Cavaliers head coach, said he has no regrets about remaining a Dallas assistant. The Cavs eventually hired John Lucas to take on their rebuilding process. ``The real fun when you've been in it as long as I have is being in the playoffs,'' said Harris, 64, who visited Gund Arena last night along with the Mavericks. ``I didn't want to be out of playoff basketball for even two or three years.'' Harris said he anticipated that injured Cavs center Zydrunas Ilgauskas wouldn't begin the season and that the team would lose free-agent forward Clarence Weatherspoon. Both scenarios happened. ``Starting a team at the ground floor is more work for a guy who hasn't coached 1,000 NBA games, not one who has,'' said Harris, who has an NBA coaching mark of 556-457 in 14 seasons.
HEAD-BANGERS -- Lucas doesn't mind that he sometimes clashes with guard Ricky Davis. ``We bump heads three or four times a game,'' said Lucas, who calls Davis ``Slick Rick.'' ``He's just hard-headed.'' Lucas got upset with Davis after he missed a dunk in the first half of Tuesday's 107-103 win at Minnesota. ``We shared some love in the first half,'' Lucas said. ``But he was playing at the end of the game.'' Davis also doesn't mind the clashes he and Lucas have. ``He gives me constructive criticism,'' Davis said. In the first half last night, Lucas called Davis over and told him to take off his headband and hand it to him. Lucas gave it back a few minutes later.


SCOUTING SENEGAL -- Amadou Gallo Fall, the Dallas scout credited with having discovered Cavs center DeSagana Diop in Senegal, attended last night's game. Fall, who makes some trips with the Mavericks, wanted to make sure he visited Diop, out with a knee injury. ``I think he's in the right frame of mind,'' Fall said. ``He knows it will take time (to develop after being drafted out of high school).'' Fall discovered Diop in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. He steered him to Oak Hill (Va.) Academy, where he played from 1999-2001. ``The first time I saw him, I thought, `He's big,' '' Fall said. ``But I thought he was a great kid.''


NOTABLE -- Indians manager Charlie Manuel and Eddie Murray, just named the Tribe's hitting coach, took in last night's game. In the first half, Take Me Out to the Ball Game was played on the organ while the two were shown on the video screen. . . . Cavs guard Bryant Stith, on the injured list with a hip flexor, said he felt some soreness after working out for three days earlier this week. Stith continues to figure he won't be back until early December. . . . The Cavs are 2-3 on the road. ``I didn't think we'd win any road games until after Christmas,'' Lucas said.