| | Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Charging the Minnesota Timberwolves, player Joe
Smith and agent Eric Fleisher violated salary cap rules in contract
agreement, the NBA started an arbitration proceeding Friday.
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| Smith |
"The agreement, which is set forth in writing, calls for future
payments to Smith of tens of millions of dollars, and was
deliberately hidden from the league," said Joel Litvin, the NBA's
executive vice president of legal and business affairs.
"This is the most serious salary cap offense that can be
committed by teams, players, or agents, and subjects the guilty
parties to substantial penalties under the CBA, in addition to
other potential liabilities."
Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor told The Associated Press that he
met with NBA commissioner David Stern on Friday and told him he
believes the team followed the proper procedures in reaching an
agreement with Smith on a one-year, $2.35 million deal.
"I told him that I didn't think we did anything wrong because
everything we were agreeing to would have to be approved, and that
we had no side deals to show," Taylor said.
Taylor said the Timberwolves reached an agreement with Smith
that would be submitted over a period of time "that would conform
with the rules." He said the deal would "pay him market" based
on how the forward performs.
Attempts to reach Fleisher for comment were unsuccessful.
The NBA said that if the arbitrator confirms the existence of an
undisclosed agreement, the collective bargaining agreement
authorizes Stern to impose penalties that include multimillion
dollar fines, the forfeiture of draft picks, the voiding of player
contracts and the suspension of team personnel.
Smith, selected first overall by Golden State in the 1995 draft,
averaged 9.9 points and 6.2 rebounds last season.
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