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Keeping up with Jones Hornets not sure if free agent will be back
Posted: Thursday May 04, 2000 09:53 PM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- The Charlotte Hornets want to keep their team intact, but coach Paul Silas knows it could be difficult because he's not so sure free agent Eddie Jones will return next season. It was just two weeks ago that Silas said "it would be a total shock to me" if Jones didn't return to the Hornets next season. But on Thursday, Silas said he was not as confident that Jones would be back. "With all that has happened, I don't know where I stand," Silas said. "Prior to this, I was very confident, but I don't know where it stands now. I understand that he's got to look at his options." Hornets vice president Bob Bass refused Thursday to discuss Jones' situation specifically but implied the team will aggressively pursue re-signing him. "I don't ever talk about free agents, whether they are other team's or ours," Bass said. "But I say this: We really would like to keep this team together." To do so, the Hornets would need to sign Jones, acquired midway through the 1998 season in a trade with the Los Angeles Lakers, to a long term deal. Any chance of that likely would require a maximum offer of $87 million over seven years, which the Hornets are in a position to offer. But money might not be enough to keep him, Jones has said. Following Monday night's season-ending loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, Jones said he plans to explore all his options and talk to several teams, including ones who can't afford to offer the league maximum. "I'm going to test the waters," Jones said. "Bottom line, it's my right. You don't become a free agent too many times. This is a decision I'll have to deal with the rest of my life, so I'm going to look at it from all different angles." Silas said he has yet to talk to Jones because Jones stayed in Philadelphia after the playoff loss instead of returning to Charlotte. But he anticipated Jones returning to Charlotte soon and Silas plans to meet with him. Jones admittedly wants to see what other moves the Hornets make this offseason. Backup center Brad Miller is Charlotte's only other free agent, but point-forward Anthony Mason's contract expires after next year. Silas was steadfast in his desire to get both of them signed to new deals. "I want my core nucleus back, my starters, the eight guys I played there at the end," Silas said. Bass, meanwhile, shrugged off suggestions that the Hornets need to sign Jones to get the new arena the team desires. Local support for the team has dwindled over the past four years, and many speculate it's because of players the team has let get away. "If the fans say you have to sign Eddie Jones or you don't get a new arena, to me that's insane," Bass said. "If we have to sign this player or we don't get an arena, to me that doesn't make sense. Either you need an arena for the city, or they don't want to build one." Bass also suggested that Charlotte could lose the franchise if the city and ownership fail to reach an agreement on the new arena. "They need an arena in this city because there are 29 NBA teams -- there's only 29 of them in the world -- and this city has one of them and hopefully they want to keep it here," he said.
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