James owns up to his slump

DALLAS - Give Timberwolves guard Mike James credit. Mired in a slump that would have other pro athletes snarling at reporters' questions or ducking the media entirely, James met it head-on Monday.

By Steve Aschburner, Star Tribune

Last update: November 27, 2006 - 11:04 PM

Interrupting an interview with a Dallas scribe asking about James' decision to bypass the Mavericks and the Houston Rockets to sign with Minnesota, the point guard -- who hadn't scored a point in his two previous games, spanning 45 minutes -- James greeted two Twin Cities writers with a big smile.

"The only thing I can focus on now is these guys' questions about me having two doughnuts in a row," James said, laughing, after the morning shootaround. "I already know what y'all want to talk about. Bring it on! He wants to talk about the summertime stuff, and you want to talk about, hey, 'You should have went to Dallas!' "

It might have been a little whistling past the graveyard, with James averaging only 8.9 points on 33 percent shooting in the Wolves' eight games before Monday night.

Or James truly might be relaxed and upbeat, which probably is his best way of getting out of the slump anyway.

"I'm sure he's keeping it in," coach Dwane Casey said. "He's a tough guy, a proud guy. He's not going to come out and say, 'I can't buy a bucket.' ... But he knows."

Casey is the one facing the tougher challenge: How long to stick with James while he works his way back vs. turning to Troy Hudson or Randy Foye as more productive alternatives.

"Right now, we're trying to win games," Casey said. "It's tough to give up possessions just to get him going. I've tried to go with guys who are rolling."

For the second game in a row, that meant Foye, who took James' spot in the fourth quarter and sparked another near-comeback Monday. Meanwhile, James started strong (10 points in the first quarter) but didn't take a shot in a 10-minute stint in the third.

It's not as if James is shrugging off his responsibility. He just wasn't stressing for an audience.

"Yeah, I'm disappointed in the way I've been playing," he said. "I have nobody to blame but myself. But we're winning. I've got to come out of this ...personal madness, I've got to come out and keep helping my team win games."

James also made a "watch me tonight" statement. Sure enough, he scored seven points in the first 9:27 against Dallas, at which point he drew two early fouls and Foye subbed in for him.

Doing their duty

The Wolves' shootaround Monday morning got started almost a half-hour late because six players had to submit to random drug testing per the NBA's substance-abuse policy.

His inner child

James said he traded text messages with Dallas owner Mark Cuban during the summer, and admitted the exchange got heated. Cuban at one point publicly had questioned James' claimed desire to win in signing with the Wolves. Minnesota did offer him an extra year on his contract.

"Mark Cuban, that's my boy," James said. "He's a Toys 'R' Us kid. He don't want to grow up. He's cooler than the fan. But he's a Toys 'R' Us kid. And I ain't mad at him. He's old, he's wise, he's got a lot of money. But he's a kid at heart."

Steve Aschburner • saschburner@startribune.com

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