Shaq and G-Hill want to buy Magic

The Sacramento Bee (Scott Howard-Cooper) reports: Shaquille O’Neal and Grant Hill want to buy the Orlando Magic. Not right now. Shaq has two seasons on his deal, won’t walk away from $20 million per, may play beyond that contrary to previous reports that 2009-10 is definitely his last, and Hill is in a contract year and interested in returning. He may not be done for a while either. But the Suns teammates are serious about this. At some point, probably soon after they retire, O’Neal and Hill, former Magic players who still make their permanent homes in a mega-money Orlando enclave, will talk with executives to see if the team is available. How serious? They have already talked about it together, a lot. They have already made their feelings known to CEO and president Bob Vander Weide, the son-in-law of owner Rich DeVos. They have, both report independently, already lined up additional investors.

Oct 22: Blazers 87, Clippers 75

The AP reports: Brandon Roy scored 17 points, rookie Greg Oden had 12 points and 13 rebounds, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Los Angeles Clippers 87-75 on Wednesday night… Al Thornton had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Clippers. Steve Novak scored nine points, going 3-for-4 from 3-point range. All 29 of his field goal attempts during the preseason have been from behind the arc, and he has made 14 of them… Travis Outlaw and Jerryd Bayless led the way in the fourth. Outlaw scored all of his nine points in the final 9:13 after missing his first six shots, and Bayless contributed eight of his 12 points down the stretch. Los Angeles got no closer than 12 in the final quarter after Rudy Fernandez hit a 3-pointer to give Portland its biggest lead, 77-60, with 7:58 to play.

Oct 22: Wizards 100, Spurs 95

The AP reports: Nick Young scored 15 points in his preseason debut to help the Washington Wizards beat the San Antonio Spurs 100-95 on Wednesday night… Washington also got 15 points in 23 minutes from Caron Butler, who has scored in double figures the past two games. The Spurs were led by Tim Duncan’s 20 points in 22 minutes. Duncan, who made 8-of-9 free throws, also grabbed eight rebounds… JaVale McGee, a 7-foot rookie out of Nevada taken with the 18th pick, finished 4-for-6 and hit his three free-throw tries to finish with 11 points.

Oct 22: Bulls 85, Wolves 75

The AP reports: Larry Hughes dislocated his right shoulder in the third quarter of the Bulls’ 85-75 preseason victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. He joins Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas and Michael Ruffin on the sidelines… Derrick Rose started with Hughes in the backcourt against the Timberwolves and finished with 17 points, six assists and five rebounds… Al Jefferson and Rashad McCants both scored 19 points, with McCants tallying 11 straight in the third quarter to help the Timberwolves claw within four after trailing by double digits most of the game.

Oct 22: Pistons 97, Cavs 79

The AP reports: Tayshaun Prince’s post-Olympic slump might finally be over. Prince, averaging just seven points on 31 percent shooting, scored 17 points in 29 minutes Wednesday night, and the Pistons beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 97-79. The Cavaliers were playing without LeBron James, who was in uniform but took a planned night off… The Pistons were led in scoring by Rodney Stuckey’s 20, but the defense-oriented Curry wasn’t completely happy with his second-year guard’s performance… Daniel Gibson led the James-less Cavs with 16 points and Mo Williams scored 14 in the first half. Cleveland finishes its preseason schedule Friday against Washington.

Oct 22: Sixers 118, Nets 100

The AP reports: Lou Williams scored 18 points and hit five of the 76ers’ 14 3-pointers in a 118-100 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night… The Nets were no match for the 76ers, who also got 18 points from rookie Marreese Speights and 16 from Thaddeus Young… Yi Jianlian and rookie Brook Lopez had 16 points apiece for the Nets, who lost their fourth straight after opening the exhibition season with two wins over Miami in Europe… Devin Harris had 13 points and Vince Carter and Maurice Ager added 12 apiece for New Jersey, which trailed by double digits almost the entire second half. Bobby Simmons and rookie Ryan Anderson had 11 points apiece.

Oct 22: Magic 101, Grizzlies 90

The AP reports: Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu each scored 22 points to lead the Orlando Magic to a 101-90 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday night in the final preseason game for both teams. J.J. Redick, competing for time at shooting guard, added 15 as the Magic cruised to their sixth straight preseason win. Reserve Darrell Arthur led Memphis with 18 points. Mike Conley added 13. Magic star Dwight Howard, who played sparingly in the second half, had 11 points and eight rebounds as Orlando showed signs of being ready to improve on its 52-win, Eastern Conference semifinal performance last season.

Jazz waive Lyde and Muoneke

Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has requested waivers on forwards Kevin Lyde and Gabe Muoneke.

Lyde appeared in three preseason contests with the Jazz, averaging 5.3 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10.3 minutes. Muoneke recorded four preseason games as a Jazzman, registering 1.3 points and 0.8 rebounds in 7.5 minutes a game.

The Jazz roster now stands at 16.

Rockets waive Mike Harris

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has waived forward Mike Harris.

Harris (6-6, 240, Rice) averaged 3.3 points and 4.7 rebounds in three preseason games this year. In his rookie NBA season, Harris averaged 3.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 17 games with the Rockets in 2007-08. The former standout at Rice University was also a third-overall selection in the 2006 D-League Draft by Colorado.