Numerous sources have informed DraftExpress that the Lakers appear eager to move up in this year's Draft, as they target Brandon Roy and Marcus Williams.

Roy, a top-10 prospect, has already worked out with the Lakers and will not be working out with any of the teams drafting in the top-5.

It isn't hard to wonder why the L.A. Lakers didn't ask for Dwayne Wade when discussions were taking place with the Miami Heat regarding Shaquille O'Neal.  According to a report in the L.A. Times you can wonder no more, because they did, and Pat Riley refused to budge.

"I thought the deal was fair," said Riley of the July 2004 trade that sent Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant to the Lakers. "Giving up all three of those guys? Dwyane was the one guy that we didn't want to let go. Not that we had a crystal ball, but we felt there was something there that might be better even than what we'd seen."

An NBA source tells Barry Rozner that the Timberwolves have no intention of trading Kevin Garnett and that offers won't even be heard unless a player they would be receiving in return is either named Kobe Bryant of LeBron James.

Minnesota will pick sixth in the NBA Lottery.

The Wolves have re-signing Marcus Banks high on their list of things to do this summer, but have also will be pursued by the Lakers and Spurs.

Police said Wednesday that Kwame Brown is still the subject of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault that was reported weeks ago.

"The investigation's continuing and we're not going to release any information until such a time that there's either an arrest or a prosecution," said Lt. Paul Vernon, a police spokesman.

Vernon said he didn't know whether investigators had interviewed Brown, who has maintained his innocence.

"They're continuing to interview witnesses and try to determine exactly what happened," said Vernon.

According to the Associated Press, Kobe Bryant says that Charles Barkley has the wrong impression of him, with Barkley calling Kobe "selfish" for not trying to score more during Game 7 of the Lakers' playoff loss to Phoenix.

Bryant and Barkley discussed their difference of opinion face-to-face Wednesday night when Bryant appeared as a studio guest during TNT's NBA playoff coverage.

"We had a strategy that worked very well for us in three games," Bryant said. "We tried to keep the strategy going in Game 7, and the other games as well, but it didn't work for us. But we're out there to try and win, so to label me as being selfish is something I had to take up with Charles."

Barkley maintained that the strategy wasn't working, but acknowledged he should have handled his criticism differently.

"I criticized Kobe in Game 7. He didn't like it and he let me know it," Barkley said. "I think I probably made one mistake by taking it public, but I wanted to get his side and his point of view. I have no problem with him disagreeing with me."

Bryant also addressed his plans to change his uniform number from 8 to 24 next season.

"No. 8 has been with me for a while obviously," he said. "I just felt it was time to move on and do something different. When I came back from Italy and I came to the States to play, the first number I selected was number 24. It is kind of a new beginning for me, and that's what the second half of my career is all about."

The 2005-06 NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns highlights the All-NBA First Team as the NBA announced the 2005-06 All-NBA teams today.

Joining Nash at guard on the All-NBA First Team is 2005-06 NBA leading scorer Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers and Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks were selected at forward and Shaquille O?Neal of the Miami Heat was selected at the center position to round out the First Team.

The All-NBA Second Team consists of Detroit?s Chauncey Billups and Miami?s Dwyane Wade at the guard positions, San Antonio?s Tim Duncan and the L.A. Clippers Elton Brand at the forward spots and Detroit?s Ben Wallace at the center position.

The All-NBA Third Team includes Eastern Conference guards Allen Iverson of the Philadelphia 76ers and Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards and a Western Conference frontline of Phoenix?s Shawn Marion, Denver?s Carmelo Anthony and Houston?s Yao Ming.

2005-06 ALL-NBA FIRST TEAM

     Position             Player, (1st Team Votes)          Points
     Forward              LeBron James, (116)          610
     Forward              Dirk Nowitzki, (105)            584
     Center               Shaquille O?Neal, (45)           402
     Guard                Kobe Bryant, (110)         597
     Guard                Steve Nash, (106)              583

2005-06 ALL-NBA SECOND TEAM

     Position             Player, (1st Team Votes)          Points
     Forward              Elton Brand, (15)        309
     Forward              Tim Duncan, (17)           277
     Center               Ben Wallace, (44)              363
     Guard                Chauncey Billups, (21)         378
     Guard                Dwyane Wade, (13)                373

2005-06 ALL-NBA THIRD TEAM

     Position             Player, (1st Team Votes)          Points
     Forward              Shawn Marion, (4)              270
     Forward              Carmelo Anthony,               97
     Center               Yao Ming, (30)                 261
     Guard                Allen Iverson, (1)        104
Guard, Gilbert Arenas, 79

Magic Johnson envisions a situation in the future where he would purchase an NBA franchise with his friends Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley.

"If the right franchise became available, trust me, I'd make the calls," Johnson said.

"What better situation for us than to do it together?"

In this scenario, Jordan would run the basketball operations, while Magic would be in charge of the business side of things and Charles would be Charles.

"Charles could handle the sponsors and dealing with people," Johnson said in an off-the-air conversation while working as an analyst for TNT this week.

"And if we needed somebody to talk harsh to the team, he could do that."

"If I owned a team, I'd have to get somebody with Michael's skills to run the basketball side," Johnson said. "If he bought into a team, he would have to find somebody like me to make the company profitable. It would be the perfect marriage."

"What a message it would send," Johnson said.

"It would be unbelievable. I really think we can do it."

Devean George is an unrestricted free agent with the Lakers and is unlikely to return unless he takes a pay cut from the $5 million he in 2005-2006.

George is the last remaining member of the Lakers, other than Kobe Bryant, to play on their championship teams.

It appears the Lakers are satisfied with their season, the Associated Press is reporting, meeting the goals which they set for themselves.

"We were all about getting to the playoffs and make some noise in the playoffs. We met our goal," coach Phil Jackson said Monday during a break from conducting exit interviews with his players.

"We're pleased. We maintained from Day One that was achievable," general manager Mitch Kupchak said of a return to the postseason.