Kings' coach Reggie Theus decided to keep his team in Minneapolis on Wednesday night and practice there on Thursday to avoid a night of potential night of distraction in South Beach.

"We just don't necessarily want to spend too much time in Miami," Theus said. "And I think that's OK. It doesn't make as much sense (considering) what happened last (season) to go there too early. I don't know any other way to answer that. ... It's what best for the team."

The team did spent Thursday night in Miami, but Theus hoped his players would use proper discretion.

Mike D'Antoni says that the New York Knicks now have standards and that Eddy Curry is not going to see the court while he does not meet them, but according to a report in the New York Daily News, Curry is not alone on the Knick bench.

Stephon Marbury, who is in shape, also did not get into the game against Miami on Wednesday night.

"This is not going to be easy where we're all having lollipops and thinking we can turn this around," D'Antoni said hours before the Knicks beat Miami, 120-115, in their season opener. "There are going to be a lot of tears, yelling, and screaming. There are going to be certain standards. It's easy for me to go, 'Yeah, OK let's just do it the same way it's always been done so no one will get mad.' Now, we have standards."

D'Antoni met with Curry yesterday morning, and afterwards Curry disputed the claim that he's not physically ready and said of their meeting, "I just listened to what he had to say, got up, and came to shoot-around. I feel like I am (ready), but he's the coach. And it's his team."

Heat Coach Erik Spoelstra wants forward Udonis Haslem to add roughly five pounds to his 230 pound frame in order to help counteract the team's undersized roster.

"I mean, I'm trying. It's hard," Haslem said Monday. "I've established a certain way that I eat and certain things I do and certain things that I don't do.

"I've been spending time in the weight room. I'm not really a shake-type drinking guy. I really don't like that kind of stuff. I'm physically strong enough. The 5 pounds would just be wear and tear for the season."

Haslem was famously asked to lose weight while with Florida in college, where he weighed as much as 270 pounds.

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News predicts that the Knicks will trade Eddy Curry this season.

Mike D'Antoni told the media that Curry will not be in the rotation when the season starts.  Curry was "surprised and upset" when reporters informed him of the coach's decision.

Rookie Danilo Gallinari, who did not play in the pre-season due to a back injury, will be part of D'Antoni's regular rotation and is expected to get minutes in the opener.  Malik Rose and Stephon Marbury are also expected to play Wednesday.

The Miami Heat announced today that they have exercised the third year player option on Daequan Cook. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Cook, a 6?5?, 210-pound guard, has appeared in 59 regular season games (19 starts) and has averaged 8.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 24.4 minutes. Last season, Cook set new HEAT rookie records in both three-point field goals made (79) and attempted (238) while shooting 33.2 percent accuracy from beyond the arc which was the fourth highest single-season percentage for a HEAT rookie. Additionally, Cook ranked among the NBA rookie leaders in three-point field goals made (2nd), three-point field goal attempted (2nd), three-point field goal percentage (3rd), scoring average (8th), minutes per game (10th), assists per game (tied-10th) and rebounds per game (tied-16th).

Cook was originally drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round (21st overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft. His draft rights were acquired by the HEAT along with Philadelphia?s 2009 second-round draft pick and cash considerations for the draft rights of Jason Smith (20th overall selection) on draft night.

Wilson Chandler's mild knee sprain will not keep him out of Wednesday's season opener between the Knicks and Heat.

Chandler returned to practice Monday.  "He's ready to roll," said Mike D'Antoni.

Chandler had a strong pre-season and is slated to be a key part of the Knicks' rotation.

The knee of Heat point guard Shaun Livingston held up fine after playing back-to-back preseason games this weekend.

"No swelling, just regular soreness that's normal," said Livingston. "Everything is progressing."

Sunday marked exactly 20 months since Livingston tore three knee ligaments and dislocated his left kneecap while playing for the Clippers.

"I don't have the same explosive ability that I had before where I could get to the rim and finish over," Livingston said. "Jumping isn't where it's at for me right now. Layups will probably be the biggest work in progress."

Dwyane Wade can become a free agent in the summer of 2010, but many around the league expect him to remain with the Heat.

The feeling around the NBA is that Wade will sign an extension rather than opting out and entering the market.

The only thing that could hold up the process is Wade's relationship with Pat Riley.

The Miami Heat have high hopes for rookie forward Michael Beasley as he enters his first season in the league.

"Michael can flat-out do it all," Dwyane Wade said. "He's one of those players who does things in practice you've never seen. His athleticism, his skill level, it's just there. He'll be able to come in and play right away."

Beasley has admitted that he knows he needs to mature on the floor and as a man.

"I'm a really nice guy," Beasley said. "I don't know why everybody thinks that I'm a jerk, that I have character issues, that I don't care about the team, that I don't work hard. Honestly, I don't know where people get that from. I love kids. I love seeing little kids smile. That makes me smile. The worst thing I did was coming up through high school I wrote on a black car with a black marker."

The Miami Heat announced today that they have requested waivers on center David Padgett and guard Jason Richards. Both were initially signed as free agents by the Heat on July 2, 2008.

Padgett appeared in three games in the preseason and averaged 3.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game.

Richards tore his left ACL and had it surgically repaired on September 2. He did not appear in any preseason games for the Heat.