Editor's note: As part of "The Stein Line" every Monday, senior NBA writer Marc Stein takes you around the league for the latest news in "Coast to Coast."

	McGrady

	Hill

Mike Miller, meanwhile, insists there's more to come, seeing as though Miller has yet to regularly join McGrady and Hill in Doc Rivers' dream lineup. As the Magic tries to work Hill into a rhythm, Rivers is asking Miller to come off the bench, often to stand in for Hill as T-Mac's sidekick. Rivers has been drooling for more than a year about playing all three of his 6-foot-8ish swingmen, as Orlando's counter to its lack of beef, but they're not going to rush it with Hill still generating plenty of panic.

"We're all excited," Miller said. "We haven't been healthy in the past and now we are. Let's see what we can do with it. But we can talk about (the three-man game) all we want. Until we go out there and execute it and make it look real good, there's really no reason to talk about it. If we can get up and down the court and not even let the (other team) set up, I think we're better than we are when we go to the set-up offense anyway."

... Or is it Miller's time to be traded?

	Miller

Oh, yeah. About that summer of trade rumors, Mr. Miller? Ask him and you get the standard "that's the NBA lifestyle" response from 2001's Rookie of the Year. Team personnel, not taking that answer for granted, have been playing up the compliment angle just to make sure Miller hasn't been stung by the constant speculation that he'll eventually be moved to help Orlando land some dependable size. As in: It's a compliment, Mike, to have your name associated with other teams. Of course, if Miller is Orlando's Hill insurance as well as T-Mac's pal from all those commercials, he might not be as available as the rumor circuit suggests. "Things are going to happen," Miller said. "Hopefully I stay here for a long time."

He's the Manu on defense

	Ginobili

Billed as a rim-attacking offensive spark for the occasionally ponderous Spurs, Manu Ginobili instead won his first NBA game with defense last Wednesday -- four steals in 20 minutes, the fourth a key strip of Kobe Bryant, to seal a victory on the thrice-defending champions' home floor. So, yeah. The 25-year-old from Argentina can play at both ends. Turns out Ginobili and former Italian League teammate Marko Jaric (now of the Clippers) are pretty solid perimeter defenders, having been schooled on D at Kinder Bologna by famed coach Ettore Messina.

"The first time I saw him after we drafted him, he was playing for Reggio Calabrio against Milano," said Spurs general manager R.C. Buford. "Their team defense was so bad and he was the worst defender in the group. Once he went to Bologna, he became as good a defender as there is in Europe and his defense is an asset rather than a liability." Apparently so.

Cavs' Z off on the right foot

	Ilgauskas

For happier feet than Grant Hill's, we go to … Cleveland? That's the team whose oft-injured center, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, began the new season with a game-winning jumper in L.A. against the Clippers and a 22-rebound game in Phoenix on Friday night. Head coach John Lucas, back from suspension now, continues to push Ilgauskas, though, just like Gregg Popovich does in San Antonio with Tim Duncan. "Z needs to be our McGrady, our Baron Davis," Luke said, "and he hasn't been healthy enough."

With Cuban, governors definitely not bored

	Cuban

More than a month has passed since teams reconvened for the season and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban hasn't personally been fined a cent. That's not to say he and commissioner David Stern haven't tangled -- and we don't mean strictly over the Nelsons-in-Yugoslavia flap.

Seems that at the recent Board of Governors session in New York, Stern could be heard screeching at Cuban in a heated debate about Cuban's full-court press for more data on the luxury tax, among other topics. Pistons owner Bill Davidson and the Suns' Jerry Colangelo took it a step further on behalf of the old guard, blasting Cuban for not being more of a partner with fellow owners. Which eventually led to an about-face from Stern, who wound up standing up for Cuban's contributions to calm tensions.

Cuban isn't saying much about the exchanges, but he's also not complaining about the discord after criticizing the league in the past for a lack of open-floor discussion at BOG sessions. "I thought it was a great meeting," Cuban said. "Several owners told me it was the best Board of Governors meeting they had ever been to." As for the two-game suspensions to Don and Donnie Nelson and $150,000 team fine for illegal contact with draft-ineligible players in Belgrade, the Mavericks are still steamed about the severity of the punishments. Dallas continues to insist that its conduct, while punishable, didn't merit the same sentence as for Lucas having LeBron James in the Cavaliers' practice facility for a pick-up game. The league office was unmoved by the protests; apparently, to the contrary, there was some sentiment to penalize Dallas harder than Cleveland. You can bank on the next offending team getting a stiffer penalty for any interaction with players under 18.

Marc Stein is the senior NBA writer for ESPN.com. E-mail him at marc.stein@espn3.com.