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Turkoglu was upset with the Magic after what he called an "awkward" meeting with the front office following the season. He said the Magic made an unsatisfactory offer — four years for $34 million, with the Magic insisting on holding the option on a fourth season — and some communication issues. Orlando Sentinel

Turkoglu said he first got the impression he might become a former Magic player after he met with General Manager Otis Smith and Coach Stan Van Gundy. "They said I had a good year, it's a good market for you and we hope you get some money," Turkoglu said. "It was awkward. After that, my agent [Lon Babby] looked into other teams. Then they [the Magic] didn't return our calls. They made some kind of offer. ... It was frustrating." Orlando Sentinel

Although the past few days have been mostly quiet on the contract front for Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo, both sides are expected to connect Sunday for one last attempt to come together on a new deal before Monday's deadline for contract extensions for members of the 2006 draft class, according to sources close to the process. The annual deadline for such extensions is Oct. 31 every season but was moved to Monday at 11:59 p.m. by the NBA because Halloween fell on a Saturday. League rules stipulate that the deadline moves to the next possible business day if it coincides with a Saturday, Sunday or national holiday. ESPN.com

Rondo's camp appeared prepared to scrap the idea of further talks and consider the matter of an extension closed as recently as Monday. Yet a meeting Tuesday in Cleveland between Celtics director of basketball operations Danny Ainge and Rondo's agent, Bill Duffy, resuscitated talks, with Boston making unspecified improvements to its previous offer. Ainge, though, told the Boston Herald on Friday that he hadn't even discussed the extended deadline with Duffy after Tuesday's sitdown and said of the extra time: "I don't know if it helps or it doesn't help." Rondo, meanwhile, has made it clear that he is more than prepared to play on without an extension and join the vaunted 2010 free-agent class as a restricted free agent next July 1, when he would almost surely attract a lucrative long-term offer from an external suitor. The Celtics would have seven days to match an offer in that scenario unless they strike their own deal with Rondo first. ESPN.com

While Rondo said yesterday he would like to get a deal done, he claimed he isn't concerned about it. "The timing is kind of messed up," he said of the in-season deadline. "All I am focused on right now is the season. It's kind of irrelevant now to me. I had Cleveland opening night, then Charlotte and Chicago. I haven't had time to be selfish and think about my contract." MetroWest Daily News

Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay and Chicago Bulls forward Tyrus Thomas join Rondo on the list of prominent alumni from the '06 draft who for weeks have been resigned to the fact that they were unlikely to receive an extension, although Gay and the Grizzlies -- unlike Thomas and the Bulls -- are still talking. "The talks never died," Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace said Saturday. "We have been talking since early in the summer." ESPN.com

Time is expiring on Rudy Gay and the Grizzlies as it relates to working out a contract extension. But Gay isn't watching the clock. While Gay's agent, Jeff Austin, continues to discuss his client's long-term future with the franchise, the 6-8 forward remains indifferent. "I'm not concerned about that," Gay said. "If it happens it happens. If not I'm looking forward to being a (restricted) free agent. It's hasn't been my focus. My focus is playing games like (Friday night) and getting wins." Memphis Commercial Appeal

Both parties give the impression that the odds are 50-50 of a deal happening. The only significant development in negotiations is that Austin and Griz general manager Chris Wallace began talking money over the past few days for the first time. Since July, both sides held conversations that amounted to nothing more than exchanging pleasantries. Each side now knows the other's view of Gay's worth. "We'll talk some more over the next couple of days," Austin said. "I have no idea whether that means we'll get something done. I don't want to get into details. Either you get there or you don't. Either way it's OK. I think Rudy's going to have a terrific year and free agency looks good. He's not stressed. He's in a very good position." Memphis Commercial Appeal

Griz owner Michael Heisley would only confirm that he's not willing to pay Gay the maximum salary allowed. Such a deal would give Gay $80-plus million like the contract extension Portland's Brandon Roy received. "There's no question we have a high appreciation for Rudy and his talent," Heisley said. "Now the question is how do you get to the right deal? If you're asking me am I willing to pay as much as I can possibly pay, no. That's not appropriate in today's financial climate. "We're going to make a very attractive offer to Rudy. We think he's a great player. They think he's a great player. We have a very high opinion of Rudy." Memphis Commercial Appeal

Adrian Wojnarowski: Denver's Renaldo Balkman has agreed to 3-year extension for $5.2 million, plus modest bonuses for wins and minutes, league source tells Y! Twitter.com

Adrian Wojnarowski: The Wiz didn't pick up Javaris Crittenton's option for '10-11. Twitter.com

Though the Oct. 31 deadline for extending rookie scale contracts for first-round draft picks has been extended to Monday because the NBA offices were closed on the weekend, the Spurs have elected not to extend the contract of third-year forward-center Ian Mahinmi. The 28th overall selection in the 2005 draft and signed by the Spurs on Aug. 23, 2007, Mahinmi has been limited by injuries and inexperience to six regular season games. San Antonio Express-News

“It's not as disappointing as it is understandable,” Mahinmi said. “I kind of put myself in their position. From a business standpoint, it's really tough to make a decision like that. So I look at is not as disappointing, but understandable.” San Antonio Express-News

Alando doesn't doubt that given the chance he can be a solid NBA player, "For sure. My goal is definitely to stay in the league. That's my whole goal." Tucker has already talked to his agent about getting work outs with teams in the coming off-season or perhaps thinking about trade opportunities to team that could use him immediately in their rotation. Bright Side of the Sun

Tucker's not thinking much about all that. Asked how he's dealing with being in a kind of NBA limbo he displayed the great attitude that's made him appreciated by Suns fans despite his limited on-court contributions, "Never stop working. Never complain. I'm working out after the games, I'm staying here extra hours so I try and get back in here at night and work on my game after practice." That's not to say that Alando isn't a little bitter about the situation either, "Pretty much in a sense we are all puppets. We can be shoved, pushed here. You have to be ready for it. You never know. You have super stars that get pushed and traded all the time." Bright Side of the Sun

Delonte West can get support from the fans, which he did in his first game back. He can get help from the Cavs' medical staff, which he has diligently over the last two years and especially over the last month. But ultimately his greatest support system is his teammates and they are a major reason why he was back on the floor against the Bobcats. After the game, Shaquille O'Neal said that he and LeBron James went to coach Mike Brown and Danny Ferry and ask that West be cleared to play as soon as possible. It would not have happened without the doctors' approval, but Shaq left the impression that he and LeBron's request was taken into account. Apparently, West has been petitioning for their help to get cleared to play and they showed faith in him in sticking their neck out and asking for him back. Cleveland Plain Dealer

After the final horn, Mo Williams wrapped his arms around West on the floor and spoke into his ear. Mo wouldn't reveal what he told him, but said his message was the team was glad to have him back and then he stressed that he wanted him to stay and do the things that will enable him to stay. It is one thing for a team to say they have a family atmosphere and it is another to prove it and with this, the Cavs did. The hope now is that it works, because over the last two years we have seen that nothing is easy with West. Cleveland Plain Dealer

"I've said it 20 times and I'll say it again, he's an important part of our team," James said of West, whose absence has been the result of a battle with emotional disorders. "It's great having him back." Added Brown: "Delonte can play. He really affects the game in a lot of different ways. He's a guy who can score, but also run the team and distribute the ball at the right time." NBA.com

Adrian Wojnarowski: Paul Pierce calls Delonte West, "the glue guy," on Cavs, and like many others, believes they missed him in multiple facets of game. Twitter.com

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And Saturday's 90-79 win over the visiting Charlotte Bobcats offered proof that this is starting to work out fairly well, that the Cavs are inching closer to becoming whole. "We have a lot of room to grow, but our guys understand that," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "It's good that they understand that, and I think in time, we will be a very good basketball team. We're pretty good right now, but we have the chance to be great." NBA.com

James’s reaction to the acquisition of O’Neal has been tepid. He has said all the right things, but it will obviously take some wins to convince him that the organization is ready to contend for the title. “It could take a few weeks,’’ James said. “Not saying we lose ballgames in that span, because we are going to try to win ballgames, of course. “But as far as us meshing and having that rotation down and us having the same momentum for every game like we did last season, it may take some time, because we have some new guys. And we changed the system a little bit because we lost our assistant.’’ Boston Globe

He's shooting only 25% (four for 16) from the field, 22.2% (two for nine) from three-point range. He's even missing from the free-throw line, making only 33.3% (three for nine) of his tries. Those numbers say Artest's shot has betrayed him. He says otherwise. "I feel like I shot the ball well," Artest, who is averaging 6.5 points after two games with the Lakers, said after practice Saturday. "I feel like I'm playing great. That's how I feel." Los Angeles Times

Asked about Artest's poor shooting, Coach Phil Jackson gave another answer that was more in line with what actually seems to be the truth, saying that "shooting wise, he has not been shooting the ball well enough for his own satisfaction nor ours." Jackson said Artest has to "figure out" on his own where he's most effective in the offense, because the triangle is supposed to mean equal opportunity. Los Angeles Times

It has been some time since a Blazers locker room was as openly irritated as Saturday night, when effort, comprehension and motives were questioned by some players following a 111-107 loss to the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center. Aaron Brooks zigzagged his way through and around the Blazers defense en route to 28 points and 8 assists and Rockets newcomer Trevor Ariza busted the Blazers with transition baskets and three-pointers on his way to 33 points, leaving the Blazers in a familiar situation: Bemoaning their defense. "Same (stuff) as last year," center Joel Przybilla said, his cheeks red from agitation. Oregonian

But here are the Blazers, owning a 1-2 start to the season, and the same problems are still dogging them. Now, they almost sound ashamed for talking so much about the defense. "We can talk about it as much as we want, that's why it's almost hard to even talk about it," Roy said. But talk they did. Both Roy and Przybilla said effort is at the forefront of the problems. "We know what we have to do, and it just comes down to effort," Roy said. "It's one thing to see everybody trying to do it. But there are a lot of plays where it doesn't seem like our effort is there." Oregonian

What went through your mind when Perkins got his technical? Rasheed Wallace: It was… to me…the first I said, ‘It was BS.’ For the simple fact that the ref said “he (Perkins) taunted him by looking at him (Tyson Chandler). And so, when I got in the game, I commented to that ref. I said, ‘Well I want to see if you (are) gonna call that throughout the year.’ Because there’s certain ‘stuper stars’ that they (the refs) like, that get dunks and all that, and they look at people, and it’s all fine. So I want to see if he’s going to be consistent with that through out the year. CTNews.com

Kendrick Perkins on the ongoing dialogue during the game with Chandler: Seems like he was kind of mad at me for whatever reason. But I (wasn’t) doing nothing. I’m just playing hard. You know, he got in foul trouble early. He was frustrated, you know. But I was just trying to play basketball. It wasn’t nothing personal.….big difference between playing Shaq last night, so I just wanted to be extra physical. CTNews.com

Rajon Rondo is an elite point guard in the NBA. At least, he feels that way. He's felt that way for a while. While debate rages about how instrumental he was to the Celtics' championship two years ago, whether his jump shot is good enough, or whether his quirky, brash and sometimes aloof ways alienate coaches and teammates, the 23-year-old likes what he sees when he looks in the mirror. "It's been going on my entire career," he said of criticisms. "It don't bother me. There are critics now. But that's part of the game. I won a ring, and still people have something to say about how you could probably have done this without (me). There is always going to be someone to say something negative." MetroWest Daily News

Rumors even swirled around draft time that Rondo was on the trade block. "It's crazy," Rondo said. "But it happened. A couple of years back (Paul Pierce) was in trade rumors and he's one of the best players in the game today. It can happen to the best of us. No player is guaranteed to be with one team his entire career." MetroWest Daily News

“Last year, sometimes, I got caught up in playing, like, ‘I want to play against Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Deron Williams,’ ’’ he said. “Now, I try to have the same mentality going into every single game. “Last year, I felt I was pretty dominant. I felt I could be dominant against anybody, but I didn’t go out there and do it every night. But this year, I’m trying to take every game differently.’’ Boston Globe

“I know my reputation around the NBA is as a scorer,” Crawford said. “In high school, I was a point guard — that’s how I think of myself. I feel like I’m a scoring point guard. But once you score a certain number of points it’s, ‘Oh, you’re a scorer.’ They like to put you in that box. “That was my conscious effort when I got here to make sure the guys understood that, yeah, I’ll score, but I like to set other guys up. That first week [of training camp], I may have taken like three shots the whole week.” Atlanta Journal-Constitution

O'Neal, 31, posted his first consecutive 20-point, 10-rebound efforts since he was a Pacer in December 2007. He was selected to the All-Star team in six of his eight seasons in Indiana. "He's finding the fountain of youth," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game. "He's healthy. It's a big difference. The energy and the liveliness you see in his legs is a residual of the time he put sweating and working in the summer. If he didn't do that, I don't know if he would look as quick as he does now. He's allowing us to establish something." Oregonian

The 14-year veteran is playing like he did in 2004, when he finished fourth in voting for the league's most valuable player. O'Neal has said he was healthy going into the season for the first time in years and expressed a strong desire to regain his place among the league's stars. "If it was going to happen in my career to come back, this was the summer to come back," O'Neal told reporters after the game. "This is the year I'm going to get it back." Oregonian

As for Evans? He, too, is headed for some rough nights. “I’ve never lost that much, ever,” Evans said. “The most I lost is like six games [in his senior year in high school]. It’s hard. You go out there and play hard every night and you come out with a loss – that’s the worst. You go out there for nothing.” Yahoo! Sports

"You learn from your mistakes," Arenas said. "Yesterday, even though we was going well, I had four turnovers in the first quarter and form there I didn't want to be aggressive because I didn't want no more turnovers. But I ended up getting three more anyway. You can't play basketball like that. You just got to go and play. Some days you're going to have seven turnovers. Some days, you're going to have one. That's how basketball is." Some fans even chanted, "MVP! MVP!" throughout the game. "I wasn't paying attention," said Arenas, who tried to conduct his post-game interview with his hood pulled over his head before he was nudged to show his face for the cameras. Washington Post

"Flip need to cool out," Blatche said with a laugh. "I can honestly say those are the same moves that I've been doing my whole career. I just feel more comfortable. I have a lot more confidence. I feel as if the game has slowed down for me." Washington Post

Mike Jones: Andray Blatche's harshest critic in the past, Antawn Jamison, gave him a standing ovation after another big shot. Twitter.com

Harrington, who only 10 days ago proclaimed that he's a starter and urged reporters to "write it," softened his stance considerably after D'Antoni announced the shakeup during his pre-game media session. "I think I'm a starter, but on this team if Coach needs me to come off the bench, I'm gonna come off the bench," Harrington said. "And I'm gonna be the best bench player, too. So I'm looking forward to it." CBSSports.com

Stephon Marbury showed up for tonight's season opener against Philadelphia but was apparently unhappy with his seat assignment and left. Marbury, according to a source, believed he had purchased front row seats for the game. But when he sat in the front row, a Garden official told him he was in the wrong seat. Marbury, who is unofficially retired, decided to leave rather than subject himself to second-class status. New York Daily News

"I paid a lot of money for this seat, I don't want to leave," Marbury told one Garden security official during the confrontation. "But it's OK. I'll go." Marbury's trouble was taken in by several players and coaches. "I saw he was making an appearance at the game," the Knicks' Larry Hughes said. "But then he just left." New York Daily News

Chris Douglas-Roberts: We have to develop a toughness to be a good team. We have to protect each other.If they hard foul me, somebody MUST hard foul them! Twitter.com

Is there any sort of psychological thing you have to deal with - any fear of getting re-injured? Amare Stoudemire: "I think for me the most part for me right now is finding my rhythm offensively. Getting the feel back - to playing basketball again. That's my main guest right now to get that back. As far as the protection goes, I don't think about the eye at all." HoopsWorld.com

Coach Phil Jackson ruled out a return of Pau Gasol in Sunday's game against the Atlanta Hawks. Said Jackson after today's practice, "No, there's not a chance he's going to play." The Lakers say they're not worried about Gasol and his strained right hamstring, but the plain fact is that he has already missed their first two regular-season games plus their final six exhibitions. He last played Oct. 9 in an exhibition against Golden State at the Forum. Los Angeles Daily News

Devin Harris just told us he’s going to be out 7-10 days with a groin injury, but it could be longer. “We’re shooting for 7-10,” Harris said. “I probably can guarantee it won’t be shorter. That’s kind of what we’re shooting for.” Bergen Record

While known by some more for being a flopper, a cheap-shot artist and a whiner, Laimbeer did have a potent outside jumper and was strong on the boards, once leading the NBA in rebounding. So there are plenty of things he can teach the Timberwolves. "Bill brings a wealth of experience,'' said Minnesota president David Kahn. "Not only as a player has he come from a championship culture, but I respect the experiences he's had at the WNBA level.'' FanHouse.com

Kahn respected them enough to interview Laimbeer for Minnesota's head-coaching position during the summer. But he ultimately decided Laimbeer could use some NBA experience as an assistant. "I called Bill to tell him that I would not be interviewing him a second time,'' Kahn said. "He was very close, and very capable of being a head coach. But I thought he should be an assistant in a culture outside of the Pistons and learn some of the other ways of doing things. "When Kurt got the job, I said, 'No pressure, but I interviewed Bill for the head position and I told him he should be an assistant, and if you're interested in talking to him...' It caught me by surprise when he decided he wanted to hire him.'' FanHouse.com

"That's my stated goal, yes,'' Laimbeer said of wanting to be an NBA head coach, adding that his Detroit teammates always "said I'd be a coach some day'' because "I see everything and I understand the game very well and rapidly.'' FanHouse.com

Here it is: In each conference, the top seven teams will make the playoffs, per usual. But after the regular season ends, the remaining teams will all vie for the eighth and final spot in each conference's postseason. There will be a single-elimination tournament, and the winner has the honor, if you will, of playing the No. 1 seed. This plan gives postseason hope to all fans. It rewards players who fought back from injuries. It gives the NBA a chance to televise these innovative single-elimination games, which means more revenue. And it makes for better basketball in April. "Everybody wins — fans win, players win, owners win and hopefully the game of basketball wins," Warkentien said. "It's not that this is the answer — it's a suggestion to spur conversation." Denver Post

But as Warkentien said, this idea is a dialogue-starter. His plan is to make this an agenda item for the competition committee, which tackles potential rule changes and format changes, and then the committee could ultimately make a recommendation to the board of governors (a.k.a. the owners). "So this is my idea," Warkentien said. "It's not end all, be all. But let's start talking about this in advance for the next collective bargaining agreement. If there's more revenue, the basketball-related income, midlevels and all that, there's more money for the players." Denver Post

Rasheed Wallace offered a healthy chuckle when asked about excerpts from an unpublished book by convicted gambler and former NBA referee Tim Donaghy that made it onto the Internet last week. Donaghy alleged a number of transgressions by officials, including targeting certain players for technical fouls and having bets on who could hit said player first. “Hey,” said Wallace, “it lets people know that I ain’t a liar. I mean, that’s pretty much all I got to say about that. Everybody thought I was crazy and militant, but, hey, it came to light.” Boston Herald

The veteran forward also believes he was one of the players on which the technical bounty was placed. “Oh, yeah, nine times out of 10,” Wallace said. “Especially (those years) they gave me 38 and 40 techs just for looking, laughing, saying the slightest little thing. I mean, c’mon. They say I complain and this and that, but during those years I didn’t complain more than the next man.” Boston Herald

Marc Berman: Bad timing for Al Harrington to rip referees following Donaghy excerpt. Source says Harrington's remarks in Charlotte under league review. Twitter.com

The Continental Basketball Association is still alive. Sort of. The league with nine lives (or more) plans to resurface as the Florida-based Continental Basketball League in April under the guidance of former CBA commissioner Dennis Truax. Truax presided over the CBA when it folded last February after starting the 2008-09 season with just four teams and losing one along the way. Sioux Falls Argus-Leader

The San Antonio Spurs and Sacramento Kings got a Halloween surprise Saturday evening when a black bat flew onto the court during their late-night match-up -- but Spurs player Manu Ginobili took care of the visitor with his bare hands. A bat swooped into the AT&T Center in the first quarter, then returned as play continued between the Spurs and Kings on the court. Ginobili swatted the bat out of the air with his bare hands, then picked it up and carried it off the court. "That was amazing," Spurs teammate Tony Parker said after Ginobili's show. "The legend continues with Manu. Unbelievable...he's always doing crazy stuff." NBC DFW

"When you can't dunk anymore, you have to find a way to make it into the news," Ginobili said. "So that's what I did. I grabbed a bat. I didn't think it was a big deal," he said. NBC DFW

Manu Ginobili: Post retirement job... Pest Control. Twitter.com

On his Twitter page, Sam Amick of The Sacramento Bee provided this one-of-a-kind official Spurs injury report for the fallen bat. FanHouse.com

Magic SG J.J. Redick said he is planning to cut "a couple rap songs" with a new unnamed rap group, but it's just for fun. "We're just goofing around," he said. "It might be a couple of songs. But come on, we're not going into a studio or anything." Orlando Sentinel

To his attorney, former basketball star Rumeal Robinson is a big-thinking businessman who became trapped in the maelstrom of the real-estate collapse. To Mike Jarvis, his former coach at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School in Massachusetts, Robinson is one of the finest people he ever mentored. But within stacks of court documents here, allegations of bank fraud are laced with details that paint a much different picture. In this portrait, Robinson emerges as a once-idolized sports star who recklessly indulged oversized appetites for easy money, fast women, expensive cars, and other South Beach pleasures that led to a breathtaking fall. Boston Globe

Now, according to his brother, the Cambridge hero who made millions of dollars in the National Basketball Association is living in budget motels far removed from the luxury waterfront condo where Robinson and his girlfriend, a stripper with a penchant for professional athletes, sought loans for a Jamaican resort that never materialized. Robinson, 43, who the Globe reported last month was accused of swindling his mother out of her Cambridge home, is the latest in a string of former Boston-area athletes, including Antoine Walker of the Celtics and slugger Jack Clark of the Red Sox, who vaulted from tough times to incredible fortune before crushing debt sent them crashing back to earth. “It’s a mess,’’ said Helen Ford, a safety worker for the Cambridge schools who adopted Robinson when he was a homeless 10-year-old. Ford, who said she was duped into signing over her home, was evicted this spring after the mortgage went into default. Boston Globe

Robinson faces federal charges of bank fraud in connection with hundreds of thousands of dollars in loans purportedly earmarked to develop the Jamaican resort. Instead, according to court documents, $100,000 allegedly was kicked back to the loan officer as Robinson, his girlfriend, and other acquaintances pursued a lavish lifestyle that was buoyed by a stream of loans obtained with little or no collateral. “He had no income that I saw,’’ said Robinson’s brother, Donald Barrows, who lived in Miami from 2007 to early this year. Boston Globe

When Barrows left Miami in January, the brother said, Robinson was living in a motel with his girlfriend for $425 a week. Robinson previously had named his girlfriend, Stephanie Hodge, as the $150,000 director of marketing for Megaladon Development, the company that Robinson created to pursue the Jamaica project. Hodge, who previously had dated former NBA player Chris Gatling, was questioned in a 2007 deposition about a total of $261,000 in loans she had received from Community State Bank. Boston Globe

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