Report: Rodman to sign with Lakers
Posted: Saturday February 13, 1999 10:19 AM
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Dennis Rodman could be a big boost for the Lakers, who failed to sign a marquee power forward to help center Shaquille O'Neal. Andy Lyons/Allsport |
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Dennis Rodman, known for
his dyed hair and cross-dressing as well as his ferocious defense and
rebounding, has decided to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, the
Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.
Rodman's agent, Steve Chasman of International Creative Management, has
been negotiating with the team for the past two weeks. Talks became
sidetracked for a week while they discussed a possible movie deal with Fox,
which holds an option to buy into the Lakers as a 10 percent partner.
Rodman, the NBA's seven-time rebounding champ and the league's most
flamboyant player, has agreed to play for the veterans' minimum of $1
million -- pro-rated to $600,000 for this lockout shortened season, sources
told the Times in a story published Saturday.
He will also earn $3 million from an endorsement contract with
Converse, the Times said. The Lakers denied the story.
"'That's wrong," John Black, the team's director of public relations, said
Saturday. "We have not signed him. We have nothing to report."
The 6-foot-8 forward, the NBA's top rebounder in each of the last seven
seasons, was laying low at his Newport Beach home before finally agreeing
to meet with Lakers officials on Thursday.
Phone calls left for Lakers spokesman John Black and Rodman's
representatives at ICM were not returned late Friday.
Rodman, who turns 38 in May, has played on five of the last 10 NBA
champions, including the last three with the Chicago Bulls.
After Michael
Jordan's retirement and the team's subsequent break-up, however, he was
cut loose by Chicago.
Rodman expressed interest in playing for Orlando and Miami as well as
Los Angeles, but he was irked by Heat coach Pat Riley's public insistence
that he follow team rules. Magic coach Chuck Daly, Rodman's first pro coach
at Detroit, tried to cut a deal, but was overruled by owner Rich DeVos.
The Lakers soon became his only option.
Rodman's signing would be a boost for the Lakers, which failed to sign
a marquee power forward to help O'Neal shoulder the rebounding burden.
"Any team can use his physical ability," first-year Lakers guard Derek Harper said before
the season began. "The problem with Dennis is how he's going to conduct
himself off the basketball court."
Three seasons ago he was suspended by the NBA for head-butting referee
Ted Bernhardt. A season later he was suspended by the Chicago Bulls for
cursing on a live postgame show and by the league for kicking a
photographer in the crotch during a game.
He is regularly late for everything, from team photo sessions to
practices. During last year's Bulls-Jazz finals series, he skipped practice
to wrestle with Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
Rodman's arrival would cap a bizarre past two months in which Rodman
announced he was retiring, then changed his mind and said he wanted to
return to professional basketball.
He also recently married longtime girlfriend Carmen Electra, although
days later there were reports of an annulment filing. But in another wacky
twist, the "Hyperion Bay" actress later denied the marriage was off.
His career scoring average is just 7.5 points, but he is one of the
greatest rebounders in league history with a 13.2 average. No other player
won seven straight rebounding titles.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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