Compiled by Chris Bernucca 

• SIXERS: The issue isn't even Iverson, who is as he always was, with the exception of not being a dominant basketball force any longer. The issue is with the Sixers and it is still worth asking: "What were they thinking?" At the time, and to this day, Stefanski has said that signing Iverson was a purely basketball decision. It was necessitated by the broken jaw suffered by Lou Williams, and Iverson was the best guard out there. (Guess the Bucks weren't ready to lose Jodie Meeks yet.) Stefanski insisted there was no attempt to merely spark interest in his dead-in-the-water team, or to employ Iverson as a means of putting people in the Wachovia Center. As it turned out, the move was purely about basketball because after drawing 20,000 to Iverson's triumphant return, the team went back to playing in front of whoever happened to be loitering outside the building. Stefanski essentially said, "In our judgment, Allen Iverson can help us win on the basketball court." Which has led to the obvious observation that the Sixers' basketball judgment stinks. If the team was this wrong about a player with which it should be extremely familiar, then how can the front office be trusted to form reasonable assessments of other players? Bob Ford in the Philadelphia Inquirer 

• BOBCATS: Despite his successes, Jordan's lengthy post-basketball resume is peppered with business plans, from car dealerships to driving ranges to restaurants, that didn't pan out. Partners rave about his astute business sense, but others say he's not committed enough, dabbles in too much - that the skills that propelled him to six NBA titles, five MVPs and a 1982 NCAA title at UNC don't translate to the business world. Now, in the days since Jordan agreed to buy the Charlotte Bobcats, mixed opinions have surfaced on how he'll fare. Kirsten Valle in the Charlotte Observer 

• CAVALIERS: Sources said Ferry met with Ilgauskas, who has been working out for the past week in New York, where he maintains an off-season home. It is believed Ferry made Ilgauskas an offer to re-sign with the team at that time. Then on Tuesday, sources said, several of Ilgauskas' former and perhaps soon-to-be reunited teammates came to see him after the team flew into town for Wednesday's game against the New Jersey Nets. There are some indications Ilgauskas could make his decision known very soon, perhaps as early as today. Mary Schmitt Boyer in the Cleveland Plain Dealer 

• CELTICS: The Celtics have identified what is believed to be a relatively small field of potential free agents now that the deadline for player buyouts has passed. A Celtics source confirmed yesterday the primary target is veteran swingman Michael Finley, who was bought out of his contract by San Antonio on Monday. Finley is expected to clear waivers tonight. The team also is interested, to a lesser degree, in free agent guard Larry Hughes. But Finley clearly has a rapt audience in the Celtics, who admittedly could use another shooter even after trading for Nate Robinson last week. Mark Murphy in the Boston Globe 

• GRIZZLIES: Hasheem Thabeet grabbed his sneakers and began wandering around the visitors locker room last Friday at Tulio Arena in Erie, Pa. He had just made his debut with the Dakota Wizards of the NBA Development League, but he was still finding his way. Where was the equipment bag for his sneakers? “Hasheem, this is the D-League,” Wizards coach Rory White told him. “And in the D-League, you carry your own sneakers.” Scott Cacciola in the Memphis Commercial Appeal 

• HEAT: Cast the memory back to Dec. 16, 2007. The Dolphins were mortified to have an 0-13 record and be playing at home, time running out to avoid historic ignominy. Tuesday night was a little like that for the Heat. This was the only time since -- maybe the only time, period -- when one of our big teams has played a home game in which the sole objective was to avoid abject embarrassment. To end the game simply having escaped humiliation. It has gotten that bad, that desperate, for an underachieving, floundering Heat team in search of its misplaced self-respect. Greg Cote in the Miami Herald 

• KINGS: A failed three-year effort to redevelop the Cal Expo state fairground and build a new Kings arena on the site erupted this week with finger-pointing between state officials and National Basketball Association representatives. In a letter Friday to NBA representative John Moag, Cal Expo officials accused him of violating the scope and spirit of a gentlemen's agreement between the two entities. The agreement, called a letter of understanding, stipulated that neither side would engage in talks with a third party or take actions that could be disruptive to the proposed arena and redevelopment plan. Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee 

• KNICKS: In the digital age, despair travels many avenues — through airwaves, tweets and blogs. Every electronic artery was clogged Tuesday morning with Knick fans wailing over their team’s humiliating 124-93 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. On talk radio, the angst was particularly pronounced, as hosts and callers howled about the Knicks’ lack of competitive spirit and their disregard for defense and, frequently, about their coach, Mike D’Antoni. It was a day for bloodletting, and the exasperation was understandable. Fans were warned two years ago that a messy demolition was coming. But the process has been more unsightly than anyone anticipated, team officials included. Howard Beck in the New York Times 

• MAGIC: Van Gundy wondered aloud why his team would be sent to Philadelphia for a game Monday night (the second game of a back-to-back). … head back to Orlando to play tonight … and then have to leave Thursday to return to the East Coast for a game Friday night in New Jersey. Van Gundy, tongue firmly in cheek, said that "if you had a travel agent, you'd probably" go from Philadelphia to nearby New Jersey and play. "But my man, Matt Winick, he thought it would be better to go home to Florida," Van Gundy chuckled. Winick is in charge of putting together the schedules for all NBA teams. Brian Schmitz in the Orlando Sentinel 

• MAVERICKS: In the All-Star Game, Kidd lost the ball at one point and started back on defense. Mad at himself for the turnover, he paused to think what he'd do if he were the young point guard holding the ball. He'd throw it directly over the head of the retreating guard, that's what. His back to the ball, Kidd shot his arms straight up, leaped and caught the ball before he'd fully turned his head to the passer. But what if the guy had thrown the pass two feet shorter? "That," Kidd said, "would have hurt." Genius, is what it was. Eddie Sefko in the Dallas Morning News 

• NETS: Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, the Nets' prospective owner, lost the $53 million deposit he put down on Villa Leopolda, a clifftop mansion on the French Riviera that is reportedly the world's most expensive home, according to ABC News' website. Newark Star-Ledger 

• NUGGETS: Glum, with ties undone after the deflating loss, the Nuggets' coaches looked snake-bitten, but they should have known better. They were spider-bitten. The "Durantula" got them that night in Oklahoma City — 30 points on 12-for-19 shooting — in the Thunder's 101-84 victory. Nuggets coach George Karl looked at his staff afterward and said: "We've got to do something different." Tonight at the Pepsi Center, the Nuggets will face Kevin Durant for the first time since that January disaster. Karl's new defensive plan is to try and do a better job of denying the 6-foot-9 Durant the ball, as well as rotate bigger defenders his way throughout the game. Benjamin Hochman in the Denver Post 

• ROCKETS: Kevin Martin got off to such a bad start that Rockets general manager Daryl Morey went back and double-checked his scouting reports. Had he missed something in the fine print? That would have required some awkward telephone call to Leslie Alexander. "Mr. Alexander, uh, this is the guy who drafted Chase Budinger, Aaron Brooks and Carl Landry and traded for Luis Scola and Kyle Lowry. Anyway, I know you’re wondering about Kevin Martin. That’s why I’m calling. Actually, it’s kind of funny. I hope you think it’s as funny as we do up here in basketball operations. By the way, that was a great-looking sweater you had on the other night. Anyway, as we were preparing for these trades, I asked one of the interns to print out Kevin Martin’s scouting report. Turns out, that darn kid printed out Kobe Bryant. Anyway, Mr. Alexander… uh, hello? Hello? Mr. Alexander, are you there?" Richard Justice in the Houston Chronicle 

• SPURS: The seeds of Michael Finley's discontent were sown the day the Spurs traded for Richard Jefferson. Finley knew his role would shrink. What he couldn't see was his drop in offensive efficiency after a sprained ankle put him on the shelf far longer than he thought necessary. Finley's departure changes nothing about Jefferson's importance. If the Spurs are to make noise in the playoffs, he still must be a major contributor. Gregg Popovich knows this, one reason he vigorously defends Jefferson from suggestions his struggles account for the Spurs' current spot in the Western playoff structure. Mike Monroe in the San Antonio Express-News 

• THUNDER: Put the 20-year-old Evans in a lineup with Kevin Durant (21), Russell Westbrook (21) and Jeff Green (23), and Oklahoma City imaginations, already spinning wildly, reach the stratosphere. But don’t call taking Harden a draft blunder, despite the one-sidedness of their rookie stats and Tuesday night matchup. Harden has been a solid addition to the Thunder as its sixth man. And besides, the Thunder already had a Tyreke Evans, Overdrive Edition. Russell Westbrook’s ascension to stardom continued Tuesday night: 30 points, 13 assists, five rebounds. And these days, that’s not even an outrageous game for Westbrook. Berry Tramel in the Daily Oklahoman 

• TIMBERWOLVES: Not that long ago, Darko Milicic ate hamburgers in the locker room before games because he knew there wasn't a prayer he'd play for the New York Knicks that night. Wednesday night, he is expected to start at center for the Timberwolves at Dallas while starter Al Jefferson serves a two-game team suspension because of his drunken-driving arrest last weekend. "That's what happens in this league," Wolves coach Kurt Rambis said. Milicic wore the black starter's jersey in practice Monday and Tuesday while Jefferson ran with the second unit because he will not play again until Monday's rematch with the Mavericks at Target Center. Jerry Zgoda in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune 

• WIZARDS: Since pleading guilty to a felony gun charge and receiving a subsequent season-ending suspension from the NBA, Gilbert Arenas has done what most thought he was incapable of achieving: He has maintained a low profile. Other than a brief comment about his suspension and an opinion piece in The Washington Post, Arenas hasn't said much of anything publicly. But on Tuesday, Arenas told the Associated Press that he would have "no problem" playing for the Washington Wizards again. In the days and weeks after he received an indefinite suspension following his behavior and comments in Philadelphia in early January, Arenas had been telling those close to him that he had no desire to play for team President Ernie Grunfeld again. Michael Lee in the Washington Post