Chris Broussard writes that McDyess received plenty of respect at yesterday's Entertainers' Basketball Classic. He was greeted by enthusiastic, though not boisterous, cheers when introduced to the crowd, and fans who strolled past him in the bleachers welcomed him to New York with smiles, handshakes and hugs.

When he attempted to come back from his knee surgery late last season with the Denver Nuggets, McDyess, 27, expressed discouragement because he was not able to jump as high as before. But yesterday, he said he thought he was leaping better than ever.

"The explosiveness is there," he said. "I'm jumping a lot quicker and jumping a lot higher, so I have no doubts in my jumping ability right now. It's kind of surprised me. My knee's not bothering me at all. I'm just ready to get out there and looking forward to this year."

As the search for a new head coach of the Denver Nuggets drags on, Jazz assistant coach Phil Johnson has opted to take his name out of the running for the vacant position.
     
"Although the Nuggets never offered me the job, the longer the process took, the easier it was for me to make the decision to remain with the Jazz," Johnson said Wednesday. "I was never sure that I would leave, even if the offer would have been extended to me. It would have taken a lot for me to leave a situation I feel very good about."
     
Johnson's Utah colleagues had continued to back his bid for the post.
     
"We'd hate to lose him, but they'd be smart to hire him," Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's vice president of basketball operations, had said Tuesday.

There was a time, not long ago, when the Jazz were one of the NBA's oldest teams.
     
But with five players 23 or younger anticipated to be on board next season ? Jarron Collins, Andrei Kirilenko, Raul Lopez, Curtis Borchardt and DeShawn Stevenson ? it's time to strap in the car seats.
     
Because, as Jazz basketball operations vice president Kevin O'Connor put it Tuesday, you don't want "too many babies in diapers" playing alongside old-timers John Stockton and Karl Malone, aged 40 and 39, respectively.
     
To that end, enter Denver Nuggets free-agent Calbert Cheaney, who, as expected, was signed to a one-year, $1 million contract by the Jazz on Tuesday.

The (AP) reports: Utah Jazz assistant Phil Johnson said Wednesday he has withdrawn as a candidate for the head coaching job with the Denver Nuggets.

"Although the Nuggets never offered me the job, the longer the process took, the easier it was for me to make the decision to remain with the Jazz," he said. "I was never sure that I would leave, even if the offer would have been extended."

Johnson reportedly was one of two finalists in Denver, along with Dallas assistant and former Lakers coach Del Harris.

For the past 14 seasons, Johnson has been the top assistant to Utah coach Jerry Sloan. He was the NBA's coach of the year in 1974-75, leading the Kansas City-Omaha Kings to a 44-38 record and second place in the Midwest Division. He coached the Kings from 1973-78 and the Kansas City-Sacramento Kings from 1984-87.

RealGM Note: This could open the door for Harris to get the Nuggets job. Usually when a canadiate for a Head coaching job withdraws, it means that he wasn't going to get the job. Then again, it has been said the Del Harris really likes being an assistant in Dallas and even if he were to think about leaving, Mark Cuban might bump up his salary again to convince him to stay. Stay tuned to Wiretap for more on the Nuggets Head Coaching situation.

Spurs guard Antonio Daniels may be in a different uniform when the 2002-2003 NBA season starts, according to Glenn Rogers of the San Antonio Express-News.

The Spurs are reportedly not happy with Daniels' development and have been looking to trade him since draft night.

Daniels has said that he wants to remain in San Antonio, but he is flattered that he is recieving attention around the league.

It has been rumored that Cleveland has offered forward/center Chris Mihm and Minnesota has offered Anthony Peeler.

Calbert Cheaney grew up in Evansville, Ind., where Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was a college star, so he knows a little something about his new boss.

Cheaney doesn't know much about Sloan as a player, but he does know about Sloan the coach.

"I'm just going to play hard, because if you don't play hard here, you don't play at all," Cheaney said. "That's coach Sloan's motto."

Calbert Cheaney and the Jazz believe they have similar outlooks on pro basketball, alike enough that Utah offered the 6-foot-7 guard a contract for next season. But their views differ slightly on one topic: 44 wins.
   
For the Jazz, that victory total last season was unacceptable, the worst performance in a decade, and one of the reasons the team went shopping for a veteran shooting guard. But for Cheaney, 44 wins and a playoff berth as the eighth seed represents a pinnacle, the best season in a career spent playing for sad-sack teams.
   
Is it any wonder that Cheaney was willing to accept the Jazz's minimum-pay offer for a chance at winning more than once a week?

Negotiations were difficult, even nasty at times, but the Jazz were confident that they could wait out their reluctant free agent. After all, Utah's offer, though far less than the player's agent had demanded, was considerably larger than any other team had dangled.
   
If that scenario sounds familiar, Jazz fans have reason to wonder: Is Donyell Marshall another Shandon Anderson?
   
As negotiations with Marshall fester -- "They've definitely gone backward," according to Dwight Manley, Marshall's agent -- the prospect of an Anderson-like outcome will grow. While Marshall has remained quiet, his agent has begun raising the possibility that the eight-year veteran could make a decision based on the Jazz's attitude, not its checkbook.

Ohm Youngmisuk of the Daily News reports that the Nets are inquiring about a big move next summer. Jason Kidd will be a free agent at that time and could be convinced to resign with the Nets if he had a superstar to play with. So, the Nets have inquired about Kevin Garnett. Shortly after Minnesota was bounced out of the first round for the sixth straight season, the Nets talked to the Timberwolves about Garnett's availability, according to several sources.

In Order acquire Garnett, the Nets would probably have to give up Keith Van Horn, Kerry Kittles and Kenyon Martin in order to come close to Garnett?s $25.2 million salary for next season. While sources say the Nets have discussed those three players internally, the Nets deny making an offer for Garnett.

Garnett is one of the top players in the game and the Timberwolves have always said that he is not for sale, but they will need to address his huge contract eventually. He currently has two years remaining in his $126 million contract. A four-year extension under the collective bargaining agreement could force the Timberwolves to pay Garnett an average of nearly $35 million a season.

One Western Conference GM said that Minnesota should consider moving Garnett since he takes up so much cap space and because the team hasn't made it out of the first round with him.