The Pacers yesterday named outgoing CBA Owner Isiah Thomas as their head coach and the team has "set up a 'procedure'" for Thomas to sell the CBA, according to Dave Lewandowski of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR. Pacers GM David Kahn: "That sale is pending, but there is a procedure in place where we are confident Isiah will be divested of the CBA by training camp. ... We feel confident that the sale will be successfully completed." Lewandowski notes that negotiations "are ongoing" for a sale of the league to the NBPA, which has meetings scheduled next week in the Bahamas. Pacers President Donnie Walsh said that if a sale to the NBPA "is not completed," the Pacers "will not take ownership" of the CBA. NBA Senior VP/Communications Brian McIntyre: "For [Isiah] to coach, he has to divest himself of the CBA. But we'll be a little more flexible in terms of timing and try to work with Isiah and the team." Former Fury Owner Jay Frye said that he "was surprised a deal was struck so quickly" with Thomas. Frye: "We have no idea what the (divestiture) agreement is. [Thomas] still owes us a lot of money, so we're interested" (INDY STAR, 7/21). More Frye, on Thomas' $10M purchase of the CBA last fall: "He misrepresented the whole deal to me. He misrepresented the status of the league. He misrepresented that we were bankrupt and not going to play, which was totally untrue. I've tried to figure out all along what the heck his motive was, unless he thought he could buy it and sell it quickly and make a profit from it" (INDY STAR, 7/21).
