Oakley Returns to Bulls in a Trade for Skinner

Chicago Bull General Manager Jerry Krause went looking for veteran leadership and found one of his favorite players.

Charles Oakley was acquired by the Bulls Friday in a trade with the Toronto Raptors. The Bulls also got a second-round pick in exchange for forward Brian Skinner.

“Oak’s always been a joy to me because of the kind of person he is,” Krause said. “Charles is a natural born leader. He’ll be great with our younger players.”

Skinner, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 4.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 39 games for the Clippers last season. He was traded on draft night to the Bulls in the Elton Brand deal. Toronto gets a one-year trade exception because of Friday’s move.

Oakley, who has one year left on a contract that will pay him $7.5 million, asked to be traded after the Raptors lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals. “I sat with Oak for a little bit and talked to him about it, and he was adamant,” Raptor General Manager Glen Grunwald said.

Neither deal will be official until Wednesday, the first day free agents are allowed to sign contracts.

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The Orlando Magic has reached a tentative agreement with free-agent center Patrick Ewing.

The Orlando Sentinel reported that the Magic has come to terms with Ewing, who played last season with the Seattle SuperSonics. Orlando is also hoping to sign Laker power forward Horace Grant.

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Former SuperSonic forward Ruben Patterson was suspended for five games without pay by the league for pleading guilty to a sexual offense.

Patterson, a free agent, was sentenced in May to a year in jail with all but 15 days suspended under a modified guilty plea to an attempted rape charge. Under the plea, Patterson did not admit guilt but agreed a jury might convict him.

Patterson was accused of attempting to rape the family’s nanny in September at the family home in suburban Bellevue.

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Miami Heat forward Anthony Mason has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a hotel and is under investigation, police in Trenton, N.J., said.

The woman said Mason assaulted her this week in Tinton Falls, about 50 miles from Trenton, Mason’s lawyer Frank Rothman said.

Mason has not been charged, Rothman added, but authorities are looking into the latest accusation against a player who has had previous run-ins with the law.

“The allegations are absurd,” Rothman said. “We will cooperate in any matter they choose.”

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Magic Johnson will be in the backcourt when his all-star team plays the Young Guns today at 12:45 in a Summer Pro League game at the Pyramid in Long Beach.

Former NBA player Trevor Ruffin and Mike Chappell, from Michigan State, are on Johnson’s team. The Young Guns include Charlotte Hornet point guard Baron Davis and Kansas City Chief tight end Tony Gonzalez, a college football and basketball standout at California.

Johnson, who retired in 1996, runs five miles and lifts weights nearly every day. He also regularly plays in pickup games at UCLA.

“I’m about 20 steps slower,” Johnson said. “But I feel wonderful. I just play now to have fun and teach guys.”

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Pat Croce is considering staying with the Philadelphia 76ers even though he won’t get his dream job.

One day after saying he would return to the 76ers only if he became chief executive officer of the company that owns the team, Croce said he’ll discuss all options.

Croce’s opportunities are limited because Ed Snider, chairman of the 76ers and Flyers and minority owner of Comcast-Spectacor, has said he’s not giving up his job.

“You have to be flexible,” Croce said. “Ideally, you like to paint a perfect picture, but sometimes perfect pictures are not the best pictures.”

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Milwaukee Buck forward Glenn Robinson had outpatient surgery to remove bone spurs in his left ankle. Robinson will have a similar procedure performed on his right ankle later this summer. . . . Luc Longley may be forced to retire because of an arthritic left ankle. The New York Knicks said they haven’t heard from the Australian-born center and know nothing of his plans. But Longley told the New York Times that he’s ready to retire. . . . The New Jersey Nets signed Richard Jefferson of Arizona, Jason Collins of Stanford and Brandon Armstrong of Pepperdine, all of whom were first-round picks in last month’s draft. . . . First-round draft pick Samuel Dalembert will have throat surgery Tuesday, and the 76ers expect him to resume physical activity in four to six weeks.