Ginobili continues recovery from ankle surgery

There was no noticeable limp when Manu Ginobili walked into the San Antonio Spurs training facility Monday. Even better, there was no sign of bad feelings from his teammates.

Ginobili, who had surgery on his left ankle in early September, could miss at least two months of the season. Though off crutches and out of a protective boot, he's still got plenty of rehab.

"It could be a blessing he's gotten operated on, and (surgeons) went in there and cleaned things out," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Had he not hurt it in the Olympics, he probably would have done it 15, 25, 35 games into the season.

"His ankle probably would be in better shape now than it's been in years."

Popovich had advised the 31-year-old Ginobili not to play for Argentina in China after he hurt the ankle during the Western Conference semifinals against New Orleans, then aggravated the injury in the Western finals against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Spurs have delayed contract extension talks until Ginobili recovers from surgery. The sixth-year guard has two seasons remaining on his contract.

"They told me eight to 12 weeks, so I'm looking for eight," he said. "I would like to make it for the beginning of the season, but I know they are going to be very cautious."

And Ginobili, who helped Argentina to a bronze medal, defended his decision to play. Though Popovich advised him not to play, he did not tell Ginobili he could not play. And he sent a trainer to monitor Ginobili's progress while the national team prepared in Argentina.

"I didn't do anything wrong," Ginobili said. "I did everything the Spurs told me to. They gave me the go-ahead to play, and I did."

Teammates Tim Duncan and Tony Parker recognize the team will have to make adjustments while Ginobili sits.

"Everybody is going to have to step up their game," Parker said.

The Spurs lost Brent Barry to free agency, so Michael Finley might start in Ginobili's place. And the team also added free agent guard Roger Mason Jr., who averaged nearly 10 points per game and started nine games for the Washington Wizards while Gilbert Arenas was out with an injury.

Marbury ready to play, and he doesn't care where

Stephon Marbury doesn't care. He says the New York Knicks can get rid of him. In remarks filled with contradictions and accusations Monday, the point guard stressed that the team's problems last year went well beyond him.

"I was being blamed for losses and I wasn't even playing," Marbury said.

The Knicks didn't win with him, and they couldn't win without him. As they prepare to open their first training camp under Mike D'Antoni on Tuesday in Saratoga Springs, it's still not clear which way they'll try to do it this season.

And that's fine with Marbury, who is entering the final year of a contract that will pay him more than $21 million.

"It doesn't matter whatever they do, because basketballwise, I'm ready," he said. "So it doesn't matter to me. As long as I'm playing basketball, that's the most important thing.

"I have no feelings of what they're doing, it doesn't matter to me. Because once I get on the basketball court, I'll show what I can do and that'll be that. And if they feel like they have plans to do something differently, that's OK. I understand that it's a business and I'm not taking it personally at all."

Marbury was limited to 24 games last season, the worst of his career. He missed games for a variety of reasons, from a dispute with former coach Isiah Thomas to his father's death, before shutting it down for the season in January following ankle surgery.

He's fully recovered now and has slimmed down, honoring new president Donnie Walsh's mandate to get in the best shape possible. That still might not be good enough to earn him another season in New York.

Though Walsh has never publicly said so, it's been speculated since his arrival in April that he would waive or trade Marbury before the season. He doesn't have a better option at point guard, but with Marbury having alienated teammates and his hometown fans with his behavior over the last few seasons, the popular belief was that the Knicks would be better off without him.

Marbury couldn't point to anything he would change about last season and didn't even acknowledge a fallout with Thomas — though he blew off an early-season game after a disagreement over his role. But Marbury seems to recognize the damage he's done to his reputation.

"I'm every disease that you could possibly think of," Marbury said. "So for me, I just want to approach it with playing basketball at a high level and I want to be able to change the way people think."

Walsh signed Chris Duhon over the summer, and he's the favorite to start at point guard if Marbury is moved. Duhon said he's prepared to fight for his spot, even if many think it's going to be handed to him.

"I came here to compete for a starting job, the opportunity to change an organization around back to where it should be as far as winning, and that's all my main focus is," Duhon said. "I've never been the guy that wanted things given to me, so I always wanted to go out and prove my worth and that I should be a guy that plays significant minutes. So that's what I'm going to do."

Marbury has the same plan. After repeatedly saying he didn't care if he left, he later said he wanted to win a championship in New York — even if it was after this year. Walsh and D'Antoni have both said he'll be given a chance in camp, not wanting to judge any players without seeing them in D'Antoni's system.

Still confident at 31 that he can play at the level that earned him two All-Star berths, Marbury expects to quiet his critics — in New York or elsewhere.

"I'm going to play basketball and I'm going to play at a high level," Marbury said. "So it doesn't matter to me. As long as I get on the court and once I get my opportunity, that's it. Watch me play this year."

Riley settling into new role with Heat, once again

The Miami Heat gathered on their practice court, the squeaks of sneakers and the bouncing of basketballs echoing off the walls. It was like countless workouts before. This time, however, Pat Riley wasn't the coach.

The new era of Heat basketball — with Erik Spoelstra the coach — opened with the start of training camp Saturday, and Riley insists he couldn't be happier.

A Hall of Fame coach with 1,210 wins, seven championship rings and an iconic legacy in the league, Riley decided five months ago that the time was right to turn the keys over to Spoelstra, who worked his way from the video room to the coach's chair in 13 years.

Riley is still around, but will lead from the front office, not the front lines.

"My role is that I'm the president of basketball operations and my job is to try to build this team back to where we want to become a championship contender again," Riley said. "I want to do that as quickly as I can. But I'll do it from behind my desk. I'm not going to be out there in front. I think it'll be a lot like it was the last time. ... I know where my place is."

Almost to a man, everyone in the Heat locker room, even those who never played for him, still call him "Coach Riley."

The fact that he isn't coaching anymore won't change that.

His office is a short walk from the practice floor, he'll almost be a fixture at most games — whether he's visible or not — and still has a powerful voice in every Heat personnel decision. Plus, Spoelstra isn't shy about saying he's a product of the Heat culture, the one Riley installed when he arrived in South Florida in the mid-90s.

"All I've experienced in my two years prior to this is coach Riley running everything," third-year point guard Chris Quinn said. "But coach Spo was my summer league coach for two years, so I kind of have a little taste of it. It's exciting, kind of a new beginning, especially after last year. It's exciting to have another year and to get things going."

Riley met with Spoelstra constantly during the offseason, talking about how to revamp the roster while keeping salaries below the luxury tax threshold; the Heat did that with a mere $415,000 to spare.

But their chats were about players, not plays.

On that point, Riley is clear: It's Spoelstra's call.

"I know he's an X-and-O coach. I know that part of the game, from that standpoint, he's very knowledgeable," Riley said. "He's going to be organized. He's going to be disciplined. And I think he'll bring it out on the court, every single night."

Riley will be watching closely, of course. His role is still, in many ways, patriarchal within the Heat, having spent years grooming Spoelstra for this opportunity.

That doesn't mean that if Riley disagrees with something Spoelstra does, he'll necessarily chime in with his opinion.

"I'm not going to be up and down with him on anything that I see, that I might not agree with," Riley said. "Everybody does it differently. I trust that he's going to do it in the nature that he feels comfortable in doing it in, so I'm going to give him a free rein here."

Riley retired once before, tapping former top assistant Stan Van Gundy to be his replacement in a stunning move days before the start of the 2003-04 season, Dwyane Wade's rookie campaign.

Van Gundy eventually stepped down as well, citing family reasons 21 games into the 2005-06 season. Riley returned, led the Heat to that season's NBA title, and stayed for the last two injury-plagued years.

He insists that this time, his coaching days are done for good.

"One day I was driving to work and then all of a sudden my mind went there, and I just said, 'Thank God I'm not in there doing film and doing playbooks and doing all these things that would overwhelm your mind,'" Riley said. "Even though I'm a little bit overwhelmed with my desk duties now, that's behind me. And I love watching Erik work."

Arenas, Wizards fined by NBA after media snub

Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards were fined $15,000 apiece by the NBA on Friday after he ducked out of the team's annual preseason media day, avoiding any discussion of his third left knee operation in 1 1/2 years.

A few of his teammates who did speak at the event wondered aloud about when — and whether — their All-Star point guard would be back to his Agent Zero self on the court.

"I think probably everybody's worried about that. I think Gil's got to be worried about that," center Brendan Haywood said.

"It's one of those things. I want to see him bounce back and be the player he was when he averaged 30 points, six assists, and was one of the top five vote-getters in the Eastern Conference. I think he can get back there. The doctors all say he can get back there," Haywood added.

"But in the back of everybody's mind, you're a little worried: 'What if?'"

What if Arenas takes longer to return than the vague, December-or-January target he wrote about on his blog the day after last week's knee surgery?

What if when Arenas does return, it takes a while for him to get into shape?

What if when Arenas does get into shape, it takes a while for him to play at his best?

"One thing I'm expecting to happen is that when he comes back, we're going to see Gilbert this year, but we probably won't see Agent Zero until the end of the season," forward Antawn Jamison said, "or maybe towards next year."

Arenas has yet to answer any questions in front of a group of reporters since his $111 million, six-year contract was announced in July. His first public discussion of his latest surgery was supposed to come Friday, but he was the only Wizards player the media wasn't able to talk to at the team's arena.

He did show up long enough to pose for photographs, but the team said Arenas cited his knee rehab work in declining to speak. Instead, a Wizards spokesman said, Arenas will address the media Saturday, when the team opens training camp in Richmond, Va.

Arenas was penalized "for failing to make himself available to the media," the league said, while Washington was docked the same amount "for failing to ensure that its players comply with NBA media interview rules."

Team spokesman Scott Hall said the Wizards wouldn't comment on the fines.

The Wizards haven't offered any timetable for when Arenas might be able to start practicing or playing. He first had surgery on the left knee in April 2007, then had another operation in November, and appeared in only 13 regular-season games last season.

Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld, coach Eddie Jordan and several players have been optimistic about playing well until Arenas does don a uniform. They made the playoffs last season by relying on All-Star forwards Caron Butler and Jamison, veteran guards DeShawn Stevenson and Antonio Daniels, and Haywood.

"We need to go out there and understand that if Gilbert's here, it's a great thing," Stevenson said, "and if not, we're just going to have to work a little bit harder."

Whatever worries Arenas' teammates might harbor, they are looking on the positive side.

Long as it might take, they figure, certainly the day will come when their enigmatic guard is hitting buzzer-beating 3-pointers, just like in the old days.

"Eventually, he's going to be back to normal. I think so," Jamison said. "He's going to do everything possible to make sure he's at that level and healthy."

Stevenson has spoken to Arenas about what the future may hold.

"We're tight, so obviously, we've talked about it. I know him. I know he's going to work hard. He's not one of them guys who gets his money and goes out the window," Stevenson said. "So you will see a Number Zero jersey back on the court."

A reporter pointed out that about half the questions put to Stevenson were about his pal and backcourt mate.

Stevenson shrugged, smiled and replied: "Making $111 million, it's going to be like that."

Jackson returns to Lakers relaxed

Don't be fooled by Phil Jackson's tan and relaxed demeanor. He's still upset about missing out on another NBA title last summer.

"There's still a little angst and anger there," the Los Angeles Lakers' coach told reporters Friday at the team's practice facility.

The Lakers lost the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics in six games in June, costing the Hall of Fame coach a chance at his league-record 10th coaching title.

Jackson appeared tanned, rested and relaxed as he spoke with reporters about his summer of boating, swimming and spending time with his grandchildren. He also spoke of possible changes that could help Los Angeles win another title.

Although the Lakers have the core of their rotation back from last season, Jackson said he's not content with the status quo. Above all, he's eager to see how well Andrew Bynum mixes with fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol.

Bynum was in the midst of a breakout season when he suffered a partially dislocated left kneecap Jan. 13 and did not play again in 2007-08. The Lakers acquired Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies on Feb. 1, and he and league MVP Kobe Bryant led them to the finals.

Jackson wants to play Bynum at center, with Gasol moving to power forward and Lamar Odom shifting from power forward to small forward. There's also a chance that Jackson will start Trevor Ariza and use Odom as a sixth man.

"To adjust the two of them on the floor at the same time and Lamar at a wing spot is going to be our goal this year at training camp, to figure out how to do that," Jackson said. "Pau has a role to play on the floor with Andrew. He's got to face the basket a little bit more. So, yeah, we have some adjustments to make."

Jackson agreed that the Lakers lacked the necessary physical presence to compete with the Celtics in the finals. However, he said Bynum's return to form will solve some of the Lakers' lack of muscle around the basket.

"We know we weren't a muscular, physical team, but we were able to get to where we did by finesse and speed," Jackson said. "I was always impressed by our ability to be as resilient as we were."

Jackson said he did not disagree with Bryant's decision to delay surgery on his right pinkie until after the season. Bryant was injured Feb. 5, and played the rest of the season as well as in the Olympics with damaged ligaments.

The Lakers begin training camp Tuesday. They open the regular season Oct. 28 against the Portland Trail Blazers.

Josh Howard Controversial Comments

HOWARD'S COMMENTS WERE RECORDED ON A CELLPHONE CAMERA AT ALLEN IVERSON'S CELEBRITY FLAG FOOTBALL GAME IN BALTIMORE IN JULY. BUT OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS, THEY HAVE SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE.

LeBron James enjoying his gold

LeBron James could be excused for his poor shooting from behind the arc, and for being blown out in a game of H-O-R-S-E with a warehouse worker in a beach exhibition. James was still floating in the clouds from his Olympic experience.

"I still haven't (come down). It's an unbelievable experience to go out there and represent your country the way we were able to do it, showcasing our talent to the world, playing the game that we love to play," James said Wednesday. "It was really fun that we were able to bring home our game, that's the game of basketball.

"I guaranteed the gold medal would be back in the United States of America. You hate the fact that it's over. You're never going to have that team again, as powerful as we were, we're never going to have that team again."

He has special plans for his gold medal.

"It's being framed as we speak. I sent it away to be framed and cased up so I could set it in my office and not so many people can touch it now. It got enough fingerprints on it from the time I brought it home," he said with a chuckle.

James was on an outdoor court at Venice Beach to take on David Kalb in a shooting game, mostly of trick shots, although James' outside shooting touch was way off. At one point, he grinned and said, "That wind."

Kalb won the matchup with James in an online contest, "LeBron's Trick Shot Challenge sponsored by Cub Cadet."

Kalb's bag of trick shots including one where he bounced the ball very high in the lane, raced around the goal post, caught the ball as it came down, and tossed it in the basket. James missed his try, and after losing the first game, declared best two-of-three. Each made, among other shots, left-handed free throws, but Kalb went on to win the second game as well.

After he missed his final shot, James tossed the ball away in mock anger.

Asked if the matchup against Kalb was tougher than winning a gold medal, James said it was, because he was by himself and didn't have his Olympic teammates.

He seemed to have taken on the mantle of leader of the U.S. team that included a roster of other superstars, including Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Jason Kidd. James said that experience will help him with his Cleveland teammates.

"Leadership, being able to go out and lead some of the best in the world makes it a lot easier to lead some of the guys on my team," James said. "When you can tell Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh some things that they're doing wrong, or right, it's a lot easier to go home to your respective team and tell those guys what they're doing wrong or right."

James played sparingly on the U.S. team that settled for an Olympic bronze in 2004. He's not absolutely certain about playing in three Olympics.

"I'm still living on what happened this past month, haven't thought about 2012 in London. But I think it's going to be unbelievable. I'm definitely open to being a part of the Olympic team in 2012," he said. `Hopefully the next group of guys, and if it's including myself, will be good."