NBA Capsules: Spurs finally sign 2007 draft pick Splitter
SAN ANTONIO — The San Antonio Spurs didn’t shop the blockbuster free-agent market for their big summer addition.
Instead, they finally cashed in on their 2007 draft.
The Spurs signed Spain center Tiago Splitter on Monday, three years after San Antonio picked the heralded 6-foot-11 Brazilian star whose expectations will likely be as high as any Spurs newcomer in recent years.
“We’re very fortunate to be adding one of the best players not playing in the NBA,” Spurs general manager R.C. Buford said before introducing Splitter.
But Buford also sought to make Splitter’s impact realistic.
The 25-year-old was MVP of both the Spanish League regular season and finals while leading Caja Laboral Vitoria to a second championship, averaging 15.4 points and 7.1 rebounds. He has widely been regarded as one of Europe’s best big men.
But the 235-pound Splitter still has room to grow physically. And in a franchise built by David Robinson and Tim Duncan, the bar for big men in San Antonio is high as anywhere in the NBA.
“We’ve been fortunate to have two pretty good bigs through here the last 20 years,” Buford said. “I’m hoping that people will let him become his own player as opposed to have the expectations of our previous centers.”
The Spurs, though, are counting on Splitter to contribute right away. San Antonio let go one disappointing big man this summer in Ian Mahinmi, the 6-11 center from France who struggled to develop after the Spurs made him a late first-round pick in 2005.
Splitter, the 28th overall pick in 2007, idolized Duncan growing up. He said he wasn’t ready to play in the NBA until now.
Splitter — who wore No. 21 in Europe because of Duncan — characterized his game as running the floor quickly for a player of his size. He also said he likes to play the pick-and-roll offense run by the Spurs.
“I really decided that I wanted to come here,” Splitter said. “I stayed more time in Europe to improve my game a lot. It was the right time at the right moment.”
Finally bringing Splitter aboard was an offseason target for the Spurs after being swept by Phoenix in the Western Conference semifinals. San Antonio hasn’t drastically changed its roster since, apart from swingman Richard Jefferson opting out of his deal for free agency.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Splitter didn’t appear lured by an immediate NBA payday. The most the Spurs could offer Splitter this season was their midlevel exception, around $5.8 million, whereas his Spanish club could have offered him more.
“If I stayed in Spain I could have made more money,” Splitter said. “But this is my moment.”
Stern says Miami’s Big 3 acted within rights
NBA commissioner David Stern congratulated LeBron James on his decision. He just wishes it came without “The Decision.”
Stern said Monday he would have advised James to tell the Cleveland Cavaliers of his choice to leave for the Miami Heat earlier than he did, and that the two-time MVP’s public announcement shouldn’t have come in a made-for-television special that attracted nearly 10 million viewers.
The commissioner said James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh violated no league rules in discussing free agency among themselves, and that the league isn’t investigating how the Heat managed to land all three. That doesn’t mean Stern didn’t take issue with certain elements of free agency, particularly James’ decision to say he was leaving Cleveland on ESPN.
“The advice that he received on this was poor,” Stern said after NBA owners met in Las Vegas. “The performance was fine. His honesty and his integrity, I think, shined through. But this decision was ill-conceived.”
Meanwhile, Stern also took action against Cleveland owner Dan Gilbert, fining him $100,000 for words that the commissioner described as “a little bit extreme.”
Gilbert released a sharp-tongued statement shortly after James’ announcement last Thursday, calling it “narcissistic” and “cowardly behavior.” Later, Gilbert told The Associated Press in a phone interview that he felt James quit on the Cavs during the playoffs the past two years.
Even Rev. Jesse Jackson received a rebuke of sorts from Stern.
Jackson responded to Gilbert’s remarks on Sunday by saying the Cavs owner sees James as a “runaway slave” and that Gilbert’s comments put the player in danger. “He speaks as an owner of LeBron and not the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers,” Jackson said in a release from his Chicago-based civil-rights group.
Stern said Jackson is a friend and ally to the league, but as with Gilbert, felt the reaction simply went too far.
“However well-meaning Jesse may be in the premise on this one, he is, as he rarely is, mistaken,” Stern said. “And I would have told him so had he called me before he issued his statement, rather than this morning. But he is a good friend of the NBA and our players. Has worked arduously on many good causes and we work together in many matters.”
James, Wade and Bosh all decided last week to play together in Miami, working out six-year deals after talking with each other at times throughout the free-agent process. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said Sunday he wanted the NBA to examine how all three joined the same team.
But in the Monday meeting of the league’s Board of Governors, no formal complaints were levied, Stern said.
“Our players, having negotiated for the right to be free agents at some point in their career, are totally within their rights to seek employment with any other team,” Stern said. “That’s something we agreed to. That’s something we embrace. That’s our system.”
Further, Stern said James was “entitled” to make his move to South Florida. He also congratulated Miami for its free-agent approach.
“Miami did a pretty good job of clearing out cap space and putting together a plan,” Stern said.
One representative from each team met with Stern and NBA officials on Monday, where other conversations besides free agency included an update on the league’s labor deal, negotiations with the players’ association, and revenue sharing. Owners want a “much revised” system, Stern reiterated, while saying the union would like the present system to remain largely intact.
“Our finances are what they are,” said Stern, who added that the league lost about $370 million this past season.
The league will contact the union later this summer, “to continue our dialogue,” Stern said. The current collective bargaining agreement is set to expire at the end of the 2010-11 season, and a lockout is possible on July 1.
“We are very anxious to make an agreement,” Stern said.
-- Tim Reynolds
Knicks still have cap space, but future is now
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — No more talk about next summer. Forget about the Knicks’ cap space and potential free agents, too.
Team president Donnie Walsh wants to talk about the players on his improved roster right now.
New York introduced new arrivals Raymond Felton, Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike and Ronny Turiaf on Monday. Not quite the same as showing off LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. But Walsh insisted that adding this group to the Knicks’ one big acquisition, Amare Stoudemire, puts the club in position to compete in the present.
“This is a different conversation than I had with you guys two years ago,” Walsh told reporters. “So when you finish this, don’t go out and say a name, and then for two years or one year we’re all focussed on that one name. The guys that I’m bringing here now are meant to come here and stay here. They’re the kind of players you’d want even if you did have the cap flexibility to go out and get another player.
“So it isn’t like everyone should be looking over their shoulder. I think the days of just basically making deals to get rid of cap space are for the most part over.”
For two years, the Knicks piled up losses as they shed salaries to free up enough cap room to make a run at James this summer. That didn’t pan out, of course, and now the pressure is on to start winning after nine consecutive losing seasons.
Then again, winning also could make the Knicks a more attractive destination for a marquee free agent next summer.
“If you’re a good team, you have a good record and you have cap space, and there’s a great player out there, then maybe he’d think about coming here,” Walsh said.
James’ decision to join Wade and Bosh in Miami certainly suggested that. Walsh acknowledged conventional wisdom in the NBA is changing after three established stars chose the same franchise.
“It’s something new to me,” he said. “It probably is born out of the ages. These guys have been playing against each other in AAU. They pick their AAU team, so why not pick their pro team?”
It doesn’t seem so bad when they all pick your team. As Walsh joked, “I just want them to all say they want to play in New York.”
Randolph, who turns 21 on Thursday, could have the most impact on how attractive the Knicks look in a year. They acquired the 6-foot-10 forward along with Azubuike and Turiaf in last week’s sign-and-trade deal that sent David Lee to Golden State.
The No. 14 pick in the 2008 draft played just 19.6 minutes per game in two seasons with Golden State, averaging 9.2 points and 6.0 rebounds while he struggled to fit into coach Don Nelson’s system.
Asked about his relationship with Nelson, Randolph smiled and mulled his answer for a few moments.
“It was just a situation where I think he wanted me to be a certain type of player and do certain things a certain way, and I did to the best of my ability,” he said carefully. “But I think (Knicks) coach (Mike) D’Antoni is the best situation for me as far as a coach that is just going to roll the ball out there and let me go out there and play and show the many things I can do on the basketball court.”
Asked why Randolph was inconsistent with the Warriors, Walsh said, “Age, youth, playing time, all of the above.”
Randolph said he’s up to 230 pounds — he has gained more than 30 since he was drafted. Walsh said he worried two years ago that the forward might never be strong enough to play in the NBA, but Randolph has proved him wrong.
“This is the perfect time for us to get him,” Walsh said. “He’s got a chance to be a high-level player.”
Randolph said he could envision himself sharing the court with Stoudemire.
“I think it would be a beautiful thing,” he said. “Amare is a great low-post player, someone who demands a lot of attention. Just that alone is going to elevate my game, because you have to focus on Amare.”
Felton also believes D’Antoni’s style fits him better than that of his old coach — in this case, Larry Brown, whom he played for in Charlotte before signing with the Knicks as a free agent. The point guard averaged 12.1 points and 5.6 assists last season.
“My style of game, getting the ball down the court, using my speed, using my quickness to make things happen on the offensive end — it’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said. “That’s what (D’Antoni) loves to do, get the ball and go.”
The Knicks also are set to add 7-foot-1 Russian center Timofey Mozgov. Walsh said he’s a typical European big man, versatile but needing to improve his low-post skills.
Walsh said his roster will give the Knicks the flexibility to play big and small, and NBA teams need to be able to do both to win.
“After we got Amare and that part of free agency ended,” he said, “I wanted to make sure we could build the team into a team that fit together and made sense.”
-- Rachel Cohen
Rod Thorn looks for GM in last week with the Nets
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Rod Thorn isn’t cleaning out his office in his final week as the New Jersey Nets president and general manager.
The 69-year-old executive was hard at work Monday. He wants to find a new GM and sign a power forward, if a good one is out there at the right price.
Thorn also says he is not retiring and he’s not bitter. So if someone has a front office NBA job or television gig, give him a call. He’s interested.
Thorn insists new owner Mikhail Prokhorov did not force him out after a 10-year stint that included two trips to the NBA finals and an enjoyable but disappointing last foray into a free agency market featuring LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
“The real story is it’s time,” Thorn said Monday of his pending departure. “I got along great with Mr. Prokhorov and his people, no problem with any of them. I like his forecast for what he wants to do. It’s just time. I have been thinking about it for a couple of years and I just think it’s time. Sometimes you go along and your time just runs out. To me, I felt my time was up here.”
Thorn was relaxed talking about his decade in New Jersey. His voice was cheerful and he laughed a lot, noting he feels great.
Where he goes from here, even he doesn’t know.
“If someone is interested in talking to me about what I am doing now, I would be willing to talk or if it’s in another capacity I would be certainly willing to do that, too,” he said with the latter referring to television work.
Thorn knows nothing may pop up.
“Then it’s retirement, I guess,” he said.
Thorn doesn’t sound like a man who is ready to walk away from the game to play golf or a little poker on weekends. He worked incredible hours for weeks getting the Nets ready to make their free agency pitch in late June and early July, while at the same time, hiring Avery Johnson to be the team’s next coach.
And it just wasn’t one pitch. The Nets meet with James, Wade and Bosh on the opening day of free agency. He talked with agents for power forwards Carlos Boozer and David Lee while negotiating with others in what easily was the best free agency marketplace in years.
“You knew it was going to be hectic and it was,” Thorn said. “To me it was a lot of fun because we got to tell our story to some of the top players. We felt we had some kind of chance. As it turned out, we did not get chosen. But those are the fun times, around the drafts and around when you are trying to sell whatever you are trying to sell to players. Those are the fun times as far as I am concerned.”
Coming off a franchise worst 12-70 season, the Nets were shutout out in signing big-name free agents. They eventually reached agreements with small forward Travis Outlaw, backup center Johan Petro and point guard Jordan Farmar while extending an offer sheet to shooting guard Anthony Morrow.
“We increased our talent pool,” Thorn said. “We are very young. All the players we are in the process of signing are very young players that have the ability to get better together.”
The Nets also have the ability to offer a max contract to a power forward, but most of the good ones have signed.
“If you dropped a great player in to the pieces we have now, then you are going to have a pretty good team.”
That’s how Thorn started out with the Nets.
Coming from the NBA offices, he engineered the trade that brought Jason Kidd to New Jersey to play with Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson. It instantly turned the Nets into a contender as they made the finals in 2002 and 2003, losing to the Lakers and Spurs, respectively.
After Martin was dealt to Denver, Thorn replenished the talent pool by trading for Vince Carter. However, it wasn’t enough to get New Jersey back to the finals. Eventually, Thorn traded away his stars to clear cap space for this year’s free agency. New Jersey had more than $30 million to spent, but they could not persuade the league’s best to join them.
“It’s been a great 10 years from my perspective,” Thorn said. “Obviously our team was, starting in my second year, we were really good for the biggest part of it. The last couple of years we weren’t very good. I’m leaving with nothing but fond memories of my time here and wish the Nets nothing but good luck.”
-- Tom Canavan
Haslem staying put, agrees to deal with Heat
MIAMI — Add Udonis Haslem to the list of players taking less money to play for the Miami Heat next season.
Haslem signed a five-year deal Monday worth around $20 million, roughly $14 million less than he could have received if he accepted more lucrative offers from the Dallas Mavericks and Denver Nuggets.
LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh all took less money in their Heat deals last week to allow Miami the flexibility to sign certain players, and Haslem — Wade’s teammate for all seven of their pro seasons — was at the top of their collective wish list.
“This is a combination of having a great opportunity to win, which is why we play this game, and an opportunity to still stay close to my family and be with my mother,” said Haslem, whose mother has been ill for some time. “And also, the opportunity to be a part of something special. We all play this game to win. I’ve never been a person driven by money.”
Counting what James, Wade and Bosh elected to forego in their deals, Heat players have now signed for more than $60 million less than what they could have commanded under the collective bargaining agreement.
“He is the epitome of what the Heat is about,” team president Pat Riley said. “He is our anchor, he is a true warrior and a great professional.”
That’s why Wade reached out to Haslem constantly during the free-agent process, if only to remind him that was the case.
“I would be changing my DNA if I left just for money,” Haslem said.
A week ago, Haslem expected he would sign elsewhere, but then the combination of a $58 million salary cap ($2 million more than expected) and the decisions by James, Wade and Bosh to take less money made it possible for the Miami High grad to stay where he wanted.
“Happy UD is staying put in Miami,” James wrote on his Twitter feed. “Wouldn’t have felt right if he wasn’t a part of this.”
Another factor for Haslem was Mike Miller’s decision to join the Heat — something the team still hasn’t formally announced. Miller and Haslem are extremely close friends, both former Florida Gators as well.
When Miller decided, Haslem knew he wouldn’t play anywhere else.
“Nothing else for me to consider,” Haslem said. “That’s my boy from Day 1.”
Miller’s agent, Arn Tellem, wrote on his blog Monday that Miller talked with four teams, not including the Heat, but that his future “hinged on LeBron’s.”
LeBron picked Miami, so Miller followed, and Tellem compared Miller to the Ringo Starr on this new Heat team of stars.
“Mike welcomes the chance to be the Ringo in a hot combo that already includes LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh,” Tellem said.
Haslem has averaged 10.0 points and 8.1 rebounds in his seven Miami seasons.
His signing was announced about an hour before Miami’s trade with Minnesota became official, in which the Heat sent Michael Beasley to the Timberwolves for a pair of second-round draft picks.
Beasley took over Haslem’s job as the starting power forward last season, something Haslem went along with without complaining openly. Bosh will be the starter now, and Haslem doesn’t mind that whatsoever.
“Coming off the bench behind a guy like Chris Bosh who has multiple — what is the game they play in? — All-Star game appearances, different things like that, I have no problem,” Haslem said. “The hardest thing I had to deal with was just to give my job up.”
With Bosh preferring to play power forward, and with the Heat not having an established center on the roster, that could mean the 6-foot-7 Haslem has to spend some time at the pivot this season.
If that’s what coach Erik Spoelstra wants, so be it, Haslem said.
“We’ve already sacrificed,” Haslem said. “Why stop sacrificing now? I’m committed to do what it takes to make this team successful.”
He said he was watching Friday night’s lavish introduction of James and Bosh, along with the re-introduction of sorts of Wade, with his son. Haslem was undrafted when he came to the Heat, was with the team through its first rebuilding phase, was a crucial factor in the 2006 championship run, then endured the indignity of the 15-win season in 2008.
Now this.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Haslem said. “It just didn’t seem real. It seemed like something out of a video game or something like that.”
Nope, it’s real.
And knowing his role will be to help protect Miami’s new Big 3, Haslem said he’ll keep his trademark braids — although he considered getting a haircut after turning 30 earlier this summer.
“With the bulls-eye that’s going to be on these guys’ backs, I’m going to need these braids this year,” Haslem said.
-- Tim Reynolds
Heat, Timberwolves finalize Beasley trade
MINNEAPOLIS — Michael Beasley’s off-the-court issues were well-documented. So were his on-the-court talents.
In the end, Minnesota Timberwolves president David Kahn felt the latter far outweighed the former.
The Timberwolves and Heat completed their trade Monday, sending Beasley north to Minnesota for two second-round picks and cash considerations.
“We had to do this,” Kahn said Monday night in a conference call from Las Vegas, where the Timberwolves are playing in the summer league. “It just made too much sense.”
The Heat made the move to clear cap room to re-sign Dwyane Wade and bring in Chris Bosh and LeBron James. The Heat get Minnesota’s second-round picks in 2011 and 2014.
Beasley was a much-celebrated No. 2 overall selection in 2008, getting edged out by Derrick Rose for the top spot in the draft after a brilliant freshman season at Kansas State. But he never seemed to be completely comfortable playing in the shadow of Wade in Miami during a two-year stint that was marred by two rocky offseasons, first when he was kicked out of the NBA rookie symposium and fined for rulebreaking, then last summer when he received substance-abuse treatment in Houston.
Kahn said the Timberwolves did plenty of homework on Beasley to make sure they were bringing the right kind of player into a very young locker room that currently is devoid of veteran leadership. But he also stressed that the team performs that kind of due diligence for any player it is scouting, not just one with Beasley’s baggage.
“He’s 21. That’s the thing that sometimes gets lost in this,” Kahn said. “These kids are all so young and to be thrust into this kind of world is a lot for anybody.”
And for all the issues that he has seemingly dealt with in his short career, Beasley has still shown the potential to be an impact player.
“We felt Michael had two very good years in Miami,” Heat president Pat Riley said in a statement issued by the team. “We feel he will have a very productive career, and wish him nothing but the best as he moves on.”
With their stunning additions of both Bosh and Wade, Riley simply didn’t have a choice but to move Beasley, who is under contract for $4.9 million this season with a team option for roughly $6.2 million next year, so he could bring in both Olympians and have more room to sign a supporting cast.
The trade also helped Miami to sign forward Udonis Haslem to a five-year deal on Monday.
Beasley averaged 14.8 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Heat last season, starting all 78 games he played. He topped 25 points in a game seven times and could give the Timberwolves the kind of explosive offensive player they will sorely need if Al Jefferson is indeed traded.
“There should be still a tremendous amount of upside there,” Kahn said of Beasley. “We like his versatility and his athleticism. If we do trade Al, he provides some comfort there is some scoring punch in case that occurs.”
The Timberwolves also completed the contract for center Darko Milicic and signed rookies Wesley Johnson and Lazar Hayward.
Kahn said he has received a lot of phone calls about Jefferson, who was averaging 23 points and 11 rebounds before injuring his knee in February 2009. He made strides in his comeback last year for the 15-win Wolves, who feel that Beasley and Kevin Love are better fits for their up-tempo offense.
“There’s a lot of interest right now in Al because most of the major free agents, if not all of the major free agents are signed,” Kahn said.
Kahn said the logjam at power forward did not make trading Jefferson a necessity, but it’s clear that the team would prefer to move him and his three-year, $42 million contract to open up more time for Beasley and Love up front.
Kahn had breakfast with Jefferson on Saturday and has been open about the process with the cornerstone of the package the Wolves received from Boston for Kevin Garnett in 2007.
“I told him I admired him for his professionalism,” Kahn said. “I hope it isn’t awkward. I told him we would do what’s best for him and best for us.”
-- Jon Krawczynski
Derek Fisher says he’s staying with Lakers
LOS ANGELES — Although Derek Fisher thought about joining that burgeoning superteam in Miami, he’s staying in the Los Angeles Lakers’ own collection of stars.
The veteran point guard said Monday he’ll re-sign with the Lakers, sticking with Kobe Bryant and the defending two-time NBA champions after speaking with several teams as a free agent.
“I have decided to continue with Kobe, continue with our teammates and the fans of Los Angeles,” Fisher said in a statement on his website. “While this may not be the most lucrative contract I’ve been offered this offseason, it is the most valuable. I am confident I will continue to lead this team on and off the court. Let the hunt for six begin.”
The five-time NBA champion said he considered contract offers from several teams in the past two weeks after playing a key role in the Lakers’ championship repeat. He spoke with the Heat in South Beach last weekend, entertaining the prospect of running an offense for LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who all left free-agent money on the table to sign teammates of Fisher’s ability.
The idea was enticing, but not enough to uproot his family and career from Los Angeles, where he has spent 11 of his 14 NBA seasons.
“At the end of the day, there’s one person I could not turn away from,” Fisher said. “Kobe Bryant asked me to stay but supported whatever decision I made. He and I have played together for 11 seasons, came into the league together as kids, and has been loyal to me even when others had doubts.”
While Miami has commanded the basketball world’s attention in the past week, Fisher’s decision is the second positive development already in July for the Lakers’ threepeat hopes: Coach Phil Jackson also decided to return for another season 11 days earlier.
Fisher likely isn’t bluffing about larger offers from other teams. The Lakers’ payroll already is stretched to the limit of the salary cap with the rest of Los Angeles’ veteran core signed to multiyear contracts, including Bryant, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Ron Artest and Lamar Odom.
But Fisher decided he valued winning and consistency over a late-career cash grab — and the other time he left the Lakers for a big-money deal, he endured two miserable seasons in Golden State and one better year in Utah before returning to the Lakers in 2007.
Fisher first joined the Lakers in 1996, when Jerry West drafted the unsung guard from Arkansas-Little Rock and the franchise nurtured him into a consistent playmaker and occasional scorer. Since his return to Hollywood, he has started every regular-season game for the Lakers over the past three seasons.
Fisher averaged 7.5 points and 2.5 assists last year. Although he sometimes struggles against quicker point guards, Fisher still has the veteran guile and poise necessary to perform at important moments — and that’s the quality Bryant values most in his longtime teammate.
“We’ve got to have him back,” Bryant said last month shortly after the Lakers’ victory parade. “Fish knows we need him, and we know we’ve got to keep him.”
Fisher raised his game in the postseason, starting all 23 games and averaging 10.3 points and 2.8 assists to help the Lakers win their second straight title. He was particularly effective in the Western Conference semifinals against Utah’s Deron Williams, and he largely matched the efforts of veteran Steve Nash in the conference finals against the Phoenix Suns.
Fisher’s return means the most significant parts of the Lakers’ championship roster will return this fall. General manager Mitch Kupchak now must hunt for bargains and unsung players to fill in the gaps on his bench, which wasn’t particularly deep last season.
Los Angeles let free agent Jordan Farmar leave for New Jersey on Monday after signing Steve Blake last week. Blake, likely to be Fisher’s backup, is overjoyed to join a talented veteran team, while Farmar is convinced he should be an NBA starter after four inconsistent seasons with the Lakers.
High-flying backup guard Shannon Brown opted out of his contract to become a free agent, but says he hopes to stay with the Lakers.
-- Gregg Beacham
City, Pacers amend lease to help keep team in Indy
INDIANAPOLIS — A new deal designed to keep the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse through at least 2013 calls for Indianapolis to spend at least $33.5 million to help the team’s owners operate the arena and pay for improvements to the franchise’s home.
Under the agreement announced Monday that amends the Pacers’ current lease with the city, Indianapolis’ Capital Improvement Board will pay the team $10 million each of the next three seasons to help maintain and operate the 18,000-seat downtown Indianapolis arena.
The board, which runs Indianapolis’ sports stadiums and convention center, also will pay for a minimum of $3.5 million in fieldhouse improvements.
If the team leaves the city after the 2012-2013 season, the Pacers must pay back at least $30 million of the money. But the deal, which capped negotiations that began two years ago, calls for that amount to decline for each season they remain in Indianapolis. If the Pacers stay through the 2019-2020 season, they won’t have to repay any money.
Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said critics questioning the deal’s benefit to taxpayers and calling it a bailout of the professional sports team are overlooking the economic impact and civic pride the Pacers bring to the city.
Ballard said the Pacers are responsible for about 900 jobs and $55 million in annual economic impact on Indianapolis businesses. If the Pacers left the city, those jobs and that business income would vanish along with $18 million in annual tax revenue, he said.
“It’s a vital link that keeps all of these people employed downtown in the convention and hospitality areas. It does affect us — our neighborhoods, everyone would be affected by the loss of that revenue,” he said during a news conference.
The agreement supplements the team’s existing Conseco lease agreement, which runs until 2019 and includes other fees if the Pacers decide to leave early.
CIB President Ann Lathrop said the board will pay the Pacers out of its operating fund and the deal specifies that team can use the money only for the costs of running the arena.
The cash-strapped panel has made deep budget cuts since the 2008 opening of Lucas Oil Stadium and captured more sales and income taxes from an expanded sports tax district.
Herb Simon, the Pacers’ billionaire owner, has maintained he wants to keep the team in Indiana.
But the Pacers, who have sought more substantial changes to their arena lease, have said they can’t continue to pay the fieldhouse’s $15 million in annual operating costs because they are losing too much money.
Pacers Sports and Entertainment president Jim Morris said it’s very difficult to operate a pro sports franchise in a small market like Indianapolis. He said the team had expected to receive help from the city last year but the negotiations dragged on.
He called those negotiations between the Pacers, the city and the Capital Improvement Board the most difficult he’s ever been involved in.
Morris said the team had hoped for a long-term agreement covering up to 30 years and for the city to give the team the money outright.
“We badly wanted a long-term deal,” he said. “We wanted to make a commitment for 20, 30 years to stay here. My hope is that we’ll eventually get there.”
Ballard spokesman Robert Vane said the deal is a good one because the city would have to pay up to $20 million a year to run the 11-year-old fieldhouse if the Pacers left.
The Pacers ranked 27th in the 30-team NBA this season with average attendance of 14,202. Indiana finished with a 32-50 record, its worst record since 1988-89, and missed the playoffs for the fourth straight year.
-- Rick Callahan
Chandler says he’s headed from Bobcats to Raptors
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte Bobcats center Tyson Chandler said Monday night he’s been told he’s being traded to the Raptors amid a report Toronto is also poised to send Hedo Turkoglu to the Phoenix Suns.
Chandler wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press that his agent, Jeff Schwartz, informed him that he’s being traded. A Bobcats spokesman said no deal is complete, and general manager Rod Higgins didn’t return messages seeking comment.
The Toronto Star reported the Suns would get Turkoglu and send guard Leandro Barbosa to the Raptors. Toronto would then move guard Jose Calderon and forward Reggie Evans to Charlotte for Chandler and forward Boris Diaw. The report said the complicated deal is pending league approval and could also include a trade exception for Charlotte.
The trade would help the Raptors rebuild after losing Chris Bosh to Miami in free agency. Turkoglu would get a new start after his disappointing one year in Toronto and the Suns would acquire a playmaker after losing free agent Amare Stoudemire to New York.
Calderon would give Charlotte a starting point guard after Raymond Felton signed with the Knicks. Dumping Chandler’s $12.7 million salary would give owner Michael Jordan’s team flexibility to make future moves.
“Yes I was told that I am being traded,” Chandler wrote. “To be honest I don’t have much to say now except I’m excited about the upcoming season. I feel great and I know it will be a good one.”
Chandler’s agent and Lon Babby, agent for Turkoglu didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.
If the deal goes through, Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo will be reunited with Barbosa and Diaw from his days in Phoenix. It will also mean the Raptors will unload Turkoglu and the $40 million still due on his contract signed last year when he left Orlando in free agency.
Turkoglu’s numbers declined last season. He was held out of a game late last season after he was seen out on the town hours after sitting out a game complaining of a stomach virus. But the Suns expect Turkoglu to regain his scoring form from his last two seasons in Orlando.
The speedy Barbosa would help the Raptors move to a more uptempo offense without Bosh.
Charlotte deemed Diaw, due $18 million over the next two seasons, expendable after giving Tyrus Thomas a five-year, $40 million deal. Thomas, who signed the contract on Monday amid rumblings of the trade, is expected to replace Diaw in the starting power forward spot.
“I’ve started over 100 games in my career, playoffs,” said Thomas, acquired from Chicago in February. “Me starting is nothing new to me. ... I’m happy to be able to come back and play for the Bobcats and coach (Larry) Brown.”
Calderon would provide Charlotte with a better shooter than Felton, whom the Bobcats made no attempt to re-sign because they were so close to paying the luxury tax, a figure Jordan said they wouldn’t exceed.
Calderon, who averaged 10.3 points and 5.9 assists last season, has been criticized in the past for his defense, an area the demanding Brown stresses. He’s also still due about $30 million over the next three seasons.
Evans, due $5 million next season, would give the Bobcats more depth up front.
Chandler had an injury-plagued season in Charlotte after being acquired from New Orleans for Emeka Okafor last summer. He decided not to opt out of the final year of his contract last month and become a free agent.
“I’m not sure what other deals they have going on,” Chandler said of the Raptors. “But I feel like anywhere I go healthy I’ll fit in.”
-- Mike Cranston
Cavs owner defends stance on LeBron
CLEVELAND — Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert got in another word about the messy, heartbreaking split with LeBron James.
He promised it’s his last one.
It had better be or NBA commissioner David Stern could fine him another $100,000.
On Monday, Gilbert said he strongly disagrees with Rev. Jesse Jackson’s criticism of his recent comments about James, who announced last week he was leaving Cleveland after seven seasons to join fellow All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the Miami Heat.
Shortly after James’ announcement, Gilbert fired off an incendiary letter to Cavs fans, vilifying the 25-year-old and calling his decision to bolt Cleveland as “narcissistic” and “cowardly behavior.” He also guaranteed his team would win an NBA title “BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER ‘KING’ WINS ONE.”
Gilbert took it a step further when he later told The Associated Press in a phone interview that he felt the NBA’s two-time MVP quit on the Cavs during the playoffs the past two years, and that James “has gotten a free pass.” He also said James should be held accountable for his actions.
Jackson responded to Gilbert’s remarks on Sunday by saying the Cavs owner sees James as a “runaway slave” and that Gilbert’s comments put the player in danger.
“He speaks as an owner of LeBron and not the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers,” Jackson said in a release from his Chicago-based civil-rights group. “His feelings of betrayal personify a slave master mentality. He sees LeBron as a runaway slave. This is an owner employee relationship — between business partners — and LeBron honored his contract.”
In a statement released by the team on Monday, Gilbert tried to put an end to the issue.
“I strongly disagree with Rev. Jesse Jackson’s recent comments and we are not going to engage in any related discussion on it,” Gilbert said. “Going forward, we’re very excited about the Cavaliers and the positive future of our region.”
Gilbert is attending the owners’ meetings in Las Vegas, where Stern fined him $100,000 for the “inappropriate” comments about James.
“He was completely correct in expressing his disappointment,” Stern said, adding that Gilbert’s statement and the sentiments he expressed in a follow-up interview with the AP were “a little bit extreme.”
-- Tom Withers
AP source: Magic agree to deal with Richardson
ORLANDO, Fla. — The Magic agreed to a deal with free agent Quentin Richardson on Monday, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not been officially announced. Terms of the contract were not immediately known.
The deal adds another potent shooter for Orlando to put around Dwight Howard.
It also means the Magic are likely parting ways with free agent small forward Matt Barnes, who opted out of the last year of his two-year deal with Orlando to become a free agent.
Barnes has said he would like to re-sign with Orlando, but that seems increasingly unlikely. He was looking to capitalize on a multiyear contract after starting the majority of last season. Barnes is not a long-range threat like Richardson — who shot 39 percent from 3-point range last season for Miami — but was one of Orlando’s best perimeter defenders.
Richardson does, however, give the cash-strapped Magic some flexibility in free agency.
The 6-foot-6 Richardson can play both small forward and shooting guard. The Magic, already over the luxury tax, have until Friday to decide if they want to match the $19 million, three-year offer Chicago made for restricted free agent J.J. Redick.
Orlando general manger Otis Smith said Saturday that the team would like to keep Redick but would take the full seven days to decide. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, meanwhile, said during summer league last week — before Redick had an offer — that the team would likely match any offer for Redick.
Richardson’s deal with Orlando was first reported by Yahoo! Sports.
He averaged 8.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game starting at small forward last season for Miami. In 10 NBA seasons, he has played for the Heat, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and Phoenix Suns.
Richardson should fit seamlessly into the Magic’s 3-point-happy system that surrounds shooters around Howard, their All-Star center. Orlando set an NBA record with 841 made 3-pointers last season.
-- Antonio Gonzalez
Timberwolves announce Milicic signing
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Timberwolves have announced the signing of free-agent center Darko Milicic (MIL-ih-chitsch).
The former second overall pick was planning on returning to play in Europe before a February trade to Minnesota energized his career.
In 24 games with the Timberwolves, Milicic averaged 8.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. The Timberwolves liked the 7-footer’s presence on the defensive end and his versatility on offense. They agreed to terms on a four-year deal worth $16 million in guaranteed money earlier this month but could not officially sign the contract until July 8.
The Timberwolves are Milicic’s fifth team in seven years.
Pacers C Hibbert’s knee injury considered minor
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert won’t need surgery after injuring his right knee while training with the Jamaican national team in the Dominican Republic.
Last week’s injury is a mild strain of his right patellar tendon. Hibbert has been examined by Pacers’ medical officials, and they’ve cleared him to renew summer workouts immediately.
Hibbert and Danny Granger are the team’s young building blocks. Hibbert averaged 11.7 points and 5.7 rebounds a game last season in his second year in the NBA.
He shot 50 percent from the field and started 69 of 81 games.
Women
USA Basketball national women playing in Hartford
HARTFORD, Conn. — Geno Auriemma watched Australia light up his U.S. women’s national team for 12 3-pointers in a weekend scrimmage. He’ll have to wait a few months before he gets a chance to fix the problems he saw.
USA Basketball announced Monday that it has scheduled two exhibitions for the squad, on Sept. 10 and Sept. 12 in Hartford, against the defending world champion Australians and Spain, ranked fifth in the world.
Those will be the final tuneups before the teams head to Europe for the World Championships in the Czech Republic on Sept. 23.
Auriemma has made no secret that he’s not happy with the lack of practice time, due to an arrangement that keeps America’s top players with their WNBA teams until that season ends. That will mean some players may not join the U.S. squad until it is already in Europe.
“We’re not playing against teams that you can just roll the ball out against and win ,” Auriemma said. “These teams are good. They’ve got great players and they are well organized and they play well together. So that three weeks in September, when we’re together, we’ve got to get it done.”
The U.S. will open camp on Sept. 3, at a site that hasn’t yet been picked. Auriemma said it will not be in Connecticut, but probably will be somewhere on the East Coast.
The team will play Australia at the XL Center on Sept. 10, Spain two days later and then head overseas. Auriemma said his team plans to play other exhibitions in Spain before the championships begin Sept. 23.
The team currently has 19 members. The pool likely will be expanded before the September practices and then trimmed to 12 for the world championships.
“There’s certain ones that we know will be on the team, but we have three or four slots that we are still looking at,” said Carol Callan, the director of the women’s basketball program for USA Basketball.
Teams must submit their final rosters for the national championship on Sept. 21.
The current squad has seven former members of the UConn Huskies. Auriemma said he won’t be keeping players on the team just because he coached them at Connecticut, but he’s not going to cut a former UConn player just because others might perceive there are too many of them on his squad.
“It’s like picking a Ryder Cup team,” Auriemma said. “You know certain guys are going to be on it. Well, not if they start playing lousy or they get hurt. So the whole training camp in September playing the games here and going to Spain and playing in some of those tournaments, are all to get an idea of who fits in best between now and when we play our first game on the 23rd.”
-- Pat Eaton-Robb
