Former Charlotte Hornets coach Paul Silas will interview for the same position with the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday, an informed source told the Observer.

Silas, who last coached the Cleveland Cavaliers, lives in the Charlotte area.

Other possibilities for the opening include Larry Brown, who this week interviewed with the Memphis Grizzlies.

Walter Herrmann, an Argentine with the Charlotte Bobcats, said Tuesday he won't compete in Olympic qualifying for his country for fear of injuries that could threaten his NBA career.

Herrmann's announcement came a day after San Antonio guard Manu Ginobili announced he wouldn't play for Argentina during qualifying. But Ginobili does plan to play when the national team defends its championship at the Beijing Games in 2008.

Herrmann told Argentine sports daily Ole he wasn't expressly barred by the Bobcats from playing, but he didn't want to run the risk of injury.

"It took a lot of effort to make the NBA, and I have to think in the future," Herrmann told Ole.

Fabricio Oberto, another Argentine playing for the Spurs, also bowed out of the qualifying season.

Sam Mitchell famously doesn't have a contract for next season, despite being named Coach of the Year.

He could be a coveted commodity on the open market, as Charlotte and Indiana are expected to be suitors.  

"Most likely," Chris Bosh said yesterday when asked if he believes Mitchell will be back. "I mean, I don't have any sense (of the situation). Only the future can tell. But in my opinion, everything's going well. He'll probably be back."

A source familiar with Brevin Knight's contract situation said the Bobcats have the choice of paying him about $4 million next season to play, or to buy out that last season for about $1.5 million.

Knight said it was his recollection that the team has to make a decision by July 1, but he doesn't know what the club will do.

"I would love to be back," he said Wednesday. "I love what we've done here, and I think we can do big things next season."

Pat Riley still remembers the first time he met Bernie Bickerstaff at a San Diego playground.

"Back in 1967, he used to come up to the park we played at and he'd have on cutoff jeans, old Converse low-cuts with no socks and that was it," The Heat coach recalled last week. "He brought his buddies with him and we played shirts and skins. So we go back a long way."

While Riley is widely considered one of the top coaches in NBA history, Bickerstaff often has been overlooked for his contribution to the league. But as he prepares for his final game Wednesday as coach of the Bobcats, the U. of San Diego graduate with questionable basketball attire has earned respect within the league.

Matt Carroll is excited about becoming a free agent in July, his ideal situation is remaining a Charlotte Bobcat long-term.

"If I had to pick my perfect world, it would be to stay here" with a long-term contract," Carroll said after practice.

With every acrobatic dunk, athletic steal and off-balance jumper he makes, Gerald Wallace's price goes up.

Wallace, an unknown benchwarmer three years ago in Sacramento, has become invaluable to the Bobcats, just in time to stuff his wallet.

Wallace, Charlotte's leading scorer at 18.2 points per game, has averaged nearly 29 points the past five games. Earning just more than $5.5 million this season, Wallace will almost certainly opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

"If Wallace opts out, obviously you have to do something," Bobcats part-owner Michael Jordan said recently.

Charlotte Bobcats forward Adam Morrison was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for making an obscene gesture to fans during a game in Miami.

Morrison made the gesture while sitting on the bench late in overtime during Charlotte's 111-103 win over the Heat on Sunday. Morrison did not play in the game because of a sprained knee, the first game he missed this season.

Bobcats forward Adam Morrison was fined $25,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for making an obscene gesture to a fan during a game in Miami.

Morrison made the gesture while sitting on the bench late in overtime during Charlotte's 111-103 win over the Heat on Sunday. Morrison did not play in the game because of a sprained knee, the first game he missed this season.

The Charlotte Bobcats' Gerald Wallace and San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, April 2 through Sunday, April 8.

Wallace averaged 30.0 points on .610 shooting to go along with 10.8 rebounds, 4.0 steals and 3.0 assists in leading Charlotte to a 3-1 week.

He had four games with three or more steals. Wallace ranks fifth in the NBA with 1.97 steals and has recorded 10 games this season with 30 or more points.

Duncan averaged 21.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.3 blocks in leading the Spurs to a 3-0 week. His two double-doubles for the week bring his season total to 43 on the season, which ranks fifthin the NBA.

This season he is shooting .543 from the field, while averaging 20.1. points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.4 blocks in just 34.4 minutes per game.