DIVAC TALKS TO HORNETS OFFICIALS : CHARLOTTE'S COWENS SAYS: `IT WENT GOOD'.Byline: Marc Stein Marc Stein is a sports reporter. He began writing for ESPN.com in 2000 and signed on full-time in 2002 to serve as the site's senior National Basketball Association writer. Daily News Staff Writer The Lakers' draft-day trade with Charlotte remains in limbo, but the Hornets have managed to get their man on the telephone. Vlade Divac Vlade Divac (Serbian Cyrillic: Владе Дивац, pronounced [ˈvlaːdɛ ˈdiːvaʦ] made two calls from Germany to North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. on Saturday, breaking from Olympic preparations to give Hornets officials an opportunity to sell him on the merits on the merits adj. referring to a judgment, decision or ruling of a court based upon the facts presented in evidence and the law applied to that evidence. A judge decides a case "on the merits" when he/she bases the decision on the fundamental issues and considers of playing in their town. Another long-distance hookup hookup, n in the Trager method of therapy, the practitioner enters into a meditative state along with the patient, which allows him or her to work more intuitively and to feel subtle changes in the patient's movement and tissue texture. is scheduled for today. If the Hornets are unable to convince Divac to rescind his threat to retire by the time a leaguewide moratorium is lifted July 9, they will back out of the trade that is supposed to send high school sensation Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. to the Lakers. ``It went good,'' Charlotte coach Dave Cowens David William Cowens (born October 25 1948, in Newport, Kentucky[1]) is a retired American professional basketball player and NBA Head Coach. At 6'9", he played the center position. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990. told the Gaston (N.C.) Gazette of his discussion with Divac, which was preceded by a separate call involving the Lakers' center, agent Marc Fleisher and Hornets vice president Bob Bass. ``It's up to (Divac). We're still working on (him). We're still trying to get it done. I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. what will happen. It's really up to him. It's something he's got to decide. It sounds like a very personal decision for him and his family.'' Saturday's conversations gave Charlotte an opportunity to hear first-hand what they didn't know until after agreeing to the deal - that Divac was prepared to walk away from the game and forfeit the remaining $8.5 million on his contract if forced to move his family out of Los Angeles. Executives from the Lakers and Hornets privately feel that Divac will eventually cave in, but the uncertainty has caused a furor in both cities. In L.A., Divac's stance has delayed the acquisition of the promising Bryant and threatened the Lakers' salary-cap flexibility for the upcoming pursuit of free agent-to-be Shaquille O'Neal. In Charlotte, the retirement vow has been a source of embarrassment to Hornets management and potentially sticks them with a 17-year-old who has no intention of playing there. The prep star's agent, Arn Tellem, has already said that Bryant ``is going to be a Laker and that's the only team he's playing for.'' Asked to respond, Bass told the Gazette: ``I don't have any (reaction). . . . All I know is when you draft a guy, you have a right to keep him or trade him or whatever.'' Bass was even more tight-lipped tight·lipped also tight-lipped adj. 1. Having the lips pressed together. 2. Loath to speak; close-mouthed. See Synonyms at silent. about his talk with Divac, saying: ``Yes, we had a conversation and we're still working on the deal.'' Divac, who won't be back in the States until Monday or Tuesday, remained unavailable for comment. He is leading Yugoslavia's national team against Greece, Lithuania and Russia this weekend in the SuperCup in Berlin. Fleisher also could not be reached Saturday. ``I can't really say that,'' Cowens said when asked if he thought Divac was close to changing his mind. ``(But) I feel good about talking to him. It's the first time, so that's better than reading about what he's saying in the newspapers.'' ``I want (Divac) to come in here with the attitude of a professional basketball player,'' Cowens said. ``I don't think we want to have a guy who's just showing up to pick up a paycheck. ``I think that if he comes, he'll do just what we thought he'd do when we traded for him - make us a better team.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: VLADE DIVAC: The Lakers' Vlade Divac talked to Charl otte officials from Germany on Saturday. |
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