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A handful of stories to discuss around the coffee maker this morning:

• According to Chris McCosky of The Detroit News: "The topic of Tracy McGrady came up in the Pistons' locker room before a game last week. McGrady is now injured and unhappy in Houston. Reports there say he has told friends he wants to be traded -- again. One player, who shall remain nameless, joked that McGrady was becoming more and more like his cousin, Vince Carter. "They should call Tracy, 'half-man, half a season,'" the player cracked.
• Tom Enlund of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the Bucks were assigned a bigger locker room in Charlotte yesterday: "In years past, the Bucks were assigned to an extremely small locker room during their visits to Charlotte, which was apparently a response to the small and steamy visitors' locker room at the Bradley Center. But this season, at the urging of Krystkowiak, the visitors have been moved to a much bigger locker room at the Bradley Center. And, lo and behold, the Bucks found themselves quartered in a much bigger room at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena. 'I thought we were getting the short end of the stick a little bit when we went on the road because everybody wanted to pay us back,' Krystkowiak said. 'There were about 20 who paid the price every time (when we went on the road) so that encouraged us to maybe be a little bit more hospitable at our place. And it's happened. We've already had three of four locker rooms -- Charlotte and some other ones -- where all of a sudden we've got twice the space.'
• Marc Berman of the New York Post reports that Eddy Curry has decided to keep his house in Chicago where he was robbed at gunpoint and tied up last July: 'We had plans on selling the house but we changed our minds eventually,' Curry said. 'Right after the robbery, I cleared it out. I didn't want to look at it. ... 'When it first happened the emotions were, 'Get out of Chicago. I don't want to go back.' I had to take a step back from the situation and realize a lot of bad people out there, it was something that happened and won't happen again.'
• The Washington Post's Ivan Carter reports the young players are being separated: "Antonio Daniels, DeShawn Stevenson and Antawn Jamison are in the process of re-arranging the locker room. The idea is to separate Andray Blatche and rookies Nick Young and Dominic McGuire to create a more serious pregame environment. Said Stevenson: 'We've got too much joking and playing around going on in here before games.' Jamison said his main goal is to make the young players understand how valuable their contributions will be as the season plays out.'
• Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt tells Matt Winkeljohn of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he is standing by Will Bynum: "Just hours after an Israeli court ruled Sunday to extend the jail term of former Georgia Tech basketball player Will Bynum at least until Tuesday on suspicion of hitting a man with his car in Tel Aviv on Friday, his former college coach stood by him. 'I reached out to his agent [Saturday night]. He called me [Sunday],' Paul Hewitt said. 'We've been in touch with his family. I wasn't there, but I've heard details. All I can say is Will is a family man now. He recently lost his dad. He's now taking care of his mom financially. I would be very surprised if Will Bynum did anything to jeopardize the way he earns a living.' Various reports from Israeli news sources said that Bynum, a member of the Maccabi Tel Aviv team, and teammates were involved in an altercation Friday night at a Tel Aviv nightclub.
• Joanne C. Gerstner of The Detroit News reports rookie Arron Afflalo likes to be at the gym, even on an off-day: "He gets up at 6:30 a.m., something he's done since arriving at Pistons training camp early last fall. By 7:30 a.m., he's at the Pistons practice facility to work out and practice shooting. Never mind that the official team practice usually doesn't start until 10:30 a.m. Or that it's an off-day, and Afflalo could stay home. 'That's just the way I've always been; I like to get up early and head off to practice,' said Afflalo, 22. 'It just feels good, because I like working hard and making myself better. Being in the gym is actually a pretty peaceful place for me. It's going to the office and getting my work done.'"