In his Sunday column in the Sacramento Bee, Scott Howard-Cooper lookes at the changes in Detroit, the Hornets' possible move from Charlotte, the Kings glut at the point guard position and that it's unlikely Mike Bibby will sign an extension this summer.

Second-round pick Maurice Jeffers is expected to sign, and the final spots for unguaranteed contracts, all longshots to stick, will be decided. Among the possibilities is Mario Bennett, the athletic 6-10 forward who has been with the Suns, Lakers, Bulls, Clippers and in the Continental Basketball Association.

Aileen Voisin in the Sacramento Bee writes: His parents never wanted him to come to America, though not because they disliked the United States, but because they loved their son.
America was too far away. America was another world, foreign in so many ways.

But this was different. This was so different. After being bombarded with horrific images of Tuesday's tragic events, Rahim and Nuriye Turkoglu panicked. They told Hedo that they loved him and feared losing him. They warned that, as a high- profile Muslim, he would be a target for extremists seeking retaliation. They begged him to remain in Istanbul. They begged him to stay home.

And of course Hedo is coming back to Sacramento.

"I tell my parents, 'America will figure out who is bad guy, and who is good guy,'" Turkoglu said on his cellphone late one evening. "I will not have that much problem. I tell them not to be nervous, but yes, they are kind of scared. No one in Turkey can believe this happens. All of Turkish people feel so bad. But am I worried? No, no."

Peter May writes in his Boston Globe Sunday column that when Chris Webber re-signed with the Kings, the contract that was submitted to the NBA for approval was a seven-year deal with an escape clause after Year 5 and with the last two years nonguaranteed. That is almost unheard of in NBA circles, especially for a player of Webber's ilk. The last two years were worth more than $43 million and there was immediate speculation that Webber was victimized by not having an agent.

When the league sent out the contract details to other teams, one Western Conference executive was equally stunned. He quickly called an agent friend and, after a series of calls, the word got to the Webber camp and there was the predictable confusion and disbelief. However, the mistake was quickly fixed and Webber's contract now is guaranteed for all seven years. You can understand Sacramento's willingness to amend the original deal, given that Webber is its best player.

Scott Howard Cooper of the Sacramento Bee writes that recent events bring perspective to what ordinarily would have been a huge story in Washington -- just as this writing takes its proper place -- but does nothing to change the bottom line in NBA terms, or to provide a compelling story line for those who need the distraction of an impending basketball season.

The people who protest that the last thing the NBA needs is to maintain this tie to the past, especially after a playoffs in which the next generation stepped forward, are many of the same fans and media members who will cry in an instant that the talent pool is not big enough and that there aren't enough players with a foundation of fundamentals. So here's not just the best player ever, but someone who maintained that standing in the later years of his career with jump shooting, defense and ballhandling.

He will be playing in Washington, a city that needs a real boost. Little could anyone have imagined when talk of a Jordan return inched closer last week how much that could really mean for the Beltway. Oh, and the Wizards' first game of the regular season? At New York.

Terry Foster of the Detroit News echoes recent sentiments that the trade of Mateen Cleaves to Sacramento was the best move for him. Seems many Detroit writers felt Cleaves never had a chance to succeed as long as he was playing so close to home.

In addition, Foster notes that former Spur Derrick Dial may join the Chicago Bulls, who have interest. He spoke with his hometown Pistons but decided to look elsewhere when Detroit refused to guarantee his contract.

Th AP reports that Turkey and Yugoslavia - led by Sacramento Kings teammates -
 advanced to the finals of the European championships.

 Hidayet Turkoglu scored 23 points and hit the winning layup Saturday as Turkey beat Germany
 79-78 in overtime to gain a place in the title game for the first time.

 Yugoslavia survived a challenge from Spain to win the other semifinal 78-65, with Peja
 Stojakovic scoring 30 points. Spain's Pau Gasol, a center heading to the Memphis Grizzlies this
 year, scored 22 points.

 Yugoslavia, a seven-time champion, will play Turkey for the championship Sunday.