CBA Owner Isiah Thomas will "realize a longtime dream"
today when he's named head coach of the Pacers, according to
sources of Lacy Banks of the CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, who reports
Thomas "reached agreement" with Pacers President Donnie
Walsh Monday night on a four-year, $20M contract after
Thomas agreed in writing to sell the CBA to the NBPA "within
90 days." But Thomas "declined to confirm" the report.
Thomas: "That is for Mr. Walsh to do when he has made his
decision and chooses to announce it. But I will say that I
hope it happens" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 7/20). NBA Deputy
Commissioner Russ Granik reiterated that Thomas needed to
fully divest himself from the CBA before he could become an
NBA coach: "In order for him to coach, he can't own another
league and that's all there is to it. This rule has been
around longer than I have [1976], and there's only so much
room we have to work with on this issue." Despite
speculation that Thomas sought a waiver from the NBA to
allow him to continue his ownership of the league, Granik
said, "I don't know anything about a waiver. We haven't had
any communication about a waiver with Isiah." Meanwhile,
CBS SportsLine's Mike Kahn wrote that the $20M price tag for
the sale of the CBA to the NBPA "that has been floated
around is ludicrous and the impulse for the [NBPA] to get
into a league that has struggled to survive for a fall-back
is a bit outlandish even at the original $10 million paid by
Thomas" (CBS SportsLine, 7/19).
