After 13 seasons which included three Championships as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, veteran forward Rick Fox has retired from the NBA.

The Boston Celtics requested waivers on the veteran forward Thursday, his spokeswoman Staci Wolfe announced, to facilitate his retirement.

Fox has spent the entire summer rehabilitating assorted injuries he accrued over the course of the 2003-04 season before his Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated in the NBA Finals at the hands of the Detroit Pistons.

Fox, originally drafted 21st overall in the 1991 draft by the Celtics, returned to his original team earlier this summer in the trade that brought Gary Payton to the Celtics from Los Angeles and sent Chucky Atkins, Jumaine Jones and Chris Mihm west.  He was never expected to suit up.

"We were aware of Rick's medical situation when we made the trade," said Celtics Executive Director of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. "He has been a true professional and will always be a member of the Celtics family, especially considering this is where he started his career. We wish him well and are confident he will be successful in whatever he chooses to pursue next."

Fox played with the Celtics from 1991-97, signing with the Lakers as an unrestricted free agent. Fox enjoyed a solid NBA career, posting career averages of 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, as well as winning three NBA Championships while a Laker.

They may now be on separate sides of the country but the feud between superstars Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O?Neal appears to be far from over.

The Miami Herald is reporting that on Wednesday O'Neal dismissed as "ridiculous" Bryant's allegations that O'Neal had paid up to $1 million in hush money to various women and then took his own shot by saying, "I'm not the one buying love."

O?Neal was responding to comments made by Bryant to detectives in Eagle, Colorado that "he should have done what Shaq does ... that Shaq would pay his women not to say anything" and already had paid up to $1 million "for situations like this."  The allegations, which O?Neal has known about since last September, were quoted from a police report in the Los Angeles Times.  

The two played through the 2003/04 season as Lakers team mates with the allegations weighing on both their minds before Los Angeles fell to the Champion Detroit Pistons in the NBA Finals.  It would be the duo?s last time wearing the same uniform with O?Neal being traded to Miami only months later.

"This whole situation is ridiculous," O'Neal told ESPN. "I never hang out with Kobe, I never hung around him. In the seven or eight years we were together, we were never together. So how this guy can think he knows anything about me or my business is funny. And one last thing - I'm not the one buying love. He's the one buying love."

O'Neal's latter comment was an apparent reference to a ring - reportedly costing several million dollars - that Bryant gave his wife, Vanessa, after he was charged with felony sexual assault last summer.

According to a new report by the Los Angeles Times, Kobe Bryant told investigators that other NBA players had paid money to women in similar situations like his, and a name he mentioned was Shaquille O'Neal.

O'Neal was informed of the comment last September, about two weeks before Laker training camp opened in Hawaii, when prosecution investigators made an unsuccessful attempt to question him. His agent, Perry Rogers, said Tuesday that the allegation in Bryant's statement was untrue and "undeserving of a response."

"Bryant made a comment to us about what another teammate does in situations like these," Detective Doug Winters wrote. "Bryant stated he should have done what Shaq (Shaquille O'Neal) does. Bryant stated that Shaq would pay his women not to say anything. He stated Shaq has paid up to a million dollars already for situations like this. He stated he, Bryant, treats a woman with respect, therefore they shouldn't say anything."

The reference was first reported by Sports Illustrated, which did not name O'Neal.

Karl Malone's return to the basketball court could be months away, if he comes back at all.

The Los Angeles Lakers said Friday they don't know if the 41-year-old forward will play this season. Malone, who had surgery on his right knee at the end of June, is a free agent and reportedly is being pursued by several teams.

"Our understanding is he's not going to be ready to return for a couple months," Lakers spokesman John Black said. "We're hopeful he does decide to play another season and he decides to play for us."

Malone's agent, Dwight Manley, refused comment. In July, he disputed reports that Malone had decided to retire. The second-leading scorer in NBA history, Malone played 18 seasons with the Utah Jazz before joining the Lakers last summer.

A recent MRI has revealed that newly acquired Lakers? center, Vlade Divac, has a herniated disk in his back.  The injury took place during an informal on-court drill at the HealthSouth Training Center.

"It's hard to determine what effect it's going to have," Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. "? We're going to try and treat it conservatively. We're hoping that in two or three weeks he'll be fine. If he's not, we'll look to the next step."

The prosecutor who charged Kobe Bryant with felony sexual assault is standing beside other news organizations in opposition against attempts by Mr. Bryant?s attorney to seal the evidence and documents in the case.

"The defense wants to stop the flow of information at a time when the defense has purportedly leaked significant information about the victim and her history," he (DA Mark Hurlbert) said.

Bryant still faces a federal civil suit filed by the accuser seeking unspecified damages for pain, suffering, "public scorn, hatred and ridicule."

Karl Malone remains an unsigned free-agent, but he has a host of championship contenders still actively lobbying for his services.

One such team are the Miami Heat and they have the advantage of having Shaquille O'Neal be their cheif recruiter.  

"I haven't talked to Karl yet, but I would like Karl to join me in Miami," O'Neal said. "So Karl, if you're watching, give me a call. And I'll bring you down to Miami as soon as possible. We got everything down there."

The Lakers, however are confident that they will re-sign Malone.

Consider Miami coach Stan Van Gundy to be one of Heat No. 1 pick Dorell Wright's biggest fans despite the rookie not yet playing a single minute in the NBA.  The Lakers asked about Wright during the Shaquille O'Neal trade talks but the Heat refused because of potential, that to some, conjures images of Tracy McGrady.

"He's got an incredible ability to get his own shot and score," coach Stan Van Gundy said. "I'm not going in with the idea that because of his age he can't play this year. He will be treated like everyone else."

The Lakers are certainly lucky that they will only face the Miami Heat two times this season, because Shaquille O'Neal has scores to settle and continues to speak of them.

O'Neal believes the Lakers made him The Big Scapegoat. "It was just guys upstairs who can't step up and do what they're supposed to do. They've got to have a scapegoat, and they know that I'm strong enough to be that scapegoat," said O'Neal, traded by the Lakers to Miami in July.

"My thing is, if I'm going to be the scapegoat, let me be in charge and let me do it my way," said O'Neal, whose friction with teammate Kobe Bryant was well documented. "So if I'm in charge and everybody knows I'm in charge and we're doing it my way and it don't work, then they can, `Say hey, you did it.'

"When I was coming up, I was always taught to be righteous. By watching guys like Magic (Johnson) and Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) and watching the way the game was totally played, it was played righteously," he said. "So when it stopped being righteous, I didn't want to be a part of that.

"I'm a big guy with a big frame and I lift heavy weights. When you lift heavy weights, you put on muscle and when you step on that scale, the number's going to be high. If I was out of shape and averaged 27 (points) and 10 (rebounds), I'm the greatest player ever created. And I know I'm not the greatest player ever created."

An interview with the police that took place the night after the Lakers star was accused of rape was published yesterday by the Vail Daily.

In his interview, Kobe stays close to the story he had told all along, however some are upset that the interview was even made public.

John Clune, an attorney for the accuser, declined comment on the transcript but criticized the leak, which follows several mistakes by courthouse staff that publicly revealed the woman's name.

"The continued evidence of the lack of integrity of the criminal case reaffirms our client's decision to not proceed in that court," Clune said.