It's probably time to revise the long-held presumption that Denver's first move this season has to involve one of its many power forwards.

That's not only because Kenyon Martin's need for a second microfracture procedure and Nene's slow recovery from his own knee tear have actually opened up minutes for Eduardo Najera, Reggie Evans and Joe Smith.

It's more because the Nuggets, according to NBA front-office sources, have made little Earl Boykins more available than anyone else on the roster.

Of course, with Boykins making only $2.95 million this season -- and shooting just 31 percent from the floor amid complaints that he's pounding the ball too much -- he'd have to be packaged with another Nugget or two to be part of any significant swap.

Boykins has one more year on his contract after this one but can opt out of next season's $3 million in July and become a free agent.

Most surprising aspect of the Lakers' start?

This would have to be up there: Vladimir Radmanovic, L.A.'s marquee offseason signing, had zero starts in 18 games entering Friday's play.

Radmanovic's free-agent move from the Clippers to the Lakers has obviously been complicated by a nagging injury in his shooting hand that messed with most of his training camp.

But he still can't get the starting spot he was said to have been promised over the summer. That promise is seen in Clipperland as the clincher that convinced Radmanovic to switch locker rooms at Staples Center, but Luke Walton continues to play his best-ever ball, consigning Radmanovic to reserve status by averaging nearly 12 points and five rebounds nightly while shooting almost 52 percent from the floor and just under 55 percent on 3s.

Hornets coach Byron Scott insists that there's no regret in New Orleans (or Oklahoma City) about parting with J.R. Smith in the trade that landed Tyson Chandler.

Not even with Smith suddenly playing at a much higher level in the Rocky Mountains.

Said Scott: "I'm happy for him. Maybe he learned something last year as far as being a professional, coming ready to play every single night and trying to do it at both ends. Maybe his time with us -- and not understanding all those little things and what he had to do every single day in practice -- maybe that kind of hit home with him and he's got the right idea now."

Hornets guard Chris Paul, quite tight with Smith throughout Smith's clashes with Scott, echoed those sentiments.

"It's not hard to watch 'cause I wish him the most success," Paul said. "Someone interviewed me about him having 36 [points against Chicago] and I told them that won't be his career-high. J.R.'s in a great situation where they really get up and down and he just plays freely. The offense they run may suit J.R. better. It was a better situation for both parties."

Five questions with Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace:

Q: You had four technical fouls after four games and you've had only three in the 15 games since. Have you adjusted to the way refs are handing out Ts now?

A: No, I didn't make no adjustment. It's because the league knows what's coming. They knew the players' union was going to file a grievance [about] that. So they're trying to tone it done themselves now.

Q: You had to serve a one-game suspension last season when you got to 16 technicals. If the refs are indeed backing off, are you less worried about suspensions this season?

A: I don't care about that tech [stuff] at all, man. They can go ahead and do what they do, but I'm still going to do what I do. That's not going to change me.

Q: Thoughts on the new ball?

A: The new ball sucks. Dictator just went on and threw it out there [without] asking guys and testing it. That ball sucks. They had some Spalding guy create quote-unquote microfiber and all that. You got guys who never played the game before who want to change the ball.

Q: You guys have just beaten Dallas after losing to Charlotte and Portland. How do you assess the first quarter of the season?

A: I knew we weren't going to come out and have that big jump like we did last year [37-5]. I know we weren't going to come out like that this year, because we had a couple new additions. It's just a matter of us getting used to each other.

Q: Who misses who more? Does Ben Wallace miss you guys more or do the Pistons miss Ben more?

A: I really don't know. I think it's a mutual thing.

"I don't know, man. It's just been a slow start. We'll be the best conference second half. I'm always an optimist, man."

Toronto's Chris Bosh, when asked to explain the struggles of an East that, as of Friday morning, still had just three teams with winning records and no one in the five-team Atlantic Division better than the Raps at 7-11.

From the Stein Line e-mailbag:

Bradley (Parts Unknown): Isn't it something of a misappropriation for everyone to refer to Kevin Martin as K-Mart? I know it's his first initial and an abbreviated form of his last name. But Kenyon Martin hasn't even been gone for a month and the media has already given away his nickname. Am I the only one who's uncomfortable with this? Can't you guys come up with something different?

Stein: You're absolutely right. I can't control the media at large, but you've inspired this longstanding Kenyon fan. Starting right now, I'm going to crusade against those references. Especially since Kevin Martin has apparently never asked folks to call him K-Mart, even though it's been happening for years.

Reggie Miller this week addressed the natural body-type comparisons in circulation and called Martin a "real mini-me." More of a mini-me, Reg says, than Rip Hamilton ... and, yes, that's a compliment.

Sacramento teammates, meanwhile, are apparently referring to Martin as "Prince," but I really don't see the Artist Formerly Known As Whatever when I look at him.

What's clear is that we've got some work to do. I was originally leaning toward something Reggie-related -- Pocket Reg, perhaps -- but it's probably best to seek some input from Kings fans here. I'll bring it up in Tuesday's SportsNation chat session and see where that takes us.