Each weekday morning, BDL serves up a handful of NBA-related stories to digest with your Pro-Stars.

Jerry Zgoda, Minnesota Star Tribune: "Corey Brewer, one of the Timberwolves' young rebuilding blocks, will miss the rest of the season because of a torn ligament in his right knee suffered in Saturday night's loss to Denver. Brewer, a two-time NCAA champion and the seventh pick overall in 2007, worked all last summer to improve his shot and his game after a disappointing rookie season and told Wolves basketball boss Kevin McHale on Sunday that he was just starting to grow comfortable with the pro game. Now his season has ended after just 15 games. 'I personally feel bad for the kid because I know how much time he put in and how he sacrificed to be a better player,' McHale said. 'And it was just starting to come around for him. It's a setback, and we're just going to have to deal with it. It's not what you want, but he's 22 and he'll bounce back and be fine.'"

Ted Kulfan, Detroit News: "Yes, coach Michael Curry had a message. No, it wasn't for Tayshaun Prince. Irked by speculation regarding Prince's reduced playing time in Sunday's 96-85 loss to Portland, Curry directed his words at the media. 'I thought that was nitpicking,' Curry said. Prince played 22:16 but sat in the fourth quarter. Curry said he was trying to find a combination that could rally the Pistons. 'Tay has been leading us in minutes,' Curry said. 'That's just one game in the midst of trying to find a way to win. He didn't go back in the fourth (quarter). He played eight minutes in the third quarter, and it so happened the way the game was going — you're trying to find a way to win and scramble — he didn't get back in. His minutes were going to be low because the group was playing bad. It wasn't singling Tay out.'"

Jerry Brown, East Valley Tribune: "Two years away from free agency, Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire stood by his comments in a recent ESPN.com article in which he said he has no preference where he plays when it comes time to test the market. 'I don't ever say anything that I regret,' Stoudemire said. 'I'm not that kind of guy.' Stoudemire said in the article that he wants to be the focal point of the Suns and he wasn't sure if new coach Terry Porter's system is a means to that end. [...] 'As a player, you should look at the teams you might want to play for. The city you may want to live in. The system you may want to play in. The economy. The cost of living. Everything. It's about what's best for you.' When told that fans have taken his words to mean he is eyeing a move out of Phoenix, Stoudemire said: "I have no idea. I have no clue. It will play out how it plays out. Nostradamus is long gone, and there is no one else who can predict the future right now. You never know how it ends up.'"

Mark Hale, New York Post: "Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said he can understand Stephon Marbury's scathing criticism of him in yesterday's Post. But D'Antoni denied Marbury's accusation that he never planned to play the point guard and treated him disrespectfully. 'Well, I hate that. Obviously he's in a tough position and I don't think anybody's thrilled with where anybody is, but that's not really true,' D'Antoni said. Marbury also blasted his teammates, saying they have been unsupportive of him during his exile. David Lee, for one, didn't agree with Marbury's claim, though. 'I don't know what to say to that, more than I'm sorry he feels that way and I don't get the impression that we've done that,' Lee said."

Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald: "Doc Rivers was named by the NBA as Eastern Conference Coach of the Month yesterday. Added to the fact he won it the last two months of the 2007-08 season, Rivers became just the third coach since the award’s 1981-82 inception to win it three times in a row (joining Flip Saunders of Detroit and Larry Brown of Philadelphia). [...] The Celts are 17-2 to start the season, and Rivers has always said that individual honors accrue when the team is successful. 'It’s the Ubuntu philosophy,' he said last night. 'We’re all tied to each other. If one guy’s successful, the next guy’s successful and it spreads.'"

Mary Schmitt Boyer, Cleveland Plain Dealer: "Timing is one of rookie J.J. Hickson's strengths on the basketball court. Unfortunately for him, his timing was off just a tad before Saturday's game at Milwaukee. A reporter had just asked Cavs coach Mike Brown about the young forward when Hickson had the misfor tune to walk out of the locker room. With the television cameras rolling, the coach called the player over, threw his arm around him and took advantage of what he would no doubt call a teachable moment. 'They just asked me a question,' Brown said, nodding at reporters. 'They asked me if I'm pleased with what I'm getting from you when you play. What do you think?' Hickson, not entirely sure this wasn't some sort of prank, thought for a moment before replying. 'I think you're pleased with my effort, but sometimes I have mental lapses that you have to get on me sometimes,' he said. 'But I know it's out of love, so I just keep playing.'"

Lance Hornby, Toronto Sun: "Centre Jermaine O'Neal is getting ticked off at the longer than expected wait to get back in the Raptors lineup — and the speculation surrounding his injury. Toronto's big ticket centre, who has missed three games and is questionable tonight against the Nuggets, insists it's an ankle problem that is the main culprit and not his surgically repaired left knee. How the latter joint was going to hold up was the big question mark when the Raptors traded T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and Maceo Baston to get him and the de-activated Nathan Jawai. 'Everybody wants it to be my knee, don't they?,' O'Neal said after watching Sunday's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in street clothes. 'I can guarantee you 99.9% that it's not.'"

Real GM / HoopsWorld: "Eric Musselman, a former coach for the Kings and Warriors, wants to return to the bench of an NBA team in the future. 'I want to coach again without a question. I'm looking forward to getting the right opportunity at the right time and getting back in this thing,' Musselman told HoopsWorld. 'Coaching has been my whole life really.' Just two years after Musselman left Sacramento, he's still involved in the game. He has made scouting trips to schools, and spoken to college teams about what it takes to make it in the NBA."

Ramona Shelburne, LA Daily News: "If there has been one asterisk affixed to the Lakers' blazing 14-1 start, it's that just four of those games have come away from the comforts of the Staples Center. That's what passes for angst in what's has become one of the breeziest starts in Lakers history. But like most issues that have come up for what used to be one of the NBA's most dramatically-bent teams, this one should come to a quick resolution, or solution, as the Lakers leave town for a three-game road trip with stops in Indiana (tonight), Philadelphia on Wednesday and Washington on Friday."

Sam Amick, Sac Bee: "The issue of youth vs. vets resurfaced at Monday's practice and is examined in my piece in today's paper about Mikki Moore being taken out of the starting lineup. But there were some interesting takes from all involved that I saved for the blog, from the views of coach Reggie Theus to Moore to Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes. We'll start with Hawes, who seems to have a pretty good feel for this situation. 'There's a fine line you've got to follow, especially with the situation we're in now where we're playing young vs. playing the vets,' Hawes said. 'It's not something you can figure out overnight. It takes time and going back and forth.'"

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