NBA Realignment Likely

The NBA plans to switch to six five-team divisions for the 2004-05 season, when the Charlotte Bobcats become the league’s 30th team.

The proposal, which includes having three divisions per conference instead of the current two, is expected to be approved formally by the board of governors, deputy commissioner Russ Granik said Wednesday. A vote could come next month.

Eight teams from each conference still would make the playoffs: the winner of each division plus the teams with the next five best records. The NBA will realign along geographic lines. New Orleans will move from the East to the West, and Charlotte will be in the East.

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The board of governors also decided that the WNBA will take a four-week break during its 2004 season for the Athens Olympics. No WNBA games will be played Aug. 2-31; the Olympics are Aug. 13-29. The gap at the beginning would allow national teams to practice.

The league will resume on Sept. 1 and play through Sept. 19, followed by playoffs that could run as late as Oct. 12.

Usually, the WNBA is finished by mid-September.

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Bernie Bickerstaff will be the coach and general manager of the expansion Charlotte Bobcats, two team sources told Associated Press. A news conference was scheduled for today.

Bickerstaff, recently president and general manager of the WNBA’s Charlotte Sting, spent 10 seasons as an NBA coach with Seattle, Denver and Washington. He was also the Nuggets’ general manager.

Bickerstaff, 58, posted a 338-348 record as an NBA coach.

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Washington Wizard swingman Jerry Stackhouse’s knee injury is caused by a deterioration of the lining on the back of the right knee cap, and it remains uncertain when he will play again, the team said.