Tracy McGrady and Shaquille O'Neal are part-time neighbors in suburban Orlando and friends to the point that McGrady often refers to Shaq as "my big brother." Now, the two have discussed in depth a plan that would unite them in Dallas while playing for owner Mark Cuban. "We talk all the time about it," McGrady told FLORIDA TODAY on Saturday. "Me and the Big Fella are trying to get to Dallas together now." Rudy Tomjanovich, the former Rockets coach and one of the most popular figures in Houston sports history, agreed Saturday to meet with the Lakers to discuss succeeding Phil Jackson as coach. Tomjanovich issued a brief statement Saturday confirming that he would look into the position. "I have been contacted and am interested in discussing things with the Lakers and hearing what they have to say," Tomjanovich said. Details have not been finalized, but Tomjanovich will meet with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak either Monday or Tuesday in Los Angeles. What if Kobe Bryant should defect to the Knicks? Nike, say sources, is prepared to double his $45 million contact should he be declared not guilty and winds up playing in New York. What if he splits for San Antonio or Phoenix or remains in L.A. with the Clippers? What if Buss actually lets him walk away without compensation? With his name surfacing in the Los Angeles Lakers' search for a replacement for Phil Jackson, Pat Riley said Saturday he instead is working to lengthen his relationship with Heat owner Micky Arison. "I am currently in discussions with Micky on extending my contract," Riley said through a team spokesman of his role as Heat president. "There's nothing to it," Riley said of a reunion with the team he coached to a 593-194 record and four NBA championships from 1981 to 1990. "Rumors are going to fly, and there is nothing I can do about it." Riley's negotiations with Arison also involve an extension for coach Stan Van Gundy, who has one season to run on his contract. Riley retains residences in the Los Angeles area but would appear an ill fit for a vacancy that does not include final say on personnel, a responsibility Mitch Kupchak has handled the past four seasons. Bulls operations chief John Paxson may not have a very good shot at acquiring Shaquille O'Neal or Tracy McGrady, who have requested to be traded, but that won't stop Paxson from making a couple of phone calls. ''We'd be interested in them, and we will make calls,'' Paxson said Saturday. ''But I don't know if we have enough to get guys like Shaq and McGrady. In order to land one of the two stars, Paxson would have to package several players, including Eddy Curry and Kirk Hinrich, who are considered the Bulls' future. The Mavericks, I'm told, already are on the case, offering any number of established stars other than Dirk Nowitzki and talented youngsters for The Big Aristotle. There is the all-in-one solution, with Shaquille O'Neal going to the Magic for the No. 1 overall pick, the contract of Grant Hill and cap fodder in the form of Juwan Howard and others. Such a move likely also would prevent the Magic from losing Tracy McGrady the way it first lost Shaq a year after advancing to the '95 NBA Finals. In developments that could break up the Nets' trio of Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson, prospective owner Bruce Ratner has ordered cost-cutting measures that might drastically alter next year's team, according to multiple sources around the club. If Martin receives a maximum offer from another team - Atlanta and Denver are among clubs with available room for a max proposal - a strong chance exists the Nets would not match. Those close to the situation insist it practically is a given that New Jersey will trade guard Kerry Kittles (if he is not selected by Charlotte in the expansion draft) and the No. 22 draft pick (possibly along with forward Aaron Williams) to the Trail Blazers for forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Consider it insurance for Kenyon Martin's impending stint as a restricted free agent. The Mark Blount-to-Miami rumors are gaining steam. Two top Boston Celtics executives have been telling people they expect to lose the 7-0 center to the Heat, according to three league sources. Blount, who has a home in Boca Raton, averaged 10.1 points and 7.2 rebounds last season. Negotiations could be tricky if Blount, 28, demands a long-term deal for all of the $5.1 million exception. The Heat prefers a shorter contract. If Miami cannot sign Blount, the next-best affordable free agent centers would be Brian Skinner, Adonal Foyle and (ugh!) Vin Baker. The bad news is the Nuggets are scheduled to pick 20th. The good news is they're trying to trade up. And the best news could be that Kiki Vandeweghe has targeted high school point guard Sebastian Telfair. "He had a great workout and he's a great kid," Vandeweghe said. Promise you one thing - Doug Moe, who never met a 6-foot-and-under point guard he didn't like, is pushing for the kid. ... The Sonics have come out and admitted the obvious: Nate McMillan is going into next season as a lame duck. As team prez Wally Walker put it, "There's a lot on our plate right now," and an extension for a very underrated coach is just not in the cards. "To tell you the truth, it probably shouldn't," McMillan says. "I'm sure they want to evaluate everybody. If I was in their shoes, I would take that approach. That doesn't bother me at all." McMillan is 160-153 in 3 1/2 seasons, but hasn't made the postseason since 2002, which is mostly Walker's failure. Let's make this short and simple, just in case you're wondering. The only way the Nuggets could get involved in the McGrady sweepstakes would be to put Carmelo Anthony in the deal, and "Carmelo isn't going anywhere," Vandeweghe said. If Jon Barry doesn't return to the Nuggets, look for him to land in Portland. ... While many envision at least one more comeback try, former Heat center Alonzo Mourning said the recent increase in the intensity of his workouts has nothing to do with a potential return from his kidney transplant. "Even if basketball is totally out of the question for the rest of my life, I will always work out," said Mourning, under contract to the Nets for three more seasons. "When I was in the hospital, I vowed to myself that I would make sure my body is as strong as it's ever been." As for the Heat, it certainly holds enough big-ticket contracts, in the form of Eddie Jones and Brian Grant, to make the math work for Shaq, but hardly could get by with such a proposal. So do you give up a Lamar Odom for O'Neal? A Dwyane Wade for McGrady? The first one you'd at least have to think about. The second is a bit extreme. On the subject of Chucky Atkins, it bears noting, again, how much the Pistons are in debt to Danny Ainge for the NBA title they just won. Without Ainge agreeing to take on Atkins's rather cumbersome deal (two years, $8.7 million), the Rasheed Wallace deal would not have been made. Atlanta, which had Wallace at the time, was not interested in taking on a player whose contract did not expire at the end of this season. And Detroit felt it had to unload Atkins to have some flexibility in the summer. Enter Ainge. He not only took on Atkins's contract, he also took Lindsey Hunter in the deal and promptly waived him, knowing that the Pistons were going to re-sign him. Bruce Bowen has decided to test the free agent waters, forfeiting the final year of his contract with San Antonio, which would have paid him around $4 million. Bowen has dropped his longtime agent, Steve Kauffman, and signed on with Washington attorney Lon Babby, who represents a number of NBA players (Grant Hill, Tim Duncan) and charges by the hour. Bowen just turned 33 and must be hoping some team gives him a multiyear deal starting around the mid-level exception. Who knows? That team might even be the Spurs. By the end of Thursday night's NBA draft, the Celtics could easily have added two more high school draftees to their ever-more-youthful roster. Be it with the 15th, 24th or 25th picks in the first round, Danny Ainge and his staff have seen enough that they like in the second tier of eligible kids to make a major move for the young and impressionable. That includes the wildly athletic Dorell Wright - a 6-foot-6 prep star from Los Angeles via Connecticut who has already been worked out by the team. Ainge, who does not intend to draft for need, is also open to grabbing another small point guard - in this case 5-11 New Yorker Sebastian Telfair. And though the Celtics have not been able to bring him in for a workout, Ainge is also said to be particularly taken by the innate skills of 7-0 McDonald's All-American Robert Swift of Bakersfield (Calif.) High School. Toss in last year's high school project, Kendrick Perkins, and the Celtics could be treading on precarious ground. As Ainge freely admits, there is indeed such a thing as getting too young in the NBA. Isiah Thomas can invite Kobe Bryant and all the free agents to New York this summer and next summer and for as many summers as he's running the Knicks. But until he does something about his payroll, his forays into free agency shape up as an exercise in futility. Because Thomas didn't just add excitement to the Knicks when he brought in Stephon Marbury last season. He added millions in future payroll, making it virtually impossible to get Bryant or any other superstar free agent who could actually help the Knicks win a title. Colorado center David Harrison, a possible first-rounder, on his new physique: "I don't eat anything that tastes good anymore. But it's working out. I look better. If the basketball career doesn't work out I might go into modeling or something." Some of the other players made available to the Bobcats include Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls, Antoine Walker of the Dallas Mavericks, Malik Rose of the San Antonio Spurs, Kerry Kittles and Rodney Rogers of the New Jersey Nets, Brian Grant and Eddie Jones of the Miami Heat, and Anfernee Hardaway and Allan Houston of the New York Knicks. Washington's Jerry Stackhouse, who played sparingly last season because of a knee injury, is also reported to be on the list along with Indiana's Austin Croshere, Memphis' Lorenzen Wright and Seattle's Vitaly Potapenko. Hefty contracts may keep the Bobcats from selecting most of these well-known players, although they could pick them and then trade them. The Bobcats must select at least 14 players from the other 29 NBA teams. No team can lose more than one player to Charlotte. One of the guards the Sixers appeared high on is Ben Gordon, a 6-2 spark who can play the point or shooting guard but may not last until No. 9. "Gordon can just flat-out play," O'Brien said. "He can score, create his own shots. He's mentally tough. Gordon seems to be a guy that is going to rise to the occasion and wants to win." Jason Kidd is headed for surgery. Several sources confirmed yesterday that Kidd will undergo surgery July 1 on his aching left knee and figures to be on crutches for six weeks. While the start of training camp for Kidd will be threatened, it is not expected he will miss any time in the regular season. Isiah Thomas confirmed he has spoken to the Bobcats about a trade in which Charlotte would take a particular player for the Knicks in the expansion draft. The Knicks' pawns are Othella Harrington and Dikembe Mutombo, both in the final years of their contracts, and the second-round pick. Charlotte is looking to stockpile draft picks. Phil Jackson's departure can't be a good thing for former Augsburg star Devean George, a favorite of the former Los Angeles Lakers coach. That leaves Arizona's Andre Iguodala, Stanford's Josh Childress and Duke's Luol Deng (all of them about 6 feet 7) -- in some order -- for Da Bulls, Charlotte and Wiz. Unless Grunfeld packages his pick, maybe with a player, for a proven vet. The Utah Jazz have the Nos. 14, 16 and 21 picks in Thursday's NBA draft, and chances are good they will use one on former University of Minnesota star Kris Humphries. There's a lot of talk that the Jazz would take Sergey Monya at No. 14, to unite with fellow Russian Andrei Kirilenko. Elden Campbell, whose defense on Shaq was crucial throughout the Finals, won his first title in his 14th season. Last season, Kevin Willis won his first in his 19th season, which is the NBA record. The only other players who had to wait as long as Campbell were Jerome Kersey (15th season with the '99 Spurs) and Mitch Richmond (14th season with the '02 Lakers). Chauncey Billups, voted the most valuable player of the NBA Finals, would have remained with the Timberwolves after the 2001-02 season instead of signing with Detroit if he could have been guaranteed the starting point guard job, Wolves owner Glen Taylor said. "Chauncey was very open with us; he said he would have stayed if he could be the starter," Taylor said. "But at the time we thought Terrell Brandon would be coming back, and we couldn't promise Chauncey that. Now comes word that Willis Reed has been made an offer to join the New Orleans Hornets front office -- just one year after his return to the Garden -- and he is strongly considering it just because it allows him to be closer to his mother. Tyrone Corbin is also thinking about leaving his player development position (which means he rebounds in practice) to join the Jazz as an assistant coach. First Marv Albert, now Reed? Is there anyone left in that soulless building that cares about tradition anymore? Cavs coach Paul Silas will be in Las Vegas in late August, serving as a coaching instructor at the Michael Jordan Flight School - the basketball legend's annual fantasy camp. Solon resident Ed Janka, a former Nike executive, is the co-director of Jordan's camp. Benmaller.com
