Teams Covet Kemp As Nba Convenes

The NBA league meetings are set to begin, and trade-minded general managers are eyeing Shawn Kemp of Seattle and Antonio McDyess of Denver as the two top prizes.

The 3-1/2-day meetings are expected to draw every coach and general manager from the league’s 29 teams. It is the first time the biennial meetings have been held since 1993 in Palm Desert, Calif., because the 1995 session was canceled because of the lockout.

Among the arrivals Wednesday was Seattle general manager Wally Walker, who will be one of the major players in trade talks before everybody heads home Sunday to get ready for the start of training camps Oct. 3.

Several teams are trying to swing a trade for Kemp, the Sonics’ disgruntled All-Star forward.

“I’ve said all along we’d only do something if it’s in our best interest,” Walker said. “We’re not in a situation where we’re compelled to do anything - unless it’s something we really like.”

Kemp, who feels he is underpaid and perceives a lack of respect from the Seattle organization, stated in May that he had worn the Sonics uniform for the final time. Over the summer, he missed teammate Gary Payton’s wedding so he could avoid contact with Sonics executives, then sold his home in Seattle and trucked his belongings home to Elkhart, Ind. He has promised to hold out from camp if he’s not traded by then.