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Tuesday, September 3 Updated 9:45 AM EST

Free-agent standoff continues

by Chad Ford

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Also Below: Free agents migrating from NBA to Europe | When will Yao sign with Houston? | Will the Bucks pay the luxury tax? | Writers Bloc: U.S. isn't lacking motivation

INDIANAPOLIS -- The summer of blah didn't really pick up this week despite the presence of almost every NBA general manager here in Indianapolis.

This week we saw an unbelievable three signings — Brian Skinner to the Sixers and second-round picks Dan Gadzuric and Ronald Murray to the Bucks. Rafer Alston is expected to sign today with the Warriors, Darvin Ham may join his ex-teammate soon in Golden State and Bryon Russell should ink a deal sometime this week with the Wizards. That's it.

Michael Olowokandi, Rashard Lewis, Bonzi Wells, Rasho Nesterovic, Michael Redd, Travis Best, Wang Zhizhi, Rod Strickland, Shawn Kemp and Popeye Jones are among the top free agents still looking for work.

Olowokandi is in a standoff with the Clippers and may be forced to accept their one-year tender, then become an unrestricted agent next summer. Ditto for Wells and Nesterovic, who feel that their offers are below market value. Of the three, Wells is the only one still actively pursuing a sign-and-trade. His people are still trying to find a way to get him to Minnesota or Detroit, but right now both teams are very reluctant to pull the trigger on such major trades.

The other top restricted free agent, Redd, is having trouble finding an offer sheet because of the Bucks' insistence that they'll match any offer. The threat has produced a chilling effect that Redd's hot shooting can't seem to thaw.

Lewis continues to ponder his only two choices. At this point it's either the Sonics' seven-year, $60 million offer or the Mavs' three-year, $15 million deal. He'd prefer to return to Seattle but seems to be genuinely upset by its offer. Sign-and-trades appear to be pretty much out of the question. Houston and Chicago have both presented offers, but the Sonics were quick to shoot them down.

Players like Best, Strickland and Jones are now looking at dropping their demands for multi-year, mid-level exception deals. As the summer moves along, they'll be lucky to get nice, one-year, $1.4 million veteran's exceptions.

Wang continues to pay the price for going AWOL on the Red Army. The Mavs will now likely pass on re-signing the restricted free agent. The Warriors, Knicks and Magic are interested, but everyone seems leery to give him an offer sheet. Are the Mavs bluffing? Or more important, will the NBA try to blackball Wang if his defiance leads to problems with Yao Ming playing in the U.S.?

Kemp continues to pay the price for years of gluttony. While the Magic want to give him a look, it's likely they won't like what they see. Whether they're desperate enough to take him anyway remains to be seen.

Exactly when will the rest of this year's crop find jobs?

"I think once the Worlds are over you'll see a bunch of signings," one Eastern Conference GM told Insider. "Players are already starting to migrate back to their teams and training camps start in a few weeks. The money's gone. There isn't any left. And I think that free agents and more importantly, their agents, are starting to see that. You get realistic pretty quick when you don't have a job."

Free agents migrating from NBA to Europe

With teams trimming down rosters from 15 to 12, jobs are disappearing and a reverse migration of sorts is beginning to happen overseas.

While they send their best here, we're sending our worst over there.

Over the past few weeks, several prominent free agents have decided to abandon the NBA and try their hand playing in Europe.

Chris Gatling, sick of packing his bags every year, has reportedly signed a three-year deal to play in Russia.

Raja Bell and Hanno Mottola will be teammates next year in Spain playing for Tau Ceramica. They'll join Spurs second-round pick Luis Scola, who's expected to play another year in Spain. William Avery has also signed with Tau, but it's for a temporary one-month contract. He's expected to return to the U.S. and attend training camp for either the Jazz or the Heat. If things don't go well, he may join Bell and Mottola full time in Spain next season.

Cal Bowdler, Norm Richardson and Rusty LaRue have all signed contracts to play in Italy next season. Quincy Lewis signed with Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel and former Grizzlies forward Antonis Fotsis signed with Panathinaikos in Greece.

When will Yao sign with Houston?

Yao Ming's contract with the Rockets continues to remain unsigned. Is there any truth to the rumor that China may refuse to let Yao sign until the Wang Zhizhi situation is resolved?

If there is, the Rockets aren't aware of it.

"I've heard there's no issues with the Rockets," Rockets general counsel Michael Goldberg told the Houston Chronicle. "They've got to finish discussions with Erick [Zhang, Yao's representative] and Yao Ming. There's no issues with the Rockets. I'm confident there will be an agreement with them. I'm hoping it can be done next week."

Zhang and Goldberg said they have been assured that Wang's case no longer affects Yao's signing with the Rockets.

"I've known it all along," Goldberg said. "I felt comfortable. I had things in writing. I understand what is going on. Nobody has any worries. I'm hopeful we'll have some news by the end of the week."

Yao may get final OK next week

Jonathan Feigen / Houston Chronicle

Will the Bucks pay the luxury tax?

After a disappointing season in which the Bucks slipped from the favorite to win the East all the way down to the lottery, owner Herb Kohl is now prepared to spend what it takes to make the Bucks a legitmate contender again.

If the Bucks acquire backup point guard Travis Best and re-sign restricted free-agent guard Michael Redd, their payroll could reach $56 million and cost Kohl upwards of $4 million.

"It's not OK with me, but we're here to win," Kohl told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "We're just not going to sell off our team to get under the luxury tax. That doesn't work. Your fans have to know you're really trying.

"We're not going to trade away important pieces of our team just go get under the luxury tax. If you do that, you lose your fans. You can't own a professional sports team and think the most important thing is making a profit. We're invested in talent, and that's what we have."

Kohl would not say whether he would offer another extension to coach George Karl, who has hinted he might retire when his contract expires after the 2003-'04 season.

"We're going ahead with George as our coach this year and next, but what happens after that, I don't know," Kohl said. "I've never discussed with George whether he wants to be here long-term. How will he feel about Milwaukee and himself two years from now? How will we feel about him? I've never even thought about it, because we're just beginning this extension. I guess it's not an issue. I'm sure it's not an issue with him."

Kohl addresses state of the Bucks

Michael Hunt / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Writers Bloc: U.S. isn't lacking motivation

Another game, another win, another game tomorrow, another . . . The demise of the USA National Basketball Team, as they say, has been greatly exaggerated.

"Players and coaches from the United States love what's happening here at the World Basketball Championship," writes Steve Wyche of the Washington Post. "Each game a new team, Yugoslavia, Argentina, Spain, Brazil or surprising Puerto Rico does something worthy of enough respect that players, coaches, the media or whomever has an opinion, declares them worthy of toppling Team USA. A player — Germany's Dirk Nowitzki, Argentina's Emanuel Ginobili, Spain's Pau Gasol, China's Yao Ming — is pegged as this tournament's best player and the next NBA superstar. Each slight — some of it self-inflicted because of its routine lethargic first-half play — motivates a U.S. team partially filled with second-choice players. Each doubt helps stifle U.S. apathy. Each stretch of heated competition, like those posed by Germany and China, has steeled resolve."

Yes, the U.S. keeps winning and the crowds keep coming, despite the start of school, lack of "ethnic enclaves" in Indiana, pro football, college football and Radio Istanbul.

"They're wrong," says Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star. "The notion that attendance has been lacking at this world championship is wrong — unless you're convinced the attendance numbers being supplied here have been crunched by WorldCom accountants. 'I'm getting so tired of hearing this from the international press,' said Florian Wanninger, communications director for FIBA, the international basketball governing body. 'It makes me angry.' If the numbers are to be trusted, the world championship has averaged 7,421 fans through 12 sessions heading into Monday's games. And while it will require a rush to the ticket office to surpass Toronto's record number of nearly 330,000 tickets in 1994, organizers are becoming increasingly confident Indy can come in around the Indiana Sports Corp.'s stated goal of 300,000 tickets. That would make this tournament the second-most attended world championship ever."

But one things remains through all the emerging stars, would-be usurpers and throngs of salivating journalists. No matter the pronunciation of surname, color of uniform or style of hair, each and every player, team, writer knows that the Bulls still stink and Elton Brand doesn't.

"When Brand was with the Bulls there were more guys back there than any team in the NBA," ponders veteran Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune. "Brand played with 19 different players his rookie season in a disorganized revolving door that only Brand helped keep sane by averaging 20.1 points and 10 rebounds. Then in his second season, Brand played with 17 players, only four of whom, Ron Artest, Fred Hoiberg, Corey Benjamin and Michael Ruffin, were back from the previous year. It is perhaps why the Bulls grew discouraged with Brand, despite another season of at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. It is perhaps why the Bulls didn't truly appreciate their No. 1 overall pick from Duke. But one has to wonder how much better off the Bulls might be today."

U.S. Tops Russia

Steve Wyche / Washington Post

There's no reason for alarm over WBC attendance figures

Bob Kravitz / Indianapolis Star

Brand could haunt Bulls

Sam Smith / Chicago Tribune

[Traceman]

I wish them both well. I think both have the talent to play in the NBA again at some point in their careers. Neither will ever be a superstar but both have the potential to be quality backups.