Hornets Pick Up Derrick Coleman
For the second time in three seasons, the Charlotte Hornets have balked at paying an eight-figure salary to keep a center.
Instead of re-signing Vlade Divac, the Hornets have agreed to give free-agent center Derrick Coleman of the Philadelphia 76ers a six-year contract that will pay him slightly more than $6 million per season, NBA sources told The Associated Press on Saturday.
Coleman will sign the deal Tuesday, when training camps officially open and teams can begin signing players.
Divac became a free agent after last season but wanted a deal worth nearly $11 million annually, a figure the Hornets said would use up virtually all of their money available under the salary cap.
The Hornets said they wanted to limit their center's salary to about $6 million. Such a move would free them up to target other priorities on the team, including renegotiating the contract of forward Glen Rice.
Rice was acquired in a trade with Miami in November 1995, the last time Charlotte was unwilling to meet the salary demands of its starting center. Alonzo Mourning, who was seeking a deal worth about $12 million per year, was sent to the Heat in the multi-player trade that brought Rice to Charlotte.
Mourning played in two NBA All-Star games while with Charlotte, but in the case of Divac, the Hornets questioned if it was worth their while to spend more than $10 million a year on someone who was never an all-star.
Coleman, the NBA's rookie of the year in 1991, has averaged 19.2 points and 10.4 rebounds in his career, which began in New Jersey before he went to Philadelphia three seasons ago. He averaged 17.6 points and 9.9 rebounds this past season. Divac averaged 10.4 points and 8.1 rebounds.
But while Coleman brin1gs better numbers to the Hornets, his reliability has become an issue. Coleman, selected to the 1994 All-Star Game while with New Jersey, has not played more than 60 games in any of the past four seasons, including just 11 games in 1995-96. He appeared in 59 games this past season, when his play was limited by ankle problems and an irregular heartbeat.The Hornets also had been negotiating with free-agent centers Theo Ratliff of Philadelphia and Isaac Austin of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Charlotte did not attempt to re-sign reserve center Matt Geiger, who is close to signing a deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Saturday.
Geiger, who has played the last three seasons with the Hornets, is expected to agree to a six-year deal worth $54 million, the $9 million per year maximum allowed under the new collective bargaining agreement.
The deal could be donas early as Tuesday, but is not certain.
The Sixers are still considering acquiring Los Angeles Lakers backup center Elden Campbell.
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