"I got my ring," Okur beamed.

It's an absurdly bejeweled hunk of gold and diamond, one square inch on its face with the NBA championship trophy and the word "Pistons" spelled out in gemstones. The pound-and-a-half ring says "Okur" with his number 13 and "The Right Way" - Detroit's motto during the title run - on one side, spelled out in white gold. The other side says Detroit 4, Los Angeles 1, which was the NBA Finals score. Total value: roughly $10,000.

"It's awesome," admired teammate Jarron Collins. "I want one of those."

Okur was under the impression that the Pistons would present his championship ring during the Jazz's visit there in March, and that might have been the original plan. But after someone in Detroit's front office overnighted the ring to him this week, Pistons vice president of basketball operations John Hammond called Okur to apologize for the mixup.

Not that Okur minded. "I was shocked. But I felt excited" when he opened it, the Turkish center said. "It's big. It's heavy. It's sweet, real sweet."

He brought it to the Delta Center on Wednesday night and showed it off in the locker room. Okur plans to display the ring somewhere, though he's not sure where. "I'm not going to wear it," he said. "I might lose it."

His immediate plans are to add to his collection, Okur said. "Maybe in a year or two here, maybe we'll get one."

Arroyo set to practice

Carlos Arroyo's ankle still hurts occasionally, but he plans to return to practice today for the first time since badly spraining it in New York on Oct. 28.

"I need to get back on the floor with the guys and get a feeling for the game, test it out a little bit," Arroyo said before sitting out his fifth game with the injury. "Sometimes it feels better than others. There are times when it still bothers me."

Arroyo said he plans to play against the Pistons on Saturday, but only if he gets through two full practices today and Friday. "I don't want to rush it, but I'm going to do my best," he said.

Arroyo's return will require the Jazz to put somebody on the injured list for a minimum of five games.

Briefly

When Larry Miller told an ESPN reporter that Karl Malone could come back and play for the Jazz if he wants to pursue Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's career scoring record, "that got taken out of context," the Jazz owner said Wednesday. "I meant that there would be nothing in our relationship to prevent it." But Miller said such a scenario is not a realistic possibility.