News; Roll call: All Iverson suitors, please step forward

Is the Answer just blowin' in the wind?
So exactly how bad do things have to be when a former four-time scoring champ with a career scoring average of 27 a game and a set of healthy wheels can't even get a sniff? So bad that New York Knicks president Donnie Walsh did an about-face on signing Allen Iverson because he's concerned about him interfering with the development of Eddy Curry. The rumors of Miami's interest were quickly shot down by the Heat. Then there's Larry Brown simply being polite in keeping A.I.'s name in conversations in Charlotte. Truth is, the 34-year-old Iverson is not running out of time, just teams.

Can nice guys finish first?
Any night now, we can expect Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy to bake warm chocolate chip cookies to feed to his team at halftime and be ready to wipe their chins with a towel after they guzzle from the water bottle during timeouts. After beating Toronto on Sunday, the Magic are 3-0 since Van Gundy says he took Dwight Howard's advice to heart and pledged to be less negative with his comments about a team that enters the week tied with Atlanta for the best record in the NBA. How long can this last? "I don't believe it," cracked Boston's Doc Rivers. Check back at the end of the week after a three-game road trip to Atlanta, Milwaukee and New York.

Who gets the egg on their face?
After the New Jersey Nets lost at home to the Knicks to drop their record to 0-13, we're getting closer to history and now the stakes get higher for their opponents. Which team gets the indignity of being the first to lose to the Nets? A four-game road trip to Denver, Portland, Sacramento and the L.A. Lakers could tie the all-time winless streak of 17 in row (Miami, 1988; L.A. Clippers, 1999) to start a season.

What's in a name?
As if the kid needs help, the Milwaukee Bucks are doing their best to promote rookie Brandon Jennings by pushing their idea of a clever nickname -- Young Buck. Of course, Jennings already has a nickname, Young Money, tattooed across his back. And really, what does any of that matter when Jennings appears headed to an upcoming award ceremony that will settle the matter for what he should really be called: Rookie of the Year.

Is the fire out in New Orleans?
Nothing like a pair of back-to-back wins over the then-conference leaders from Phoenix and Atlanta to get the Hornets feeling good about themselves again. Coach/GM Jeff Bower is getting plenty out of rookies Darren Collison and Marcus Thornton and has a renewed Peja Stojakovic tossing in 3-pointers again. But it's still all about getting Chris Paul back into the right frame of mind when he returns to the lineup from his ankle injury.

Jose, can you free?
Toronto's Jose Calderon was a perfect 3-for-3 from the foul line on Sunday, the most free throws he's made without a miss in a game this season. That's notable, of course, because Calderon set the all-time NBA record for free-throw percentage last season by making 151 of 154 (.981), including a string of 87 in a row. Calderon is currently 26-for-34 (.765) but not lacking in confidence. Earlier he told reporters: "I'm going to finish the season at 90 percent; 98 percent is impossible. It happened once. Forget about it. Everybody has to be calm. Over 90, for sure. That's how I'll finish."

Are the "whys" of Texas upon you?
Why did anyone think the Houston Rockets were hopeless this season just because they lost Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest? Why did everyone think the San Antonio Spurs were ready to make another championship run just because they added Richard Jefferson? Now the Rockets (8-6) are one of the most fun teams to watch in the league as they share responsibility and the ball while the Spurs (5-6) are spinning their wheels. They'll meet up for the first time Friday night in Houston.