The Rumor Mill is updated every week, and covers the latest NBA trade rumors, NBA news and commentary from in and around the National Basketball Association.¿0a¿0a

RUMOR HAS IT…

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In this weeks section geared exclusively towards the latest rumors floating around… “Rumor Has It…” ¿0a

RONNIE REQUESTS A TRADE: In shocking move this week, Indiana Pacer forward Ron Artest told media, he felt the Pacers would be a better club if he were traded and said he’d actually like to be traded. Ron said he feels he’d get a clean slate from a club trading for him, and that staying in Indiana means he has to bare the burden of the “baggage” from last year’s incident in Detroit. The Pacers were somewhat floored when this story came out, Pacer CEO Donnie Walsh said he’s spoken with Artest every day for the past few weeks, and Ron has never mentioned this situation to him. Rumors had surfaced last week suggesting the much hyped deal with Sacramento involving Peja Stojakovic was warming up – despite claims from both teams that such a deal was not happening. The Pacers say Artest is an elite player, and dealing him was not their first choice, but given the comments Artest made this week – its seems more likely than not Artest could be shipped out, and word is Sacramento is not where he’d land. Artest mentioned the Knicks, who have more than enough pieces to trade to land Artest, and Ron mentioned the Cavaliers, were Artest said he’d be happy to come off the bench behind LeBron James – a league source commented by phone this morning, that if the Pacers were serious about dealing Ron, a likely suitor could be the Rockets, who are in desperate need of toughness and have been exploring free agents to back fill some of their needs.¿0a

DEC 15th: There are at least three teams watching the calendar – The Knicks, The Nuggets and The Heat… Word is the Knicks are shopping a package of Penny Hardaway and Jerome James to anyone who wants them, Hardaway’s ending contract is meant to soften the blow of absorbing Jerome’s remain $43 million – one club mentioned as a possible landing spot is the Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks are rumored to covet Al Harrington. In Denver, its obvious there are issue (see below) but they too are said to be waiting for December 15th, where a package deal involving Earl Watson and Voshon Lenard may be in the works with the Heat – Michael Doleac is one of the players said to be involved, but that’s not enough contract to make a deal, even with the new 25% difference in salary rule. Knicks head coach Larry Brown told media this weekend, that he feels the 15th is when “things will open up”, and several NBA insiders agree that the deals will start flowing next week.¿0a

JB HANGS THEM UP: Jonathan Bender is calling it a career – after seeking several opinions on his knee, JB has decided he’ll never get over the pain in his knee and has decided to retire for medical reasons. Bender put his Indiana home up for sale last week, prompting many to speculate he’s done – its was confirmed that he’ll file paperwork on Monday or Tuesday – The Pacers are expected to apply for a medical exception to replace him on the roster.¿0a

MAGIC HOLDING TIGHT: The Magic snapped their 5 game losing streak last night, but their roster still looks more like a M.A.S.H unit than a playoff roster. Co-General Manager Otis Smith commented last night, that the club has yet to see its complete roster, so they were going to hold the line until they do, before entertaining any trades. Grant Hill is expected back in the lineup this week (likely against the Knicks). A League source said surprisingly the Magic have a couple of attractive players that could return value, namely Tony Battie who has been playing out of his mind lately, as teams start to double team Dwight Howard – his ending contract could fetch some offense – but Magic sources say its unlikely “Batman” is traded.¿0a

JULIUS TO D-LEAGUE: Not sure how to call this one – Nuggets rookie Julius Hodge confirmed last night, he has asked the Nuggets to send him to the D-League – His mentality is he wants to play, and knows he can play at this level so he’s not worried about his NBA game developing, he feels he simply needs to play serious minutes to prove his value (surely it doesn’t hurt that Pape Sow is dominating the D-League and getting a lot of press about it). The Nuggets have not commented openly about Julius heading to the minor, only saying they were evaluating the possibility. How bad does a team have to be to volunteer to go to the minors?¿0a

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PICKING THE ALL-STARS

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The 1st wave of All-Star balloting is expected in the coming weeks, but here are the likely rosters based on past voting, and current production:
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¿0aDisagree? Well, 1st – Vote for your All-Stars, then list your All-Stars here¿0a

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STILL ON THE HOT SEAT

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There are several coaches and a few GMs on the Hot Seat, and despite assurances from general managers and team presidents this week, it does not change the facts that some guys will be elsewhere next season:¿0a

RICK ADELMAN : Geoff Petrie told reporters this week, he was still dedicated to Rick Adelman, despite the woeful start of the Kings, rumor has it the Maloof’s are tired of seeing Arco Arena empty in the fourth quarter, and want to make some pretty aggressive changes – they are being urged to hold the course, but it’s only a matter of time before Geoff has to give into the pressure and Rick will be gone – not that he’s a bad coach, he’s simply lost his team. Peja Stojakovic is likely gone, either in a trade deadline deal, or this summer in a sign and trade. Rumor has it Paul Silas is a name on the radar for the Kings, as is Tubby Smith (long shot)¿0a

MIKE WOODSON: Hawks GM Billy King tried to put the rumor of Mike Woodson’s demise to rest saying “Woody” would be the coach now, and going forward – but earlier in the week Michael Gearon told reporters the club was evaluating everything. Woody may not get waxed this year, but if Woodson is the coach next year – be surprised.¿0a

LAWRENCE FRANK: The Kids are starting to talk… Sources near the Nets are starting to openly question whether Lawrence Frank is starting to lose his team – the Nets are 4-6 in their last ten games, and the commentary coming out of the locker room borderlines on divisive. The common thread is most of the key players do not feel the team is playing hard enough on defense. The Nets are sitting on the 8th seed in the east, if they fall too far out of the playoff picture, Coach Frank could take the blame – its more likely the Nets make a trade, as they are dreadful at the 4 spot, and it may take trading Richard Jefferson to return a player that can fill the void in the front court.¿0a

KIKI VANDEWEGHE: The official word on Kiki’s future is “we’ll evaluate things at the end of the season” – it’s not out of the question Stan Kroenke rolls over for Kiki, and gives in to the 5 year $2.5 million a season contract Kiki is rumored to be seeking to continue to skipper the Nuggets – after all Stan caved to Kiki’s demands the last time they talked contract. The more likely scenario is Kiki leaves the Nuggets and hits the open market (can you say Portland Trailblazers) leaving the Nuggets in the hunt for a new GM, and they may not promote from within – Jeff Weltman is the current assistant GM, and a bright and rising guy in NBA circles, but he’s been on the blame end of some bad personnel moves, and is not likely to be a serious candidate. Kiki’s days are not over, but they sure seem to be numbered.¿0a

JOHN NASH: If Kiki Vandeweghe is going to be available, that might be just enough to push John Nash out… John has done a bang up job for the Timberwolves, he’s cleaned out the roster, assembled a nice young core of players, was able to nab Nate McMillan as a head coach, and has lowered the payroll and the idiot factor to a manageable level and for that, he may get fired in the off-season. There is growing discord that John may not be the right person to steer this young club back into playoff contention, but if the rumors are true, John may be out of favor with Paul Allen, and that’s not very fair for John, who took on an impossible job and has done a lot of good things for Portland.¿0a

BOB WEISS: Call it what you want to call it, but the Sonics went to Bob Weiss because he was a known commodity – he had enough experience and respect in the organization to be the best candidate out there – but at the end of the day the Sonics thought they’d be keeping Nate McMillan and were somewhat off guard when he left for Portland – The Sonics had waited around for Nate to make a decision and lost out on some of the upper tier names on the market, and settled for what they knew – it really hasn’t worked as well as they had hoped, and its more likely than not that Bob Weiss is cut lose this summer, he’ll likely last the season, but the smart money says the Sonics look to upgrade in the offseason.¿0a

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SOME SHOTS

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Here are some of the random stories from the week…

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• THE LeBRONS?: NIKE is rolling out a new series of ads featuring LeBron James in a variety of different roles – all in the same commercial spot, one has LeBron has a jerycurl wearing pimp type, wearing dark glasses, while another image has him be-bobbing around in a sweat suit wearing headphones, and another has him as an old-man sitting in a rocking chair – it’s the strangest commercial yet from NIKE, and while it surely was designed to humanize LeBron or at least amuse him – its seems odd that NIKE would want to portray their marquee guy as a split personality.

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• NO DATE YET: The Miami HEAT refuse to set a date for Shaquille O’Neal’s return, but it could be as early as today. Rumor has it that the HEAT are worn down trying to hold the fort until the Big Fella’s returns, his return will mean less work load on Dwyane Wade and increased spacing for the shooters – the HEAT are 10-10 on the season, and have lost 4 straight.

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• TOPPING THE SCOUTING LISTS: With College Basketball getting underway, there are several names NBA scouts and GM’s will be watching. The top of the class is a dead heat between UCONN’s Rudy Gay, a 6’8 all-purpose forward and Texas’ LaMarcus Aldridge, a 6’11 power player that’s starting to come into his own. Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison may be the best all around player, while Duke’s Shelden Williams is turning heads with his 6’9 250 pound frame. Daniel Gibson, also from Texas appears to be the top point guard, while Andrea Bargnani may be the top Euro player in the class, followed by Tiago Splitter.¿0a

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