Divac Is Out in Hornet Shuffle

For the second time in three seasons, the Charlotte Hornets have balked at paying an eight-figure salary to keep a center.

Instead of re-signing Vlade Divac, the Hornets have agreed to give free-agent center Derrick Coleman of the Philadelphia 76ers a six-year contract that will pay him slightly more than $6 million a season.

Coleman will sign the deal Tuesday, when training camps officially open and teams can begin signing players.

Divac became a free agent after last season but wanted a deal worth nearly $11 million annually, a figure the Hornets said would use up virtually all of their money available under the salary cap.

The Hornets said they wanted to limit their center’s salary to about $6 million. Such a move would free them to target other priorities on the team, among them renegotiating the contract of forward Glen Rice.

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The exodus of the three-time defending champion Chicago Bulls reportedly has begun as free agent guard Steve Kerr agreed to a multiyear deal with the San Antonio Spurs.

WGN Radio in Chicago reported that Kerr, who made the series-winning jumper in the 1997 NBA Finals against the Utah Jazz, has agreed to undisclosed terms.

Kerr’s reported departure is the first of what is expected to be many as the Bulls begin a team overhaul following Michael Jordan’s retirement announcement on Wednesday.

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A former Fresno State basketball player drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks violated probation and must donate $25,000 to a battered women’s shelter, a judge in Fresno has decided.

Rafer Alston, a second-round pick of the Bucks last June, must make the payment and undergo counseling or risk going to jail, Judge Jane York said.

Alston’s lawyer, Glenn E. LoStracco, said his client plans to make the donation so he can avoid jail time and make it Monday to the Bucks’ training camp.

However, Buck General Manager Bob Weinhauer said Friday that Alston had been put on the NBA’s suspended list.

Weinhauer said it was not clear whether the move would cost the Bucks their future rights to Alston.

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Matt Geiger is close to signing a $54 million, six-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Geiger, who played the last three seasons with Charlotte, is expected to finalize the deal as soon as the NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement is put into writing.

Geiger would get the maximum salary allowed under the new labor deal with the signing.

The 76ers’ top priority remains to sign their free agent, Theo Ratliff.

Signing Geiger would allow Ratliff to play power forward instead of center and would cover the loss of Derrick Coleman.

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Steve Javie, an NBA referee, must meet with Internal Revenue Service officials to resolve his tax debt involving airline tickets he received from the league, but he has been cleared of income tax evasion charges.

A jury deliberated about five hours before returning the acquittals on four counts against Javie on Friday.

Javie, 43, was the only NBA referee to plead innocent to charges that had tried to evade taxes on income he received by downgrading airline tickets provided him by the NBA.

On Friday, the NBA reinstated seven referees who had been forced to resign because of the charges.

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What You Need to Know

FREE AGENTS

* The free-agent signing period begins Monday. Teams will be scrambling to fill rosters, make trades and sign nearly 200 free agents that are on the market. Some of the top names include Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Charles Barkley, Antonio McDyess, Rod Strickland, Damon Stoudamire, Loy Vaught and Derrick Coleman.

EXHIBITION GAMES

* Each team will play two exhibition games and fans will be welcome to attend free of charge. Fans will also be permitted to watch one intrasquad scrimmage for free.

THE SEASON

* The regular season will begin Friday, Feb. 5. About 50 games will be played during a 13-week schedule. Teams will play an average of four games a week.

PLAYOFFS

* The postseason will begin May 1.