If you’re an NBA assistant coach who’s been quoted in a national magazine referring to one of your former players as “a pussy”, you have a number of options when you’re called on it. You could choose to,

a) repeat the slur
b) deny having said it and/or claim you were quoted out of context
c) ‘fess up and apologize
d) pick none of the above.

Suns assistant Alvin Gentry, who’d previously tutored C Michael Olowakandi (above) while the two were with the Clippers, has chosen “d” writes the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s Steve Aschburner.

In the Oct. 31 issue of Sports Illustrated, Gentry was quoted as having made a derogatory, tasteless remark about the Wolves center. It appeared in a story by writer Jack McCallum, after McCallum spent several days in training camp with the Phoenix coaching staff. He was given liberal access to locker rooms and meetings, and Gentry’s remark — basically challenging Olowokandi’s toughness — came from one of those casual conversations.

Gentry declined to address the matter before Monday night’s game. “You’re going in the wrong direction,” he said in the Suns’ locker room, after drawing up their pregame board. “You’re not going to get me to say anything about that. You’re going to have to formulate that one on your own.”

Olowokandi said he had neither seen nor heard of the comment.

“I’m a little surprised he would say that,” the center said. “He coached me for a couple of seasons, and then everybody went their separate ways. Actually, whenever we’ve played, he has come up to say hello.”