By ANDREW SELIGMAN, pdxguide.com Arvydas Sabonis isn't ruling out a return to the Trail Blazers next season, his Chicago-based agent, Herb Rudoy, said Tuesday. The Euroleague's official Web site reported last week that Sabonis announced he will play for Zalgiris, the team in Kaunas, Lithuania, that he co-owns next seas on. But Rudoy said the center has not made up his mind, that the message got misinterpreted in the translation. Rudoy had not spoken to Sabonis as of Tuesday afternoon, but a colleague in Spain had. "All I know is (Sabonis) told my Spanish partner (Arturo Ortega) that he did not say he's retiring (from the NBA)," Rudoy said. "All he said is at some point he'd like to play in Kaunas." This is another addition to the list of conflicting reports surrounding the Blazers. After the Pistons fired coach Rick Carlisle Saturday, The Detroit News reported that the Blazers had granted permission to the Philadelphia 76ers to talk to Maurice Cheeks. The paper reported that the Blazers will hire Carlisle to replace Cheeks, assuming Cheeks gets the job in Philly. That would complete an unofficial three-way trade of coaches that includes the Pistons' hiring of Larry Brown on Monday. The New York Times also reported Tuesday that the Sixers had permission to talk to Cheeks. "It's wrong, as the Detroit story was," 76ers senior director of communications Karen Frascona said.Portland denied Philadelphia permission to talk to Cheeks last week. That was before the latest reports circulated. As for Sabonis, Rudoy said,"He has not made a decision." That contradicts last week's story by Euroleague.net. The Web site reported that in a surprise speech to the city council of Kaunas, his hometown, Sabonis cited Zalgiris' financial losses as one factor in his decision. "I do not like to be in debt for long, so now ... I feel the time has come, also, for me to contribute directly to the Zalgiris renaissance in Europe," the site quoted him as saying. "So I have pondered well for awhile, and now I can tell you the result: It's time for me to end my time in the Americas. I have to help my dear (Zalgiris) next season by playing on the team." Sabonis last played for Zalgiris in 1989. He returned to the Blazers this season after spending 2001-02 in unofficial retirement, but his wife and four children remained in Spain. He has two option years remaining on a three-year deal. When the season ended, Sabonis said that he was undecided about his future, that he would mull his options this summer. That still seems to be the plan. "I'm sure (a decision is) at least a month away," Rudoy said --

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