Jazz's John Starks told the Bergen (N.J.) Record that Salt Lake suits him. "It's not a single man's town," he said. "There's no night life. But I'm a married man and it's a good family town. It fits the mode that I'm in right now."
Knicks are offering Allan Houston, and Blazers might listen to offers for Dale Davis, since they can't dump massive Shawn Kemp and his equally massive salary. Michael Finley will be a free agent next summer, but Mavs owner Mark Cuban says he'll do whatever it takes to keep him.
Cuban has taken another shot at the nasty media. "The sports world seems to think it's an island where everyone who lands on it is playing 'Survivor' and that real-world principles don't or shouldn't apply," Cuban said. "Nothing personal, but I think it's primarily due to sportswriters working more on opinion than fact. It's a self-serving, vicious circle that would be pretty much comical if it didn't carry so much weight inside the league office."
Charles Oakley on the Knicks trading Patrick Ewing for Glen Rice: "They traded a mobile home that was stable for a Yugo that you can't take too many places."
Allen Iverson thinks people haven't been too patient with him. "When I first came into the league (in 1996), everybody saw the talent that God gave me and expected that to make me a guy that was 35 years old," said Iverson. "Nobody ever gave me room for mistakes."
Vancouver coach Sidney Lowe keeps yanking rookie Stromile Swift from games, and so far team president Dick Versace is supporting him. "Stro doesn't always understand you have to get up the court like the cops were chasing you," Versace said. "If we used him a lot, he'd be putting up huge numbers. But he'd make large numbers of mistakes as well."
Jerome Williams blames the Pistons' inability to win in Cleveland on Gund Arena's . . . seats. "I don't mind saying that the seats here are the worst in the league. You sit down and your knees are up by your head and your back hurts. The coach calls you into the game and you can hardly get up."
At one point recently, the Hornets were 23-5 when Derrick Coleman doesn't play, 59-58 when he does.
Young players would do well to heed this from Rex Chapman, who retired recently: "Basketball has been far better to me than maybe I've been to it. . . . One thing I've found out: I came in like a lot of young players, thinking it was my right to play. It's not. It's a privilege to play in the NBA."
Point guard Chris Herren took the commuter rail to the Celtics' opening night, then was denied entrance to the FleetCenter by a security guard. "I said, 'I'm a player. How do I get in?"' Herren said. "He said, 'Get out of here."'
Sonics' Vin Baker and Kings' Chris Webber got ejected for a recent squabble, after which Baker reportedly went looking for more from Webber. That gave Webber a laugh. "He had to save face," the Kings star said. "I understand. He knew all those security guards and all that would be there. I don't care. Vin is one of the softest power forwards in the league."
In court to arrange a divorce settlement, it was revealed that Reggie Miller's wife, Marita, wants enough money to rent a $10,000 apartment in New York, and that she needs $30,000 per month spending money. Miller's monthly income is a paltry $2.5 million. Judge J. Richard Campbell said: "I don't feel sorry for anybody in the courtroom except for my court reporter."
Spurs' Terry Porter after whipping the East's No. 1 team, the Sixers: "The difference (in the conferences) is huge. The top three at every position might be in the West."
Veteran center Will Perdue is unimpressed with his new team, the Blazers. "It's still early," he said, "but right now I'd say we've got our heads up our butts . . . We get a nice lead and guys start to think about themselves . . . I wouldn't want to be in (coach) Mike Dunleavy's shoes."
Horace Grant says coach Phil Jackson treats him better than he did when Grant was a Bull. "Phil treats me with the utmost respect," Grant said. "It's kind of weird. I make a mistake and I'm not being yelled at. I can't get used to it."
Jackson, explaining his reason for drawing up the final play of a loss for Isaiah Rider instead of Kobe Bryant. "I have about five of them," Jackson said. "One, he had plenty of opportunities. Two, every time he gets double-teamed, he tries to dribble through the whole team, and he might lose the ball, we might never get a shot. Three, I finally told him to take the ball to the basket after he'd taken three outside shots and he (got an offensive foul). So forth and so on."
Cavs' Chris Gatling on the effect he has on opponents: "I'm like a pebble in someone's shoe. I'm very annoying. You never know which Gatling will show up," he said. "You might have the Gatling who plays all defense and rebounds like crazy. You might have the one who is going to score and have a heck of a night." (Or you might have the one that gets traded every couple of months.)
Retired Pacers center Rik Smits says he might be willing to play with a contender for a playoff run. "If there's something that will bring me back, it's the desire to get that (ring)," he said.
Spurs' Derek Anderson on not being a Clipper anymore: "Before I got here I don't think I had dove on the floor in three years. But when you see everyone else out there hustling, you figure you better get going too."
Compiled by Rich Evans from wire service and Internet reports.