If there was a lesson to be learned from the past few days for shooting guard DeShawn Stevenson, it probably would go something like this:
"Next time," Stevenson said, "keep my mouth shut."
The Jazz on Wednesday reinstated Stevenson, who was sent home by the team from Sacramento last Sunday.
Stevenson originally was suspended for Monday's Game 2 of Utah's opening-round NBA playoff series with the Sacramento Kings for "conduct detrimental to the team" following a verbal confrontation with Jazz coach Jerry Sloan at practice Sunday.
Initially, no timetable was set for Stevenson's return.
After a meeting with Sloan prior to practice Wednesday, however, the suspension was lifted and Stevenson returned to practice. He will be available for Saturday's Game 3 of the best-of-seven series, which Sacramento leads 2-0.
"I felt that I had to apologize," Stevenson said, "and he (Sloan) listened to what I had to say.
"I've got to be smart enough to pick a right time. I don't think it was the right time, and it wasn't professional for me to do that," the 22-year-old added. "So I told Coach, and talked to him, and I'm glad he listened to me and accepted it."
Sloan sounded rather apologetic himself Wednesday.
"Obviously, in this business, as a coach, you never do make the right decisions," he said. "We always make mistakes, just like players make mistakes."
With that, Sloan declared the situation, and any differences between the two, "resolved."
"I think I've got a better understanding of him," the Jazz coach said. "Hopefully, he has a better understanding of me."
Neither side would say what precipitated the argument, which occurred in front of teammates and several other members of the organization who were watching Sunday's practice. Nor would either say precisely what was said. Both, however, did suggest the matter is behind them.
Sloan, in fact, said it was "rewarding" that Stevenson phoned him to request Wednesday's pre-practice meeting.
"I could just as easily not talked about it and went my separate way," said Stevenson, a 2000 first-round draft choice of the Jazz's who is under contract with Utah for one more season. "But we talked about it, and everything's squared away, and hopefully it will be all right for the future.
"I'm just glad he (Sloan) is a person that let me talk to him and get everything square," added Stevenson, a reserve who played just one minute in last Saturday's Game 1. "Now we can just worry about basketball. We won't have to worry about the side acts."
E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com