- Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel: "While in New York last week taping one of the movies, Dwight Howard was asked by a reporter from The Sporting News if more films are in his immediate future. His answer left little doubt about his hopes and dreams. 'While I'm young and still have my smile and everything, I want to try to do more of these,' said Dwight, who is a self-described movie freak. 'This is a great experience, and I don't want to wait until I'm old and not playing anymore to try to do stuff like this. I want to do it while I'm young.' Seriously, don't we have to at least wonder if Dwight is getting stars in his eyes just like Shaq did all those years ago? And couldn't he someday follow Shaq's red-carpet path to Hollywood to play for the Lakers? When I presented this paranoid Magic fan's nightmare scenario to team GM Otis Smith Tuesday, he didn't seem too concerned. 'I don't have a crystal ball,' Smith said. 'The thing we have in our favor is I don't think Dwight wants to follow Shaq. I think he would do something different just so he wouldn't be like Shaq. Besides,' Smith said. 'I think the day and time is gone where you have to relocate to be a big star. We have a global economy now. You don't have to move to L.A. to market yourself.' "
- Mike Wells of The Indianapolis Star "You're not in a good position if you picked a 2010 date for Mike Dunleavy's return in your office pool. It appears you're in pretty good shape if you picked a date in late October or early November. Pacers coach Jim O'Brien, who originally didn't think Dunleavy would be back until at least January 2010, said Tuesday that he hopes the shooting guard will be ready for the season opener at Atlanta on Oct. 28. Dunleavy is optimistic about his return, but he was also very cautious about it when I caught up with him on the phone. 'Things are going well, but we still have 10 weeks to go and a lot can happen between now and then,' Dunleavy said. 'But my goal is to get back as soon as possible.' "
- Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel: "The Bucks formally announced the Carlos Delfino trade on Tuesday, confirming the deal which sent forward Amir Johnson and guard Sonny Weems to Toronto in exchange for Delfino and second-year point guard Roko Ukic. 'He's got experience, and we felt we needed to add a wing shooter,' Bucks coach Scott Skiles said of Delfino, who played last season for BC Khimki Moscow in the Russian-A Superleague. 'He's a very good rebounder at his position, a good all-around player.' The 6-foot-6 Delfino provides a different set of skills at small forward, complementing those of second-year players Joe Alexander and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. While Mbah a Moute proved himself as a defender in his rookie season, Delfino offers an offensive threat. 'We feel like we've got a nice mix now at that 3 (small forward) position,' Skiles said. 'It's an appealing thing from a coaching standpoint. Now we've got to see who's going to play where.' "
- Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun: "Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo finally was denied something he wanted, and he still managed to turn things around in his favour. In what has been a stellar off-season for the under-the-gun GM, Colangelo appears to have completed his roster overhaul with the additions of forward Amir Johnson and swingman Sonny Weems. The trade with Milwaukee, which was confirmed yesterday, sends Carlos Delfino's rights and guard Roko Ukic to the Bucks in a deal that fills out Toronto's 15-man roster. 'After drafting DeMar DeRozan and trading for Marco Belinelli, Hedo Turkoglu and Antoine Wright, Carlos made it clear he would prefer to play elsewhere if he were to return to the NBA,' Colangelo said of Delfino, who spent last season in Russia after playing in all 82 games with the Raptors in 2007-08."
- Marc Berman, Rich Calder and Erin Calabrese of the New York Post: "Pint-sized New York Knicks player Nate Robinson came up short last night in The Bronx, where cops busted the slam-dunk expert for driving with a suspended license, authorities said. The arrest was the latest in a long list of motor-vehicle-related troubles for the 25-year-old Robinson. And it could imperil his efforts to sign a new contract with the Knicks -- who already were only mildly interested in re-signing the restricted free-agent guard for a one-year deal. Robinson -- whose license was suspended in June for the fifth time -- was driving himself and newly drafted New Jersey Nets player Terrence Williams when cops stopped him in The Bronx in the late afternoon."
- Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free Press: "Speaking of empires, Jason Maxiell believes last season's 39-43 season that ended with a first-round exit in the playoffs was a momentary blip in the Pistons' run of six consecutive Eastern Conference finals appearances. The subpar season brought the new faces. And there were reports that Maxiell was part of talks that could have sent him elsewhere. But Maxiell, a 6-7 power forward, realizes that's part of the business. 'Each team is going to try to improve their team each year to get a championship, to get a playoff run,' said Maxiell, the Pistons' 2005 first-round draft pick. 'Since it's a business, I feel myself that I would help any team -- but of course I don't want to leave. I feel that this is home for me, and this is the type of basketball I play. It would hurt to leave, but it's also a business and a career.' Maxiell said he met coach John Kuester for the first time this summer at teammate Richard Hamilton's Florida wedding but hasn't had a chance to talk to him a lot about his system. Maxiell said he would like to regain the feeling of playing for a winner, as he did his first three seasons when the Pistons reached the conference finals."
- Marcus Thompson II of The Oakland Tribune: "After three years enjoying retirement, Calbert Cheaney was ready to get back in the game. Suddenly, he got a call from Warriors general manager Larry Riley. He thought about it briefly before accepting the invitation. No, not to play for the Warriors again, as he did from 2003 to 2006. This time, he'll be a special assistant, the Warriors announced Tuesday. 'I'm through (playing). Trust me,' Cheaney said from his Washington, D.C., home. 'With emphasis. I can still get up and down, but not like that.' Cheaney will take the post held by Mitch Richmond under the Chris Mullin tenure as head basketball honcho. But Cheaney is expected to be more visible."
- Sekou Smith of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "After over four years of legal fighting, the Hawks and Thrashers fractured ownership group is one big -- and not necessarily happy -- family again. Steve Belkin is back in as a minority owner, with the same rights
he had as a minority owner before he and his seven partners began feuding in August 2005. It's business 'as usual,' according to Hawks part-owner Michael Gearon Jr., who said Tuesday that the group has operated in that manner since the split four years and nearly two weeks ago. A Maryland judge ruled Monday that the eight-man ownership group, Atlanta Spirit LLC, resume operations as it was before its acrimonious break-up in 2005. Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Durke G. Thompson ruled that the contract the owners had reached that would allow the seven owners to buy out Belkin was too ambiguous. Belkin has the right to appeal Monday's ruling. But until any move is made, Gearon said operations for both franchises will continue as is." - David Waldstein of The New York Times: "Since 2002, baseball has made recommendations to teams as a guideline to follow, but that system could be on its way out. When the current collective bargaining agreement runs out in 2011, it is expected that baseball will seek a mandatory signing system for draft picks similar to the one used by the N.B.A. 'That is an area that will be of great interest in the next round of negotiations,' said Rob Manfred, baseball's executive vice president for labor relations. 'I'm not going to speculate as to what our proposals are going to be the next time around, but I will say the purpose of the draft is to make sure the weakest team gets the best player. If you have a system like the N.B.A. or the N.F.L. has, where you know what a draft choice is going to be paid, it takes away any temptation on the part of the club to take signability into account.' "
- Bob Cohn of The Washington Times: "Jeff Ruland is back in town -- and he claims to have mellowed. 'I'm more of a lover than a fighter,' he said with a cheery smile. But even with his deep summer tan, even at 50, Ruland still resembles the rough customer who bumped, banged and often flattened opponents as an All-Star center with the Washington Bullets, teaming with Rick Mahorn as the pair known around the NBA as McFilthy and McNasty. He once confessed after blocking an Isiah Thomas shot that he 'tried to put Isiah in the children's hospital.' Ruland, who was McNasty, now has other obstacles to knock down. On Tuesday, he was introduced as the new men's basketball coach at the University of the District of Columbia, an institution fighting a persistent image problem fostered in part by its athletic program enduring extreme penalties administered by itself and by the NCAA. 'I have a yeoman's task in front of me,' said Ruland, an unmistakable presence at 6-foot-11 and 290 pounds, which is somewhat over his playing weight. 'School starts in about a week, and I don't have a team. Because of sanctions, I only have five scholarships. I've got to find a starting five in a week.' "
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