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Ron Artest, the Indiana Pacers' talented but troubled forward, will likely be traded, according to Pacers CEO and president Donnie Walsh. "We plan on trading him," said Walsh.

Now it's just a matter of getting a deal done. Reports are that two-thirds of the NBA teams are interested in Artest's services.

Count the Denver Nuggets among those with interest. Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe called Walsh earlier this week to express interest. Denver's young star Carmelo Anthony told the Rocky Mountain News that Artest is "the type of piece we need."

Walsh has said that if he can't make a suitable trade for Artest, he will leave the former All-Star on the inactive list . . .

Allen Iverson is officially on the radar of Jerry Colangelo, the managing director putting together a preliminary USA Basketball roster to try out for the National Team. Iverson was the leading scorer on the USA team that got the bronze in the Athens Olympics. Iverson said this week that he "would love to play" for Team USA again, according to the Philadelphia Daily News.

Colangelo would like to have 20 players on the initial squad before the team is pared down to 12, plus two alternates. At the same time, he is working on putting together what he has termed a "select" group of "up-and-coming" players, allowing for a better transition to the 2012 Games. That group would likely include some college players . . .

Stan Van Gundy cited family concerns as his reason for stepping down as the Miami Heat coach on Monday. More cynical minds, however, feel Van Gundy was forced out so that Hall of Fame coach Pat Riley could take over.

Count former Heat guard Damon Jones among the cynical. Jones and Riley had some problems with each other last season, so it's not hard to understand why Jones takes Van Gundy's side.

"In my opinion, (Van Gundy) was set up to fail," said Jones, now with the Cavaliers. "The way (Van Gundy) likes to coach the game, he didn't have the personnel to do it. Stan's a great coach."

Riley, who acted as the Heat's general manager, was insulted by Jones comments.

"That's a ludicrous statement," Riley told the Miami Herald. "He's questioning my integrity, and it is absolutely who he is. If he said that, it's a false statement, it's a (expletive) lie, and I want him to come to my face and tell me to my face and not tell (the media). That's what he should do." . . .