Reeves’ Heart May Snag Deal

The staggering nine-player trade between the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets hit a possible snag Wednesday when Khalid Reeves told the Mavericks about a childhood heart murmur.

Maverick doctors were conducting Reeves’ physical when they found out about the condition, team spokesman Kevin Sullivan said.

The trade should have been finalized Wednesday evening, 48 hours after it was filed with the league, but Dallas received an extension until noon today.

The trade Monday sent center Shawn Bradley, Reeves and three other players to Dallas for all-star forward Chris Gatling, Jimmy Jackson and three others.

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An NBA referee from Cincinnati was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury on five counts of tax fraud.

Mike Mathis, 54, is charged with understating income by $69,000 from 1989 through 1992.

Earlier this week, Mathis said he expected to be indicted but denied any wrongdoing. He said the investigation was a misunderstanding over the interpretation of his expense money.

Mathis said federal officials told referees they were being investigated. Last week, two were indicted on tax charges.

The men allegedly downgraded first-class airline tickets provided by the NBA to cheaper, coach-class tickets, pocketed the difference and failed to pay taxes on the money.

No arraignment date was set for Mathis. He faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.

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Toronto Coach Darrell Walker was fined $7,500 by the NBA for his outburst against the officials after a controversial foul call.

Walker came off the bench after guard Doug Christie was whistled for fouling Indiana’s Reggie Miller on a three-point shot with one-tenth of a second left in Monday’s game.

The rookie coach ripped the ball away from one official and threw it onto the court. He was restrained by coaches and players.

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A county judge refused to bar the city of Sacramento from loaning $70 million to Sacramento King majority owner Jim Thomas. Sacramento Superior Judge Joe Gray, ruling from the bench without hearing any oral arguments, said a group of residents opposed to the loan had failed to show they would be irreparably harmed if the judge did not intervene immediately.

Instead, Gray told the residents they should proceed to the next step in the case, a request for a hearing on a preliminary injunction.