ORLANDO - Julius Erving will resign his position as a senior vice president with the Magic at the end of the month, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
He will pursue other business opportunities, ending a six-year relationship with the franchise.
Erving could not be reached for comment, and neither general manager John Gabriel nor club CEO John Weisbrod returned calls.
Erving basically has served as a consultant to the business and the basketball side of the operation, and his duties included mentoring younger players. He sometimes visited the locker room after games and usually watched the action from an office chair near the court at TD Waterhouse Centre.
He was hired in 1997, a day after the Magic signed Chuck Daly as coach. The timing was no coincidence: Daly and Erving were marquee names and were, in part, brought in to help repair the Magic's national and local image, which had been damaged after a player coup during the 1996-97 season forced the club to fire coach Brian Hill.
Erving and his family dealt with tragedy during his tenure with the Magic. In July 2000 a nationwide search for Cory Erving, 19, the youngest of the Ervings' four children, ended with the discovery of Cory's body and car in a pond less than a mile from their Alaqua home. Cory had been missing for two months. The Seminole County Sheriff's Department later ruled that Cory died of accidental drowning. The Ervings had acknowledged that Cory had battled drug problems.
RAPTORS: New coach Kevin O'Neill fired assistants Craig Neal, Walker D. Russell and Jay Triano late Friday.
The move was expected, as O'Neill, at his introductory news conference Wednesday, said he wanted to hire his own staff.
General manager Glen Grunwald said all three assistants remained under contract for next season and could be offered other positions in the organization.
HOUSTON 63, CLEVELAND 62: Tina Thompson had 17 points, including a decisive layup with 12 seconds remaining, for the host Comets.
Michelle Snow added 14 and Sheryl Swoopes 12 for the Comets. Chasity Melvin led Cleveland with 15 and Penny Taylor added 11.
MINNESOTA 66, INDIANA 58: Katie Smith scored 19 as the host Lynx snapped a two-game losing streak. Reserve Coretta Brown had 20 for the Fever, which had its three-game winning streak snapped.
Smith made 5 of 13 shots but converted all eight free throws, including six in the final four minutes.
