Maybe that's Cleveland. Maybe it's New York or L.A. I seriously doubt it's outside the continental United States, but you can't completely dismiss it if LeBron says he'd consider it -- even if the real reason for those comments is the fact that LeBron evidently loves leverage more than he loves Cleveland.

There, I feel better now.

Apologies for the postponed live chat and crickets on the blog. I was asked to jump in on the Brett Favre coverage yesterday, and gladly did so. Having covered the Jets for six seasons -- coming in with the Chad Pennington draft -- I felt a certain sense of closure participating in the coverage of Favre's arrival and Chad's departure. Here's the Favre profile I wrote, in case you haven't gotten enough of Brett the Jet.

I've said it before in other forums, and I'll say it again. It was a "privilege" to be around Chad and watch him conduct himself like a true professional in overcoming injury after injury. He put everything he had into the Jets, and really did bleed green. He'll be missed, but I know he'll land on his feet.

There is, in fact, a basketball angle to all of this. Favre Mania has officially given Donnie Walsh and MIke D'Antoni a free pass for at least a year or two. They get to rebuild in the land of obscurity while Brett and the Jets get all the headlines.

I'll be back Monday to catch you up on free agency and Team USA's doings in Beijing.

Today's live chat with NBA beat reporter Ken Berger has been postponed. It will be rescheduled in the near future. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Kudos to Bethlehem Shoals, a.k.a Free Darko, for this line in the Sporting Blog:

Earl Boykins, now with Italy. Kindly proceed with your life as originally planned.

Shoals also expresses doubts about the LeBron-to-Europe notion -- doubts with which I wholeheartedly concur. Now get back to Facebooking or IMing or whatever else you are doing besides reading this blog or working.

P.S. The only thing that makes me sad about Boykins signing with an Italian team is that there are no longer any NBA players shorter than me.

Here's a link to the NBA's press release announcing the 2008-09 schedule. Key dates:

* Opening night double header, Oct. 28: Cavs-Lakers (8 p.m.), Blazers-Lakers (10:30 p.m.) on TNT.

* ESPN follows up with a nationally televised doubleheader Oct. 29: Suns-Spurs and Lakers-Clippers

* No. 1 overall pick Derrick Rose debuts for the Bulls Oct. 28 against Milwaukee, then gets the national stage Oct. 31 in an ESPN game at Boston. His MSG debut will be Jan. 19 in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. matinee.

* For the first time ever, the league's three national broadcast partners each will televise a Christmas Day game: Hornets-Magic (noon, ESPN); Spurs-Suns (2:30 p.m.) and a Finals rematch, Celtics-Lakers ( 5 p.m.) -- both on ABC; followed by Wizards-Cavs (8 p.m.) and Mavs-Blazers (10:30 p.m.) -- both on TNT.

Here's the Knicks' complete 2008-09 schedule, and the Nets' slate as well.

New Jersey opens at Washington on Oct. 29, followed by three intriguing home games -- Golden State, Phoenix, and Detroit.

As soon as the complete league schedule is on NBA.com, I'll link it.

The NBA schedule