Aug. 2, 1999
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Portland Trail Blazers completed a busy day of
deals by landing free agent forward Magic to trade Anderson to Kings for Abdul-Wahad
SportsLine wire reports
Detlef Schrempf, hours after trading Isaiah
Rider and Jim Jackson to Atlanta for veteran guard Steve Smith and Ed Gray.
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Before the trade, which had been rumored for a couple of weeks, Portland re-signed 20-year-old Jermaine O'Neal.
O'Neal, the youngest among the league's 156 free agents, signed a four-year contract. As per its policy, the team did not disclose terms of the deal, but O'Neal said he turned down a one-year offer of $9 million-$10 million from another team to stay in Portland. His agent, Arn Tellem, did not immediately return a phone call.
"I want to be here for the next 10-15 years," O'Neal said at a news conference. "So hopefully I'll play to my potential the next two to three years, and then we can talk about some extensions, but overall I really want to be here. I want them to retire my jersey here."
O'Neal, a 6-foot-11, 226-pound center-forward, is a strong rebounder with good leaping ability. But playing behind Blazers center Arvydas Sabonis and power forwards Rasheed Wallace and Brian Grant, he hasn't gotten much opportunity to shine.
O'Neal averaged just 2.6 points last season, and just 1.6 points in Portland's playoff drive to the Western Conference finals. Over three seasons, he has averaged 3.9 points, 3 rebounds and 11.3 minutes.
Still, the Blazers think he can live up to the expectations they had when they selected him with the 17th pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of Eau Claire High School in Columbia, S.C.
"We're even more excited now than we were three years ago," Blazers president and general manager Bob Whitsitt said. "He's continued to improve each year. He's earned time on a very talented roster. There's no question Jermaine has not even reached his potential and will continue to get better."
SCHREMPF, 36, SIGNED A TWO-YEAR CONTRACT with Portland after turning down Seattle's reported one-year, $1 million offer. The Blazers can use the middle-class salary-cap exception of $4.2 million over two years.
Schrempf, who played the last six seasons in Seattle, had been courted by Utah and San Antonio. The Spurs had the most money to offer him - $2.6 million - because of an injury exception the league made for Sean Elliott, who needs a kidney transplant.
But Schrempf reportedly chose Portland to stay close to his Seattle-area home and his two sons.
O'Neal's warm and fuzzy news conference came just two days after he called the Blazers' initial offer -- reportedly a seven-year deal worth $30 million -- "almost a smack in the face."
O'Neal arrived in Portland from Columbia late Sunday night to work out details on the contract.
O'Neal said he decided to re-sign for four years instead of seven -- the maximum allowed under the NBA's collective bargaining agreement -- to make sure everything is "totally right between myself and the organization."
O'NEAL HAD BEEN WANTING MORE playing time before the lockout-shortened season. He bulked up in the weight room, and had the words "Year of the Resurrection" tattooed on his arm.
He said he wasn't promised any more minutes, by Whitsitt or coach Mike Dunleavy.
 | |
| Steve Smith averaged 17.4 points last season for the Hawks.(AP) |
"I don't want anybody to give me anything," O'Neal said. "I just want a chance. Whatever happens with that chance is up to me. If you liked me the last three years, you're going to love me the next four years."
Smith has career averages of 17.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists, and Gray averages 6.2 points, 1.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists.
Jackson averages 17.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Rider's figures are 18, 4 and 2.8, but he is among the most heavily fined and suspended players in the NBA. He was suspended three games last season and 12 overall during three seasons in Portland for violations ranging from flagrant fouls to spitting on fans.
By trading Smith, 30, the Hawks would end a commitment of $36 million over the next four seasons to a player who missed 14 games last season with bruised knees.
Rider, 28, will make $5.4 million next season in the final year of a $25.5 million rookie contract.
Jackson, 29, will get $3 million over the next two seasons. Gray, 23, was Atlanta's first-round draft pick out of California in 1997.
AP NEWS
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