The Boston Celtics' Paul Pierce, the most valuable player in the 2008 NBA Finals, was handcuffed by Las Vegas police early Sunday after he was initially uncooperative following a traffic stop for driving erratically on the Strip.

Bill Cassell, public information officer for the Metropolitan Police Department, said he did not have the details about why Pierce was cuffed but said it often happens when "an individual is loudly hostile."

"You have to remember he's a big guy," Cassell said.

Pierce, a forward who is 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 235 pounds, "rapidly calmed down," and police removed the handcuffs after about 15 minutes, Cassell said.

"We find this happens a lot of times," Cassell said. "Someone is a little agitated, and when they're placed in handcuffs, they rethink things."

The traffic stop occurred around 3 a.m. near Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Avenue, Cassell said.

Officers gave Pierce field sobriety tests, which often take up to an hour, he said.

A Breathalyzer showed Pierce registered below the 0.08 level that defines legal intoxication in Nevada.

Pierce did not drive the car after he was stopped.

"He made a decision to have one of the valets park his car for the night," Cassell said.

Police did not cite Pierce for a traffic infraction.

"We don't cite everybody we stop," Cassell said. "Sometimes we give just a verbal warning. It's based on the totality of the circumstances."

The Cavs tried to work a sign-and-trade with Chicago for Luol Deng, but the Bulls decided to keep him to the tune of $71 million over six years. They'd rather have Deng (both the Cavs and Bulls) than restricted free agent Ben Gordon, who wants a Deng-type deal. The Cavs do have an interest in Kirk Hinrich, but nothing may come of that for a while -- if ever.

In the end, Delonte West will be back. The Russian rumor was a joke. He'll either sign a long-term deal of at least four years, or he will take the one-year qualifying offer at $2.7 million and become an unrestricted free agent next summer. He has been working out regularly at the Cavs training facility and is in good spirits about playing with the team next season.

The Cavs are talking to Denver about restricted free agent J.R. Smith, and they should go after him hard. The 6-6 Smith is athletic, shot 40 percent on 3-pointers and 46 percent overall while averaging 12.3 points in only 19 minutes a game. With Denver signing wing man Dahntay Jones and being on a binge to cut payroll (they gave Marcus Camby to the Clippers to cut $10 million), it seems Smith should be available. The Cavs have plenty of expiring contracts, which should help Denver if it continues to want to keep payroll under control.

Smith won't be 23 until September. He has averaged 10.9 points in 21 minutes a game during his four-year career. He had some maturity issues in the past, but he also was just a kid who skipped college entirely. Denver has said it will match an offer for Smith. I think the Cavs should offer something close to the mid-level exception and see if the Nuggets will do it -- or force their hand in a deal.

Things remain suspiciously quiet in Cleveland, where the Cavaliers have made only two offers with their midlevel exception--to SFs Corey Maggette and James Posey. Both signed much bigger deals elsewhere. The Cavs remain logjammed in the frontcourt. Now that their free-agent possibilities have dried up, trade talks involving C Zydrunas Ilgauskas or F/C Anderson Varejao are the next step.

Restricted free-agent G Ben Gordon says he has tried to maintain patience through a second summer of difficult contract negotiations with the Bulls. He says he knows Chicago has spoken with at least two teams about sign-and-trade options, but nothing has come of the discussions. No matter what happens, Gordon would like the chance to start--but it's not a deal-breaker if a new team asks him to be a sixth man. "It's important, but it's not that important," Gordon says. "I have been coming off the bench and sharing both roles pretty much throughout my whole career in Chicago. I have learned that the most important part is finishing the game, and I have been on the floor at the end of games. The decision now is more about doing the right thing for me and my family than about starting."

The Rockets are planning to use Ron Artest, acquired last week from Sacramento, the way the Kings had been recently -- playing him at power forward, where he is strong enough to defend the position and versatile enough to create mismatches on offense. With Artest gone, the Kings' rebuilding program is almost complete. Sacramento's goal is to collect cap space, youth and draft picks, and by getting SG Bobby Jackson's expiring contract, a first-round pick and SF Donte Greene (who averaged 22.6 points in summer league), the team achieved all three goals. With PG Mike Bibby dealt last season and Artest in Houston, a trade involving C Brad Miller will likely follow soon.

Suns center Shaquille O'Neal wants ex-Miami teammate Jason Williams. There are also journeymen (see Mike Wilks) or older vets (Damon Stoudamire and Sam Cassell) to consider. Shaun Livingston is intriguing but not in the role to rest Nash more because he is months away from being able to play.

The Suns likely will use their other roster spot for a big man. Brian Skinner signed with the Clippers, making Sean Marks' return a possibility, but Phoenix could opt for a veteran on a non-guaranteed deal to see who shakes loose in September and October.

As the calendar turns to August, the Suns continue to work the phones in the hope of bringing second-round draft pick Goran Dragic to Phoenix this fall — with the idea of making the 22-year-old the full-time backup to Steve Nash at the point.

Spanish newspapers and Web sites are reporting that Tau Ceramica, the Spanish team that owns Dragic’s rights, is looking into backup plans to replace him if he heads to the NBA this summer. Tau has had talks with former Sun Andre Barrett, offering about $800,000 for his services. Veteran point guard Earl Boykins is also a consideration.

Dragic has a buyout clause (1 million euros, or about $1.5 million U.S.) in his contract with Tau after this season. He can negotiate his own release before this season if the two sides can agree on a number, which would likely be well in excess of next year’s figure.

The Suns can only contribute $500,000 U.S. to pay down the negotiation with Tau. They can offer Dragic a bigger contract to make up for the rest and have their mid-level exception to work with, but that will put them further over the dollar-for-dollar NBA luxury tax and may necessitate a cost-cutting move elsewhere on the roster.

Tau’s preference is for Dragic to stay, and he was quoted by a Spanish paper last month as saying he expected to put off his jump to the Suns for a year.

Undaunted, the Suns are holding the point guard spot open for Dragic, who they see as someone who can play 18-20 minutes a night right away and even start for Nash in case of injury or a night when they might choose to rest him.

Despite trade rumors involving Leandro Barbosa, a summer deal appears doubtful.

Ron-Ron is gone-gone, and exactly why no one knows.

Exactly is the key word, because Ron Artest was traded not only because the Kings feared a season-long negative attitude after learning he was not in the team's long-term future.

There's no way the Kings unload an asset – and regardless of anything connected with his history, Artest remained a coveted player – for Bobby Jackson, a 2009 first-round draft choice and rookie Donte Greene unless there was more to their discontent.

Artest played too hard for that to be the case.

The Kings could have traded for more established talent,but the team's goal remains creating sizeable cap room for the summer of 2010. Then again, a cap angel could materialize a miracle and rid them of what league sources say are Brad Miller's $12.25 million, Kenny Thomas' $8.78 million , and Shareef Abdur-Rahim's $6.6 million salaries in 2009-10.

Established players offered in trades had more years of salary than the Kings were willing to take.

No matter how much the Kings like the potential of Greene, the decision to trade Artest now was as close to desperation and panic as we've seen out of team basketball president Geoff Petrie during his 16-year stint with the club.

There was no salary cap gain by making the deal now. It's conceivable – although hardly a lock – Artest's value could have escalated during the season by the trade deadline. It only would have taken one team to believe he was the missing piece to a championship run to make a more appealing offer.

So it seems fair to surmise the Kings were not willing to take such a gamble.

Petrie is compiling young talent, chips as it may be, to play down the road. Artest clearly is a dominant personality, and positives and negatives are part of that package. He'll never back down, and that inspires confidence in younger, inexperienced players.

Artest will also speak his mind, and it's likely the front office feared those shared thoughts might influence the youngsters.

The game was the least remarkable thing for the U.S. team here. In all their superstar lives, the American players were never received like this.

Their bus from the airport was preceded down the freeway by a police car with its flasher on as uniformed officers stood in the middle of on-ramps along the way, holding back traffic.

More police guarded the entrance and exit to the team's five-star hotel downtown in what looks like the local Rodeo Drive. Hotel guests went through metal detectors to enter the marbled lobby, with more police putting anything they carried through airport-style X-ray machines.

Up the elevator to the players' rooms . . . with more police posted on their floor.

Before they boarded their bus to Sunday's game, another 10 policemen came up to cordon off onlookers.

Will the three current point guards be on the opening-day roster?

Presti has quite the dilemma on his hands with this one. Westbrook, this year's fourth overall pick, is a lock to be on the roster. Earl Watson seemingly is a logical choice to have around for mentor purposes. Watson and Westbrook both attended UCLA and have a good relationship. Watson also had a career year last season. Luke Ridnour toiled through his worst season since his rookie year and has about $13 million remaining on the final two years of his contract. That's an expensive potential third-string point guard. A trade could be in the works, with Cleveland, Denver, Houston and Miami annually looking for an upgrade at point guard.

One of the lingering questions for Oklahoma City this offseason is what will become of restricted free agent center Robert Swift?

General manager Sam Presti gave Swift a ringing endorsement and said he would like to see the 22-year-old center return.

"We're in daily contact with Robert and his representatives, and we're looking forward to having him back with our team,” Presti said.

Swift, the 12th overall pick in 2004, was issued a one-year qualifying offer worth about $3.5 million for next season, giving Oklahoma City the right to match any offer sheet Swift signs from another team.

Swift played in only eight games the past two seasons, sitting out the entire 2006-07 season because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament and battling chronic tendinitis and a torn meniscus last season. He has career averages of 4.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shots in 71 games.

"Robert has had a solid summer of rehabilitation, and we're looking forward to having him back on the floor,” Presti said. "We're excited to have him with us, and we think that he's going to be someone who's going to be able to contribute for us this year.”

Craig Smith underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee today in Los Angeles and will be re-evaluated in six to eight weeks.

That will take him right up to near the start of training camp. The team opens camp in Mankato on Sept. 30.

Smith, a third-year forward, signed a new two-year, $4.8 million contract last month.

Former Orlando Magic point guard Carlos Arroyo has signed to play in Israel next season, according to a newspaper in Israel.

Haaretz is reporting Sunday that Arroyo --- who played for the Magic since midway through the 2006 season --- will play for Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Arroyo is believed to have signed a three-year contract for $7.5 million, or $2.5 million per year.

Effi Birenboim, Maccabi's coach, told Ma'ariv Sports Newspaper: "Arroyo played in the highest levels, and led his team to a lot of achievements. He's a first-class PG, a leader and that's why he played in the NBA. I know he was a backup PG there and only big names got the bulk of minutes on this teams, and that's why he picked Maccabi".

Earl Boykins, at 5'5" (1.65 meters), the shortest player in the National Basketball Association, may be headed to Maccabi Tel Aviv, Italian media reported yesterday.

Boykins, who played last season with the Charlotte Bobcats, was also recently in contact with Spain's TAU Ceramica, but talks broke down over salary issues. The 32-year-old point guard played college ball at Eastern Michigan University, where he was one of the most accomplished scorers in the school's history, averaging 26.8 points his senior year, and its all-time leader in assists.

He was not drafted out of college, but played at eight different NBA teams, hitting a peak in the 2006-07 season with the Denver Nuggets and Milwaukee Bucks, averaging 15 points a game and 4.5 assists.

Last season, Boykins averaged 5.1 points and 2.7 assists in Charlotte, playing an average of 16 minutes a game.

Jason Kidd sat and watched the final 20 minutes of Team USA's friendly competition against Russia from the bench Sunday, his warm-ups never coming off.

Coach Mike Krzyzewski, when asked why he benched Kidd, was in the middle of answering during his postgame interview when Kobe Bryant interrupted with a two-word explanation: "He's old."

Krzyzewski said Kidd will be back in the starting lineup Tuesday night when the Americans play their final pre-Olympic exhibition game against Australia, but what will happen beyond that point is fair game for open speculation.

With Chris Paul and Deron Williams looking especially effective against Russia's zone defense, what we saw in Team USA's 89-68 victory over the reigning European champions could be an indication of what we'll see in the next couple of weeks.

J-Kidd could be done, or at least on his way to being marginalized. That's not the way he saw it, though.

"Coach wanted to get those guys more time. He wanted to see something different, get those guys into some situations," Kidd said. "I've seen everything, so I'm fine with it. I can use the rest. There's nothing to read into it."

Except there is.

Until Sunday, Paul and Williams usually had been paired as the second unit's backcourt, with Williams playing shooting guard and Paul running the point. But Paul was the starter when the second 20 minutes began, and Williams was the most effective player on the court after the Russian team made a nice little run to cut a 20-point deficit in half, throwing the closest thing to a scare into the Americans as they've seen in their four games together thus far.

James appeared to play centre while the other four looked to kick-start the running attack that helped the US knock off European heavyweights Lithuania 120-84 on Friday and Turkey 114-82 on Thursday in Maucau.

"We went to a small line-up for a few minutes where LeBron and Carmelo were our bigs, no one was a centre," US coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

Our players are … players, that's the way I look at it," he said, refusing to say whether such a line-up would be used at the Olympics.

Josh Childress blazed the trail out of the NBA and to the Euroleague this summer.

He'll have plenty of company on his trip across the Atlantic for this upcoming season, with as many as seven other NBA players having already committed to joining him and several others still weighing their options.

The reluctance of NBA teams to spend as freely on free agents as they have in past summers also impacted those decisions.

Childress' departure after four seasons with the Hawks for a three-year, $20 million (net pay) contract with Olympiakos of Greece was the most notable switch.

The NBA's 2008-09 schedule is expected to be released soon, with the holdup because of the Sonics' move to Oklahoma City. The Celtics are expected to open the season Oct. 28 at TD Banknorth Garden, at which time they will receive their championship rings and hoist banner No. 17 to the rafters. There are also rumors the Celtics will play the Lakers Christmas Day in Los Angeles.

USA Basketball may soon learn that defense not only wins championships, but gold medals, too.

With such NBA superstars as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade, scoring will not be a problem for the Americans during the upcoming Beijing Olympics. But without a strong defense, Team USA will be playing with fire. And as a constant reminder about how important defense is in hopes of winning its first major competition since 2000, all Team USA has to do is look at its defensive struggles in the last Olympics.

"We know that this team is not going to have a lot of problems scoring the ball, putting the ball in the basket," said guard Deron Williams. "Pretty much everybody here is the leading scorer on their team. What we're working on here is a lot of defense, defending people, because I know that's something some of the previous teams had trouble with."

With the signing of small forward Walter Herrmann to a one-year deal, it appears the Pistons have settled on who will back up Tayshaun Prince.

Last season, Herrmann was stuck behind Jarvis Hayes, but the Pistons liked Herrmann's size, toughness and shooting ability. So they brought back the Argentine unrestricted free agent.

I think that one of the most important things for the U.S. right now is Michael Redd's shooting. He's 15-for-25 (.600) from the field and 12-for-21 (.571) from downtown in the four exhibition games so far.

And it's amazing how he can come off the bench and immediately stroke a pair of threes, like he did today at the end of the third quarter.

"That's my job on this team," he said after the game. "Just to light a spark. Coach said when I'm open, shoot it, no matter what."

And it helps that, unlike almost every one of his teammates, he's had experience coming off the bench and knows how to shoot after sitting for a while.

"Carlos Boozer asked me, 'How do you do that, man?' I said, 'My first three years, I came off the bench before starting.' It's a mental thing. Just be prepared and be ready."

The sellout crowd of 14,523 at this arena built for tennis clearly favored the U.S. team, and Bryant clearly was the fans' favorite. They chanted "MVP!" when he went to the free throw line, booed when he was called for an offensive foul in the second quarter, and generally oohed and aahed whenever he squared up to take a shot.

"It feels like home away from home," Bryant said. "It's great to be so far from Staples Center and still have so much support. I feel like I'm home."