Hooped Up

It’s almost official. Allan Houston is coming back and will be attempting to make the Knicks roster in the final weeks of training camp. Isiah Thomas stepped off the practice court this afternoon while the Knicks were finishing up to check on the situation. “I was just inside and I believe he’s possibly coming Friday,” he said. “I don’t know if the contract has been signed yet, but we’re looking forward to having him come. (The deal) is about as done as it can be. I don’t think he’s signed anything yet, but all signals are pointing in that direction.”

Westchester Journal News

Heat coach Pat Riley called out Antoine Walker on his conditioning Wednesday and said the forward might not approach the shape the team desires until January.

“It’s beyond irritating,” Riley said before his team faced Atlanta in an exhibition at AmericanAirlines Arena. “I’m beyond being irritated. I was irritated the first year when I signed him. I was really irritated last year. I’m beyond irritated. I don’t have time to be irritated.”

Riley rarely discusses players’ conditioning status, but said Walker reported to camp earlier this month at 262 pounds and 15 percent body fat. The 6-foot-9 veteran is listed by the team in its media guide at 245 pounds.

Sun-Sentinel 

NBA commissioner David Stern stressed Wednesday that he has not ruled out the possibility of taking punitive action against the New York Knicks or coach Isiah Thomas in the wake of the civil action that reached its conclusion last week.

Stern also revealed that the league will not be firing any more of its referees after interviewing all 60 on staff in an attempt to unearth further conduct violations following the Tim Donaghy betting scandal.

Speaking in London before the Boston Celtics played the Minnesota Timberwolves at the O2 Arena as part of the NBA’s Europe Live tour, Stern reacted angrily to media reports that he is planning no action against the Knicks, team owner James Dolan or Thomas himself.

“Unfortunately, once again the New York Times headline writer said something that didn’t appear in the text of my remarks, and the remarks themselves were badly mangled,” Stern said.

“… What I said then was it was still under consideration, that there were many issues having to do with understanding the transcripts, understanding what exactly the jury did and what role a further appeal should play in considering this. And further, I said that I wanted to discuss this with the [NBA] board of governors.

“The headline said ‘Stern not taking any action,’ but the article will be searched in vain to find me saying that. Now that has been picked up as a fact because it appeared in a New York Times headline.”

ESPN

Former Chicago Bulls star Scottie Pippen plans to end a long-running dispute with his former financial adviser with a $1.5 million court settlement today, his lawyer said.

Pippen had sought more than $20 million from Robert Lunn, a financial guru who at one time had numerous wealthy, well-known clients.

The former Bulls star alleged Lunn steered him to bad investments, failed to account for funds and diverted money to himself. Other former clients also sued Lunn, claiming he looted their investments, loaned their money to friends and associates, and lied about it.

Chicago Sun-Times

Yi Jianlian struggled in his debut with Milwaukee, fouling out after 16 minutes and scoring three points in the Bucks’ 93-88 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.

The sixth overall pick in the draft couldn’t handle the energetic Joakim Noah, who scored six points with four rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes.

“The rules of FIBA and the rules of NBA are different. It takes time for me to deal with this through more training,” Yi said.

There’s been a circus atmosphere around Yi since he arrived to a throng of fans in Chicago last week. General manager Larry Harris said he’s been astonished by the reaction so far.

“One of the things we talked about going into camp before Yi coming here was that the magnitude of this excitement and the intrigue of the player, you can’t really understand it until you go through it,” Harris said. “Our players are adjusting to it well, and they’ve been very supportive. I think even Yi’s amazed.”

Houston Chronicle