Former NBA high flying guard Isiah Rider was arrested Saturday in Los Angeles for investigation of auto theft, the Associated Press is reporting.

Rider was driving a car that failed to stop at an intersection about 2:30 a.m. in the city's Skid Row district, Officer Norma Eisenman said.

Officers checking the license plates discovered the car had been reported stolen from South Los Angeles, and Rider was arrested.

The Portland Trail Blazers were left unhappy after receiving a confirmation to an internet rumor that first overall pick Greg Oden had participated in a pickup game, The Oregonian is reporting.

Oden participated in a game at a 24 Hour Fitness facility in Tualatin on Wednesday night.

"We heard about that, and I talked to him today,'' Coach Nate McMillan said. "I let him know he can't do that.''

"I know he is excited to be moving again, but as I talked to him about it, he said 'Coach, I promise I wasn't running hard ...'. And I was like - 'I really don't care','' McMillan said. "The thing is, we were surprised. So we let him know that he doesn't need to be there. We have plenty of workout equipment and gym space at our facility.''

Brandon Roy wants to play this season, but he will definitely miss the next two weeks with groin and hip injuries, according to the Oregonian.

"I'm not saying there is a guarantee I will be able to come back and play, but if I can, that's my goal," Roy said Wednesday. "Even if it's the last two games, I want to give it a try and finish the season."

If he misses exactly two weeks, he could return in time for the team's final four games.

Brandon Roy left the Blazers' game against the Wizards on Tuesday night with a groin injury but won't shut it down for the season, according to HoopsWorld.

"I think I'm at least a full week, maybe two weeks away from playing, just from the way it's playing now. It's really stiff," Roy told the Vancouver Columbian.

"But, I think I owe it to my team and the fans to try to get to .500 (record)," he added.

The Blazers (38-34) are six games out of the eighth seed in the Western Conference with ten games remaining.

Trail Blazers' leader Brandon Roy was forced from Tuesday night's game against Washington at the end of the first quarter with a groin injury, the Associated Press is reporting.

Roy was attempting to block a long 3-pointer by Caron Butler and came down awkwardly.

Roy tried to return in the second quarter but lasted two minutes before leaving the game for good.

With the playoffs out of the question it appears as though the Trail Blazers are preparing to welcome Greg Oden into the lineup next season, according to HoopsWorld.

Just a dozen games remain on Portland's schedule, and coach Nate McMillan has begun playing LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy as if Oden is on the court.

"If you have Greg on the other side and leave him (Aldridge) open, that's like leaving Shaq open and double-teaming Amare (Stoudemire)," McMillan said of using Aldridge and Oden together.

"I think when I am down low and teams double-team me, I can just throw it to the rim and he (Oden) can go get it," Aldridge told HoopsWorld.  

"If they double him, he can throw it to me in the high-post and I can make that shot all day," Aldridge added.

The Portland Trail Blazers have four picks in June's NBA Draft and haven't ruled out trading any or all of them, according to HoopsWorld.

"To add four players probably isn't realistic unless a major trade is made. And I'm not so sure getting younger is at the top of our list," GM Kevin Pritchard told HoopsWorld.

"We look at picks as liquid assets. But since they are liquid, they are very movable. They can be traded; you can take a couple picks and move up or move down. What I look at is it gives me the flexibility to do a lot of things."

"We probably won't add four players, but it isn't out of the realm of possibility," he added.

It was believed that former Milwaukee GM Larry Harris was on thin ice after team owner Herb Kohl vetoed a deal that would have sent Bobby Simmons, Dan Gadzuric and Charlie Bell to the New York Knicks for Zach Randolph and guard Fred Jones, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel is reporting.

Harris was released from his duties on Wednesday.

"I don't want to impugn him, because I've never met him," Kohl said about Randolph. "Zach started out in Portland, and at the point they traded him, they really wanted to do that. He did not help them win."

"Then they traded him to New York, and within six months they wanted him out. They were prepared to trade him to the Bucks or anyone else. And he had three years, plus this year, remaining on his contract, which was over $50 million."

"Now any owner, I submit, who would not take an interest in that and would not want to be a part of that decision, is not doing his job. When it comes to decisions of that magnitude, the owner needs to be on board."

The Blazers have asked the NBA to appoint an independent doctor to evaluate Darius Miles, which will determine if he has a career-ending injury.

If the doctor says he does have a career-ending injury, then the Blazers can waive him and the final two years and $18 million can come off the salary cap.

"We've started an evaluation process regarding whether Darius has a career-ending injury," Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "This will likely take some time, but my guess is this will be resolved by the end of the season."

The Portland Trail Blazers today re-assigned rookie forward Josh McRoberts to their NBA Development League affiliate the Idaho Stampede, announced by Trail Blazers' General Manager Kevin Pritchard. McRoberts was previously on assignment with Idaho from Jan. 9-Feb. 3.  

During his first assignment, McRoberts averaged 7.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 26.5 minutes in eight games with the Stampede.  This season in the NBA, McRoberts is averaging 2.0 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 4.4 minutes in five games with the Trail Blazers.  

?Sending Josh back to Idaho will give him the best chance to develop as the season winds down,? said Pritchard.  ?Getting the opportunity to play extended minutes is an important step in his rookie season, and we saw good results from his last trip there.?  

Originally selected in the second round (37th overall) of the 2007 NBA Draft, McRoberts played two seasons at Duke, where he averaged 10.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 69 games.  

McRoberts is scheduled to join the Stampede on Friday, March 21, when the team travels to Anaheim to take on the Arsenal.

Trail Blazers' fans can stay in step with McRoberts and the Stampede by logging onto www.d-league.com/watch to watch all D-League games streamed live, for free.