Sabonis Signing On Hold

The Blazers aren't talking, but appear to be wrapping up some

loose ends while the 7-foot-3 Lithuanian center waits in Portland

Bob Whitsitt left town Friday, and Arvydas Sabonis prepared to settle 
in, but the Trail Blazers still haven't signed the 7-foot-3 center 
from Lithuania.

Or have they?

Sacramento Kings guard Sarunas Marciulionis, who plays with Sabonis 
on the Lithuanian national team, said he expects the international 
star to sign with the Blazers soon. In fact, Marciulionis was under 
the impression the deal already was done.

"I talked to him last night, and I thought he had signed," 
Marciulionis said from his home in Seattle.

Marciulionis said he probably will drive to Portland on Sunday to 
visit Sabonis.

"He said he could use some help, some information, because I am more 
familiar with things in this country," Marciulionis said.

Herb Rudoy, one of Sabonis' agents, could not be reached for comment 
Friday but said Thursday night that the Blazers had to free up some 
money under the NBA salary cap for Sabonis to sign. Rudoy denied 
speculation that the signing was delayed because Sabonis had not 
passed or taken a physical.

The agent said a deal was close and would be finalized within a week.

The plan, Rudoy said, was for Sabonis to stay in Portland while his 
wife returns to Lithuania to pack and get their two young boys.

Whitsitt did not return phone calls for the second day in a row, and 
the Blazers again declined to explain the bizarre happenings of 
Thursday, when they called and then called off a press conference.

Rudoy said the Blazers simply wanted to introduce Sabonis to the 
Portland media, even though he had not signed. But if that was the 
purpose, why did the press conference have to be canceled? And 
besides, a press conference to introduce an unsigned player would be 
out of character for the Blazers, not to mention Sabonis, who 
generally says little to the media.

Meanwhile, on Friday the Washington Bullets renewed their interest in 
Portland point guard Rod Strickland.

It was learned Friday that Washington offered the Blazers a 1996 
first-round draft pick and small forward Don MacLean, but they turned 
it down.

Now the Bullets are considering whether to offer shooting guard 
Calbert Cheaney and a first-round pick. Before the lockout, the 
Bullets tried to deal for Strickland, but they wanted to give the 
Blazers guard Rex Chapman instead of Cheaney. Portland held out for 
Cheaney, and the deal never came off.

Free agent Dana Barros passed up an offer from Washington this week to
sign with Boston, and free agent Elliot Perry is expected to reject a 
Bullets offer and re-sign with Phoenix. The Bullets, about to be 0-2, 
are making Strickland their Plan C.

Strickland's agent, Mark Termini, would not comment when asked if his 
player was the subject of trade talks.

The pending deal with Sabonis, 30, apparently won't allow him to play 
for his hometown club in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Kaunas is trying to qualify for the 16-team European Championships, a 
prestigious tournament won last year by Sabonis and Real Madrid. For 
Kaunas, qualifying hinges on two final games against Panathinaikos, 
the powerful Greek club that recently signed Dominique Wilkins.

Sabonis had hoped to play against Panathinaikos Sept. 28 in Kaunas 
and Oct. 5 in Athens. But the Blazers, who want him with them when 
training camp starts Oct. 6, reportedly insisted that Kaunas put up 
guaranteed money in case of injury to Sabonis, and the Lithuanian 
club did not do so. Although Sabonis has had injury problems in the 
past, including an Achilles' tendon that ruptured twice, the Blazers 
said they believe he would pass inspection.

A few years ago, the Blazers examined Sabonis in Los Angeles, and 
since then they have checked his condition several times with various 
doctors in Europe.

After the Los Angeles exam, the Blazers did have concerns about 
Sabonis' right foot, but the club decided it was sound enough to hold 
up in the NBA.

The Blazers, however, did advise Sabonis that if he wanted the 
flexibility to run the court well he should have surgery for a 
navicular fracture in his foot.

The operation had a very high chance of success and almost no chance 
of making his foot worse, but Sabonis apparently wanted total 
assurance that the surgery would improve his mobility. He never had 
the operation.

How will Sabonis do in the NBA?

"I think he will do well, but maybe not at the beginning," 
Marciulionis said. "No doubt he can play here, but it will take time 
to get used to the referees and the rules."

As for how much Sabonis will play, "He has strong willpower," 
Marciulionis said. "When he has to play basketball, he gives 
everything on the floor. He played a lot of minutes in Madrid, 
however the game will be faster here, so it will take time to adjust 
to running faster."