NBA News

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One final, sorrowful time, an Eddie Griffin highlight reel played for family and friends.

Snapshots of Griffin as a child, as a Philadelphia prep star, smiling with his family and shaking hands on draft night with NBA commissioner David Stern seemed more appropriate for a big screen All-Star tribute than flashed on a plain white wall at a memorial service.

The photos were indicative of the way mourners at Griffin's funeral Tuesday wanted to remember him: a family loving kid with a tender heart and congenial nature.

"His heart was bigger than his wingspan," said friend and former Seton Hall teammate Marcus Toney-El.

Sadly, for those who knew the 25-year-old former NBA player, they were powerless to stop the self-destructive demons that plagued him from high school all the way to his mysterious death two weeks ago.

Griffin died when his sport utility vehicle collided with a moving freight train near his Houston home. Griffin's body was badly burned and there was no initial identification. Dental records later revealed the man was Griffin.

"I guess heaven needed a power forward," Toney-El said.

Kevin Garnett, his former Timberwolves teammate, former Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker and former NBA coach John Lucas were among the 200 friends, players and family members who attended the service at First African Baptist Church.

"He's a special guy to me," said Amaker, who coached Griffin in his one season at Seton Hall.

Some mourners dressed in T-shirts with Griffin's picture on the front. One wore a Houston Rockets No. 33 jersey.

Griffin's battles with alcohol, drugs and the law derailed a promising career for the former star at Philadelphia's Roman Catholic High School. He was drafted seventh overall by the New Jersey Nets in June 2001, and then traded to Houston.

Griffin's emotional issues, addictions and a short fuse that betrayed his youthful appearance, soft-spoken nature and philanthropic achievements eventually forced him out of the league.

The 6-foot-10 Griffin averaged 7.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.71 blocks in five NBA seasons with the Rockets and Minnesota.

The pastor, Richard R. Dent, told mourners he prayed that Griffin could find with God the peace "he could not find on this side."

"He's been given a home where no dark clouds would ever follow him again," Dent said.

Griffin's sister, Marian Middleton, told the crowd to ignore stories that portrayed Griffin as troubled or spoiled, and that indicated there was anything suspicious about his death. Middleton said Griffin was excited about spending upcoming birthdays with his nieces and nephews and would never waste those opportunities because he loved his family.

"Everything you read, throw it in the trash, like he was so unhappy and it was all planned," she said.

Toney-El remembered how Griffin told North Carolina he wouldn't commit to the school unless they were both recruited. Toney-El said that when the program had little interest in him, they became Pirates instead.

Griffin spent the summer in Houston working out with former Rockets star Calvin Murphy and was hoping for another comeback, this time playing overseas. Instead, Griffin missed an Aug. 15 morning session; two days later, at 1:30 a.m., the player's blue SUV went through a railroad crossing barrier and hit the freight train.

"Eddie is now out of his misery," Dent said. "He is now at peace and that is a good thing."

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Guard Kevin Martin agreed in principle to a contract extension Tuesday with the Sacramento Kings.

Geoff Petrie, the Kings' president of basketball operations, announced the deal, believed to be a five-year extension to begin in the 2008-09 season. Martin's agent, Jason Levien, couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

"We expect to finalize the contract in the very near future," Petrie said. "He's one of the most exciting young players in the NBA. We look forward to watching him play for many years to come."

Martin, a speedy shooter who will begin his fourth NBA season in the fall, was the Kings' leading scorer last season at 20.2 points per game.

The former first-round pick was one of Sacramento's few bright spots during its first losing season since 1998, and the club moved quickly to sign Martin before he became a free agent after next season. Sacramento has made few changes to its 33-win roster in the offseason, signing center Mikki Moore and hiring coach Reggie Theus.

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The Charlotte Bobcats found their backup point guard Wednesday when they re-signed Jeff McInnis to a one-year, $1.2 million contract.

McInnis, who was an unrestricted free agent, averaged 4.3 points and 3.3 assists in 38 games last season as the No. 3 point guard behind starter Raymond Felton and Brevin Knight.

McInnis, who turns 33 in October, will take on a bigger role as Felton's main backup next season after the Bobcats bought out the final year of Knight's contract.

Bobcats vice president of basketball operations Bernie Bickerstaff said McInnis and new coach Sam Vincent hit it off during offseason workouts.

"Jeff did a nice job for us last year and he's certainly a veteran backup," Bickerstaff said. "He and Sam were on the same page. Sam was really impressed with Jeff. They've been working together this summer and communicating."

McInnis' agent, Steve Kauffman, said at least five teams expressed interest in his client, including Detroit, Miami and Boston. But McInnis, who grew up in Charlotte and played in college at North Carolina, wanted to play for the hometown team.

"There were other teams interested at the same salary level, but there was never any question that Jeff wanted to be in Charlotte," Kauffman said.

Charlotte acquired McInnis from New Jersey in January for swingman Bernard Robinson. McInnis sat out the final 48 games of the 2005-06 season after undergoing knee surgery and had a falling out with Nets coach Lawrence Frank during his rehabilitation.

McInnis claimed he was completely healthy by the end of the summer, but wasn't allowed to attend New Jersey's training camp. He hadn't played in almost a year when the Bobcats acquired him.

McInnis has averaged 9.9 points and 4.4 assists in his 10-year career.

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-- Houston Rockets guard Rafer Alston was charged Tuesday with slashing a man's neck during a ruckus at a Manhattan nightspot -- his second brush with the law this month.

Alston was arraigned on felony assault charges before being released without bail. A judge ordered him to return to court Jan. 3.

His lawyer said Alston was "absolutely innocent."

The man who said he was injured told police the incident occurred at about 3 a.m. Monday after he and Alston accidentally bumped each other inside Club Stereo. During an ensuing argument, the man said, Alston slashed his neck.

The 41-year-old went to a hospital to be treated for a minor neck injury, then filed a complaint at a police precinct.

Defense attorney Alberto Ebanks said bouncers and other witnesses told him the man didn't appear to be injured when he left the club and never bothered alerting police officers who were in the area.

The arrest came three weeks after 31-year-old Alston was charged with misdemeanor assault and public intoxication in Houston.

Alston was accused of grabbing a parking attendant's arm, shaking him and spitting on him after his vehicle was towed from a lot. The attendant said Alston parked illegally and didn't pay. Alston told a Houston television station that he didn't do anything to the attendant.

The 6-foot-2 player out of Fresno State joined the NBA during the 1999-2000 season with Milwaukee. He signed with the Rockets in 2004 and averaged 13.3 points per game last season.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said the team learned of Alston's arrest Tuesday morning.

"Obviously, it is troubling that Rafer was again in a situation involving the police," Morey said in a statement. "We take these matters very seriously -- the Rockets expect all employees to represent the organization in a first-class manner. Until more facts are gathered from all parties, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further."

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It was a modest request from one owner to another half a world away.

Come to Hong Kong, meet Yi Jianlian and show that the Milwaukee Bucks had the young man's best interests at heart.

Sen. Herb Kohl, the Bucks owner, wasted little time in honoring the request by Chen Haitao, owner of Yi's former pro team in China.

"He said, 'Would you do us the honor of traveling to Hong Kong so that we can continue and hopefully finalize our dialogue?"' Kohl said in a conference call. "We of course instantly said 'yes' and here we are."

The Bucks signed Yi, the No. 6 pick of the draft, on Wednesday in Hong Kong to a rookie scale contract. The club also gave his former team, the Guangdong Tigers, money in the deal, but declined to discuss details.

"He impressed us," Kohl said. "There's going to be no question about his character, about his work ethic, about his desire to do good for himself and his team and his country."

With that, one of the most shrouded sagas in Bucks history ended abruptly. Later, the group -- including Yi's parents -- went out to dinner.

"It sort of cemented the relationship in a human and social sort of way," Kohl said. "He has wonderful parents, which is not surprising because he's a wonderful guy. And we sit here very pleased and happy."

Yi, 19, said he was very happy, too, after months of saying nothing publicly.

"Today's agreement means I finally, formally enter the door of the NBA," Yi said in Chinese to the media contingent at the signing in Hong Kong. "This will be a great challenge for me. I know I will have a lot of opportunities, but also a lot of difficulties. But I'll do my best."

Yi's handlers in China were impressed with the Bucks decision to come overseas. That helped negotiations conclude quickly after nearly two months of discussion since the draft.

"They were very appreciative -- all of them -- in the effort that we made in coming here. That to them was an indication of our commitment to Yi," Kohl said.

While the Bucks don't know exactly when the 6-foot-11 power forward nicknamed "Alian" would travel to the United States, they expect him to be in Milwaukee by October for the start of training camp or shortly thereafter.

Yi, who hopes to wear No. 9, said he'd know more about when he might come after he speaks with Chinese national team officials. He said his parents are still deciding whether to move to the U.S. with him.

Yi's handlers had pushed for him to go to a city with a larger Asian population than Milwaukee -- or just a bigger city in general.

"When it came down to it, it was not a question of our city or of the composition of our city in terms of its diversity, but rather a question almost entirely of is he going to have a full chance and full opportunity to play and develop and grow in Milwaukee," Kohl said. "When they became confident that that was the case, they then thawed in terms of their reluctance, put aside their doubts and said, 'OK, we're prepared to sign on."'

Part of the concern also stemmed from the Olympics being in Beijing next year.

China wants to medal on its home floor against stiff international competition. The team has a developing roster that includes Yi, former No. 1 pick Yao Ming, Lakers second-round pick Sun Yue and former NBA player Wang Zhizhi.

"From a countryman standpoint, he certainly wants to accelerate the process and really become the best that he can be because this is a big thing next year in Beijing," general manager Larry Harris said.

The Bucks said NBA commissioner David Stern was not involved in negotiations, but was elated when they told him the news.

"He's been encouraging to us and naturally we've kept him fully abreast of what we're doing," Kohl said. "He had a strong interest in this particular draft pick, a draft pick from China. Aside from keeping him abreast of what we were doing, he didn't provide assistance beyond that."

Chinese Americans living in Milwaukee were also excited about the possibilities after not being sure that the Bucks would sign Yi Jianlian (EE jee-AHN-lee-AHN), who will be in the mix to compete for a starting job with Charlie Villanueva.

"A lot of fans probably calmed down, waiting for the results of negotiation," said Gaosheng Liu, a 42-year-old engineer who has lived in Milwaukee the last seven years and is an avid NBA fan. "Now, I'm just waiting for the new season to start and watch the games."

The team's starting lineup also will include Michael Redd, former No. 1 pick Andrew Bogut and a healthy Bobby Simmons. The three were the core of a team that made the playoffs in 2005.

Milwaukee traded that squad's point guard, T.J. Ford, to Toronto for Villanueva and gave Ford's spot to Mo Williams, who signed a six-year contract for $51.5 million this offseason.

Last season, Yi averaged 24.9 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 30.7 minutes for the Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association.

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New York Knicks center Randolph Morris pleaded guilty Friday to reckless driving and agreed to pay a $100 fine.

Morris, who was scheduled to appear in Fayette District Court for a preliminary hearing, didn't attend. His attorney, Jim Lowry, entered the guilty plea on his behalf and said the fine and court costs would be paid Friday. He declined to comment further.

The former University of Kentucky star was arrested Aug. 7 in Lexington after an officer spotted him driving 62 mph -- 17 mph over the speed limit -- and failing to use a turn signal as he drove down an exit ramp.

Morris smelled of alcohol and had bloodshot eyes, according to the arrest report. He acknowledged he had been drinking 30 minutes earlier and was given a preliminary breath test at the scene, with his blood alcohol level showing .069, below Kentucky's legal limit of .08.

Morris signed with the Knicks in March after playing for Kentucky in the NCAA tournament. He played in five games for New York.

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David Stern defended his current referees, blasted a pair of former ones, and vowed to wait until a review of the NBA's officiating program is finished before he decides on any punishments stemming from gambling activities.

The commissioner was in Las Vegas on Thursday to watch the United States play Argentina in the FIBA Americas tournament, and it wasn't long before questions turned to gambling.

The league recently chose former federal prosecutor Lawrence B. Pedowitz to oversee a review of its policies regarding gambling and its referees in the wake of the Tim Donaghy scandal.

Donaghy has pleaded guilty to betting on games, including some he worked, and providing inside information to others to help them win bets. An ESPN Radio report said the former official was set to name as many as 20 other referees who took part in gambling activity, though not necessarily criminal.

"There has been no release of any information, there have been leaked news reports about what Mr. Donaghy might have said," Stern said. "We think the fairest way to deal with this is to allow the referees to tell us what the facts are, and our referees are very anxious to tell us what the facts are and then we'll know. And the speculation is hard for them, but we're very much on the same page as we seek to move forward.

"Many people have been happy to condemn them on the basis of either disgruntled former officials or press reports about what Mr. Donaghy is alleged to have said, and that's not fair."

The former referees the commissioner spoke of were Mike Mathis and Hue Hollins, who have been critical in some recent newspaper stories of the current state of the profession under director of officials Ronnie Nunn. NBA officials are generally prohibited from speaking to the media.

"I think that their statements about current referees, which they're happy to take shots at, are kind of interesting," Stern said. "And I guess that's all I'll say, is that Messrs. Mathis and Hollins at the end of their careers were not model referees.

"As a staff, the quality is a lot better than when Mr. Hollins and Mr. Mathis were roaming the floor, I might say. Certainly toward the end of their perhaps otherwise distinguished careers, so I'm very protective of our existing officials and their staff and their development, and I doubt very much that our existing staff would do to their younger colleagues what Mathis and Hollins now find to be open. So when you talk about officials you should make the point that those are disgruntled former officials."

Stern said Pedowitz and his staff have as much time as they need to conduct their review, which will include interviews with referees, and league and team officials. He said there would be "no holds barred."

But he's not ready to say yet what will happen if more gambling activity among his officials is proven. NBA policies prevent referees from any type of betting, other than trips to the race track during the offseason.

"Some of them might have actually bought a lottery ticket, or played bingo in a church, two forms of gambling that I'm sure everyone is very familiar with," Stern said. "I don't want to prejudge it, but I think there are some things that would perhaps cause me to pause more than others.

"And I think that's the problem here, that everyone (says) 'Oh my God, I saw him play, I don't know what you call it, $5 nassau on the golf course.' That's why rather than speculate about what they did or what would happen if they did it, we agree that the best way to do it is find out what they did and then understand it all."

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Boston Celtics forward James Posey was suspended by the NBA for one game on Friday for pleading no contest to reckless driving stemming from an incident in April.

Posey's agent, Mark Bartelstein, said his client will appeal, calling the April 9 arrest in Miami Beach a "bad arrest." Posey was arrested on drunken driving charges while he was a member of the Miami Heat.

The 30-year-old Posey signed with the Celtics on Monday.

"He wasn't driving," Bartelstein told The Associated Press. "This is a case where we need to make sure the NBA has all the information. Once they learn all the facts and what really happened, they will eliminate the suspension."

The NBA said Posey would serve the suspension, without pay, for the Celtics' regular-season opener against Washington on Nov. 2 in Boston.

Posey pleaded no contest -- which is neither an admission of guilt nor a proclamation of innocence -- about one month ago because he didn't want the case to affect his opportunities in free agency, Bartelstein said.

A spokesman for the Celtics had no comment.

Posey, a member of the Heat team that won the NBA championship in 2006, is entering his ninth season.

He completes an offseason rebuilding that had Boston acquire veterans stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen along with role players Scot Pollard and Eddie House.

Posey, a 6-foot-8 forward known for his defensive skills, brings versatility to the team. He's averaged 9.5 points per game and 4.9 rebounds during his career.

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The disappearance of Orlando Magic guard Jameer Nelson's father has mystified his fellow workers at a Delaware River tugboat company, where he was last seen walking across a dock Thursday.

Divers, the U.S. Coast Guard and searchers with dogs looked for Floyd "Pete" Nelson in and around the fast-moving river Friday. The 57-year-old had been working Thursday in a dry dock area and was last seen walking toward a tug used as a break room, according to Harry Hays, the owner of Hays Tug & Launch Service.

The search was suspended around 4 p.m.

"We didn't see nothing or hear nothing, and the boys on the dry docks heard nothing, seen nothing. So it's a mystery to all of us," Hays said Friday.

Nelson's girlfriend and two sons have been on the scene, Hays said. Jameer Nelson arrived Friday morning and was seen speaking with officials involved in the search.

Floyd Nelson was last seen at about 11 a.m. Thursday. His lunch and car keys were found in the tug's kitchen area, and his car was nearby, Chester Police Chief John Finnegan said. Searchers were examining a 3-foot gap between the tug and the dock.

"If he was in that location and something happened to him medically, he might have fallen over," Finnegan said. "I can't think of anything else, unless he walked off, but I don't know why he would."

Nelson, a welder, had worked for the company for about a decade.

"His son wanted him retired, but he said, 'No way. I love my job.' He just told me that about a month ago," Hays said. "He's a wonderful guy. Everybody liked him."

Nelson, a Vietnam War veteran, wrote a book about his son's basketball career in 2004 entitled "Jameer." The Magic drafted his son out of Saint Joseph's in the first round in 2004.

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Knicks guard Stephon Marbury testified Wednesday in the case of a fired team executive who has accused coach Isiah Thomas of sexual harassment, calling the lawsuit absurd while downplaying an encounter with a drunken intern.

After hearing about the lawsuit brought by Anucha Browne Sanders, "I laughed," Marbury said in U.S. District Court. "It was more of a joke than anything."

Marbury admitted he once called Browne Sanders a "bitch" during a phone conversation with another team employee though he insisted, "I didn't have a reason not to like her."

Browne Sanders says she is owed her vice president position back and at least $10 million for enduring a sexually harassing workplace for five years. Her lawsuit claims she was fired "for telling the truth" about vulgarity and unwanted advances by Thomas, also a team president. Thomas has denied the allegations.

Taking the witness stand earlier Wednesday, Browne Sanders wept while telling the jury of five women and three men that Marbury and his cousins, also Madison Square Garden employees, were part of the problem.

The plaintiff cited a conversation with an MSG intern who confided that she was having a relationship with one of the cousins and had gotten drunk on an outing to a Manhattan strip club in April 2005 that included Marbury. The intern claimed that afterward Marbury lured her into his vehicle for sex, Browne Sanders said.

"She said she basically did whatever he asked her to do and she considered it to be consensual because she got in the car," Browne Sanders testified.

When he took the stand, Marbury admitted pulling up and asking the intern, "Are you going to get in the truck?"' He said she answered, "Yes."

U.S. District Judge Gerard E. Lynch cut off any more questioning on the encounter, saying more details wouldn't help the jury decide the case.

After Marbury finished testifying, he rode down 23 floors in a crowded elevator, saying to no one in particular: "Money makes you do crazy things, man."

Then he left the courthouse, smiling and singing a song out loud. When pressed to divulge more about his relationship with the intern, he instead commented cheerfully on a reporter's shoes.

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Indiana Pacers forward Shawne Williams intends to plead guilty to charges of driving without a license.

Defense attorney John Tompkins said Friday that Williams plans to enter a plea agreement on the misdemeanor charge by Oct. 1, the day before the Pacers open training camp.

Williams did not attend Friday's initial court hearing, but later apologized for his actions and said he would accept a three-game suspension imposed by the team.

On Thursday, prosecutors decided not to file marijuana possession charges against Williams.

Williams, 21, was jailed for several hours on an initial charge of marijuana possession after police said they found a marijuana cigarette burning inside his SUV after it was pulled over early Tuesday for changing lanes without signaling.

A passenger faces a misdemeanor count of marijuana possession.

"In this case, the passenger said it belonged to him," said David Wyser, the chief trial deputy for the Marion County prosecutor's office.

Williams apologized to team owners Melvin and Herb Simon, the front office staff, his teammates and Pacers fans.

Williams told reporters he would be more careful about who he is with.

"Before I would just get into the car with anybody, but now I'm going to ask whoever gets in the car with me what they have and what they're doing," he said. "Me being a professional ballplayer, I have to surround myself with better people."

The 6-foot-9 Williams, who was the Pacers' first-round draft pick last year from Memphis, averaged 3.9 points and 1.8 rebounds in 46 games last season.

Tompkins said Williams has never held an Indiana driver's license. He said he was not sure whether Williams has held a driver's license in any other state and had requested records from Tennessee and South Carolina to determine if he had ever held a license in those states.

Pacers president Larry Bird said Friday he believed Williams was remorseful and embarrassed by his arrest.

"Does that cure all ills? No," Bird said. "Now he's got to be a good citizen and play the game the way its supposed to be played and be a good teammate."

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The Dallas Mavericks and Devin Harris have agreed on a five-year contract extension worth roughly $42 million, locking up the speedy point guard through the 2012-13 season.

Harris would've been going into the final year of his rookie contract. Instead, he has the comfort of knowing he'll be teammates with reigning MVP Dirk Nowitzki and All-Star Josh Howard for years to come. Both are signed through 2010-11.

"We wanted Devin going into this year with a clear mind," team president Donnie Nelson said Thursday. "He's one of the bright young point guards of the future in this league. The fact he was invited to the Dream Team junior squad shows there are a lot of people that are very high on his future, us obviously being one of them."

Harris was part of a select squad that played against the U.S. national team to help it prepare for last month's FIBA Americas tournament.

He averaged career-highs across the board last season, including 10.2 points and 3.7 assists, as the Mavericks won an NBA-best 67 games. He's played three seasons, and his numbers have gone up steadily each time. Harris' breakout came during the 2006 playoffs, helping Dallas reach the NBA finals.

The Mavericks began talking about an extension with Harris' agent, Henry Thomas, a few months ago. They wound up using the six-year, $51.5 million contract Mo Williams received from Milwaukee as a barometer. Harris will make almost $4 million this season from his existing contract, then jump to about $8 million when the new deal kicks in.

"This is a deal we can both be comfortable with," Thomas said. "One of the things I looked at is the fact Devin is young. He'll be 30 when this deal is over. ... There's another contract out there."

Harris started alongside Jason Terry for much of last year, a two-point-guard look that worked great in the regular season but not the playoffs. It remains to be seen how they will be used this season, although Harris is believed to have an edge if coach Avery Johnson shakes things up.

This contract might wrap up a quiet offseason for the Mavs, with backup Eddie Jones being their only significant acquisition. Nelson said the team's still considering other players, with Chris Webber and P.J. Brown among the candidates. But he is in no hurry with training camp opening Oct. 2.

"Our feeling is that this team has really earned the right to have another crack at it and hopefully do something special this year," Nelson said. "You can say what you want about the first-round exit. But we're doing some things right -- we won 67 games and that's one of the top records ever, and we got to the finals the year before. Although last year's exit was a surprise to us all, the reality is we feel we've got what it takes in the locker room right now."

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The season-ending injury to Greg Oden dredged up a bad memory for Portland Trail Blazers fans -- that fateful draft day in 1984 when the team used the second overall pick to choose Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan.

Bowie proved injury-prone and Jordan proved to be, well, Jordan.

The news Thursday that the No. 1 pick in the June draft is out for the season after knee surgery brought inevitable comparisons. Should Portland have gone with Texas star Kevin Durant, who went to Seattle with the second selection?

The Blazers organization was standing firm by the decision.

"If you could look in (Oden's) eyes today, you will see that this kid is what we want, and I have no doubt he will be back. I always believe things happen for a reason," Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard said. "People need to realize: Oden will be back."

And it remains to be seen whether Oden's future will prove as bleak as Bowie's and what has been called one of the worst draft debacles ever.

In 1984, the Houston Rockets took Hakeem Olajuwan with the top pick. Then the Blazers selected Bowie, passing on Michael Jordan, who went third to the Bulls. Later, Charles Barkley and John Stockton were selected.

The 7-foot-1 Bowie played four seasons with Portland, averaging 10.5 points, but he was plagued by injuries and had leg surgery as many as five times. He retired in 1995 after stints with the New Jersey Nets and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Even Pritchard and coach Nate McMillan recalled Bowie when the news about Oden broke, but that didn't shake their confidence.

"We talked about it internally, Nate and I, but the one thing we do know is that we picked the right player," Pritchard said. "Greg is a wonderful human being. He is going to be a great basketball player."

Said McMillan: "Greg Oden was our man. He still is our man."

The loss of Oden stings in part because the Blazers appeared to be finally turning a corner after several down years for a once-proud franchise.

Not only had the Blazers struggled on the floor, missing the playoffs four straight years, their reputation was stung by player arrests and misconduct, earning the team the nickname "Jail Blazers."

The turnaround started in earnest last year when the Blazers got LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy in the draft. Roy, the personable face of the franchise, went on to be chosen the NBA's rookie of the year.

Then Portland won the draft lottery, landing the rights to the top pick. At a party the night of the draft, fans showed up in droves at the Rose Garden, chanting "Oden! Oden!" and celebrating at center court when the selection was made.

Despite being hampered by a wrist injury at Ohio State, Oden averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds last season as a freshman. He led the Buckeyes to the national championship game and had 25 points and 12 rebounds in the loss to Florida.

On Thursday, Oden had microfracture surgery to repair cartilage damage in his right knee. He is expected to miss the upcoming season.

"There has been so much excitement about the anticipation of this young team getting out on the floor and playing in front of our fans and the national market," coach McMillan said. "To know that Greg wouldn't be with us, it was disappointing."

As for fans who bought season tickets, there were about 20 requests for refunds or cancellations Thursday. The team does not offer refunds.

But Blazers president Larry Miller said the team was already generating excitement before Oden, and he's confident it will continue without the 7-footer.

"I think fans felt good about the direction this team has been going, and I think the things Kevin and Nate have done over the last couple of years have really gotten people supportive of this team, and I don't think that support is going anywhere," he said.

For the Blazers players, it was all still sinking in.

"We were all very disappointed, but more for him, because this was his rookie season and he had a lot of pressure on his shoulders," Roy said on the team's weekly radio show Thursday night. "And we knew he couldn't wait to get out there for his first game."

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The Golden State Warriors are close to reaching a deal to rework coach Don Nelson's contract and bring him back for another season with the team.

"I am hopeful that we can finalize something by the close of the business week," team president Robert Rowell said Friday.

Nelson, who had two years left on the contract he signed last year, would get a raise from $3.1 million to $5.1 million a year under the new deal, according to the Contra Costa Times.

In exchange, the third year of the deal would convert to a team option, the paper said. If the option was not exercised, Nelson would $1 million under a five-year consulting deal with the team.

Nelson said at the end of the season that he wasn't sure if he'd return to the sidelines for a 29th season as an NBA coach. He originally said he'd make his decision by July 1, but talks dragged on all summer before nearing a resolution.

"It went on long enough," Nelson told the Contra Costa Times. "Negotiations could have gone on until training camp started, but I didn't want that."

Nelson, who turned 67 in May, went 42-40 in his first season back with Golden State, where he also coached from 1988-95. His 1,232 career coaching victories are the second-most in NBA history.

It was the most successful season in years for the Warriors, who had gone 12 straight seasons without a winning record or a playoff berth before Nelson's return.

Golden State clinched the playoffs on the final day of the regular season, then shocked the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round, beating the NBA's best regular-season team -- and Nelson's former employer -- in six games.

That was Golden State's first playoff series win since 1991 and just the third time an eighth seed had won an opening-round series.

The Warriors lost their second-round series in five games to Utah, although all of the losses were close.

The Warriors tinkered with their roster in the offseason to cater to Nelson's preferred small-ball style of play. Guard Jason Richardson was traded to Charlotte for the athletic big man Brandan Wright. The Warriors also drafted Italian guard Marco Belinelli, who fits well into the team's up-tempo style of play.

Golden State bought out the contract of little-used center Adonal Foyle and brought back swingman Matt Barnes, who excelled under Nelson.

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Restricted free-agent guard Charlie Bell said Saturday that he does not want to return to the Milwaukee Bucks this season.

"They told me they were going to take care of Mo Williams and that they would take care of me, but they haven't," Bell said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "I'm either going to sign an offer sheet with another NBA team, or I'm going to accept a great deal to play in Greece.

"I don't want to go back to Milwaukee. I'm really disappointed in how this has turned out, but I don't see any way I could play for the Bucks again because my heart just won't be in it."

Bell signed a two-year contract with Milwaukee in August 2005 after leading the Spanish League in scoring, averaging 27 points for Breogan, the previous season. He played in all 82 regular-season games for the Bucks in 2006-07, averaging 13.5 points and 35 minutes.

The 28-year-old Flint, Mich., native helped Michigan State win the 2000 national championship but went undrafted. Bell played for the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks in 2001-02 and then spent three seasons in Italy, leading all scorers in 2003-04 with 25.5-point average for Livorno.

The Bucks signed Williams, a point guard, to a six-year, $51.5 million contract in July.