Jay Triano out as Toronto Raptors’ coach

Jay Triano will not return as the Toronto Raptors’ coach next season.

The Raptors announced Wednesday that they will not exercise their option on Triano’s contract. He will be retained as a consultant and a special assistant to Bryan Colangelo, the team’s president and general manager.

Triano, an Ontario native, guided the Raptors to a record of 87-142 in his three seasons as coach. The Raptors finished 22-60 this season, last in the Atlantic Division.

Frank Hamblen, one of Phil Jackson’s top assistant coaches with the Lakers and Chicago Bulls, is a possible candidate to be an assistant coach with the Indiana Pacers, according to NBA officials who could not comment publicly.

Frank Vogel, who took over as the Pacers’ coach on an interim basis during the regular season and is the leading candidate to become the full-time coach, has been told by management that he has to change his staff and hire three new assistants, according to the Indianapolis Star.

Hamblen would be interested in a job with the Pacers, according the NBA officials. Hamblen, who is from Terre Haute, Ind., spent the last 12 years with the Lakers and was part of the team’s last five championships.

— Broderick Turner

Representatives of the NBA’s owners and players met for about four hours in Miami and are to get together twice next week in Dallas as they try to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the one that expires June 30.

Union leader Billy Hunter, who previously said he was “99%” sure of a work stoppage, said there was a productive exchange of ideas in Wednesday’s session.

“I think we now know each other, and the question is what kind of compromise the sides are prepared to make,” Commissioner David Stern said. “It may not be enough on either side, but we’re going to give it a shot.”

The Houston Rockets hired Kevin McHale to be their coach in place of Rick Adelman, who left the team days after his fourth season in Houston. McHale, 53, becomes Houston’s third coach since 2003, when Rudy Tomjanovich stepped down because of health reasons. Jeff Van Gundy coached the team from 2003 to 2007.

ETC.

Sparks trade Wisdom-Hylton to Chicago

The Sparks traded 6-foot-2 forward Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton to the Chicago Sky for a second-round pick in the 2012 draft.

Wisdom-Hylton, who was drafted by the Sparks with the 13th pick in 2009, averaged 3.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in 61 regular-season games with the team.

The Sparks, who traded Andrea Riley to the Tulsa Shock in February for a second-round pick, now have five picks in the 2012 draft. The Sparks have to cut one player by Thursday, before their season opener Friday against the Minnesota Lynx at Staples Center.

— Melissa Rohlin

Ohio State’s president said he expects Athletic Director Gene Smith to stay on despite the resignation of Jim Tressel as the football team’s coach and a growing number of alleged NCAA violations by the program.

President Gordon Gee also said there is “a legitimate question” about how some confirmed violations happened and that Ohio State’s athletic compliance system should be fixed if it is not working.

Tressel was forced to step aside Monday in the midst of an NCAA investigation involving players’ sales of game memorabilia.

Louisiana State’s John Peterson shot a course-record seven-under-oar 65, taking the individual lead in the NCAA golf championships at Stillwater, Okla., and Georgia Tech topped the team standings. Peterson was five under overall with one round left in the individual competition. Georgia Tech’s James White was a stroke back after a 73, and UCLA’s Patrick Cantlay (69) was at three under. Georgia Tech had a three-under 573 total, and UCLA was a stroke back.

The USC-UCLA football game Nov. 26 game at the Coliseum will kick off at 7 p.m. and will be televised by Fox Sports Net. USC also announced that the Trojans’ Sept. 10 game against Utah, the first game in the new Pacific 12 Conference, would kick-off at 4:30 p.m. on Versus, and that the Sept. 17 game against Syracuse will kickoff at 3:30 on FSN or at 5 on FX.

— Gary Klein

UCLA junior outfielder Andrea Harrison was selected a first-team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Assn. Harrison led the Bruins softball team with a .409 batting average, 15 home runs, 52 runs batted in, a .768 slugging percentage and a .512 on-base percentage.

The Florida Panthers introduced Kevin Dineen as their new coach. He replaces Pete DeBoer, who was fired April 10, one day after completing his third season behind the Florida bench. Dineen spent the last six seasons as coach of the American Hockey League’s Portland Pirates in Maine.