New Orleans Hornets guard Peja Stojakovic said Friday that a setback in his rehab from back surgery will further delay his return to the court.

"It got a little sore and stiffer," said Stojakovic, a three-time All-Star who had a disc fragment removed from his lower back Dec. 17. "I'm going to relax a couple days and get some medication and see how it goes."

The Hornets had planned to re-evaluate Stojakovic to see whether he would be able to play Saturday night against the New York Knicks but Stojakovic was unable to go through practice Friday. He started the session by shooting, but said he started to stiffen up when he started running. He worked out with trainers instead of practicing with teammates.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich and Hornets coach Byron Scott shared a dubious distinction when their teams faced each other Wednesday:

According to an NBA source, the league fined their teams $15,000 earlier in the day for published comments the coaches made about players who have not declared their eligibility for the draft.

Popovich's comments ? references to Ohio State center Greg Oden ? appeared in the March 18 Boston Herald. Scott's comments about Oden and Texas freshman Kevin Durant appeared in the March 19 edition of the Oklahoman.

Popovich responded to a question from a Boston Herald reporter about whether it would be fair for the Celtics to land the No. 1 pick in this summer's draft with Oden potentially available because Boston had lost out on the chance to take Tim Duncan in 1997.

"That would be the fair thing, wouldn't it?" Popovich said. "That would be the fairest thing. If they could get him, that would be great. It would mean there is some fairness in an unfair world."

Popovich, who never said Oden's name but was clearly talking about him, then made what seemed to be an off-the-cuff comment about Ohio State's near loss to Xavier that same day. Two other reporters present at the time didn't report the remark.

Bobby Jackson of the Hornets was to miss the club's game Tuesday at Memphis after being placed on the inactive list with a strained right Achilles tendon.

He is considered day-to-day.

Chris Paul, point guard for the Hornets, will need surgery on his left foot after an exam Wednesday revealed a stress reaction, Byron Scott said Thursday.

Paul, however, has been cleared to play in the final 18 games of the regular season, including the team's March 23 game against the Los Angeles Lakers at the New Orleans Arena.

"He's going have to put a screw in there, period," Scott said. "If we did it tomorrow or a month from now, he'll be all right for training camp next year."

Hornets forward Peja Stojakovic went through practice drills with contact Wednesday for the first time since he had back surgery about three months ago.

There was no timetable for when the three-time All-Star would return. He has been out since November.

Stojakovic initially was diagnosed with back spasms, but the Hornets eventually determined he would need surgery to remove a disc fragment from his lower back. He had surgery on Dec. 17.

Hornets guard Chris Paul was diagnosed Wednesday with a stress fracture in his left foot but is not expected to miss any playing time, team officials said.

Hornets general manager Jeff Bower said Paul went to a hospital for a "routine" MRI test following practice, which last season's NBA rookie of the year attended but did not participate in.

Bower said Paul had complained of soreness in his left foot after the Hornets' loss Tuesday night to the Nets. Paul played 38 minutes in the game, finishing with 25 points, 12 assists and six rebounds.

Hornets head coach Byron Scott said if Chris "Birdman" Andersen, who was banned by the NBA for violating the league's anti-drug policy in January 2006, is cleared to return to the league, he would welcome him back to the club.

Andersen, who attended Sunday's game in Oklahoma City, can apply for reinstatement in January.

"If he is cleared by the NBA and everything, I would love to have Birdman back," Scott said. ". . . He was one of my favorites. He's very coachable and played as hard as anybody, and I would love to have him back."

Tyson Chandler makes his return to the United Center on Friday, but is thriving with his new team.

'If this game was the first of the season or something like that, yeah, [that might be the case] because I still had animosity toward being traded,'' he said Thursday. ''But now it's so late in the season that I kind of lost that.

''I'm so happy here that I look back and I'm like, 'Thank you.'''

The New Orleans Hornets raised $22,000 for charity through the auctioning of autographed, red jerseys that the team wore on Valentine's Day.

Proceeds will go to the American Heart Association and Hornets Charities.

Chris Paul's autographed jersey drew the largest bid at $5,550, and David West's drew $3,800. Both were easily higher than bids drawn for autographed All-Star jerseys auctioned off by the NBA. Jerseys from two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash ($2,425) and Gilbert Arenas ($2,275) got the highest bids in those auctions.

"We're thrilled with the response that Hornets fans from across the country had to this auction," Hornets director of corporate communications Michael Thompson said. "The red Valentine's Day jerseys are truly a part of history, and the fact that they outperformed autographed All-Star jerseys from the league's biggest stars speaks volumes about our fans and the unique nature of this memorabilia."

All of the 15 jerseys sold for at least $450, with Desmond Mason ($2,150), Tyson Chandler ($1,625) and Bobby Jackson ($1,500) drawing the most behind leading scorers Paul and West. A jersey signed by injured starter Peja Stojakovic, who did not play, drew $1,075.

The New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets announced today that they have reassigned rookie forward Marcus Vinicius to their NBA Development League affiliate Tulsa 66ers.  

On Jan. 9, Vinicius was assigned to the D-League, but was recalled six days later after suffering a strained right Achilles? in his first game with the 66ers. Before the Jan. 12 injury, he recorded one point and five rebounds in 13 minutes of action at Dakota.

?Marcus has shown a great deal of promise throughout the season on the practice floor,? said Hornets General Manager Jeff Bower.  ?Now that he is once again healthy, assigning him to the D-League will allow him to receive the game experience that is crucial to his development.?