| | Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland Trail Blazers forward Brian Grant
rejected a seven-year contract worth more than $90 million that
would have sent him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a sign-and-trade
deal for Shawn Kemp.
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| Grant |
"I think this speaks volumes about the man," said Mark
Bartelstein, Grant's agent. "It's incredibly unbelievable, in this
day and age, for an athlete to say so strongly, 'It's not about the
money.' "
Grant told the Cavaliers of his decision Thursday while on
vacation in Jamaica. He had met with Cavaliers general manager Jim
Paxson and coach Randy Wittman in Cincinnati on Tuesday.
The Trail Blazers and Cavaliers had arranged a deal in which
Grant and another Blazers free agent, probably guard Gary Grant,
would have re-signed with Portland and been traded for Kemp.
The Blazers have had their eyes on the Cleveland power forward
for some time, and the Cavaliers were hoping to get out from under
Kemp's contract, which has four years and $71 million remaining.
"The Cavaliers are a total first-class organization, and they
did a great job with their presentation to Brian," Bartelstein
said. "But this guy wants to be in a position to win a championship.
He wants to be on a team he feels can compete for the championship
right now. He's had a taste of that, and he's just not ready to
take that step away from that, even for a tremendous financial
opportunity."
The Cavaliers initially wanted Grant to come with no more than a
four- or five-year contract, but they raised their offer to six
years before going to the maximum seven years, Bartelstein said.
Grant's decision leaves his status for next season in limbo
because he has no guarantee of going back to the Blazers.
New York has been trying to acquire him through a sign-and-trade
deal with Portland, or a three-way deal in which Marcus Camby and
Chris Childs would go to Cleveland, Kemp would join the Blazers,
and Grant would play for the Knicks.
The Blazers have talked with Grant about a new four-year, $40
million-plus contract, similar to what was left on his seven-year,
$63 million contract when he opted out at the end of June.
In their attempts to get Grant to consent to the sign-and-trade
with Cleveland, the Blazers indicated that they still would trade
Grant to Cleveland for Kemp on Dec. 15, which would be their first
opportunity to do so.
The Blazers' policy is to not comment on potential trades,
spokeswoman Sue Carpenter said.
Bartelstein said he did not know how the Blazers might react at
the negotiating table in light of Grant's decision.
"We don't know what we're going to do," Bartelstein said. "We'll start talking with the Blazers. Obviously, New York
would love to get him, but there is nothing new on that. And
obviously, he's not going to make a decision based just on money." | |
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