News from October 3. Brad Daugherty (Cle) will miss the start of training camp due to his continuing back problems. Denver waived Alvin Robertson. Denver has made an offer to unrestricted free agent Dale Ellis. Cleveland named Sidney Lowe as an assistant coach. Lowe was the head coach for Minnesota last season. He replaces Richie Adubato who earlier joined Orlando as an assistant coach (replacing Orlando assistant Bob Hill who became San Antonio's head coach). [Note on the following signings: most (all?) are probably non- guaranteed contracts and the players will be fighting to win a roster slot during preseason.] Utah signed 2nd round draft pick Jamie Watson, Marques Bragg (F), and Rich Manning (C). Seattle signed Sam Crawford (G), Nate Higgs (F-C), and Carl Thomas (G). Minnesota signed Dave Jamerson (G). News from October 4. Hakeem Olajuwon is suffering from an injury to his sinus cavity after knocking heads with Tim Breaux in a pick-up game. He is expected to be out a week to 10 days. San Antonio waived restricted free agent Lloyd Daniels. Houston has reached a multi-year contract agreement with Mario Elie. Philadelphia has reached an agreement with 1st round draft pick Sharone Wright, reportedly worth $18 million over 6 years. Philadelphia re-signed restricted free agent Dana Barros to a 1 year, $950,000 contract. Denver signed unrestricted free agent Dale Ellis to a 1 year, $1.3 million contract. Denver signed Cliff Levingston to a 1 year, $650,000 contact. Denver signed rookie free agent Abdul Fox (G). Boston re-signed restricted free agent Rick Fox to a 6 year deal. News from October 5. The NBA Board of Governors met and approved the rule changes recommended by the NBA Competition Committe. The 3-point line has been moved in to a uniform 22 feet. A player who is fouled while attempting a 3-pointer will received 3 free throws. The hand-checking rule has been modified so that hand-checking is illegal from the end line in the backcourt to the frontcourt foul line. A player will be ejected for 2 flagrant fouls. Minnesota signed their 2nd round draft pick Howard Eisley. The deal is believed to be for 1 year, $150,000 - the league minimum. Golden State signed Bob McCann (F) to a 1 year contract. Philadelphia signed 1st round draft pick B.J. Tyler. Portland signed 1st round draft pick Aaron McKie to a 6 year, $7 million contract, with a 7th option year. New York signed 1st round draft pick Monty Williams. News from October 6. Training camp starts today (Friday)!!! Philadelphia released Johnny Dawkins in order to free up money to sign their draft picks. Clarence Weatherspoon (Phi) is holding out from training camp. He wants (what else) more money. Philadelphia signed their 2nd round draft pick Derrick Alston. Philadelphia has invited unrestricted free agent Lloyd Daniels to training camp. Dallas signed recently reinstated Roy Tarpley to a 6 year contract believed to be worth $2.5 million per year. New Jersey signed unrestricted free agent Sleepy Floyd. Denver formally signed Cliff Levingston to a 1 year, $650,000. They had reached an agreement 2 days ago, but had to wait for Levingston to take his physical and for their GM to return from vacation before the signing. Seattle signed their 2nd round draft pick Dontonio Wingfield. Orlando signed their 1st round draft pick Brooks Thompson. Golden State signed David Wood (F) and Rod Higgins (F) to 1 year contracts (probably non-guaranteed). Orlando signed Greg Grant (G) and Stacey Poole (G-F) (probably non-guaranteed). News from October 7. Shaquille O'Neal (Orl) sprained his big toe on his right foot during practice. He is expected to be out for 1 week. Despite what occured on Thursday (Weatherspoon going to hold-out and management verbally lashing back), Philadelphia re-signed restricted free agent Clarence Weatherspoon to a multi-year contarct and Weatherspoon was present for the first day of training camp. Indiana signed unrestricted free agent John Williams. Williams played with the Clippers last season and has constently been plagued with weight problems [not to be confused with Cleveland's John Williams]. Milwaukee signed unrestricted free agent Johnny Newman to a 1 year contract. Newman had recently been released by New Jersey. Miami is reportedly close to signing unrestricted free agents Kevin Gamble and Brad Lohaus. Sacramento signed their 2nd round draft pick Michael Smith, re-signed restricted free agents LaBradford Smith, Trevor Wilson, and Mike Peplowski, and signed Jimmy Oliver. Darryl Dawkins signed with Sioux Falls Skyforce of the CBA. Problems, problems, problems. Dennis Rodman (SA) showed up to training camp a day late. He had missed the team bus and skipped a mandatory team meeting. Restricted free agent Anfernee Hardaway (Orl) is holding out. He reportedly wants to be the highest paid player on the Magic. Management has, in not so may words, told him to get real and remember that O'Neal is also on the team. Rookie Glen Robinson (Mil) is holding out and not expected to sign anytime soon. He wants a $100 million contract and may sit out the season. Milwaukee has yet to hear a response from their latest offer of $70 million for 10 years. Shawn Kemp (Sea) skipped the opening day of training camp. He is supposedly still upset about the near trade for Scottie Pippen back in late June and wants an extra year added to his contract. He signed a contract extension for $24 million for 7 years in 1993. Restricted free agent Chris Webber (GS) is also holding out for more money. Golden State rookies Carlos Rogers and Clifford Rozier are also un-signed. News from October 10. Seattle has added an additional year worth $20 million to Shawn Kemp's contract. Thus, Kemp ended his hold-out. He was fined $1,200 for missing the first 4 days of training camp. Miami signed 1st round draft pick Kalid Reeves to a reportedly 5 year, $8.5 million contract. Detroit signed unrestricted free agent Johnny Dawkins to the league minimum. Dawkins had recently been released by Philadelphia. Milwaukee signed 1st round draft pick Eric Mobley. News from October 11. If you thought Hardaway wanting more money than O'Neal is earning was ridiculous, wait 'til you hear the amount he is asking for. Restricted free agent Anferenee Hardaway (Orl) reportedly wants a $134 million, 12 year contract. Shaquille O'Neal (Orl) returned to practice. Alonzo Mourning (Cha) strained a tendon in his big toe on his right foot Monday. He is expected to be out for 2 weeks and will have his foot placed in a cast. News from October 12. Pre-season starts today (Thursday)! Chicago signed first round draft pick Dickey Simpkins. News from October 13. Trade: The LA Lakers traded Doug Christie to New York for two 2nd round draft picks, one in 1997 and the other in 1998. News from October 14. The LA Clippers signed first round draft pick Eric Piatkowski to a multi-year contract. Lionel Simmons (Sac) will undergo arthoscopic surgery on Monday on his right knee. More problems: Kevin Willis (Atl) walked out of training camp. He says that the management is not committed to winning. Management says that Willis wants more money and he does this every year. Willis has 2 years left on his contract. Clifford Robinson (Por) is holding out. He wants a new contract. Important Dates: Nov 3 Opening Day rosters set by 6 pm EST. Nov 4 49th NBA regular season begins. Feb 10-12 45th NBA All-Star Weekend, at Phoenix. Apr 23 Regular season ends. Apr 24 Rosters set for 1995 playoffs. Apr 27 1995 playoffs begin. May 14 NBA Early Entry eligibility deadline. May 21 Draft Lottery. June 2 First possible NBA Finals starting date. June 7 Last possible NBA Finals starting date. June 5-9 Pre-draft camp, at Chicago. June 21 Last possible date of NBA Finals. June 28 NBA Draft, at Toronto. News from October 15. Orlando has re-signed restricted free agent Anfernee Hardaway to a new contract of 9 years believed to be worth $72 million, including an option year. Portland has suspended indefinitely without pay hold-out Clifford Robinson. News from October 17. Sedale Threatt (LAL) has walked out of training camp. He wants (what else) a new contract. The Lakers say that they are not dealing. Threatt has 2 years left on his contract. Lionel Simmons (Sac) is expected to be out for 4 to 5 weeks while recovering from arthroscopic surgery. Cleveland waived Marcus Liberty and Bill Edwards. Dallas waived Jervaughn Scales, Stan Rose, and Richard Rellford. News from October 18. Chicago waived Stacey Poole. Golden State signed unrestricted free agent Manute Bol to a 1 year contract. In what they call an attempt to let the fans know exactly what is going on, not to pressure Robinson, Milwaukee went public with the numbers that they are offering Glenn Robinson. Their latest offer is a guarenteed (no incentives) $60 million, 9 year contract with a 10th year option worth $8.1 million. The 1st year is for $2.9 million. They confirmed that Robinson is asking for a $100 million, 13 year contract. The owner of the Bucks said that he will not agree to a $100 million contract. Milwaukee also said that they would not trade Robinson. In last night's pre-season game, Gerald Wilkins (Cle) injured his achilles tendon. The doctors will examine it today, but it does not look good. He is probably out for the season. Unsigned 1st round draft picks: 1. Glenn Robinson - Milwaukee 5. Juwan Howard - Washington 7. Lamond Murray - LA Clippers 8. Brian Grant - Sacramento 11. Carlos Rogers - Golden State 16. Clifford Rozier - Golden State 25. Greg Minor - Indiana (Minor is an unrestricted free agent as Indiana did not make an offer or didn't do something) News from October 19. It was nothing as minor as a sprained ankle after all. The results of a bone scan showed that Larry Johnson (Cha) is suffering from a probable stress fracture in his left foot. More test will be preformed when the Hornets return from their European tour. It the test prove that it is a stress fracture, Johnson will be out for 8 weeks. Gerald Wilkins (Cle) did suffer from a torn right achilles tendon and is out for the season. He will undergo surgery Friday. Shawn Bradley injured his left knee in last nights game. It will be evaluated today. Boston signed unrestricted free agent rookie Greg Minor. Minor had been drafted by the LA Clippers and then traded to Indiana. Indiana made a $150,000 offer to Minor to preserve their rights for the rookie, but that was $50,000 below the league minimum for preserving the rights - making Minor an unrestricted free agent. News from October 20. Kevin Willis (Atl) ended his 6 day hold-out. He did not get a new contract. Shawn Bradley (Phi) is out for the rest of pre-season due to his injured left knee. More tests will be preformed on the knee. It is the same knee that ended his season last year in February. Scott Williams (Phi) will also misses the rest of pre-season due to an ailing back. The LA Clippers waived LaPhonso Ford, Keith Smart, and Isiah Morris. San Antonio fined Dennis Rodman $15,000 for not showing up to the Alamodome for last night's game. It was the largest fine San Antonio has ever handed out. Rodman was not scheduled to play due to back injuries. News from October 21. The LA Clippers signed 1st round draft pick Lamond Murray to a 13 year, $13.5 million contract. Sedale Threatt (LAL) ended his hold-out. He did not receive a new contract. Gerald Wilkins (Cle) underwent successful surgery on his torn achilles tendon. Shawn Bradley (Phi) will be out 6 to 8 weeks due to a sprained ligament in his left knee. Seattle assistant Tim Grgurich was named as the new head coach for UNLV. Golden State waived Bob McCann and Travis Ford. News from October 22. Corrections/note: Lamond Murray signed a 5 year, $13.5 million contract, not a 13 year as I mistakenly typed. A couple of Laker fans wanted to point out that Sedale Threatt's "hold-out" was due to personal reasons, not wanting a new contract as his agent had claimed. Quotes: Some of the better 3-point shooters have been complaining about the shortened 3-point line. I've heard comments from Danny Ainge and Reggie Miller. Now add Dale Ellis (Den): "Next thing you know, they'll move the free-throw line in a couple feet and give you four shots to make two." Dallas coach Dick Motta has picked up a couple of technicals for his reactions to the inconsistent foul calling in pre-season. When asked what he said to get a T in Wednesday night's game, Motta said, "Nothing. I only say the proper things, and that bothers them (the refs)." On Thursday night, he picked up another T for encouraging the fans who were booing all the calls (whether the foul was against Dallas or Indiana). Motta, who has been out of the league for 3 years: "He (ref Billy Oakes) came up and said, 'You know, technicals aren't $25 anymore'." News from October 23. Larry Johnson (Cha) had his foot re-examined and it turned out that the original diagnosis was correct. The MRI showed that he had just a sprained ankle, not a stress fracture. The cast on the foot will be removed on Friday. He could be ready to play by the start of the season. Eric Murdock (Mil) was poked in the eye last week and will be out for 4 to 6 weeks. News from October 24. Tom Tolbert (Cha) will be out for up to 2 months with a foot injury. News from October 25. Clifford Robinson (Por) ended his hold-out. He did not get a new contract, but did get assurances that his contract will be renegotiated after this season. Craig Ehlo (Atl) will undergo arthoscopic surgery on his right knee. He will be out for 3 to 4 weeks. Terry Porter (Por) will undergo surgery on his right ankle. He will be out for at least 4 weeks. News from October 26. Denver re-signed restricted free agent Brian Williams. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. Stanley Roberts (LAC) ruptured his left achilles tendon in last night's game. Chris Mullin (GS) sprained his left knee in last night's game. Boston will retire Reggie Lewis' #35 on March 22. News from October 27. The NBA and the Players Association made an agreement that there will be no lock-out or strike for this season, including the playoffs. Chris Mullin (GS) has a chip fracture and strained ligament in his left knee and a pulled hamstring. Golden State has placed him on IR and he will be out 6 to 8 weeks. Stanley Roberts (LAC) is out for the season after rupturing his left achilles tendon. He had ruptured his right achilles tendon last season. Billy Owens (GS) is out for 2 weeks with a strained left hamstring. Portland signed unrestricted free agent Negele Knight to a 1 year contract. Brian Williams' new contract with Denver is believed to be a 5 year, $13 million deal. Vernon Maxwell (Hou) was fined $3,500 for a flagrant foul committed in Monday's Cle-Hou game. Maxwell threw a forearm at Chris Mills (Cle). News from October 29. Golden State signed their first round draft pick Clifford Rozier to a 4 year contract. Golden State still has restricted free agent Chris Webber and first round draft pick Carlos Rogers unsigned. Utah signed unrestricted free agent Antoine Carr. Dallas waived Daimon Sweet and Greg Sutton. Denver waived Abdul Fox and Ryan Yoder. The regular season starts this Friday! Rosters must be cut down to 12 players (and a maximum 3 on injured list) by Thursday evening. News from October 30. Atlanta finalized their roster by waiving Alan Ogg, Ricky Robinson, and Greg Dennis. Free agents Fred Vinson and Tom Hovasse made the roster. Atlanta will start the season with 13 players on the roster, including Craig Ehlo who is on the injured list. Sacramento signed first round draft pick Brian Grant to a reported 13 year, $29.33 million contract. The 13th year is conditional on Grant being in the league through his 7th year. 1st pick Glenn Robinson (Mil), 5th pick Juwan Howard (Was), and 11th pick Carlos Rogers (GS) are the only unsigned first round draft picks. Tony Bennett (Cha) has his foot in a cast due to ankle problems and will be out for a while. (from Justin Ridge) News from October 31. Cleveland signed unrestricted free agent Tony Campbell. Cleveland waived Mike Iuzzolino, Melvin Simon, and Gary Collier. They now have 16 men on their roster including Brad Daugherty and Gerald Wilkins who will start the season on the injured list. Thus, two more will have to be cut before Thursday evening's deadline.