Mike Hall has been called up the Washington Wizards on a 10-day contract, Director of Player Personnel Milt Newton confirmed to DraftExpress today. Since the Wizards had 15 players under contract already, James Lang was cut in order to make room for the move. Newton told DraftExpress? Jonathan Givony that the move was made to ?fill some spots? and round out Washington?s roster better, as they had ?too many players at the 4 and 5 positions? and ?almost nothing at small forward behind Caron Butler?.

The Wizards are very familiar with Hall since he played right down the road from them at George Washington University for four years. He was invited to training camp this October, and was the last player to be cut. Newton says that the Wizards ?know what Mike can do,? and called him a ?smart? and ?versatile player.?

Washington Wizards All-Star forward Caron Butler remained sidelined Monday with lower back spasms, while Antawn Jamison returned to practice for the first time since injuring his knee last month.

Butler was unable to play in Sunday's 98-94 loss at Minnesota, the first game he has missed this season, and his status is uncertain for Tuesday's game against the New Jersey Nets.

"Caron is certainly a game-time decision," coach Eddie Jordan said.

Butler said his back had been bothering him for a week and was aggravated when the Wizards had to take a 160-mile bus ride to Minneapolis late Saturday because of a diverted flight.

"It's real tight and I am not as mobile as I want to be out there," Butler said. "If it was something I could play through, I would definitely play through it, but it got to the point where it was too hard. I want to be a hero, but I want to be a healthy one."

Antawn Jamison missed his ninth straight game on Friday because of a left knee sprain -- but the fact that he joined the team on a three-game trip that continues Sunday afternoon at Minnesota, and his participation in shooting drills and other non-contact activities suggest that the team's third-leading scorer is getting closer to a return.

The NBA trade deadline arrives at 3 p.m. today but, barring the kind of offer that is simply too good to turn down, the Washington Wizards' lineup will look the same when tonight's game against the Sacramento Kings tips off at Verizon Center.

Despite several injuries, including forward Antawn Jamison's sprained left knee, the Wizards (30-21) are in good position to earn the top seed going into the Eastern Conference playoffs and have a shot at posting the franchise's first 50-win season since 1978-79.

"I think we're positioned very well right now," Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld said yesterday. "We have the second-best record in the East, and now we're getting our players back healthy."

Gilbert Arenas was not Eddie Jordan's first choice when they were under the salary cap in 2003.

"Wes [Unseld] said, 'We got some money' when I first got the job," Jordan recalled. "I told him I thought we should go out and get a classic point guard. Kevin Ollie or something. Wes said, 'What about Gilbert Arenas? He's talented.'

"I really didn't think he would fit in with [Jerry] Stackhouse. I thought he was too turnover-prone. And I kept hearing crazy stories about him in the locker room."

"Ernie talked me into Gil," Jordan said on Friday.

The Washington Wizards held their first players-only meeting of the season yesterday and Coach Eddie Jordan met separately with guard Gilbert Arenas to clear the air as the team sought to regroup in the aftermath of a humiliating 21-point loss to the Portland Trail Blazers that ended with Jordan and his star guard criticizing each other through the media.

Injured forward Antawn Jamison, who has missed five games with a left knee sprain, said he took Arenas aside Sunday and rebuked him for remarks in which he blamed the loss on Jordan's pregame emphasis on defense.

"Oh, I talked to him," Jamison said yesterday. "It's like a little brother. Every now and then you have to spank 'em on the [rear]. I put him in the closet and gave him a whipping last night."

Gilbert Arenas vowed to score 50 points against Portland.

He wasn't even close as the Washington Wizards fell to the Trail Blazers 94-73 on Sunday.

Arenas had made the promise in retaliation for Portland coach Nate McMillan's involvement with Arenas being left off the U.S. national team last summer. The guard, who is averaging 29.4 points, shot 3-for-15 from the field, including 0-for-8 on 3-pointers. He finished with nine points.

"Thats like a dude saying he's going to punch you in your face," said Jarrett Jack, who guarded Arenas for most of the game. "With a guy like him, Kobe or LeBron, the easy way to guard him is don't let him get the ball back when he passes it. We did a good job of trying to deny him when he was one pass away, and my big guys did a great job of helping me whenever he got by me."

The running feud between Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood escalated with another exchange of blows, leading to a two-game suspension for Thomas and leaving the Washington Wizards thin along the frontcourt.

Thomas was suspended for throwing a punch at Haywood during practice Friday. Thomas was retaliating for what he believed was an intentional elbow.

"This cat decides to hit me with a cheap shot during practice and I reacted," Thomas told The Washington Post. "I could have turned the other cheek. I guess I didn't."

The Washington Wizards suspended center Etan Thomas for two games Friday because of conduct detrimental to the team.

Thomas will miss games Sunday against Portland and Wednesday at Philadelphia. He will not practice with the team during the suspension.

"This is a team matter which has been handled internally," president of basketball operations Ernie Grunfeld said. "Etan will miss the next two games and return after the All-Star break. We will have no further comment on this issue."

Two days before what Gilbert Arenas has proclaimed will be his next 50-point game, no one wanted to say much about it."I'm not going to comment on that," Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan said.

Arenas had posted an entry on his nba.com blog under the heading "Time to Get my 50 Points vs. Portland."

He vowed to score 50 against the Trail Blazers on Sunday as payback for anyone who might have had anything to do with his not making the U.S. national team for the world championships last summer. Portland coach Nate McMillan was an assistant on the team.