Around The Rim

Pacers center Rik Smits was in so much pain from damaged nerves on the bottom of both feet that he considered retiring last spring. Then coach Larry Bird hooked him up with physical therapist Dan Dyrek, who has helped Bird with back and elbow woes, and Dyrek's ability to break up scar tissue in the feet has left Smits eager to resume playing. "I'm walking barefoot now, something I haven't done in years," says Smits, 31. "Last week I played on a blacktop, which I hadn't done since college." A free agent, Smits commutes each week from his home in upstate New York to Boston to see Dyrek at his own expense. (The lockout prohibits Indiana from paying for the treatments.)...

Free agent Scottie Pippen's rehabilitation from back surgery includes up to three miles a day on the treadmill but no basketball workouts yet. Pippen continues to tell friends he is pessimistic about remaining in a Bulls uniform....

Word is that Lakers owner Jerry Buss finally came to his senses and plans to give executive vice president of basketball operations Jerry West a raise....

Sources in Cleveland say the Cavs were poised to make a run at free agent LaPhonso Ellis before the lockout hit.