NBA Lockout Officially Ends

The NBA lockout was officially settled Wednesday afternoon, and teams were told they can begin signing players, making trades and opening training camps at 2 p.m. ET Thursday.

"We have an agreement, and we expect to have the deal signed tonight," league spokesman Chris Brienza said.

Teams can immediately begin talking to their players, something that was forbidden since commissioner David Stern and union director Billy Hunter agreed two weeks ago on the terms of a new collective bargaining agreement.

Opening night is less than 2½ weeks away, and the NBA is expected to release a new schedule by the end of the week.

"It's just a relief to know it's behind us," new Chicago Bulls coach Tim Floyd said. "We have a chance to sit down and visit with players, talk to players, which is what this is all about."

Earlier today, Day 204 of the longest and costliest work stoppage in league history, the laborious task of reducing the settlement into written form hit a few last-minute snags after lawyers for the owners and players spent the whole night meeting.

In the meantime, the rumors kept coming and the plots kept twisting as teams maneuvered to get ready for the scheduled Feb. 5 start of the season.

"It'll get done. It always gets done," agent David Falk said. "This just gives us more time to talk to people and refine our numbers."

The main sticking point between the sides had been whether the new middle-class exception can be used for a three-year contract (the league's contention) or a six-year contract (the union's contention).

The union won that argument, but a final snag developed over the league's insistence upon having discipline authority over agents involved in salary cap circumvention. Another snag concerned whether bonus money would be counted in trade calculations.

It was not immediately known how those issues were resolved.

Rod Strickland, meanwhile, was miffed at the offer the Washington Wizards made. The Washington Post said the Wizards offered $30 million for three years, with two additionl years non-guaranteed, and had given Strickland a deadline of midnight tonight.

"I don't think he'll be back here," Falk told The Associated Press today. "We're trying to get him to New York. He loves it that they have (Latrell) Sprewell, Allan Houston and Larry Johnson there, and he thinks they can win a championship. I'd like to get him there so Patrick (Ewing) can win a championship."

Falk was exploring other options for Strickland, including several sign-and-trade deals that would send last season's NBA assist leader to another team. He said four or five teams were making bids, but refused to name anyone other than the Knicks.

Dennis Rodman added a strange subplot to Tuesday's events as his agent, Dwight Manley, announced that Rodman was retiring. Hours later, the league's leading rebounder for the past seven seasons said he was more in a state of "limbo" than retirement.

And Antonio McDyess put off until Wednesday a decision on where he'll play -- Denver or Phoenix -- but several signs seemed to be pointing to the Nuggets.

"It defies logic, in my opinion," Suns owner Jerry Colangelo said of the deliberations concerning McDyess. "We think this is a great spot for him. He seemed very happy here. We love him as a young guy and a future star in this league. But a lot of things have happened this offseason."

The Tom Gugliotta rumors were strong, too, with the Nuggets, Suns and Lakers all interested. A source close to the Lakers said the team was offering Elden Campbell, Eddie Jones and rookie Sam Jacobsen to the Timberwolves in a sign-and-trade deal for Gugliotta.

The Nuggets were wondering whether they would be spurned by Gugliotta in the event that McDyess stays in Phoenix. If so, they were expected to look to sign free-agent center Vlade Divac.

But no event symbolized Tuesday's craziness like the "retirement" of Rodman.

"I'm not going to play this year," Rodman told Fox Sports News. "I am in limbo, but I'm not going to say I'm retired."

That's not how his former coach heard it. In a strange twist earlier in the day, Chuck Daly of the Orlando Magic said he heard Rodman was traded to the New York Knicks for Buck Williams -- a rumor that was quickly shot down.

Also Tuesday, it was learned that John Starks and Chris Mills are the players who will be traded from the Knicks to the Golden State Warriors for Latrell Sprewell. Word of the Sprewell trade got out Monday night, just a few hours after another major trade was revealed -- Scottie Pippen from the Chicago Bulls to the Houston Rockets.

The Bulls also have sign-and-trade deals worked out for Luc Longley and Steve Kerr.

Colangelo confirmed that the Suns will trade three of the five players they have under contract -- Mark Bryant, Martin Muursepp and Bubba Wells -- for Longley.

In another agreed-upon deal, the Seattle SuperSonics wee set to send center Jim McIlvaine to the New Jersey Nets for veteran forwards Michael Cage and Don MacLean.

The Utah Jazz were expected to sign Nuggets free-agent forward Johnny Newman, who would take the place of free agent Chris Morris. The Jazz also went looking for another big man after learning that Greg Foster fractured an ankle. Utah was believed to have spoken to Chicago about a sign-and-trade deal involving Bill Wennington, although no trade agreement was reached.

The Miami Heat and Golden State Warriors, who couldn't agree on a Sprewell deal, nonetheless continued to discuss several multiplayer deals. Heat coach Pat Riley was thought to have interest in reuniting with Starks, and a deal was being discussed that would send Brent Barry, Terry Mills and Duane Causwell to the Warriors for Clarence Weatherspoon, Tony Delk and Felton Spencer.

There were reports of a possible Starks-Barry deal, but it would not work under the salary cap in the league's complicated trade rules.

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