Knicks David Lee to Raptors?

If Knicks boss Donnie Walsh can’t land either LeBron James or Dwyane Wade but ends up with Joe Johnson, another option is luring Toronto’s Chris Bosh in a sign-and-trade. Sources claim the Raptors would be open to such a deal if it included David Lee. — NY Daily News

Sources: Wizards consider re-signing Josh Howard

According to two sources with knowledge of the Wizards’ thinking, the team is considering re-signing Josh Howard, albeit a price less than his option when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The sources were encouraged with Howard, who averaged 14.5 points and 3.3 rebounds and brought a positive attitude and enthusiasm to a locker room in desperate need of a jolt. Howard said he would like to return to Washington next season, citing the Wizards’ two first-round picks and significant cap room this summer. “I feel like I’m in a good place right here in Washington if they give me a shot. Great city, fans support. Another top-notch organization. Can’t beat it. And I’m close to home,” said Howard, a North Carolina native. The Wizards “gave me a fresh start. Being able to come to an organization that’s great, leaving another great one where I learned a lot. I’m hoping that I can still teach people what I learned there.” — Washington Post

Clippers have wandering eyes on Lakers coach Phil Jackson

Now, if the Clippers have their wandering eyes on Phil Jackson — available to go down the hall until I hear otherwise — then we have something here. I’ve broached the prospect of Jackson before and I refuse to take “no” for an answer until he — not Jeanie Buss — gives me grounds to think otherwise. One thing’s for sure: LeBron can see how well playing for him worked out for Jordan and Kobe. Should Jackson not be in the Clips’ crosshairs, then your guess is as good as mine which magnet management is leaning toward. — NY Post

Jeff Green wants to stay in Oklahoma City

Jeff Green on Thursday expressed his desire to sign a contract extension this summer and continue his career with the Thunder. “I’d love to,” Green told The Oklahoman. “It’s a great thing going here.” The Thunder can re-sign Green to an extension of up to five years. Under NBA rules, teams can begin negotiations with free agents on July 1. Green, however, has become lost in the shadows of Kevin Durant, the team’s other third-year forward who also is eligible for an extension and recently voiced his feelings for wanting to remain in Oklahoma City. — Oklahoman

76ers near a decision on Jordan

Comcast-Spectacor and the 76ers are balanced on a ledge. In the next few days, they will either fire coach Eddie Jordan or step back and wait until the season ends. Former Sixers coach Larry Brown, now coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, advised Comcast-Spectacor chairman Ed Snider against firing Jordan before the season ends, according to a source close to the situation. Brown told Snider to keep Jordan, play the young guys, and make the necessary changes in April, the source said. According to other sources, the organization is weighing two schools of thought: Keeping Jordan through the season and demanding that he give more playing time to younger players such as Jodie Meeks, Jason Smith, Jrue Holiday, and Thaddeus Young. Firing Jordan immediately, allowing time for an interim coach to evaluate the younger talent and restore some semblance of order to the season. — Philadelphia Inquirer

Gilbert Arenas called Wizards teammate before taking his number

Wizards forward Mike Miller had to explain his thoughts now that Gilbert Arenas’s desire to abandon No. 0 - and all of the Agent Zeroisms that came with it - to switch the No. 6 currently in Miller’s possession. As expected, Miller had no problem with it. “He gave me a call, asked me about it. I gave him the go-ahead,” Miller said. “If he wants No. 6, he can have it.” When asked what number he’ll wear if he and Arenas are teammates in Washington next season, Miller said he would probably go with his familiar No. 33, which became available when the Wizards traded Brendan Haywood to Dallas last month. Miller will be a free agent next season, so he added that he’ll make the switch “if I have the opportunity. We just got to play it out and see how it happens.” — Washington Post

Cavaliers’ LeBron James ready to get back on the court after week off

LeBron James was thrilled to hit the practice court Thursday and is looking forward to returning to action tonight at Philadelphia. The Cavs’ star sat out games against Milwaukee and San Antonio to rest nagging injuries. “I was excited about practice,” James said. “I’m always one to practice. I never sit out a practice. Definitely a little more excited today, being that I’ve been out a week. I’m looking forward to [tonight].” Though James will play, Antawn Jamison likely will not because of stiffness in his left knee, according to Cavs coach Mike Brown. “There’s a good chance Antawn will not play in Philly, a real good chance,” Brown said. Jamison said Wednesday he would be ready for Sunday’s game against Boston. With a week of rest, James said he was ready to finish the season strong. — Cleveland Plain Dealer

Sixers will dump Dalembert, Kapono, Green contracts after next season

Next year, though, is a wasted year. … After next season, the Sixers contracts of Sam Dalembert ($12.2 million), Jason Kapono ($6.6 million) and Willie Green ($4 million) come off the books. Trade value for Andre Iguodala should still be very high. Another good all-around year from him certainly would make him an attractive addition to a contending team, perhaps enough for the Sixers to part with an expiring contract. That is a lot of money to play with. There also will be a probable top-10 pick this June, to go along with emerging 19-year-old rookie point guard Jrue Holiday. If next year plays out as another nonplayoff season, then that means yet another decent pick in the draft. — Philadelphia Daily News

Phil Jax: Lakers not good against pick-and-roll

The Lakers have had their share of difficulties trying to defend the pick-and-roll that most every team in the NBA runs. Phil Jackson said because they have two 7-footers, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, on the court, opposing teams look to take advantage of that on offense. The Suns run a variety of screen-and-rolls, and their point guard Steve Nash is a master at exploiting a team’s weakness. “We’re not as good [at defending pick-and-rolls] perhaps as some teams,” Jackson said. “But yet we feel like we’re improving as a basketball team. I thought Drew did as good of a job as he has done in a long time in screen-roll defense on Tuesday night versus Toronto.” — LA Times

Mike Dunleavy learned of Clips firing online

LA severed heads with its general manager (and used-to-be coach) the media way — by modem. Too bad Mike Dunleavy didn’t get team president Andy Roeser’s text message to please call the office until long after the fact. “I learned I’d been fired from the Internet,” Dunleavy told me later that night. “I was all set to scout the ACC Tournament [in Greensboro] and had spent a few hours at the club playing some golf and doing other things. When I came out of the clubhouse and turned on my phone my message box was full.” — NY Post

Heat forward Dorell Wright arrested for DUI

The Miami Heat’s run of offcourt troubles continued early Thursday morning, when forward Dorell Wright was arrested in Miami Beach for driving under the influence of alcohol and knowingly driving with a suspended license, his second such offense. Bond was set at $1,000 for each offense. Wright, who played 22 minutes in Wednesday night’s 108-97 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at AmericanAirlines Arena, was stopped at 3:37 a.m. in his 2005 Bentley for erratic driving. Wright, 24, was cited after changing lanes without signaling, with the police report noting he was traveling 52 mph in a 35 mph zone on Alton Road. The report noted the California native nearly struck a taxi after changing lanes and then had difficulty putting his white Bentley in park. — South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Jerry Stackhouse credited with Bucks turnaround

The match became a perfect union, with Jerry Stackhouse providing some needed offense off the bench and a veteran presence in the Bucks’ locker room. “We were already on a bit of an uptick with the way we were playing,” Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. “All of a sudden we add him, a veteran with toughness. Then here comes John (Salmons). Things have fallen into place a little bit for us. “During that period, it was very important. At that time, we didn’t know we were getting John. We felt like we really needed to get better at that point.” General manager John Hammond first added Stackhouse as a free-agent signing, and Salmons came later in a deal with the Chicago Bulls at the February trade deadline. — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Dwight Howard should repeat as defensive player of the year?

Stan Van Gundy reiterated his belief that Dwight Howard should repeat as Defensive Player of the Year. “To me, that would be the easiest award to vote for,” Van Gundy said. “I don’t know how you put anyone ahead of him. In my mind, it’s a no-brainer.” The Magic lead the league in defensive field-goal percentage and defensive rebounding. Van Gundy said his team doesn’t have any outstanding rebounders … except for Howard. “We’re first in defensive rebounding. Why? Because of one guy,” he said. — Orlando Sentinel

Detroit mayor hopeful that Pistons could return to downtown

Mayor Dave Bing expressed optimism that the Detroit Pistons could move back downtown. “I think we can get the Pistons downtown,” Bing said during a meeting with media executives. Karen Dumas, Bing’s director of communications, said the mayor is hopeful that the dynamics - the potential sale of the Pistons and the Red Wings needing a new home - could bring a new arena to the city’s business district. The Pistons, who play in Auburn Hills, are the lone professional Detroit team that has not returned downtown. The team’s owner, Karen Davidson, publicly has acknowledged she is looking into a sale of the franchise. “Maybe the stars are aligning themselves to make Detroit attractive for the Pistons to come home,” Dumas said. “The mayor has and will continue to express his desire for the team to return downtown.” — Detroit Free Press

Orlando’s Dwight Howard says Derrick Rose injuries not his fault

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard wasn’t exactly remorseful after knocking Bulls point guard Derrick Rose out of another game with a hard foul Thursday. After knocking Rose to the court for the second time in about a month — Rose suffered a bruised right hip Feb. 10 at the United Center and a sprained left wrist Thursday — Howard was asked about the second hit after the Magic’s 111-82 victory. ”He went up, and he fell,” he said. ”That’s all I remember.” In fact, Howard sort of blamed Rose for both falls. ”As a big man, you never try to hurt anybody coming down the lane,” Howard said. ”Me and Derrick are cool. I think he’s a great player, a great person. You never want to see him get hurt. ”I talked to him during the All-Star break, and I told him: ‘If you come down the lane, always come on two feet. That way, you’ll be on balance. If you come off one, all it takes is somebody’s body to hit you the wrong way, and you’re gonna fall.”’ What Howard means is that when Rose goes up for a shot, he should jump off both feet instead of off one. — Chicago Sun-Times

George Hill not thinking in terms of replacing Tony Parker

Even before Tony Parker’s injury, George Hill had begun to emerge as one of the Spurs’ most reliable scorers. Starting at shooting guard, Hill led the Spurs in scoring in six of the 15 games that preceded the victory over the Grizzlies when Parker fractured a fourth metacarpal. Now Hill must play almost exclusively at the point, focused more on finding shots for his teammates than getting his own opportunities. “I can’t go out thinking I’m going to score 55, or even 30,” he said. “Just run the team. I’ll just try to make great plays, and at the defensive end make it difficult for them and try to get them out of their offense.” — San Antonio Express-News

Suns’ guard Leandro Barbosa says he’s not ready

Steve Nash, Goran Dragic and Leandro Barbosa all took part in at least limited scrimmaging during Thursday’s practice, and Dragic and Nash said they’re ready to go Friday against the Lakers. Barbosa said he isn’t. He had a cyst removed from his right wrist a little over six weeks ago. “No, I’m going to wait,” he said. “I don’t know how many games. I’m not strong yet with the (right) hand. It’s still a little bit weak. I can’t pass the way I want to pass. Hopefully I’ll be back soon. I’m excited and wanted to play, but I want to make sure I get back right.” — Arizona Republic

Clippers Blake Griffin riding bike near beach

Spotted riding a bicycle along the Strand in Hermosa Beach last week: injured Clippers forward Blake Griffin. — LA Times

Charlie Villanueva has lowest plus-minus rating among Pistons players

Charlie Villanueva has the worst cumulative plus-minus among Pistons players and is third-worst in plus-minus ratio per minute played behind Will Bynum, who has been limited defensively by ankle injuries, and Chris Wilcox, who has been buried on the bench for most of the season. “I looked at Charlie as somebody that was giving some effort,” Kuester said in response to a question about his performance Wednesday, “but there are so many areas that we — and he especially — can improve upon.” Still, Kuester said it is dangerous to read too much into the statistic. “Plus-minus sometimes can play into where you’re looking at it and saying, ‘Oh, there is a reason why things are happening,’ ” Kuester said. “But it isn’t the tell-tale of how a player is playing.” — Booth Newspapers

Francisco García could have saved Kings season?

Kings coach Paul Westphal, however, isn’t one to wonder what the season might have been like if Francisco García hadn’t been out until Feb. 16 because of a broken wrist suffered in a weightlifting accident before the season. Westphal managed to find the positive in the time García missed. “Probably, if we had ‘Cisco, we wouldn’t have gone down the road with Omri (Casspi) and Donté (Greene) as far as we have gone,” Westphal said. “We’re glad to have (García), and he’s helping us.” Numerous players were given a shot at the starting small forward spot after García’s injury. There was Desmond Mason, who was waived early in the season. Casspi, Greene, Andres Nocioni and Ime Udoka also have started at small forward. García was a favorite to begin the season as the starting small forward. He averaged a career-high 12.7 points last season. — Sacramento Bee

Did You Know?

The Magic and the Clippers combined to commit 18 personal fouls in Tuesday’s Magic victory. The teams set an NBA record for the fewest combined fouls in a game. The previous record was 21, set most recently on Feb. 3 by the New York Knicks and the Washington Wizards. — Orlando Sentinel

Nuggets Carmelo Anthony gets $2 Mil mansion in LA

Carmelo Anthony and his fiancee LaLa Vazquez are heading to the land of purple and gold — because we’ve learned the soon-to-be married couple just scored a swanky Los Angeles love nest. Even though the Denver Nuggets superstar and LaLa still hang their hats in Colorado — we’ve learned they bought the 6,500 sq. ft. Spanish-style house in L.A. as well because, well, they can. — TMZ

Who Knew?

The Bucks are 18-6 since acquiring Jerry Stackhouse and 10-1 since John Salmons joined the team, helping them vault into the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

NBA has biggest social networking presence among major pro sports franchises

Speaking of Facebook, the NBA has now eclipsed 2 million followers on its official Facebook page, easily the biggest social networking presence among major pro sports franchises and double the league’s total of just eight months ago. The NBA will mark the Facebook milestone with promotional elements that include personalized video messages from such players as Dwight Howard and Shaq and a discount code to NBAStore.com. More tellingly, the NBA’s growing Facebook presence has increased the value of advertising and sponsorship packages and enabled the league’s marketing executives to sell the Facebook element to corporate sponsors as a key media tool alongside broadcast, cable, and other digital platforms. — Business Week

Nets keep protesters 100 feet away from Brooklyn arena site

Bruce Ratner — joined by New York Gov. David Paterson, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Nets part-owner Jay-Z and many others — finally got to put on a white hardhat and grab shovelfuls of dirt at the end of the 90-minute ceremony that took place in a nearby tent. Confetti streamed down on Ratner and his fellow shovelers at one point. Security was tight at the invitation-only event because of concerns that protestors might disrupt the proceedings. Instead, the opponents gathered about 100 feet away with picket signs, air horns and other noisemakers. The chants were intermittently noticeable to some of those inside the tent. Brooklyn Borough Marty Markowitz, perhaps the project’s biggest cheerleader, quipped to the event attendees sarcastically, “Obviously, [they must be] disgruntled Knicks fans.” The 18,000-seat arena — which Ratner said will cost $1 billion if land acquisition costs, debt and other expenses are included — is to be the first of 17 buildings at the 22-acre site. The arena is expected to be ready for the Nets in 2012. — Bergen Record

NBA teams that have full-time statisticians win 59.3% of game

According to interviews with every team, The Wall Street Journal found that half the league’s teams this season have at least one of these statisticians who helps make in-game, draft-day and trade-deadline decisions. Many of these teams are among the NBA’s best. The list accounts for all six division leaders, including the Orlando Magic and Dallas Mavericks, who have a data analyst traveling with the team. These 15 teams that have invested heavily in statistics have combined to win 59.3% of their games this season. The 15 teams without such analysts have won 40.7% of their games, and only three—the Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks—are on pace to make the postseason. Houston Rockets’ general manager Daryl Morey, one of the pioneers of statistical analysis in the NBA, says more teams will soon come over to the quant side. — Wall Street Journal

Who Knew?

Memphis is 9-1 at home this season against opponents with losing records. The loss came Feb. 26 against Charlotte. — Memphis Commercial Appeal

Walt Frazier signs Knicks fans up for spin class

MSG Network’s Walt Frazier and Jill Martin are signing fans up for an exclusive spin class and reception tomorrow at David Barton Gym in its Astor Place location to raise money for the Garden of Dreams Foundation. — NY Post

Griz need Spurs to fade?

The Griz need help so which team is most likely to fade? San Antonio. The Spurs are without starting point guard Tony Parker for six weeks with a broken bone in his right hand. Combine age with their injury-prone stars, and the Spurs are vulnerable. Even more damaging might be their schedule. The Spurs play on the road at Miami, Atlanta, Boston and Oklahoma City. They still have two games apiece against Orlando and the Los Angeles Lakers. Of their remaining opponents, 14 have winning records and will battle for playoff positioning. — Memphis Commercial Appeal

NBA star treating single mothers to a shopping spree

Kevin Durant will treat single mothers to a shopping spree Saturday at Homeland in north Oklahoma City. Durant is sponsoring Roseland Harley, 25, who has legal custody of six nephews and nieces. Homeland is sponsoring three other families. — Oklahoman