NBA Notebook: Tight fit: Shaq tries on 'Stockton shorts' for size

Shaquille O'Neal, who proclaimed he didn't want to wear "John Stockton shorts," squeezed -- barely -- into a pair of Utah Jazz shorts last night in a pregame gag.

O'Neal smiled while tugging the size 32 purple shorts onto his size 54 waist. He couldn't get the waistband over his hips.

"Are these better, Stern?" he said, invoking the name of NBA commissioner David Stern.

O'Neal was among nine players, including Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant, who were fined $5,000 each recently by the league for wearing their shorts too low during games.

An amused O'Neal said he didn't want to wear "John Stockton shorts," referring to the 39-year-old Utah guard who prefers his shorts a lot shorter and tighter than most of the younger players.

O'Neal claimed Stockton sent him the shorts; a Lakers spokesman said someone on Utah's staff did.

Heard pans MJ's comeback

Former Wizards coach Gar Heard said Michael Jordan 's comeback is hurting the team's young players.

"When the season first started everybody thought Michael would be more of a teacher to those guys, but in a sense it's kind of backfired," said Heard, whom Jordan fired less than two weeks after joining the Wizards.

Heard, now an assistant with the Hawks, said 23-year-old Richard Hamilton and 24-year-old Courtney Alexander are the main victims.

Hamilton led Washington last season with 18.1 points a game. Alexander averaged 9.5 points.

This season, the 38-year-old Jordan has been the offensive focus.

"It seems like they've definitely taken a step back," Heard said. "At the end of last season those guys were playing pretty good. Seems like this year they're really struggling. Maybe they're watching Michael too much."

TIP-INS

Rockets star guard Steve Francis, the team's leading scorer at 21 points a game, will be out 4 to 6 weeks because of an injury to his left foot. ... Magic forward Grant Hill was listed as day-to-day after experiencing problems with his surgically repaired ankle. ... Forward Johnny Newman signed with the Mavericks, filling the roster spot created when guard Greg Buckner was placed on the injured list with a sore left knee. The Mavs waived center Ruben Wolkowyski, a former Sonic. ... The Celtics activated forward Eric Williams and put forward Walter McCarty on the injured list with a sprained toe.