Riley on Loss of Porter
"It seems to be a very good disease around here for a lot of players that come in for one year. They come down here, they have a good year, and then they high-tail it somewhere else. I can understand Terry making the decision. I'm very disappointed, and I think a lot of our players are."

Riley on Signing Thorpe
"By acquiring Otis Thorpe, we have taken care of our first priority by fortifying our front line. Last year, our rebounding was one of the primary reasons we did not advance. We had to rectify it. In Otis Thorpe, we have a quality power forward-center who can rebound, defend and score."

Ainge on Signing Penny
"Two years ago, we couldn't even have thought about making this trade. It was the same when we traded for Jason. If we had tried to make that deal two years earlier, we would have had to give up our whole franchise.

Riley on $2 Million Exception
"That $2 million exception is a very delicate situation for us because it is the only way on a regular basic that we can improve our teams with free agents in the open market. I doubt very much that I would ever offer the $2 million exception to one of our players who is a free agent. We need that $2 million exception to be able to go out and sign players who have quality."

Iverson on Being Benched
"For some reason, my style doesn't fit this team anymore," Iverson said. "Something's got to give. I've been through trade rumors with this guy, everything. I don't like what's going on. If my style is hurting this team, I need to get out of here."

Christian Laettner on Being Benched
The Pistons' Christian Laettner blasted the coaches last week when Detroit lost to the Suns despite a season-high 26 points from the former Duke star. "If you have something going, stick with it," said Laettner, blaming the coaching staff. "It seems you have to start yelling and barking your name for you to get some plays called for you. We were unorganized out there."