Around the horn in the NBA

By Jared Spinelli Sports Central Columnist

It's pre-season in the NBA, and there's lots going on around the league: injuries, suspensions, rookies, and battles for starting positions. Today, we'll go "around the horn" on interesting issues in the NBA mainstream. Let's get started.

First, this whole Latrell Sprewell/New York Knicks issue is getting more ridiculous by the hour. This week, Sprewell filed a $40 million dollar lawsuit against the New York Post over how they reported Sprewell's broken right hand.

Apparently, the newspaper reported that Sprewell broke his hand in a confrontation during a party on Sprewell's yacht. Sprewell claims he broke the hand when he accidentally fell on the yacht. At the same time, Sprewell was suspended from the team for violating the team's rehabilitation instructions.

In Houston, Yao Ming, the first overall pick in the draft, arrived in camp and had his first workout with the team. Reportedly, Ming missed his first jump shot of the session, but then hit a free throw directly after. Ming may be ready to play Wednesday night against San Antonio.

Elsewhere, Cleveland Cavaliers first round pick Dajuan Wagner remains in a hospital with a bladder infection. The guard will not travel with the team for their last three preseason games, and he may not be ready for the season-opener. It is not known right now the severity of the infection, but the Cavaliers are all concerned, and put Wagner's health first.

In other news, Magic Johnson has apparently decided not to pursue buying a piece of the Seattle SuperSonics. Earlier, Magic had been quoted as saying he was 70 percent close to purchasing part of the Sonics. For now, Magic will wait, but still says he wants to eventually own an NBA team, much like a fellow former-Laker, Jerry West.

In Phoenix, ninth-overall pick Amare Stoudemire has been turning heads and impressing everybody so far in the preseason. Said Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, "he's going to wind up being a great player." Stoudemire was the sole high school player taken in the first round of this past year's draft, but the 19-year-old is apparently mature beyond his years on the basketball court.

The Nuggets-Knicks trade looks bizarre. The two major players involved in the trade, Marcus Camby and Antonio McDyss, are both injured, and are out for quite some time. Both teams have to be disappointed with what has happened. The bad gets worse.

The New Orleans Hornets are pretty banged up. Among the injured are Baron Davis (back), P.J. Brown (ankle), Elden Cambell (knee), and Jamal Mashburn. Of that bunch, only Davis and Campbell may not be playing on opening night of the regular season.

That's about it for NBA news. Before you know it, it will be the regular season and the real fun begins!

Article courtesy of Sports Central.