Wooing of Duncan, Hill begins

By DARRELL FRY

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 1, 2000

ORLANDO -- The Magic begins its courtship of Tim Duncan and Grant Hill in earnest today when the two coveted free agents arrive for a visit.

Teams can begin negotiating with free agents today, and Orlando is first on the itineraries of Duncan and Hill, the most sought-after players on the market.

They are expected to tour the Magic's headquarters, the RDV Sportsplex north of downtown; visit some of the city's attractions, including Disney World, and meet with team officials. Magic officials no doubt will tout the climate, the lack of state income tax and the team's bright future, which includes nine first-round draft picks over the next four years.

The only other team believed to have enough salary-cap room to sign Duncan and Hill is Chicago. Duncan is expected to visit there as well. There was no word on whether Hill would join him. The players have the same agent, Lon Babby.

Does Orlando have a shot at landing one or both? "The only thing you can do in this game is prepare. And prepare, prepare, prepare," general manager John Gabriel said. "We happen to be one of the only two teams in the league with cap room. You can figure the rest out yourself."

The Magic made its final and most significant preparations to lure Duncan and Hill during Wednesday's draft, dumping forwards Corey Maggette and Derek Strong, and trading two draft picks, which opened about $5-million of salary-cap room.

Strong, who played in 20 games and averaged 2.7 points last season, made about $3-million a season. Maggette, whom many believe will be a star, made about $1-million. The draft picks would have made about $1-million each.

Orlando officials say they have $18-million to $21-million in cap room to use on Duncan and Hill, who likely will command the maximum salaries allowed (at least $9-million apiece), although each could make slightly more by re-signing with their current teams.

The Los Angeles Lakers made similar moves to clear cap room to woo Shaquille O'Neal from the Magic in the summer of 1996.

Orlando also has several free agents to re-sign -- Bo Outlaw, Ben Wallace, Chucky Atkins and John Amaechi. And it has to sign draft pick Mike Miller of Florida. Leading scorer Ron Mercer is a free agent, but he likely will demand more money (at least $9-million) than Orlando will be willing to pay if it gets Duncan and Hill.

Ideally, the Magic, which went 41-41 and barely missed the playoffs last season without having a major star, wants to re-sign as many of its players as possible and add two marquee free agents, who can sign contracts beginning Aug. 1.

Adding Duncan and Hill would put Orlando among the league's elite, along with the Lakers, Portland, Indiana and Miami. If both sign, the Magic won't have had such a high-powered combo since O'Neal and Penny Hardaway played together from 1993-96 and reached the NBA Finals.

Magic officials hope the team's future will serve as bait for Duncan and Hill, who some say are more concerned about going to a championship-contending team than makingmoney.

"We like our position," Gabriel said.

If Duncan and Hill sign elsewhere, the Magic will have plenty of money to entice other high-profile free agents, such as Charlotte's Eddie Jones, Toronto's Tracy McGrady, Indiana's Jalen Rose, Milwaukee's Tim Thomas, Philadelphia's Toni Kukoc and the Lakers' Glen Rice.

"Last year we did a nice job of putting role players in place," coach Doc Rivers said. "But now, if you can add the stars with those guys, you're pretty good."

Police to check phone calls in Erving case

Detectives plan to subpoena telephone records as part of the investigation into how the son of Julius Erving disappeared.

Investigators didn't say whose phone records they were pursuing. But they hoped to create a time line for Cory Erving's whereabouts in the hours before he disappeared May 28, Seminole County Sheriff's Office spokesman Steve Olson said.

The last time the family heard from Cory was Memorial Day weekend, when he went to buy bread for a family cookout at a bakery where he worked north of Orlando. A $50,000 reward has been offered for information leading to Cory's return. More than 800 tips have been called into the sheriff's office.

Before he disappeared, Erving's youngest son was trying to put drug use behind him and earn his high school equivalency diploma after years of dealing with a learning disability.

The reward includes $25,000 posted by Julius Erving, his friends and the Magic, for which he serves as executive vice president, and $25,000 posted by the Philadelphia 76ers, Erving's former team.

Around the league

BLAZERS: The team will work hard to re-sign Brian Grant, but Grant's agent said the crowded roster might force the forward to look elsewhere. Agent Mark Bartelstein notified the team that Grant intends to become a free agent, giving up a guaranteed $40-million over the next four years. Grant exercised an "out" clause in the contract he signed in 1997, which was to pay him $56-million over seven years.

TIMBERWOLVES: The widow of swingman Malik Sealy is suing the man who was driving the wrong way in the car crash that killed the player. An attorney for Lisa Sealy filed papers June 21 in Hennepin County District Court alleging Souksangouane Phengsene was responsible for the crash in suburban St. Louis Park, Minn. Phengsene, 43, has been charged with criminal vehicular homicide in the death of Sealy, 31, who was killed May 20.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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