Oakley Works Out With Wiz, Might Sign Contract

Steve Wyche of the Washington Post reports that Charles Oakley may have finally found a home. Oakley worked out for the Wizards on Thursday and met with officials about signing a contract, most likely for one year, a source with knowledge of the situation said.

The Wizards are looking to add experience to their relatively young crop of big men and Oakley, a 17-year veteran known for his rugged play, rebounding prowess and critical tongue, might be their man. Oakley may take a few days to weigh his options before deciding where to sign. He played in just 57 games last season with the Bulls because of injuries and the team's desire to use its younger players. Oakley has averaged 10 points and 9.8 rebounds in his career.

Via

Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls

Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets

---

Magic sign Cook and Benjamin

The Orlando Magic signed two free agents Monday in guards Omar Cook and Corey Benjamin, General Manager John Gabriel announced.

Cook (6'1", 190) played in 35 games last season with Fayetteville of the National Basketball Development League, averaging 12.2 points, 7.8 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.51 steals a game. He led the NBDL in assists, ranked seventh in steals and ninth in three-point field goal percentage (41-107, .383).

Cook was named to the 2001-02 All-NBDL Second Team. He also set a league record for most assists in a game, dishing out 19 on Feb. 8 vs. North Charleston.

The Magic originally selected Cook in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2001 NBA Draft. The team traded Cook’s rights to Denver for a future first-round draft pick.

Benjamin (6'6", 205) spent the 2001-02 season in Italy with S.S. Sutor Montegranaro and in the ABA with the Southern California Surf. He was originally selected in the first round (28th overall) of the 1998 NBA Draft by Chicago.

Benjamin has appeared in 144 NBA regular season games during his career, all with the Bulls, averaging 5.5 points and 1.6 rebounds a game.

Via Orlando Sentinel

Orlando Magic, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls

Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets

---

Blood may have been found on Dele's boat.

The Associated Press reports that investigators have found what appears to be blood traces on Bison Dele’s 55-foot catamaran. Authorities found traces of the substance on the inside and the outside of the vessel, said Michel Marotte, Tahiti's chief prosecutor. The findings must be verified in a laboratory "but it does seem to be blood traces,'' he told The Associated Press on Friday.

Dele's brother, Miles Dabord who is also known as Kevin Williams, was in a coma and in critical condition at a hospital in Chula Vista. He was found unconscious in Mexico last week. The FBI arrested him Thursday on a fraud charge after learning his identity. Dabord allegedly used his brother's former name, Brian Williams, while trying to buy $152,000 in gold in Phoenix earlier this month.

Dabord's mother, Patricia Phillips, told the Los Angeles Times she fears her son may have tried to commit suicide in a fit of guilt, somehow believing he was responsible for his brother's disappearance. On Friday, she stood at his bedside in a San Diego hospital. "I wanted to hug him, to stroke his face, to hold his hand,'' she said.

In a Sept. 13 telephone call, Phillips said Dabord sounded groggy and spoke of committing suicide. He told her he hadn't killed his brother and that he wanted her to know this before ending his life, she said.

Marotte said there is reason to think that Dele, his 30-year-old girlfriend Serena Karlan and Bertrand Saldo, the captain of Dele's sailboat, were killed July 6 or 7 during a layover in Tahiti. Investigators are working on the suspicion that a single person committed the killings, and "that is the brother of the victim, Kevin Williams.''

"We presume that the bodies of these people must be in the sea, the ocean, and will probably never be found,'' said Marotte, who speculated that the bodies could have been weighted down to sink them. "But we're still looking.''

The LA Times adds that Dabord may not live to tell his side of the story. Law enforcement officials admitted Saturday that they might never know exactly what happened to a missing former NBA player and two others who are presumed dead in the waters of the South Pacific.

Dabord is "dead, living only through artificial means," his mother said. Patricia Phillips said doctors have discovered severe damage to her son's brain--injuries they have told her are the result of an insulin overdose and Dabord not taking his asthma medication.

Via

Detroit Pistons, Denver Nuggets, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers

Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets

---