SHAREEF ON HOLD, SO NETS COURT SWIFT
By FRED KERBER
want to give, the Blazers don't want, and what the Blazers want, the Nets
won't give.
So Nets brass, while still placing Shareef Abdur-Rahim atop its power-forward
wish list, stepped up a contingency scenario by meeting yesterday in Las
Vegas with Memphis free agent Stromile Swift.
The Nets' approach has been to try to land Abdur-Rahim from Portland through
a sign-and-trade with their $4.9 trade exception and a second-round draft
pick, but the Blazers are adamant that they have no interest in the trade
exception and want a No. 1. Conversely, the Nets are loathe to part with a
No. 1 pick.
Nets president Rod Thorn, in Las Vegas, had no additional talks with Portland
and claimed the situation was "nowhere." While Thorn declined to reveal any
particulars of his previous talks, he indicated it would be "fair to say" he
would not part with any first-round pick, including a 2007 pick that Blazers
GM John Nash indicated could get it done. The Blazers could lose Abdur-Rahim
and get nothing in return if he takes a mid-level exception offer.
"The trade exception is not a valuable thing to us," Nash, the former Nets
GM, said, expressing luxury-tax concerns. "A future first is also something
that is desirable for the very reason that to use it would bring back another
salary."
But the Nets pretty much are saying dream on. "We're not giving up a No. 1,"
one team official repeatedly stressed.
"Right now, though, the talks are nowhere," said Thorn, who claimed he
expects a resolution of the Abdur-Rahim issue "in the next few days."
The Nets have had contact with Swift's camp, but the fact the power forward
met them in Vegas seemed positive. Swift was a guy the Nets considered before
drafting Kenyon Martin in 2000. There are concerns regarding his practice
habits, but the Nets feel they have a self-policing team. The 6-9, 225-pound
Swift, 25, is a 9.0-point, 5.0-rebound career performer. Abdur-Rahim, 28 and
6-9, 245 pounds, carries career numbers of 19.8 points and 8.1 rebounds.
Still, the Nets are not giving up on Abdur-Rahim. The problem is how to do
it.
"Until Shareef's agent calls and suggests a sign-and-trade, it's a moot
point," said Nash.
The Nets have had cursory conversations with Memphis about a possible
sign-and-trade involving Swift. Memphis GM Jerry West could not be reached
for comment yesterday.
The Nets' third option is Toronto's Donyell Marshall, 32.
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