The Jazz may still activate their point guard in time for Saturday's game against the Pistons, but that timetable remains tentative, and more tentative by the minute. Coach Jerry Sloan said Thursday that Arroyo will reclaim his starting job once his sprained right ankle is healthy enough to withstand a normal NBA workload, but he strongly hinted that that day could be pushed back to next Tuesday or beyond.

"I would always tend to be cautious at this point," Sloan said. "I wouldn't put anybody out there if I thought one game might set him back."

Part of the reason for the wait-and-see approach is the feeling that Arroyo came back too early from a similar injury last year. Arroyo sprained his left ankle in the Jazz's opener, missed two games, then played in 10 before a recurrence made the pain too great. Arroyo missed eight more games before returning, something the Jazz hope to avoid this time.

Arroyo said Wednesday night that the ankle still bothers him occasionally, but he intended to practice on it to see how the injury responds. That test got put off by a day when Sloan cancelled Thursday's practice in favor of a two-hour session of watching films of the loss to Toronto instead.

," he said. "I think I'm playing pretty well, but I believe if I can bring the same energy to the team if I'm coming off the bench, I'll be just fine."

Sloan said how his rotation at the position might evolve is a mystery to him, too.

"Keith has improved a great deal since we started, so I don't know how that will work out. . . . I probably won't bat 100 percent on that decision," Sloan said. "I've got to see what's going on in the game. That's kind of a gut reaction."

Sloan reacts to Artest

Considering his belief in all-out effort, it's no surprise that Sloan was visibly offended by the news that Pacers forward Ron Artest had asked for time off from basketball because working on his upcoming album had drained him.

"That's what you see in this league a great deal now. It boils down to, do you really want to play?" Sloan said. "Wanting to play should be the No. 1 thing."

Artest was benched by Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for two games for "conduct detrimental to the team." Last season's NBA Defensive Player of the Year admitted Wednesday that he had asked Carlisle for as much as a month off to rest.

"I think I've been doing a little bit too much music and I needed some rest," Artest said, according to the Indianapolis Star. "I've still got the album coming out Nov. 23. After that, I'm going to make sure all my energy is focused on winning a championship."

Sloan said he was especially rankled by the position Artest had put Carlisle in, and that Artest was still paid while not playing. "You're helpless as long as he gets his money. Then the other thing is, if you don't win, you're going to get fired. So you're in a tough situation," Sloan said. "Then the guy comes back when he's ready - do all the players want to play with him? And now he's had his rest, maybe [they think] it's their turn to have a rest. So now what are you going to do?"

Sloan once suspended forward Chris Morris without pay for an attitude the coach considered detrimental to the team, but the NBA Players Association filed a grievance on his behalf. An arbiter ruled in Morris' favor, disillusioning Sloan about the power coaches have to discipline players.

Briefly

Jazz guards Howard Eisley and Gordan Giricek will take part in a groundbreaking today at 2 p.m. for a new basketball court at Taylorsville Recreation Center. The Jazz are contributing to four new courts being built by Clearfield, American Fork and Salt Lake County.

pmiller@sltrib.com