McGrady says shoulder arthritic, knee slow to heal

HOUSTON (AP)—The Houston Rockets, buzzing about the arrival of Ron Artest, already have injury concerns with Tracy McGrady.

Houston’s leading scorer said Monday that his left shoulder is arthritic and will require surgery after this season. He also said his left knee is healing slower than expected from surgery in the spring.

McGrady sprained his shoulder against Sacramento on March 24, and wore padding to protect it for the rest of the season. He had surgery in May to clear loose tissue in his shoulder and knee. He said his knee is “probably 75-80 percent” healthy and will take another two months to fully heal.

McGrady said an MRI revealed the arthritis in his shoulder.

“That’s something I’ve got to deal with again this season,” said McGrady, who averaged 21.6 points last season and was selected third-team all-NBA. “My knee should be ready to go by opening night.”

McGrady said the shoulder injury was not going to keep him out of practices or games, but added that, “it’s going to bother me.”

On Tuesday, the Rockets hold their first practice with Artest after picking him up in an August trade with Sacramento. Houston went 55-27 last season, but lost in the first round of the playoffs for the sixth straight year.

Artest adds versatility on both ends—a lockdown defender who can match up with guards or forwards and a multidimensional scorer who should take some of the offensive burden off McGrady and Yao Ming.

Artest averaged 20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists last season, but he’s still known as much for his unpredictable behavior as his basketball skills. He’ll never shed the notoriety as the central figure in the November 2004 brawl with fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills and he feuded with Kings management this summer before the Rockets acquired him.

The 28-year-old Artest said Monday that he’s matured, on and off the court, and will keep his emotions in check because of the golden opportunity in front of him.

“I’m grateful to be on a team that has a chance to win,” he said. “It adds extra motivation, extra ‘go-get-it.’ I kind of thrive under those situations. I like when I have something to play for. This year, I really do have something to play for.”

One of the main attractions in coming to Houston was reuniting with Rick Adelman, who coached Artest for one season in Sacramento. Artest said he’s never known a player who didn’t get along with Adelman or like his free-flowing offensive system.

Adelman wants to see Artest and McGrady play together, giving the Rockets scoring threats on the wings.

“He gives us a guy, similar to Tracy, in that he can post up smaller people, he can take people off the dribble,” Adelman said. “Tracy is a great passer, Ron will be a good passer. That’s going to be our main challenge, working those two guys together, and see where they fit with Yao on the floor, too.”

McGrady had to handle more of the offensive load when Yao broke his left foot in late February. He’s averaged more than 21 points for the last eight seasons, but is 0-7 in playoff series.

In Artest, he may have finally found the perfect offensive complement.

“I know I get criticized a lot for not leading my team out of the playoffs,” McGrady said. “It’s hard when you don’t have those pieces that you need to elevate you to that next level. Now, I have that and we’ll see what happens.”

Artest can also step into the role Shane Battier played for the Rockets last season, defending the opposing team’s top scorer. Artest said he was asked to score more for the Kings last season and that coach Reggie Theus told him to ease up on defense to conserve energy.

“I think I can play a little harder on defense now,” he said. “I always wanted to guard the best player. Coach wouldn’t let me guard the best player all the time, because I had to score also. This year, I can go all-out on defense. I haven’t had that joy in a couple of years.”

Artest said he will happily accept whatever role Adelman gives him. He added that the enthusiasm since the trade hasn’t worn off.

“This team right here, this team can be unbelievable,” he said. “It’s been an all-time high and it’s kind of stayed there. I’m still excited. I prepared this summer and that’s given me enough confidence, knowing I’ve prepared to have a great season.”

Mavs’ Howard apologizes for troublesome behavior

DALLAS (AP)— Dallas Mavericks forward Josh Howard took a first step toward repairing his damaged reputation Monday, saying he was sorry for disrespecting the national anthem.

“I’d like to say that I’m truly and really am sorry for everything that’s happened in the last five months,” Howard said in a statement before taking questions from reporters on the first day of Mavericks training camp. “This is not the way I carry myself, not how I want to be portrayed. I’m sorry to everybody I’ve offended. I’m upset with myself and the way I’ve acted.”

In a video posted recently on YouTube, Howard was shown at a charity flag football game. As the national anthem plays in the background, Howard approaches a camera and says: “‘The Star Spangled Banner’ is going on right now. I don’t even celebrate that (expletive). I’m black.”

The video, which was widely viewed on the Internet, prompted blistering criticisms, including some racially charged e-mails that owner Mark Cuban posted on his blog.

In his first public appearance since the video was posted, Howard said he loves his country.

“It was me joking around,” he said. “Guys were out there making fun and I decided to get along in it. I wasn’t using my head. I guess the valuable lesson I did learn is that words really do hurt. You’re held accountable for what you say.

“That’s not me. … I went to military school. I have friends that served in the military. I know how it is to wake up and salute the flag. The national anthem every game, I have my hand over my heart.”

Howard had another off-court incident during the off-season when he was arrested in July after police said he was drag racing at 94 mph in a 55 mph zone.

He said he knows that there will be some fan backlash about his troubled summer.

“I’ll try to win them back,” he said. “Whatever it takes me to do that, I’ll do it.”

Howard also was criticized last season for saying in a radio interview during a first-round playoff series against New Orleans that he occasionally smokes marijuana. Later that same series, he angered coach Avery Johnson by throwing himself a birthday party after a Game 4 loss to the Hornets.

“It was a rough summer for him, but I believe in his heart he’s a good guy,” teammate Dirk Nowitzki said. “He just made some bad decisions.”

Howard said another mistake he made was not addressing the national anthem controversy when it first surfaced.

“I didn’t do anything to correct it. I let a lot of stuff go,” he said. “It wasn’t me. I’m trying to move forward. This (the press conference) is the perfect opportunity. Everybody’s here. There’s nothing to hide. I made a mistake. I’m ready to move forward.”

Rick Carlisle, who was hired as Mavericks coach after Johnson was fired following Dallas’ first-round playoff exit, visited Howard at his North Carolina home during the summer. Carlisle expects a strong season from Howard.

“I know he’s going to be motivated both on the floor and in terms of how he represents this franchise,” Carlisle said.

Howard, who enters his sixth NBA season, averaged 19.9 points and seven rebounds last season

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

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP)— 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.”

Spurs’ Ginobili continues surgery recovery

SAN ANTONIO (AP)—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 Finlay 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.

Riley settling into new role with Heat, once again

MIAMI (AP) - 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."

Nets hoping first-rounder Brook Lopez develops into NBA-quality big man

Brook Lopez has always been a Tim Duncan fan and has tried to emulate the game of one of the best big men to play in the NBA.

So after taking part in just his third official practice Sunday, Lopez - the Nets' first-round draft pick - was asked if there are any similarities between him and Duncan, aside from their body types.

"That's it, for now," said Lopez.

The Nets would be thrilled if Lopez turns into anything close to the player Duncan has been. For now, they are just hoping that the 20-year-old develops enough to help them get back to being one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

When the Nets picked Lopez with the 10th selection of the draft in June, they knew they were getting a player with plenty of offensive skills. In 27 games at Stanford last season, the 7-footer averaged 19.3 points while hitting 47% of his shots. But as much as the Nets need offense from players other than Vince Carter, they also need defense, especially in the paint.

Lopez said that over the summer and in the first two days of training camp, his primary focus was on defense.

"You just worry about the facets of the game that you can control," Lopez said. "Defensively, you're either in the right position or you make a mistake, your guy blows by you and makes a bucket."

Having attended Stanford, Lopez has the intelligence to grasp NBA schemes, but he still seemed in awe of the amount of information that had been thrown at him early in camp. Coach Lawrence Franck said that one of the impressive things about Lopez is that he's always looking to learn more.

"The great thing about Brook is he's a very willing learner," Frank said. "He really, really cares. He cares when things aren't going right for him, and that's the first step. Then what do you do about it? You work at it and improve. So I think that he's going to put forth the amount of work that it takes to be a very, very good player."

Lopez is looking forward to developing into the kind of player in the middle the Nets have been missing for so long.

"I definitely want to be that guy," Lopez said. "I've always wanted to be that post presence for my team and I've always tried to work to get there. So right now I'm just concentrating on doing whatever coach requirers me to do to become that presence."

ODDS & ENDS: Forward Sean Williams, last season's first-round pick, is on the hot seat this camp, with a number of players competing for his position. "I think Sean has had three very good practices," Frank said. "He's played very well in these three practices . . . He's attentive. He knows the answers to the questions. The great thing about it is if you compare him this training camp to last training camp, rookie versus second year, you see a huge difference. That's a compliment to his progress." ... F Jarvis Hayes and F Stromile Swift sat out part of yesterday's practice after bumping knees during a defensive drill.

Heat Add Four to Roster

MIAMI, Sept. 26 -- The Miami Heat announced Friday that they have signed guards Eddie Basden and Tre Kelley along with forwards Omar Barlett and Matt Walsh. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Basden, a 6’5”, 215-pound guard, appeared in six games for Cholet Basket of the French Pro A League and averaged 9.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.80 steals and 2.3 assists last season. He then joined Telekom Baskets Bonn of the German Bundesliga and appeared in 27 games averaging 8.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.70 steals. His first stint in the NBA came with the Chicago Bulls in the 2005-06 season where he appeared in 19 games averaging 2.1 points and 1.5 rebounds. Basden, a three-year starter at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, averaged 10.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.50 steals and finished his career as Conference USA’s career leader in steals (264) and also finished sixth on Charlotte’s career chart for rebounds (765) and 18th all-time in scoring (1,066). In 2005, he became the third player in Conference USA history to win both Conference USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors (Kenyon Martin, Dwyane Wade).

Kelley, a 6’0”, 188-pound guard, appeared in 16 games for KK Cibona of the Adriatic League and averaged 6.3 points, 2.6 assists and 1.5 rebounds last season. He then joined Panellinios of the Greek A1 League and appeared in nine games averaging 9.6 points, 1.9 assists and 1.7 rebounds. Kelley appeared in 134 career games (102 starts) in four seasons at the University of South Carolina and finished second in school history in games played (134), third in assists (510), minutes played (3,956), three-point field goals made (167) and ninth in career points (1,488).

Barlett, a 6’8”, 230-pound forward, appeared in 27 games for Energa Czami Slupsk of the Polish League last season and averaged 11.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.20 steals and 1.1 assists. He graduated from Jacksonville State University after transferring from Jones County Junior College (Mississippi). He appeared in 59 games for JSU and averaged 14.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.22 steals in 28.7 minutes while shooting 59.3 percent from the field and 55.8 percent from the foul line. Barlett finished his career at JSU second in career field goals made (333), third in field goal percentage (.593) and fourth in career rebounds (401).

Walsh, a 6’6”, 205-pound forward, appeared in 18 games with Ricoh Manresa of the Spanish ACB League and averaged 11.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.30 steals last season. He then joined TEC Spirou Charleroi of the Belgian League and appeared in 14 games averaging 12.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists. He previously signed with the HEAT as an undrafted free agent on August 15, 2005, playing in two games totaling three minutes while finishing with two points as he connected on his only field goal attempt before being waived on November 18, 2005. Walsh, a three-year starter at the University of Florida, finished second on the Gators in scoring in each of his last two seasons while going over 1,000 career points during the 2004-05 campaign. Walsh was an All-SEC selection during both his sophomore and junior seasons.