Howard, Heat Reportedly Strike Deal

Washington forward Juwan Howard has agreed to a seven-year, $98 million contract with the Miami Heat, two Washington-area television stations reported Saturday night.

The TV stations said the Heat plan to call a news conference for Monday to announce the signing, but Miami spokesman Wayne Witt said, “At this point, it’s strictly rumor.”

The deal would be worth $20 million more than the Bullets’ original offer to retain the unrestricted free agent.

The New York Knicks, meanwhile, agreed to a six-year, $24 million contract with point guard Chris Childs, according to his agent. In addition, two league executives told the New York Daily News that the Knicks had also reached a tentative agreement with Allan Houston, a free-agent shooting guard, on a seven-year, $55-million pact.

Childs, a 29-year-old free agent who played with the Nets last season, was one of the NBA’s most improved players, averaging 12.8 points and seven assists a game. The acquisitions of Childs and Houston and the expected signing of Larry Johnson give the Knicks three new starters for next season. The addition of Childs means Derek Harper, last year’s point guard in New York, will not be back.

The Knicks did not immediately confirm the agreements with Childs and Houston, but Steve Kauffman, Childs’ attorney, planned to fly to New York to complete the point guard’s deal today.

The Knicks outbid the Nets, the Heat and the Detroit Pistons for the 6-1 Childs.

Houston, a 6-5 guard who is just 25, averaged 19.7 points last season for Detroit, and is one of the league’s purest jump shooters. The Pistons wanted to keep Houston, but wanted to wait until August to sign him, leaving themselves cap room to pursue Dikembe Mutombo.

The trade that is expected to bring Johnson to the Knicks, in exchange for Anthony Mason and Brad Lohaus, is expected to be finalized as early as Monday. The delay concerns the trade bonus that Johnson will receive.

meanwhile, the three-way deal that would have sent Charles Barkley to the Houston Rockets is reportedly off. The proposed trade would have sent Barkley to the Rockets, Mutombo to Phoenix and Robert Horry and Sam Cassell to Denver.

But Mutombo is looking for $12 million to $14 million per season, and he wants to shop before he signs. If the Pistons are willing to meet Mutombo’s demands, he may sign with them. Or if Shaquille O’Neal returns to Orlando, the Lakers are expected to pursue Mutombo strongly.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers gave serious consideration Saturday to pulling out of the Shaq sweepstakes to sign Dale Davis and eventually another big man, but instead decided to wait O’Neal out a little longer.

The Rockets are still expected to pursue a trade for Barkley, dealing directly with Phoenix.

As for O’Neal, the Lakers have offered him a seven-year, $96-million contract. Orlando is expected to top that, with a seven-year deal averaging between $14 and $15 million per season.

The competition to sign Seattle point guard Gary Payton is down to two teams: the Sonics and Miami, his agent says.

Payton, a free-agent guard, is expected to be signed by Monday to a seven-year deal worth up to $80 million.

Agent Aaron Goodwin said he expected to meet today with Heat representatives in Indianapolis, where Payton was playing with the Dream Team.

The Sonics, meanwhile, met Friday night with the agent for free-agent center Brian Williams of the Clippers.