Signing and Trading Period Is Delayed Again

NBA teams will have to hold off a little longer on signing free agents, making trades and opening camps--the lockout probably won’t officially end until tonight or Wednesday morning.

The union and the league disagree on certain points in trying to put the collective bargaining agreement into writing.

Neither side described the differences as insurmountable.

Lawyers also must review each page of the document, a process that could last eight to 16 hours.

Monday was the original target date for lifting the lockout and allowing training camps to open, but the league sent a memo to all teams last week saying today was the new date.

The biggest disagreement concerns the new average salary exception, which allows teams already over the salary cap to sign an extra free agent.

The union wants the exception to be used for six-year contracts; the league wants it limited to three-year deals.

The exception starts at $1.75 million, increases to $2.25 million by the third year, and is set at the league’s average salary in the fourth year.

The lawyers also are squabbling over changes to so-called circumvention rules. The league wants to prohibit wink-and-nod deals in which a team would sign a free agent for one year with the unwritten understanding that a long-term deal would follow using the Larry Bird exception.

The union contends changes to that rule were never discussed.

A source close to the owners also confirmed tonight as the likeliest time frame.

Teams have been discussing proposed deals with agents for more than a week since the agreement ending the six-month lockout was reached Jan. 6 between Commissioner David Stern and union director Billy Hunter.

Jeffrey Kessler, the lead outside counsel for the union, disputed a New York Times report that the sides are haggling concerning the definition of basketball-related income, the sharing of television revenue and several conduct issues, including the details of a new anti-drug program.

“Those are not the issues that are open,” Kessler said.

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Minnesota, Toronto and Denver have apparently reached an agreement on a three-way trade sending Chauncey Billups to the Nuggets, Dean Garrett and Bobby Jackson to the Timberwolves and Micheal Williams and two No. 1 draft picks to the Raptors.

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George Irvine, a former player, coach and vice president of basketball operations with several NBA and ABA teams, was named an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons.

Irvine, 49, joins John Hammond, Gar Heard and Bob Ociepka on Coach Alvin Gentry’s staff.

Irvine played six seasons in the ABA with the Virginia Squires and Denver before a knee injury forced him to retire at the start of the 1976-77 season. He was a Nugget assistant for four seasons.

Irvine was an assistant at Indiana for five seasons, coached the Pacers for two seasons and vice president of basketball operations for eight seasons.