LOS ANGELES — Suspended by the NBA for elbowing Dallas point guard Steve Nash last Thursday night, former Jazz power forward Karl Malone didn't get to say hello as planned to some of his old Utah buddies, including coach Jerry Sloan, when the Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers met Sunday night.

Out of respect for the fact he now plays for another team, Sloan has not spoken directly with new Laker Malone since the 2003-04 NBA season started.

But Sloan has kept in touch regularly with somone else who exited Utah last summer. That would be point guard John Stockton, who spent 19 seasons with the Jazz.

"It's little different situation," Sloan said. "He left, and was not going anywhere except home."

Malone said he, too, speaks regularly with Stockton, who according to The Mailman is "enjoying life" as a retiree in Spokane, Wash. Stockton, Malone added, recently told him this: " 'I think about you a lot. You're really gonna enjoy retirement.' "

That's not all.

Malone: "He (also) said, 'Don't retire right now. But you will enjoy it.' "

As for Sloan, he seemed to not want to be too consumed by the fact Malone was suspended Sunday: "If I'm gonna be worried about Karl Malone," he said after learning of the absence, "I better go coach the Lakers."

KILLING TIME: So what did The Mailman do Sunday, since he was barred from even entering the Staples Center?

Malone said he planned to watch some of his kids in their own games in the morning, then maybe catch a movie and, later, listen to — but not watch — the game.

NICE LINE: From Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times, commenting on the Jazz's 11 victories before Sunday: "What's the big surprise? I predicted (the) Jazz would win about this many." He just didn't predict it would happen by early December.

RUMOR MILL: The New York Post recently floated a rumor suggesting Mark Jackson, the NBA's No. 2 all-time assists man and the Jazz's backup point guard a season ago, is being considered for the head coaching job at his alma mater, St. John's University in New York. Jackson, currently out of the league, is living in Los Angeles.

COACH KILLERS: This from the Tacoma News Tribune in Washington, suggesting Seattle SuperSonics coach Nate McMillan might soon be on the hot seat:

"In reality, the divide was there all along, a hairline crack along a seemingly solid rampart. But the fissure widened and became apparent when the Sonics lost an ugly road game to the Utah Jazz on Nov. 28 — the second consecutive double-digit loss at a time the team looked in complete disarray.

After the game, McMillan was delayed meeting with the media. It was because . . . McMillan stormed about the locker room in an expletive-filled tirade, berating the players in an honest-to-a-fault rebuke that exposed for the first time the organizational divide."

Earlier this season, Orlando fired coach Doc Rivers a few hours following a Delta Center loss to the Jazz.

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E-MAIL: tbuckley@desnews.com