The Charlotte Bobcats signed guards Matt Carroll and Kevin Burleson on Wednesday.
Carroll joined the Bobcats late last season after he was called up from Roanoke of the NBA Development League. He played in 25 games, averaging 9.0 points and 2.4 assists in 17.2 minutes.

"We are excited that Matt chose to return to Charlotte and continue to build upon last year's start," said Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff. "Matt added several dimensions to our team with his long-range shooting, toughness, strong work ethic, rebounding and ability to get to the free-throw line."

Burleson played six games for Charlotte during summer-league play, averaging 3.8 points in 12.2 minutes.

Burleson, the brother of Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Nate Burleson, spent last season playing in Germany for the Walter Tigers.

"I had a great opportunity in summer league," Burleson said. "It was a great experience for me. I got a lot of time, and the guys I played with were great."

Philadelphia 76ers player and former Michigan star Chris Webber was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine Wednesday, nearly two years after he pleaded guilty to a federal criminal contempt charge in the University of Michigan booster scandal.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds fined Webber the maximum allowed after she ruled that Webber's conviction should be treated as a misdemeanor rather than a felony, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

The judge also noted Webber's completion of 330 hours of community service and out-of-pocket expenses of more than $78,000.

In September 2003, Edmunds ordered Webber to perform 300 hours of the community service over the next two summers as a condition of his bond, saying she would decide whether to treat the crime as a felony or a misdemeanor in two years.

"I believe there is a reason and purpose for everything in life, and if this situation allowed me the privilege to have my life intersect with the lives of the children I worked with these past two summers, then it was worth every moment," Webber said in a statement on his website.

The team that won the Michael Finley Sweepstakes is the same team that just won an NBA championship.

Finley told ESPN.com on Wednesday that he has chosen to sign with the San Antonio Spurs, spurning a richer offer from the Miami Heat and the lure of an emotional return to the Phoenix Suns to reunite with close friend Steve Nash.

The Dallas Mavericks tried for weeks to move Finley to an Eastern Conference team to prevent him from joining the Spurs or the Suns. When it couldn't swing a trade before the Aug. 15 deadline to exercise the NBA's new amnesty clause, Dallas reluctantly waived the two-time All-Star, making Finley an unrestricted free agent and the target of an intense two-week courtship that also involved the Detroit Pistons and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Miami's Pat Riley, Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire and Minnesota's Kevin Garnett were among the big names to fly to Chicago last week to make face-to-face pitches to Finley. In the end, he went with the team that sent a one-man delegation -- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich -- to Finley's hometown.

The complete structure of the deal with San Antonio hasn't been finalized, including the length of the contract, but Finley will receive a starting salary of roughly $2.5 million this season.

"To be a part of a championship team, I'm excited," Finley said. "This is the closest I've ever been to a championship. I'm looking forward to the challenge of helping this team repeat."

Asked why he picked the Spurs, Finley said: "In a nutshell, they're already a championship team but they have room for improvement. And I feel my game can help them in the areas where they need improvement."

The Seattle SuperSonics today signed 7-0 center Mikki Moore, Sonics General Manager Rick Sund announced. As per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

?We?re  pleased  to have Mikki in a Sonics uniform,? said Sund. ?Mikki?s length and his ability to run the floor complements the Sonics? style of play and gives us added depth at both the center and forward positions.?

Last season, Moore?s eighth in the NBA, he appeared in 74 games with the L.A. Clippers, averaging 5.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 15.9 minutes. He shot 50.2 percent from the floor and 78.7 percent from the foul line. Moore started four games and scored in double figures on 17 occasions, including a career-high 18 points in two separate games. Moore recorded a career-high 14 rebounds vs. the L.A. Lakers last season on Dec. 11, 2004.

Rockets center Yao Ming signed a five-year extension today in Beijing that should keep him with the Rockets through the 2010-11 season, sources familiar with the negotiations said.

Yao had said since last summer that he hoped to play his entire NBA career with the Rockets.

Keeping Yao, who is training with the Chinese National team, was considered probable because of his interest in staying and the Rockets' willingness to offer the maximum contract allowed.

The extension will guarantee Yao 25 percent of the upcoming salary caps. Using the current salary cap, that would be worth $80.9 million over five years. Next season, the last of his rookie contract, Yao will earn $5.594 million.

Bob Gist said Tuesday that he and Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe will stay in the background while Latrell Sprewell and coach George Karl talk.

"There's a higher probability that he'll play for Denver than anywhere else. Not only is it the perfect fit, but the economics are there to make it happen," said Gist, pointing to the Nuggets' available midlevel exception.

Karl said Monday he would like to talk with the free agent. Vandeweghe declined comment.

A decision might come Monday on whether first-round draft pick Yaroslav Korolev could join the Clippers for the 2005-06 season.

The board of directors for CSKA Moscow, the club team that holds Korolev's rights, will meet to discuss a contract buyout that would clear the way for the Clippers to sign Korolev, agent Marc Fleisher said.

"We're really not going to know any more until then," Fleisher said. "They're going to meet, so we'll see."

Bulls operations chief John Paxson engaged in preliminary contract talks Tuesday with Eddy Curry's agent, Leon Rose, who was in town to visit his client.

''We had a good discussion,'' Paxson said. ''Again, we're just in the beginning stages of this thing. You look at how long this thing with Tyson [Chandler] has gone on, and Leon and I have just started on Eddy. There are a lot of issues to work through with Eddy.''

Not the least of which is how much guaranteed money is tied to the health of Curry, whose 2004-05 season was cut short because of heart problems. The NBA's insurance carrier declined to cover Curry's condition, and Rose and the Bulls have been trying to find another avenue to insure him.

Ultimately, there might not be an insurance company willing to offer such a policy. Or the premium might be very costly.

''That's going to be an issue in terms of who assumes the risk of the deal,'' Paxson said. ''That is something we talked about.''

According to Dennis Rodman's agent, Darren Prince, after several conversations with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, "We were expecting nothing less than an offer for a 10-day contract within 48 hours."

But, Prince said, the offer never came and Gilbert stopped taking his calls.

Now, with training camp opening at the beginning of October, Prince wonders why the Cavs wouldn't consider bringing Rodman to training camp this fall since they were so interested last spring.

Prince said that since Rodman played with Michael Jordan, he'd like to play with LeBron James. According to Prince, Rodman views James as "an up-and-coming Michael."

"We'll fly ourselves out there," Prince said in a telephone interview.

"We just want an open invitation to come in and show what he can still do. . . . Bring him in on a non-guaranteed contract. We'll run that risk."

According to a Cavaliers spokesman, Prince and Rodman initiated all the contact last spring and Gilbert merely took their calls.

Look for shooting guard Matt Carroll to re-sign with the Charlotte Bobcats today.

Coach-general manager Bernie Bickerstaff said as much Tuesday. Carroll played 25 games for the Bobcats last season, joining them from the Roanoke Dazzle of the NBA's developmental league.

A 6-foot-6 guard, Carroll was a pleasant surprise, particularly in his ability to draw shooting fouls. His ability to make 3-pointers (33 percent) and free throws (86 percent) was more expected. He averaged nine points and 2.4 rebounds.

Carroll's signing would put 12 players under contract. Small forward Gerald Wallace, a restricted free agent, is still unsigned. Bickerstaff said negotiations continue.

Bickerstaff doubts he'll add any players for training camp who weren't on the roster last season.