LEAGUE NOTES

          The NBA and the NBPA announced that the salary cap for
     the '97-98 season has been set at $26.9M, up from the $24.4M
     of '96-'97.  The cap may be "subject to an upward adjustment
     in the next few weeks following the resolution of certain
     accounting issues" (NBA)....BLOOMBERG's Scott Soshnick wrote
     that Kevin Garnett's rejection of the T-Wolves' $102M
     contract offer "has at least one team owner and some NBA
     executives expecting management to reopen the league's" CBA.
     Currently, all first-round NBA picks are given three-year
     contracts, after which they become unrestricted free agents. 
     The first group of rookies are set to become free agents
     after this season and "owners are left to decide whether to
     meet their demands or lose future stars."  T-Wolves Owner
     Glen Taylor: "My assumption is, if it's reopened -- or when
     it's reopened -- certainly that's the type of thing that
     needs to be addressed" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 8/16).