NBA Teams Are Put on Hold a Little Longer

The NBA’s free-agent signing period has been delayed indefinitely because the league’s collective bargaining agreement will not be finalized by its initial target date of Friday.

Though not considered an alarming development, the postponement leaves numerous trades and signings in traction as details of the six-year labor deal continue to be ratified and transferred to a 300-page manual.

“We’re making steady progress but it will not be completed in time for Friday,” league spokesman Tim Frank said. A union spokesman said a deal probably would be in place by the middle of next week.

Until then, the Lakers can’t officially acquire Kwame Brown or re-sign Luke Walton, and the Clippers will not formally lose Bobby Simmons or gain Cuttino Mobley.

Elsewhere, All-Star guards Ray Allen and Michael Redd can’t start collecting on lucrative offers to re-sign with the Seattle SuperSonics and Milwaukee Bucks, respectively. Shaquille O’Neal can’t complete a written contract extension with the Miami Heat. Coveted free-agent guard Larry Hughes will have to wait a bit for his formal move from the Washington Wizards to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On the other hand, the delay gives some teams more time to discuss and dissect what is left of the free-agent pool.

Take the Lakers.

With Chucky Atkins heading to Washington as part of the Brown trade, the Lakers have only two guards under contract -- Kobe Bryant and Sasha Vujacic -- and will not be getting the services of the free agent they wanted, Antonio Daniels, who agreed Tuesday night to a five-year, $30-million deal with the Wizards.

With Daniels out of the picture, the Lakers could split up the $5-million mid-level exception and sign two players or keep it intact for a player such as point guard Jeff McInnis, who averaged 12.8 points and 5.1 assists last season for the Cleveland Cavaliers. If the Lakers choose to split it, point-guard possibilities include Earl Watson, Tyronn Lue, Brevin Knight, Jannero Pargo and Dan Dickau.

A lingering but less likely prospect is the return of Gary Payton, whose agent called the Lakers and inquired about a reunion that seems far less plausible than Phil Jackson’s.

The last time the Lakers had heard from Payton, he was flogging them publicly for trading him to the Boston Celtics in the deal that brought Atkins, Chris Mihm and Jumaine Jones to the Lakers last August. Payton averaged 11.3 points and 6.1 assists for the Celtics and started all 77 games he played.

Laker officials declined to comment on Payton.

The Clippers, for their part, will have to wait to welcome Mobley, who has agreed to a $42-million deal to be their starting shooting guard, and to wave goodbye to Simmons, who is leaving to take a $47-million offer from Milwaukee.

But it will not affect Bonzi Wells’ contract status, the agent for the Memphis Grizzly guard told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. Wells, who has been targeted by the Clippers, could be an unrestricted free agent by the weekend.

He and the Grizzlies agreed to extend to Friday the deadline on an $8-million team option, theoretically to coincide with ratification of the new collective bargaining agreement. Wells reportedly is not interested in prolonging the process beyond Friday and is expected to be waived if the Grizzlies are unable to trade him.

The labor deal’s postponement also means a longer wait for activity involving the “amnesty” provision, which gives teams that pay the luxury tax a one-time opportunity to release a player and not have to pay luxury taxes on his salary. (They must, however, continue to pay such players’ salaries and will not get salary-cap relief from their contracts until they expire.)

After amnesty players get cut, they can sign with another team and, in effect, draw two salaries.

The New York Knicks are expected to release guard Allan Houston, the Dallas Mavericks will part with swingman Michael Finley and the Lakers could do the same with forward Brian Grant.

Other players who could be released are Toronto Raptor forward Jalen Rose, Orlando Magic guard Doug Christie, Boston center Raef LaFrentz and Portland Trail Blazer center Theo Ratliff.

The labor deal, agreed to in principle June 21, decreased the maximum contract length from seven to six years and created an age minimum of 19 for NBA draft entrants.

Times staff writer Jerry Crowe contributed to this report.