Dick Heller of the Washington Times asks whether Michael Jordan will return or not. ?It isn't fair to anybody to keep people guessing, least of all your friend Doug Collins,? he writes. ?There is no way Collins can get the Wizards properly structured and prepared without knowing Michael Jordan's intentions. If you choose to believe that Michael is meditating in a dark room about whether his aching knees can survive another season, that's your privilege. I think he's simply biding his time to make the most dramatic entrance possible.?

Heller adds that there is nothing Collins can do or say to Michael about the situation. Collins may be Jordan?s coach, but Jordan hired Collins. And once Jordan re-re-re-retires, he will go back to being Collins? boss.

When Joe DiMaggio quit baseball in 1951 at the age of 37, the writers alertly asked him why. "Because I couldn't be Joe DiMaggio anymore," replied the Yankee Clipper, trading modesty for candor.

Think about that, Mike ? and for heaven's sakes make up your mind.

Tim Buckley of the Desert News gives us the Jazz rebuttal to comments made by agent Dwight Manley. Manley, who is the agent for Utah forward Karl Malone and free agents Donyell Marshall and Bryon Russell, blasted the Jazz for their handling of Russell and Marshall?s free agent negotiations.

"Dwight has his own opinion," said Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's vice-president of basketball operations. "Whatever opinion he has is his own. "If he had something to say to me," O'Connor added, "he should have called me himself."

With their backs against the luxury tax limit, the Jazz informed Manley that Russell would not be offered a contract this summer. It also appears that the Jazz recently refused a sign and trade offer for Russell. Multiple sources said Saturday that the Jazz turned down an offer from Michael Jordan's Washington Wizards to swap veteran swingman Hubert Davis guard Tyronn Lue for Russell.

If the Jazz want to remain under the tax limit, they would probably not be able to offer a deal to Marshall and accept more salary in a sign and trade for Russell. Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings have emerged as a suitor for Marshall. A Sacramento Kings front-office official would neither confirm nor deny his team's interest in Marshall on Saturday, but their president, Geoff Petrie, suggested that inquiring about another team?s free agent is not unusual.  

"Standard operating procedure is to at least call people and see what they are doing," and it's safe to assume Sacramento did just that with several of the league's top free agents, Petrie told the Sacramento Bee. "But a lot of guys," said Petrie, who was speaking generally and did not identify Manley by name, "run around after you talk to them and use that to try to get what they want from other teams."

John N. Mitchell of the Washington Times suggests that Richard Hamilton should wait for an extension on his rookie contract. Hamilton is coming off a career best season where he averaged 20 points per game and has stated that he wants to be involved in the rebuilding process. He has certainly positioned himself to be eligible for a big-money extension this summer, so why make him wait?

Cap room.

If the Wizards give Hamilton his extension now, the Wizards' blockbuster trade to remove the stranglehold Juwan Howard's contract had on the franchise, as well as the buyouts of the over-inflated contracts of Mitch Richmond and Rod Strickland, will have been for naught.

Mitchell writes that it has become clear that the Wizards were not focusing on the pursuit of one-time free agents Vince Carter and Paul Pierce last summer. Rather, the space the Wizards have spent the last two seasons sweeping away is for the purpose of making a run at top-tier players like Tim Duncan and Jason Kidd, the gemstones of the 2003 free-agent class. If Hamilton waits for the Wizards to re-sign him next season rather than insisting upon having his deal done this summer, the Wizards will find themselves in a win-win situation.

By waiting until next summer to extend Hamilton, the Wizards will be able to use the $10 to $12 million in cap room to entice a big name free agent to sign on. After the cap room is extinguished, then re-signing Hamilton should be a priority.

"I think it's a no-brainer [to hold off on signing Hamilton]," said an NBA source with knowledge of the situation. "Their front office has done an excellent job. They've brought in some very good young talent, players that have value. Now they need that legitimate superstar player to make it all come together."

Kyle Ringo of the Rocky Mountain News reports that the Nuggets want to make a few changes. They are looking to trade James Posey and sign Cleveland free agent Ricky Davis.

The Nuggets are still looking for a trade partner to take Posey. They were close to trading him to Washington before the draft, but the Wizards backed out when the Nuggets asked for too much in return.

A source said that Denver has discussed deals with several teams and even Washington has sowed renewed interest. Trading Posey makes sense if the Nuggets are actually targeting swingman Ricky Davis. Denver general manager Kiki Vandeweghe denied trying to trade Posey, but when asked Thursday if the Nuggets were pursuing Davis, he admitted they are interested.

"He's a very good player," Vandeweghe said.

Davis is a restricted free agent, meaning that the Cavaliers can match any offer from any other team. If the Nuggets were to sign Davis to an offer sheet, they Cavs could match the offer and steal him from Denver.

The teams could work a sign and trade deal instead, which would allow Denver to get Davis and Cleveland to get some compensation in return. Davis could start for Denver at shooting guard, where Posey is scheduled to play. It is unlikely he would start at small forward if he came to Denver because the Nuggets are hoping to give rookie Nikoloz Tskitishvili the bulk of the playing time there to speed his development.

The Washington Wizards are very close to closing out a multiyear deal with free agent shooting guard Larry Hughes, Washington Post writer Steve Wyche is reporting.  Hughes, the ex-Sixer and Warrior, could sign a six year contract with the team as early as Thursday and would have a starting salary of $4.5 million.

The Wizards have been trying to land a big point guard to team with Tyronn Lue, Chris Whitney and rookie Juan Dixon.  Hughes is expected to start along side Richard Hamilton next season.

'With Hughes, the Wizards might trade Lue or Whitney, whose contracts expire or could be terminated at the end of the season. Veteran Hubert Davis also could be dealt, although the Wizards don't appear eager to move one of the most accurate three-point shooters in the league,' writes Wyche.

Hughes, along with Chauncey Billups (signed with Detroit) and Deavan George, was at the top of the Wizards wish list.

Updated: Steve Wyche of the Washington Post is now reporting that the deal is now believed to be a three year contract with a starting salary of $4.5 million, not the six year deal that was originally reported.

Michael Jordan, who last season played small forward for the Wizards, maintains that he hopes to play out his contract backing up Richard Hamilton but has left open the possibility of retirement based on how his body responds to offseason training.

With only rookie Jared Jeffries and second year forward Bobby Simmons the only small forwards under contract, neither of which may be suited to starting, Wyche believes there is a chance the Wizards may revisit trade discussions with Orlando and Denver for fowards Mike Miller and James Posey respectively.  The team owns the bird rights to both Popeye Jones and small forward Tyrone Nesby, meaning that despite the team using their whole mid-level exception on Hughes they still have the ability to exceed the cap to sign both players should they wish.

The Associated Press reports: First-round draft choice Juan Dixon, who led Maryland to the NCAA championship, signed a contract Thursday with the Washington Wizards.

Dixon, a guard who was the 17th overall selection in last month's NBA draft, approved a deal that will pay him $3.15 million over three years under the collective bargaining agreement. He also has an option for a fourth year at $1.73 million.

"I'm excited. I've been ready to get things started," Dixon said. " I'm just trying to learn as much as possible, and I have a lot of great people to learn from."

Dixon is the second of the Wizards' first-round draft picks to sign in two days. Forward Jared Jeffries, the 11th pick in the draft, signed Wednesday and was at practice Thursday.

Jerry Brewer of the Orlando Sentinel reports: Orlando Magic center Patrick Ewing has begun exploring the possibility of a coaching career.

In the past two days, Ewing has had conversations with NBA teams including the New York Knicks and the Washington Wizards about becoming an assistant coach, multiple league sources say.

The conversations are believed to be preliminary. But for the first time, the former longtime Knicks center and 11-time all-star is seriously thinking about life after playing basketball.

Neither Ewing nor his agent, David Falk, could be reached for comment.

The Magic have received no official word on whether or not Ewing plans to play out the final year of his contract.

In the end, look for Ewing to call if a career.

Duff Durkin of the Washington Times reports that Jarred Jeffries knew what he wanted to do this summer. As soon as he was drafted by the Wizards in last months draft, he wanted to sign immediately and start working towards his rookie campaign.

And that?s what he did.

As the 11th pick in the draft, Jeffries signed a 3-year, $5.1 million contract with a 4th year team option worth $2.4 million. "It was very important to get this done. Jared wanted to get into town and get familiar with the coaching staff and get off to a good start," said Jeffries' agent, Andy Miller. "The summer league is important in the process he wanted to get in early and focus on the league."

 "We are very excited to have Jared be a part of the Wizards," general manager Wes Unseld said in a statement. "He is a quality player that will bring a lot to our team as our young nucleus matures."

Roman Modrowski of the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Bulls are talking to Danny Manning. Bulls operations chief Jerry Krause said he was looking for a veteran inside presence to help mentor Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry, and the 14-year vet Manning would seem to be a good fit.

''One of the main reasons we're bringing some guys in for visits is to conduct physicals, because a lot of the guys we're looking at are far along in their careers,'' said Krause, who wouldn't confirm Manning's visit. ''But as far as visits, a lot of the guys we're looking at already know us.''

The Bulls have also reportedly talked to Matt Harpring's agent and are discussing bringing in Washington's Popeye Jones, Denver's Scott Williams and Houston's Kevin Willis. The Lakers Devean George is also a reported target of the Bulls.

The Orlando Sentinel reported the Bulls and Magic have discussed a trade involving Mike Miller, but Krause apparently doesn't want to part with Jamal Crawford. Marcus Fizer also has been discussed in trade talks.

Jeff Passan of the Washington Post reports:The Washington Wizards are going to have plenty of company in their effort to re-sign unrestricted free agent power forward Popeye Jones.

At least six teams have expressed interest in Jones, including the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, the Chicago Bulls and the New York Knicks, a source said. While Jones spent yesterday in Vancouver watching one of his sons play in a hockey tournament, serious talks between Jones and interested parties, including the Wizards, are expected to begin later this week.

Jones would like to re-sign with the Wizards and could decide by the end of next week where he will play next season, the source said. Although teams are free to court and negotiate with players, deals cannot become official until July 17.

The source said it will likely take a multiyear deal to lock up Jones, 32, who wants to establish a permanent residency after his family lived in Denver last season.