Former superstar and current Philadelphia Sixer power forward Chris Webber wants a trade from the team if his role continues to diminish. “I don’t like this role,” he said. “So, you can take that however you want.” Webber has been averaging just a little more than 10 points and eight rebounds this season.

A few former starters have been demoted to the bench, including Toronto Raptors‘ Morris Peterson and Memphis Grizzlies‘ point guard Damon Stoudamire. Both have been okay with their new role. Stoudamire expressed little concern: “at the end of the day, I’m not too concerned about it. I’m going to play hard.” Damon’s cousin Salim has also had a substantial drop in playing time; Salim averaged the same number of minutes per game last year as he has spent on the floor so far this season.

Houston Rockets‘ head coach Jeff Van Gundy worries about the safety of Yao Ming and other big men in the NBA. Van Gundy complains that the Bruce Bowen issue isn’t nearly the same as the abuse Ming, Shaquille O’Neal and others receive. Currently, O’Neal has played in just about half of his team’s games while complaining about a missing quadriceps muscle. “It seems like they’re dead.”

There are rumors being spread around that Grizzlies’ coach Mike Fratello may not have his job in a couple weeks. Originally suspected to have the support of his team, the Grizzlies have been playing poorly.

As far as college hoops go, O.J. Mayo has signed a letter-of-intent to play for USC. “It’s the perfect opportunity with coach (Tim) Floyd there. He coached in the NBA and knows what it take to reach the league.” Though there probably wasn’t a single team not interested in Mayo, Kansas State and Florida were the other top options.

Meanwhile, #3-ranked Kansas lost to Oral Roberts. Marchello Vealy, who hit his first seven three-point shots, said this of the win:”We wanted to come out and shock the world tonight, and we did it.”