Compliments. Added opportunity. The ball. Since training camp opened earlier this month and the preseason has gotten into full swing, Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko has had virtually everything he's wanted handed to him.

And so far he's made the most of it all.

So suggested Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, whose newly assigned chore — as instructed by franchise owner Larry H. Miller — is to make Kirilenko feel all warm and fuzzy.

"I don't know that I've ever seen him as comfortable as he is right now," Sloan, whose Jazz close a three-exhibitions-in-four-nights trip tonight at Phoenix, said after Utah won 92-78 Saturday night in Milwaukee.

Kirilenko, Sloan suggested, is playing much like his old self.

You name it, in other words, and he's doing it.

A Warriors spokesman said guard Monta Ellis (sprained neck) has received medical clearance to play and that it is now up to Ellis to decide on his return date. Ellis, who experienced tingling in his arms after a scary collision with Wright in Hawaii, declined to answer questions.

Point guard Derek Fisher won't play 48 minutes a game this season, and there's little chance he'll average 38 minutes a game. But 28 minutes might suit him and the Lakers during the regular season.

"I feel like I can still play 30 minutes a game," Fisher said the other day. "I know the minutes will be big minutes no matter how (many they turn out to be)."

Less might be more, however.

Coach Phil Jackson will try to get the most of out of the 33-year-old Fisher without overplaying him this season. After all, there are plenty of volunteers for Fisher's leftover minutes, starting with last season's backup point guard, Jordan Farmar.

Fisher said he would welcome fewer minutes if it means he can play more intensely in his 12th NBA season. He also suggested he would be open to playing a reserve role if Jackson feels the need to start Farmar, although that seems like a long shot.

It's nearing four months since Shareef Abdur-Rahim had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, a procedure meant to remove loose bodies of cartilage and alleviate some of the pain that plagued him last season. But six weeks of recovery became longer mostly because his legs have logged 824 NBA games, and a setback just before training camp has him now hoping to return in time for the start of the regular season Oct. 31.

Abdur-Rahim, ever prideful and appreciative of the five-year deal the Kings gave him in the summer of 2005, simply wants to earn his money again.

"I just want to get healthy right now," said Abdur-Rahim, who will earn $5.8 million this season. "God willing, I'll be healthy, come back and continue to do what I've been able to do in my career."

The Suns aren’t counting on Sean Marks to play 27 minutes a night like he did in Saturday’s 111-106 preseason loss to New Orleans.

Marcus Banks isn’t likely to log 24 minutes often, and rookie D.J. Strawberry doesn’t figure to get 20.

But Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni would like to have all three players on call for rotation minutes behind the Suns’ top seven regulars — all of whom he views as starter quality. But in order to do that, the reserves need to keep the tempo and the level of play high.

Suns guard Leandro Barbosa's struggles in Saturday night's loss were indicative of a preseason quandary.

Barbosa struggled with his rhythm but played only 18 minutes and was a part of some unusual lineups.

Preseason tinkering leads to lopsided looks, but coach Mike D'Antoni said the preseason rotation gradually will work its way back to normal. "LB is not getting a rhythm that we need to get him into," D'Antoni said.

Sam Cassell, the Clippers' enigmatic court leader, would like to announce he's back. And not only for this year either. Be it with the Clippers or another NBA franchise.

Elevating his game click to enlargeCassell, beginning his 15th season, is in the final year of a two-year, $13-million contract. He played in only 58 games last season and became basketball's version of a pinch-hitter toward the end of it, informing Coach Mike Dunleavy whether he could play mere moments before tipoffs.

Take it away, Sam:

"It was tough last year," Cassell said. "You see some of the guys struggling and I know how to get all these guys their shots and how to get them to play at a higher level."

"But I feel a lot better this year. A little bruised in the knee. But my back is fine. My abdominal muscle is fine. Everything else is fine.

"I'm definitely coming back next year. I don't want to be a starter, though. Maybe come off the bench and play 20 or 25 minutes. If the Clippers would welcome me back, I would have no problems here."

The Wolves' abundance of small forwards and big guards, their obvious commitment to youth and Ricky Davis' value as a proven scorer and his expiring $6.8 million contract all make him likely to be traded by February's deadline. At age 28, Davis, who left Iowa for the NBA after his freshman season, is playing for his fifth NBA team.

"I don't know," Davis said when asked if he expects to be with the Wolves at season's end. "I'll wait and see what happens. Kevin Garnett got traded. It happens. Every day, every year someone gets traded. It's the nature of the business. I'll just leave what I've got on the court every night."

Wittman said he has no concerns about that.

"Ricky Davis is a competitor," Wittman said. "He's going to compete. I don't have to worry about him when he crosses the line. He's going to play hard.

First-round draft pick Corey Brewer has been working on his shot with the help of assistant general manager Fred Hoiberg. Brewer, a lanky forward known for his defense but not his shooting, practiced his stroke all summer with Hoiberg providing tips.

"He's just helping me, teaching me technique, teaching me the little things," Brewer said. "He was one of the best shooters in the NBA for a long time. To learn from him is really good for me."

Memo to Timberwolves players: Don't assume you're penciled into the starting lineup.

That includes you, Al Jefferson, and Randy Foye.

At least that's what coach Randy Wittman wants his players to believe. After Sunday's practice he said nobody is considered a starter at this point. He will closely evaluate his players during four exhibition games this week.

"I anticipated that we'd have a battle at every position, and that's what we have," Wittman said.

OK, maybe Wittman merely is trying to motivate his players. It would be shocking if Jefferson didn't start when the Wolves open the regular season Nov. 2 against Denver.

But Wittman stuck to his statement.

"That's just what I've told these guys," he said. "Everybody's going to have an opportunity."

Karl said forward Kenyon Martin, recovering from microfracture knee surgery in November, will make his preseason debut Tuesday against Milwaukee in Green Bay, Wis., or Wednesday against Detroit in Grand Rapids, Mich. "It won’t be much more than 15 or 20 minutes," Karl said of Martin’s one game next week. "We’ll be cautious."

The end of inactivity is near for two important pieces to the Nuggets' puzzle.

Forward Eduardo Najera, who has not participated in a full practice yet because of a lower back strain, said Sunday he anticipates playing in one of the two remaining Nuggets' preseason games this week.

"Definitely I will," Najera said. "Regardless."

He participated in the shootaround Sunday morning, then iced his back. The Nuggets have games Tuesday against Milwaukee at Green Bay, Wis., and Wednesday against the Pistons in Grand Rapids, Mich.

"Tomorrow he'll go hard and we'll evaluate Tuesday and Wednesday," Nuggets coach George Karl said Sunday.

Meanwhile, Nene is starting to eye his return.

The forward, who has not practiced in the preseason due to a calf strain he suffered in the Olympic qualifying tournament, said he might start practicing this week. If so, he'd like to play in a game next week.

"I'm doing good. I feel better," Nene said. "I'm taking care of my body, taking care of my knee, taking care of my calf. Soon, I'll be ready."

Once again, the Nuggets must find ways to get Linas Kleiza minutes. Kleiza is looking bound for a second straight strong preseason. The forward scored 19 points in 27 minutes to lead the Nuggets to a 118-102 win Friday night against Portland in Boulder.

After a fine preseason last fall, Kleiza didn’t play much early in the regular season before finally getting some time. He remains confident this fall despite being bound to play behind Carmelo Anthony, who logs 40 minutes a night.

"I’ve just got to do what I’m doing and everything will work itself out," Kleiza said. "I’ll find some place to contribute."

Spurs players got a day off Sunday, but coach Gregg Popovich went to work early. Eager to analyze some of the plays used by renowned coach Zelimir Obradovic to get easy baskets for his Panathinaikos team in Saturday night's preseason game, Popovich was watching film with his morning coffee.

"Coach Obradovic may be the best coach in Europe at this stage and one of the best in the world," Popovich said. "He could easily be over here coaching an NBA team, in my opinion. I can't wait to watch the films and see some of the things they run, because he does a lot of good things."

Thirteen-year veteran Brent Barry likened playing Panathinaikos to facing Phoenix, the NBA's fastest-paced team.

For the first time since that game, Stojakovic will play at the Arena in tonight's preseason home opener against the Indiana Pacers. A priority for Stojakovic is playing effectively to expand the fan base. A crowd of about 8,000 is expected tonight for the first preseason game at the Arena since 2004.

"It's always good to have a good fan base from the very beginning," Stojakovic said. "But I understand that we have been away for two years and this city went through some problems. We also understand this is a football state. We just have to go out there and show them that we have a good team, and we have something worth watching."

On Saturday night at Phoenix, Ely played his first preseason game for the Hornets, after missing the first two games with a viral infection. He played 17 minutes off the bench, scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds in the Hornets' 111-106 victory over the Suns. Ely was 3-for-6 from the field and 4-for-5 from the free-throw line, while getting an assist, a blocked shot and three turnovers.

"It feels good just to get out there and finally knock a little rust off," the 6-foot-10, 261-pound Ely said. "It was pretty fun, getting used to my teammates."

Ely will try to carve a niche with the Hornets, his fourth team in six seasons. His career average is 6.2 points, but he will be in a new situation this season, playing primarily power forward instead of center.

"I pretty much have it now," he said of the position. "My goal here is to come out and be a presence down low and give everything I've got."

And for the past two weeks, since the start of training camp, and really since they brought in Rick Adelman and his historically prolific offense, the talk was of scoring, rather than stopping it.

Yet, Adelman has some definite ideas about how he wants the defense played, including some changes nearly as significant as those on the offensive end. He and Rockets players also have spoken of using the principles that worked so well. More than anything, the Rockets have insisted that defense will not be forsaken for the allure of a fancy new offense.

The biggest difference between the Grizzlies' first two exhibition games was speed.

They simply didn't run fast enough during the debut in Spain.

From drafting whom he called a Ferrari in point guard Mike Conley Jr. to making sure there are no systemic knocks that decelerate the pace, head coach Marc Iavaroni has fined tuned the Grizzlies' offense to run at two speeds.

Fast and faster.

In short, the Grizzlies' game tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves may just be the fastest preseason affair ever played in FedExForum.

The Mavericks have learned from the last two seasons, Nowitzki said, and he hopes to be playing in June again during the NBA Finals.

After that, he would have almost no time to prepare for the German national team's appearance in a pre-Olympic qualifying tournament, probably in Greece in July. If the Germans grab one of three spots available, it would be off to Beijing in August for the Olympics.

Considering Nowitzki's September was eaten up by the European championships and the Mavericks opened camp Oct. 2, that would be a full year of basketball with no down time.

It would be well worth it.

"It's going to be a long season, hopefully," Nowitzki said. "I understand it could be an unbelievable schedule going into next year."

Devin Harris showed Avery Johnson something in the third preseason game. He tweaked his right ankle on one play, came up limping, then on the next play darted into the paint for a 10-foot floater that swished. "He made some good passes and he has a very good understanding of what we want to do," Johnson said. "We just want him to be a little more aggressive. Devin really did a nice job of quarterbacking the team and being aggressive. It was really nice to see it."

The Jazz can extend Williams after next season, and he's emerging as its key player. Miller has said the former Illinois star is in line for a maximum contract. Marion has two seasons left on his deal, a perfect financial segue to Williams' new deal.

And while his Suns teammates like Marion, Kirilenko would be a terrific fit for the team. He's taller, he offers more of a defensive presence inside and he's practically screaming for a milder coach, such as D'Antoni, after putting up with hard-edged Jerry Sloan.

Marion, meanwhile, would give the Jazz an athletic complement to inside/outside big men Boozer and Okur and a defender who can guard a shooting guard, currently a big weakness. Marion could make the Jazz a legitimate championship contender. How could Utah pass up the chance?

The initial hang-up in the talks was said to be the Jazz's lack of interest in backup point guard Marcus Banks, a frequent subject of trade talks.

For the second consecutive year the Heat's training camp is resulting in a big fat zero.

"We're not accomplishing one thing," coach Pat Riley said after Saturday night's 92-76 loss to Charlotte.

The veterans have been too injured to contribute consistently. The young players have been disappointing. In that respect, camp seems to be raising questions instead of answering them.

The Raptors are treating no news on Chris Bosh's knee injury as good news.

The team's best player will sit out at least one and possibly both of this week's exhibition games because of a sore left knee. The problem is similar to the soreness and swelling he had in the same knee last season and Bosh said he couldn't decide if it was more annoying or scary.

"It's both, but I try not to let my emotions play into it," Bosh said after the Raptors' longish workout at the Air Canada Centre yesterday.

With only 16 days until the league deadline of Oct. 31 to complete contract extensions, Deng said he remains hopeful he and the Bulls will come to terms. A source close to the situation said it appears more likely that the team will work out something with Deng than with Gordon, who also is eligible for an extension of up to five years.

Center Eddy Curry will practice without restrictions today, 10 days after injuring his right shoulder. Curry received medical clearance yesterday after meeting with the team orthopedist. Curry sustained a torn labrum while tangling with David Lee during a drill Oct. 6.

Jason Kidd tweaked his back while stretching yesterday, and was sent off to the chiropractor. The team doesn't consider it serious, even if he missed two games because of back problems last year. "It was just a fluke," Frank said. "I don't know what to say other than he was sore."

But, understand this -- if Webber is brought back, it would be as the fifth big man. He wouldn't be coming back as a starter. That was made clear to him in the offseason.

Could he work his way into the rotation? Conceivably, but the Pistons right now are committed to getting younger in the frontcourt. Maxiell and Johnson would really have to falter for Webber to start getting 20-plus minutes.

Pistons shooting guard Richard Hamilton rolled his left ankle in the third quarter and walked gingerly to the locker room. The prognosis is manageable -- it's sprained, X-rays came back negative, and at worst, he could miss the rest of the preseason.

But as a team, the bumps and bruises are starting to add up. Hamilton joined teammates Amir Johnson (sprained ankle) and Nazr Mohammed (sore calf) with minor injuries.

That's enough to throw a kink in what the Pistons had hoped to accomplish this preseason, which is now halfway done.

Dalembert sat out his second straight preseason game Sunday -- an 86-80 defeat to Washington -- with a left foot stress fracture. Given the team's lack of experience and depth in the front court, Dalembert, entering his sixth season with the Sixers, is arguably the team's most indispensable player. Veteran power forward Joe Smith (free agent) and seven-footer Steven Hunter (trade) left in the offseason. Dalembert first suffered the injury in August -- but appeared to be on track to return. But after playing in the preseason opener last Monday, the Sixers center felt pain two days later.

The nagging injury brings into question how ready Dalembert will be for the opener.

Heat coach Pat Riley was asked over the weekend if he had a solution for his lineup questions at small forward and shooting guard.

"I'm not even thinking about that. I'm thinking about getting the team right," he said. "And on opening night, I'll throw some names in there. Hopefully guys will have played better and gained some confidence. Riley's hands have remained tied to a degree, with Wade, guard Penny Hardaway and forward Wayne Simien missing the weekend trip to rehabilitate injuries, Williams sidelined with a bruised shin and center Michael Doleac out with back and knee pain.

Compounding the situation was the loss of center Shaquille O'Neal after the first quarter of Saturday's visit to Greensboro, N.C., with a left quadriceps contusion.

For the second game straight, Pistons forward Nazr Mohammed sat out with a sore calf muscle. And forward Amir Johnson is still out with a sprained ankle -- he has yet to practice since sustaining the injury the first week of practice.

Mohammed should test the calf today and Tuesday, when the Pistons will practice for the first time since Wednesday.

As for Johnson, he is out until he practices, and there's hope that will happen in the next two days.

The Bulls might be struggling or looking disorganized, but rather than calling a timeout, Skiles sat back and let his players figure it out. Now starting his fourth full season as Bulls coach, Skiles is occasionally using the same strategy in exhibition games.

Speaking of how players failed to recognize Luol Deng had post-up opportunities while playing shooting guard, an oversight Skiles described Sunday as "scary," he nevertheless put the onus on players.

"In a more regular-season setting, I would take control of that and make sure that we knew," he said. "But all of that can't fall to me at this stage of development as a team. The guys on the floor have to recognize that."

Having 6-9 forward Luol Deng get some minutes at guard was in Bulls coach Scott Skiles' plans.

Just not this quickly.

But nagging injuries to shooting guards Ben Gordon (sprained left ankle) and Thabo Sefolosha (right hamstring) have sped up the experiment, with Deng spending stretches of the first two preseason games at the position.

Never did Richard Jefferson want or need to get away from basketball and New Jersey more than he did when last season ended.

And he almost was told not to come back.

Looking to upgrade, the Nets nearly sent Jefferson to Indiana -- who wanted to ship him elsewhere -- in a package for Jermaine O'Neal, or Charlotte in a three-team trade for Lamar Odom.

Jefferson remains a big part of the Nets' plans. The change back to a motion offense was partly because of him. But Jefferson knows he still could be traded at any time.

Fixing the little things shouldn't be a problem. Solving their problems inside, where the Hawks will almost always be at a size disadvantage, is another story.

Against the much bigger Trail Blazers and their zone defense, the Hawks' league-leading free-throw attempts average (47.1) dipped to just 21; they made 15 of their shots from the line.

"A lot of it starts with your ability to work in the paint," Smith said. "They owned that real estate today and that knocked everything out of whack for us. It's as simple as that."

He's still maybe a little too reliant on the jumper and does like to shoot a lot he took 22 shots in 23 minutes against the Cavs. But when he gains a little weight and learns to play inside and out, he could be dominant offensively.

''He's going to be one of the premier players in this league once he learns the game,'' James said. ''He's got all the tools you need to be a leader.''

James got to know Durant during the summer, when the Sonics rookie spent several weeks in training camp with Team USA. He and James immediately struck up a relationship and have been talking by phone.

''I've talked to LeBron a lot,'' Durant said. ''He's told me to try to take my rookie year in stride, to try to have fun.''

''I'm open to him. When he wants advice, I give it to him,'' James said. ''I was never a guy who wanted to reach out when I was a rookie. I wanted to do my own thing. But he's got my number, and I've answered the phone whenever he's called.''

Allan Houston said he felt some soreness in his knees after the Knicks’ practice yesterday. “But it was nothing that I couldn’t get through once you get going,” he said. Houston, 36, signed with the Knicks on Wednesday and practiced with them for the first time on Friday. He is attempting a comeback after missing two years because of knee problems. Coach Isiah Thomas said he already had a good sense of whether Houston would make the 15-man roster, but he did not elaborate.

Several league sources said Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry went to Brazil last week to meet with unsigned forward Anderson Varejao. The Cavs were careful not to let word of the meeting leak out, and no one from either side was willing to talk about it. If there was any progress, it was minimal; the holdout continues. With the Cavs and Ferry in China all week, it is doubtful there will be a resolution soon. Varejao is believed to have been working out in his hometown of Vitoria.