Kevin Garnett, now an NBA veteran among the Minnesota Timberwolves, doesn’t support the league’s new anti-whining policy put in place by the referees. “To the fact that you can’t really speak to the refs, the refs don’t want to hear it. That’s almost like Communism. That’s like Castro.” Quite obviously an exaggeration, but not totally off-course. On a related note, through NBA preseason play so far, you can see a rise in fouls being called. Glancing down box scores, you can see many players with substantially higher foul counts.

Before their preseason game, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics exchanged a couple players. The Cavaliers acquired big man Dwayne Jones and a trade exception for Luke Jackson and some cash.

Josh Howard isn’t getting the Tayshaun Prince-like contract extension he’s after. Although the Dallas Mavericks offered an extension for five years, the deal is close to $20 million short of what he was hoping for.

As a former #1 draft pick, earning a roster spot shouldn’t be a problem. After multiple surgeries, that wasn’t the case for Michael Olowokandi. According to Paul Pierce, the Kandi Man has been working hard to earn a contract with the Boston Celtics, and the team has hinted that he’ll beat out the other big men in training camp for roster spot.

Jay Williams has hardly shined while playing with the New Jersey Nets, but he may make the team after guard Eddie House was told he would need to have surgery on his left meniscus. Williams has acknowledged that he is slower than he was before the motorcycle accident, but hopes he’s a smarter player…

Adonal Foyle may be relegated to a role similar to that of Greg Ostertag. Extremely overpaid already, Foyle is being forced into the realization that he may end up at the end of the bench under new coach Don Nelson. “As a player, you want everything sweet and nice,” Foyle said. “But that’s not the real world.”

The Los Angeles Lakers are in ongoing negotiations to sign Brian Cook to a contract extension. The team would like to keep Cook, since he is one of the rare big shooters in the NBA. The deadline for signing an extension is October 31st.