Basketball Players Wages And Salaries

Two days after announcing his return to the NBA, Magic Johnson signed a one-year contract extension Thursday for the 1994-95 season believed to be worth a record $14.6, payable even if he does not play. That gives Johnson the largest single-season salary in team sports, and, considering the $2.5 million he will make each of the next two years, makes the next three seasons worth $19.6 million.

Despite reports to the contrary, free-agent Clipper forward Maurice Taylor is "unlikely" to sign with the Orlando Magic, a Magic official said Wednesday. After its high-profile pursuit of free agents Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady, both of whom have said they will sign deals with the team, the Magic is handicapped by salary-cap restrictions. Taylor, however, told the Orange County Register that he plans to sign with the Magic once the signing period begins Tuesday.

Shaquille O'Neal, the highest-paid player in the NBA, makes roughly a $17.4-million salary this season. Cynthia Cooper, the highest-paid player in the NBA's subsidiary, the WNBA, makes $75,798, which is her base salary and doesn't include endorsement income.

Shaquille O'Neal, the highest-paid player in the NBA, makes roughly a $17.4-million salary this season. Cynthia Cooper, the highest-paid player in the NBA's subsidiary, the WNBA, makes $75,798, which is her base salary and doesn't include endorsement income.

For teams who thought they would never get past the Chicago Bulls, here's the good news: They're breaking up that old gang of theirs. In a surprise development, Michael Jordan Friday agreed to a one-year deal--for a whopping $30 million, according to the Chicago Tribune, the biggest single-season contract ever in American team sports--suggesting he may leave the Bulls next summer, or retire. So far, it has been a turbulent off-season for history's winningest team.

Just hours after Shaquille O'Neal signed a $120 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, promoters and sponsors introduced themselves. Full page advertisements touting his new genie-in-a-boom-box movie--"Kazaam"--were strategically laced through newspaper sports pages, while Reebok used a full page spread to say "attaboy." O'Neal heads west--with a huge corporate entourage in tow--but he'll have to be careful in the bigger, more visible and ballyhooed market that is LaLaLand.

The Lakers and Phoenix Suns have agreed on a trade to bring Cedric Ceballos to Los Angeles for a first-round pick and could make it official as soon as today if Ceballos signs a restructured contract as expected and passes his physical. Ceballos and agent Fred Slaughter met with Jerry West, the Lakers' executive vice president, for about 90 minutes Wednesday to discuss a slightly altered contract, which would be necessary because of salary-cap constraints.

The Orlando Magic on Wednesday re-signed free agent Horace Grant to a five-year contract and now await word from Shaquille O'Neal, who is being courted by the Lakers. Sources close to the deal confirmed it was worth $50 million. "When I came here two years ago, [Magic owner] Rich DeVos promised me I'd retire here and he's kept his word," Grant said. "Now it's up to me to own up to my responsibility as a player and leader for this team and help them win a championship."

Two days after the NBA rejected Juwan Howard's seven-year, $98 million contract with the Miami Heat, the team went to court Friday in an effort to protect its interest. Dade County Circuit Judge Joseph Farina issued a temporary injunction "prohibiting Juwan Howard and the NBA from entering into and/or approving an NBA contract" until arbitrators settle the dispute over Howard's contract.

The bottle of champagne came from a fan, sent as a sign of encouragement earlier in the day. There it sat on the desk of General Manager Mitch Kupchak, for hours as the Lakers waited long into Wednesday night for word that would determine its use--for celebration or drowning of sorrows. Coach Del Harris was also there at the Forum. So were scout Ronnie Lester and his fiancee, John Black and Raymond Ridder from the public relations department and secretary Tania Jolly.

Too much money, too long a contract. If not for that, Scottie Pippen would be a Laker right now. In the most direct comments from a team official on the matter to date, Laker owner Jerry Buss acknowledged that, at Coach Phil Jackson's request, acquiring Pippen has been strongly considered, but said that the Lakers are unwilling to take on the remaining $54 million and four years of Pippen's contract.

For a team that finished last season with the NBA's second-worst record, the Clippers enjoyed a feeling of optimism at media day Monday. Then Maurice Taylor, who wanted a long-term contract extension before training camp begins today at Southwest College, spoke. "I'm basically here to play the last year of my contract and then become a free agent," said Taylor, whose attorney, David Falk, requested a trade after owner Donald Sterling refused to give Taylor the maximum extension.

Charles Oakley got the attention Tuesday, a full-court Laker press to impress the free-agent power forward. Derek Fisher, though, got the long-term cash, agreeing to accept a seven-year deal worth about $24 million, an average of $3.5 million a season.

Peace arrived Wednesday in the WNBA, with the league and its players union confirming a four-year working agreement. Nothing is signed, but both sides said agreement was reached on two major issues--the number of ABL players the WNBA can sign this season and the league's minimum player salaries. * There can be up to three ABL players per roster this summer, except for expansion teams Minnesota and Orlando, which can have five. The union had wanted two, the league five.

Before the "I do's" could be said and the couple could leave the altar in wedded bliss, something interrupted the Lakers' strange and fascinating potential marriage to Dennis Rodman. Discussions between Rodman's representatives at International Creative Management and Laker Executive Vice President Jerry West on Thursday apparently hit a snag when the agents balked at accepting only a $1-million salary this season--which is the most the Lakers, as a team above the salary cap, can offer Rodman.

More than the relief of having his first huge deal completed, even more than the money itself, Kobe Bryant relishes one specific aspect of the six-year, $70.8-million contract extension he is set to sign today. "This is going to be my first contract I get to sign by myself," the Laker swingman said Thursday after practice at L.A. Southwest College. "My other contract [signed as a rookie in 1996], I had to have my parents' approval. "I couldn't sign on my own.

Too much money, too long a contract. If not for that, Scottie Pippen would be a Laker right now. In the most direct comments from a team official on the matter to date, Laker owner Jerry Buss acknowledged that, at Coach Phil Jackson's request, acquiring Pippen has been strongly considered, but said that the Lakers are unwilling to take on the remaining $54 million and four years of Pippen's contract.

For a team that finished last season with the NBA's second-worst record, the Clippers enjoyed a feeling of optimism at media day Monday. Then Maurice Taylor, who wanted a long-term contract extension before training camp begins today at Southwest College, spoke. "I'm basically here to play the last year of my contract and then become a free agent," said Taylor, whose attorney, David Falk, requested a trade after owner Donald Sterling refused to give Taylor the maximum extension.

Much like the long labor dispute in baseball, NBA owners and players paid a significant price before reaching a bargaining agreement. The difference is that the NBA agreement--capping salaries and giving players a specific percentage of revenue--has created a measure of cost certainty for owners and--from the owners' perspective--the foundation for a working partnership with the players.

Remember when reason No. 1 to like basketball over baseball was the hoops action was so much better? The NBA lost more ground in the sporting world this weekend, at least in Los Angeles. Now it's to the point that watching NBA players on a court isn't as exciting as following the baseball off-season. Some 2,000 or so people came to Pauley Pavilion on Sunday to watch a charity game featuring the locked-out hoopsters. There were the mandatory number of alley-oops and no-look passes.