Gimmick Hoops On Tap
Shaquille O’Neal of the Orlando Magic and Hakeem Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets will play each other Sept. 30 at Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J.
The purse: $1 million.
The event dubbed “War on the Floor” will be 10 rounds, or games, of 2 minutes apiece under “winner’s out” rules. The player who scores gets the ball again at the top of the key.
The winner of each round will get $100,000. In the event of a tied round, the money will roll over to the next round. Whoever takes the most rounds wins. A tie-breaker will decide the winner if there’s a tie.
The Miami Heat may lose one of its two 1996 first-round draft picks to the New York Knicks to gain Pat Riley.
And Riley himself may want a piece of the Heat.
Two Knicks officials indicated the team would be willing to settle its tampering claim against the Heat before NBA commissioner David Stern issues his ruling late this week or early next week.
Also, both teams had agreed a firstround draft choice would be conveyed to the Knicks when the Heat signs Riley. The Knicks are seeking either the Heat’s own 1996 first-round selection or the one the team acquired from the Atlanta Hawks in a November trade.
The Heat want the pick to be conditional, meaning it would not have to give it up if it ends up a lottery selection.
Sources also told the Sun-Sentinal they believe the coach would like 10 percent to 20 percent of the franchise and the matter is being negotiated.
An earlier report stated Riley would be given a five-year contract worth an estimated $35 million to coach the Heat.
At Minneapolis, the lawyer who prosecuted Isaiah Rider on a 1994 assault charge is skeptical that the Minnesota Timberwolves star will make good on a promise to complete the terms of his probation.
Rider appeared before Hennepin County District Judge Dolores C. Orey on a probation violation charge. He told the judge the violation was a misunderstanding, and he agreed to complete an anger-violence counseling program required as part of his probation.