One of the many problems the Knicks are struggling through during their current five-game losing streak is a lack of defensive intensity. Dikembe Mutombo feels the problem could be linked to his recent benching.

"My own observation from the sideline is I realize after 50-something games my teammates got used to having somebody who is an intimidator in the back," Mutombo said, trying to sound diplomatic. "I think they're kinda confused defensively because we didn't practice all of this."

Adding insult to injury: Not only is Mutumbo buried on the bench, there is speculation that he may be released if the Knicks sign Vin Baker. Cutting Mutombo after tomorrow would be especially cruel since it would prohibit Mutombo from qualifying for a postseason roster.

The Pistons were fined $200,000 last week for what amounts to little more than a miscommunication. The Pistons thought their two new players ? Rasheed Wallace and Mike James ? were eligible to play because they hadn?t heard otherwise from the league. The league said the onus was on the Pistons to call and find out whether the deal was complete. Is that really a $200,000 offense? It?s absurd. It presupposes that the Pistons were trying to pull a fast one, trying, in essence, to cheat.

McCoskey calls the fine "Garbage"

If the league wants to fine someone, why not fine New Jersey president Rod Thorn? Tell me this isn?t tampering:

Thorn, when he heard that the Hawks were about to send Wallace to the Pistons, made two phone calls to Atlanta General Manager Billy Knight, trying to talk him out of doing the deal. He told Knight that it was a horrible mistake for the Hawks and that they would be better served using Wallace in a sign-and-trade deal over the summer. Fortunately for the Pistons, Knight and Dumars have an excellent working relationship and Knight rejected Thorn?s self-serving advice. But isn?t that tampering? Isn?t that a finable offense?

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) Troubled forward Eddie Griffin was waived by the New Jersey Nets on Friday, less than two months after signing with the team in hopes of resurrecting his career.

Griffin, the seventh overall pick in the 2001 draft, didn't appear in any games for the Nets after signing on Jan. 8.

The 21-year-old, who went to nearby Seton Hall, left the team in late January so he could check into the Betty Ford Center to get six weeks of treatment for alcohol abuse. He has since entered a residential alcohol treatment program overseen by former NBA player and coach John Lucas.

``At this time I don't think Eddie is ready to play in the NBA,'' Nets chief executive Rod Thorn said. ``He is a very nice young man and he worked hard when he was here. He has talent. If he gets his personal life together, he certainly could have an NBA career. We wish him well.''

A secretary for Griffin's lawyer, Rusty Hardin, said that Hardin was out of the country and unavailable for comment.

Griffin, who was cut by Houston earlier this season after problems both on and off the court, signed a contract with the Nets that would have paid him roughly $375,000 for the rest of the season. Under an agreement, he will walk away with $125,000.

Griffin was convicted of marijuana possession Jan. 20, and is under indictment for felony assault for allegedly firing a gun at his girlfriend last October.

Griffin was jailed earlier this month for allegedly violating a curfew set as a condition of his bond in the aggravated assault charge.

Griffin averaged 8.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.63 blocks in 150 career games with the Rockets.

SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) Three witnesses in the Jayson Williams manslaughter trial testified Wednesday that the retired NBA star ordered his guests not to talk to police about a fatal shooting at his mansion until his lawyer arrived.

The testimony could bolster prosecution efforts to show that Williams tried to arrange a cover-up, and weaken the defense contention that he was in a state of panic after hired driver Costas ``Gus'' Christofi was killed. The defense also maintains Williams fired the shotgun by accident.

Two state troopers and a Williams acquaintance, John W. Gordnick, said they heard Williams make the statements while in the dining room, where police had put all the adults after responding to the shooting early Feb. 14, 2002.

Trooper Robert Wronski, who said he noticed the smell of alcohol when he entered the foyer, said he went into the adjacent dining room and saw Williams sitting at the table.

Williams said, ``No one (expletive) talks until the lawyer gets here,'' Wronski said. ``He seemed pretty upset.''

After recording license plates, Wronski said he returned to the dining room and heard Williams say, ``Be quiet. Don't talk to the police. Let the attorney take care of it.''

A similar statement was noted by trooper Nicholas Giarnieri. ``He stood up and said, 'nobody makes any statements until the lawyer gets here.' He repeated it and sat down,'' Giarnieri said.

Gordnick, who was among the men detained in the living room, said he heard Williams say, ``Don't say anything until Sal gets here.'' Gordnick said he later learned Sal was Sal DiFazio, Williams' lawyer and agent.

It was the second day on the stand for Gordnick, who testified Tuesday he hid clothing after the former NBA star ran up to him naked following the fatal shooting and put the clothes in his hands.

The defense on Wednesday tried to show that Gordnick, who has pleaded guilty to evidence tampering, was under pressure to make a deal with prosecutors that would let him avoid prison in exchange for his testimony.

Gordnick testified that prosecutors told him at one point they were considering seeking a guardian for his children, but that was dropped when he began cooperating.

Before that, authorities went to his children's school in an attempt to interview them.

``That upset you, didn't it?'' asked defense lawyer Billy Martin.

``Very much,'' Gordnick replied.

The two boys were in the house at the time of the shooting, playing basketball on an indoor court. Christofi was shot in the master bedroom upstairs.

Gordnick also agreed when Martin asked if Kent Culuko, another Williams friend, was the one who was telling people what to do, not Williams.

The cover story was to be that all the guest were downstairs when Christofi shot himself, witnesses have said.

Gordnick, 46, said he confronted Culuko, who he had known for 20 years, slapped him and put him against a wall and told him, ``You got a zero percent chance of pulling this off.''

But when questioned again by the prosecution, Gordnick said that Williams told the group, ``Just stick with the story.''

Gordnick, of Rochelle Park, faces probation, as does Culuko, who pleaded guilty to evidence and witness tampering.

Prosecutors also displayed the clothes that Gordnick said he had stashed at a Route 17 underpass before giving them to his then-lawyer, Kevin C. Corriston.

State police Detective Frank Monte testified that Corriston gave him the plastic garbage bag of clothes on March 1, 2002. The bag and contents were shown, including the blue Armani pants and blue sweater that witnesses say Williams was wearing, along with a leather belt, black socks, gym shorts, a green towel and black shoes _ size 15, Monte read on the sole.

Also Wednesday, State Superior Court Judge Edward M. Coleman rejected, for the third time, a defense motion to sever the charges against Williams.

Defense lawyer Joseph A. Hayden Jr. said the jury would not be able to separately consider the shooting and post-shooting charges. The judge said, ``I've always found that jurors are able to focus on each individual count.''

Williams is accused of trying to make the shooting look like a suicide and persuading others to lie about where they were. Several witnesses have said Williams and Culuko wiped down the shotgun, and that Williams placed it in Christofi's hands as he bled to death.

The trial resumes Monday.

The shooting came at the end of an outing to a Harlem Globetrotters game in Bethlehem, Pa., that witnesses said was organized by Culuko.

At the game, Culuko called a livery service to transport some of the players, who were friends with Williams and Culuko, to join the group for dinner at the Mountain View Chalet, near the Williams estate, according to testimony. Christofi was dispatched. After dinner, all went to the mansion.

Williams, 36, faces eight charges, including aggravated manslaughter and witness tampering, that could carry up to 55 years in prison. The least of the charges carries a penalty of up to 18 months in prison, but would likely result in probation.

Williams retired from the Nets in 2000 after a decade in the NBA, unable to overcome a broken leg suffered a year earlier in a collision with a teammate. He was suspended from his job as an NBA analyst for NBC after the shooting.

Suns forward Antonio McDyess will be a free agent this summer and he would love to sign with the New Jersey Nets so he can play with Jason Kidd.

"That would be great, definitely would be great," said McDyess, who was traded to Phoenix Jan. 5 in the Stephon Marbury deal. "Who wouldn't want to play with Jason Kidd, who I'd say is the best point guard in the league? To play with him again would be great; to get up the court with him, getting easy baskets. It just makes things so much easier. It would be good if it ever happens."

SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) An acquaintance of Jayson Williams testified he hid clothing after the former NBA star ran up to him naked following the fatal shooting of a hired driver in Williams' bedroom.

The testimony of John W. Gordnick, who has pleaded guilty to evidence tampering, came under attack Wednesday as defense lawyers tried to show that he was under pressure to make a deal with prosecutors that would let him avoid prison in exchange for his testimony.

Gordnick testified that prosecutors told him at one point that they were considering seeking a guardian for his children, but that was dropped when he began cooperating.

Before that, authorities went to his children's school in an attempt to interview them.

``That upset you, didn't it?'' asked defense lawyer Billy Martin.

``Very much,'' Gordnick replied.

Gordnick was the third witness in the trial to describe a chaotic scene after driver Costas ``Gus'' Christofi was hit with a single blast from a shotgun held by Williams early on Feb. 14, 2002.

None were in the bedroom with Williams and members of the Harlem Globetrotters when the shooting happened, but all three have said they later went in the room and saw Williams wiping down the shotgun.

Gordnick said Tuesday that he was downstairs at an indoor basketball court with his two young sons with a friend of Williams', John McPartland, a former professional basketball player in Europe, when they heard a ``thump.''

The two men went upstairs, and Gordnick said Globetrotter Curley ``Boo'' Johnson dashed past them ``probably running as fast as he can run.'' But another Globetrotter, Chris Morris, walked out and said something that led Gordnick to wonder if Williams, known for playfulness, was pulling a prank.

Entering the bedroom, ``I saw Jayson on his knees with his hands on his head,'' said Gordnick, 46, of Rochelle Park. ``I heard him a few seconds later, 'Oh my God, Oh my God.'''

He also saw the stricken Christofi, and soon realized it was no gag, he said. After checking on his children, and instructing them to stay at the court, Gordnick returned to the bedroom and saw the naked Williams running toward him from the bathroom, holding clothes.

``He said, 'Here J.G.,''' and left Gordnick holding the clothes, Gordnick said.

Gordnick said he ``assumed'' Williams wanted him to get rid of them, prompting an objection from Martin that the witness could testify only to what he actually knew.

Gordnick said he put the clothes in his car in a black garbage bag. When he returned to the bedroom, he noticed more clothes on the floor and put them in the car of a friend, Kent Culuko, since his car was locked and he had left his keys in the house, Gordnick testified.

He later hid the bag at a Route 17 underpass. On his lawyer's advice, he agreed to give the clothes to authorities, but first told Williams and asked if he had a problem with that, Gordnick said.

``He said, 'Absolutely not. You do whatever you have to do,''' Gordnick testified.

Gordnick told the jury that under his plea bargain, his record will be expunged if he testifies truthfully. He faced a probationary sentence for the crime, which carries up to 18 months in prison. He pleaded guilty a half-year after the shooting.

In other testimony Tuesday, McPartland said that after he learned of the shooting, he saw Williams swimming naked in the indoor pool, which was adjacent to the indoor court.

McPartland, 33, of Mahwah, also said that after police had gathered all the guests in the living room, the guests agreed to a cover story: that they were all downstairs and Christofi wandered off.

Under cross-examination by defense lawyer Joseph A. Hayden Jr., McPartland said the instruction on the false story came from another Williams friend, Kent Culuko, who had organized the outing to a Globetrotters game in Bethlehem, Pa., the evening before the shooting.

At the game, Culuko told McPartland that Williams wanted him to return to the Williams estate in Alexandria Township to fetch a limousine to ferry the Globetrotters to dinner, McPartland testified.

He declined. Culuko called a livery service and Christofi was dispatched with a passenger van to get the players, testimony has shown.

The players were taken to the Mountain View Chalet, where the group had dinner, before going to Williams' mansion for an early morning tour.

Kent Culuko has pleaded guilty to evidence and witness tampering. McPartland was not charged.

Williams, 36, faces eight charges, including aggravated manslaughter and witness tampering, that could carry up to 55 years in prison. The least of the charges carries a penalty of up to 18 months in prison, but would likely result in probation.

The defense maintains the shooting was an accident, and that the shotgun was prone to malfunction.

Williams retired from the Nets in 2000 after a decade in the NBA, unable to overcome a broken leg suffered a year earlier in a collision with a teammate. He was suspended from his job as an NBA analyst for NBC after the shooting.

13x Lawrence Frank, New Jersey Nets, 2003-04.

9 Kurt Rambis, Los Angeles Lakers, 1998-99.

9 Buddy Jeannette, Baltimore Bullets, 1947-48.

8 Larry Brown, Denver Nuggets, 1976-77.

x-active

SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) Former NBA star Jayson Williams ran naked from a bathroom in his New Jersey mansion and handed some clothing to an acquaintance after a hired driver was fatally shot, a witness testified Tuesday.

``He said, 'Here J.G.,''' John W. Gordnick, who has pleaded guilty to evidence tampering, testified at Williams' manslaughter trial.

Gordnick said he ``assumed'' Williams wanted him to get rid of the clothes, prompting an objection from defense lawyer Billy Martin.

Gordnick said he put the clothes in a black garbage bag, and placed it in his car, and put other clothing from Williams' bedroom floor in the car of another friend, Kent Culuko _ hiding both bags at a highway underpass.

Gordnick is the third witness to describe a chaotic scene after driver Costas ``Gus'' Christofi was hit with a single blast from a shotgun held by Williams on Feb. 14, 2002.

None were with Williams and members of the Harlem Globetrotters when the fatal shooting occurred; all three have said they saw Williams wiping down the shotgun.

Culuko also has pleaded guilty to evidence tampering, and to witness tampering. Dean Bumbaco, who testified Monday, was not charged.

In his testimony Tuesday, Gordnick recalled he was downstairs with his two young sons and John McPartland, a former professional basketball player in Europe, when they heard a ``thump.''

When the two men got upstairs, Gordnick said Globetrotter Curley ``Boo'' Johnson dashed past them ``probably running as fast as he can run.'' Gordnick said he found Williams in his bedroom.

``I saw Jayson on his knees with his hands on his head. I heard him a few seconds later, 'Oh my God, Oh my God,''' Gordnick said.

Gordnick said after his lawyer later persuaded him to give authorities the hidden clothing, he asked Williams if that would be a problem. ``He said, 'Absolutely not. You do whatever you have to do,''' Gordnick testified.

Also Tuesday, McPartland said guests at Williams' mansion agreed to make up a story _ that they were downstairs and Christofi had wandered off. A week later, McPartland said Williams urged them: ``You guys have to tell the truth and I'll have to deal with the consequences.''

Williams, 36, faces eight charges in the shooting, including aggravated manslaughter and witness tampering, that carry up to 55 years in prison.

The defense maintains the shooting was a complete accident, and that the shotgun was prone to malfunction. The prosecution charges Williams' actions showed recklessness.

Williams retired from the New Jersey Nets in 2000 after a decade in the NBA. He was suspended from his job as an NBA analyst for NBC after the shooting.

SOMERVILLE, N.J. (AP) After accidentally shooting to death a limousine driver, former NBA star Jayson Williams wiped down the shotgun, put the victim's hand on the weapon, and instructed those present at his mansion to tell police it was a suicide, a witness testified Monday.

``He killed himself. We all gotta say he killed himself,'' Dean Bumbaco quoted Williams as saying.

Asked if he knew that statement was untrue, Bumbaco replied, ``Absolutely.''

Bumbaco, testifying at Williams' manslaughter trial, said he went into the bedroom immediately on hearing the gunshot, saw the shotgun fall to the floor, then watched the defendant fall to his knees and pound the floor.

``My God, my life is over,'' Williams said, according to Bumbaco.

As a wounded Costas ``Gus'' Christofi gasped for air, Williams picked up the gun, wiped it with a towel, put it down and then told another guest, Kent Culuko, to wipe it again and he did, Bumbaco said.

Williams then wiped the gun a third time and went to the victim.

``Mr. Williams tried to put the gun in his hand _ I don't know if he got it in _ and tried to close his hand around the gun,'' Bumbaco said.

He soon saw Williams coming down the hallway naked and wet. Williams handed his navy blue pinstriped suit to another guest, John Gordnick. ``J.G., get rid of these,'' Williams said, according to Bumbaco.

Bumbaco, a landscaping contractor, was the first witness who was in the house at the time of the shooting to testify at the trial.

Williams, 35, faces eight charges in the shooting, including aggravated manslaughter and witness tampering, that carry up to 55 years in prison.

The defense maintains that the shooting, in the early hours of Feb. 14, 2002, was a complete accident, and that the shotgun was prone to malfunction. The prosecution agrees that Williams did not intend to kill anyone but charges that his actions showed recklessness.

Christofi, 55, had driven Williams' friends in a van from a Harlem Globetrotters show in Bethlehem, Pa., to a restaurant and then to the 65-acre Williams estate.

Williams retired from the New Jersey Nets in 2000 after a decade in the NBA, unable to overcome a broken leg suffered a year earlier in a collision with a teammate. He was suspended from his job as an NBA analyst for NBC after the shooting.

TORONTO (AP) New Jersey Nets forward Kenyon Martin did not start Friday night's game against the Toronto Raptors because of a sinus infection.

Coach Lawrence Frank said an hour before tip-off that it would be a gametime decision. Martin didn't start, but entered the game with 6:14 left in the first quarter after his replacement, Rodney Rogers, limped off the court following a collision with Toronto's Morris Peterson.

``I'm not a doctor, but he's got a very bad sinus infection,'' coach Lawrence Frank said of Martin.

Frank then poked fun at himself.

``I may look like Doogie Howser, but I'm not,'' he said.

Martin entered the game averaging a team-high 18 points and 9.8 rebounds.