Grizzlies Trade Away Benjamin to Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks acquired 11-year veteran center Benoit Benjamin from the Vancouver Grizzlies on Monday for guard Eric Murdock and center Eric Mobley.

It was the fourth time Benjamin has been traded. The Clippers, who picked him third in the 1985 draft, traded him to Seattle in 1991. Two years later, Seattle traded Benjamin to the Lakers, who traded him to New Jersey after keeping him for only half a season.

The Grizzlies picked him up in the expansion draft, but also have first-round pick Bryant Reeves at center.

Murdock became expendable to the Bucks after they acquired guard Sherman Douglas on Sunday in a trade that sent swingman Todd Day and center Alton Lister to the Boston Celtics. The 6-foot-11 Mobley, a first-round draft pick of the Bucks in 1994, had not played much this season.

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The NBA’s locked-out referees and the league are to meet Wednesday in New York, the first negotiations since the union rejected the latest offer Nov. 20. The league says its last offer would contain salaries ranging from $85,000 to $261,000 this season and $90,0000 to $328,000 in the final season of a five-year deal. The referees, who would prefer a four-year deal, contend the range is $75,000 to $211,000 in the first year and $80,000 to $278,000 in the fifth. The dispute has lasted nearly two months.