Zone Defense Among Proposed Rule Changes

The NBA is on the verge of allowing zone defenses for the first time as part of an effort to open up and speed up games starting next season.

With scoring down and teams relying more on isolation plays, the league’s board of governors in New York discussed a package of rules changes Friday that should be voted on in the coming weeks.

Also, a committee of seven owners, including the Lakers’ Jerry Buss, was formed to study the possibility of putting a franchise in Memphis, Tenn. The owners of the Vancouver Grizzlies and Charlotte Hornets applied this week to move there.

The board of governors, which has one representative from each of the 29 ownership groups, also agreed to give a $3-million subsidy to Canadian teams and approved the $200-million sale of the Seattle SuperSonics from the Ackerley Group to a group of investors led by Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz.

The suggested new rules could change the NBA significantly, moving it closer to the college and international games.

The five proposals: Scrap illegal defense rules; institute a defensive three-second rule, whereby defenders would be allowed to stay in the lane only for three seconds at a time unless they were within arm’s length of a player they are guarding; give teams eight seconds instead of 10 to bring the ball past midcourt; redefine incidental contact to cut down on touch fouls; and allow players to touch the ball while it is on the rim.

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Charles Barkley returned to the town where he became a star to become the seventh Philadelphia 76er to have his number retired, joining the ranks of Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving. Barkley’s eyes watered as his No. 34 jersey was lifted to the rafters during halftime of the 76ers’ game against Golden State at the First Union Center. “This is the greatest night of my life and I’m so glad to be sharing it here,” Barkley said in front of a sellout crowd. . . . Wang Zhi Zhi, the 7-foot-1 center from China drafted by the Dallas Mavericks, arrived Thursday in Dallas with assistant coach Donnie Nelson. . . . The Boston Celtics activated center Tony Battie and put forward Jerome Moiso on the injured list with tendinitis in his right knee.