The Charlotte-based proposal to buy the Hornets is near completion and will be unveiled by the end of next week, the man leading the effort to keep the team in Charlotte said Wednesday.

That announcement will include names of a would-be buyer or buyers, venture capitalist Nelson Schwab said.

Schwab emphatically rejected speculation that a proposal to buy the team from George Shinn and Ray Wooldridge does not exist.

"I wouldn't be spending all this time on this issue if it wasn't out there," he said.

Schwab acknowledged feeling pressure with the approach of an early April NBA vote on whether to allow the Hornets to move to New Orleans.

"The meter's running here," he said.

Sources have said the National Basketball Association needs to see a new arena deal, a profitable lease and an offer of at least $200 million for the team to consider turning down Shinn and Wooldridge's requested move. The issue will be decided by a majority vote of representatives of the NBA's 29 teams, expected to occur at an April 8-9 meeting of the league Board of Governors.

A relocation committee of seven owners will make a recommendation before that vote.

Names remain secret

The Charlotte City Council approved a plan for a $231 million uptown arena Feb. 11. Two days later, business leaders launched a "Let's Take Back the Game" campaign, with the slogan "New Arena; New Owners; New Spirit."However, the names of those would-be new owners remain a secret.

On Wednesday, Schwab declined to discuss how many people may be involved in an ownership proposal, who they are, and how much they might offer.

Schwab said the secrecy and delays are due to the sensitive nature of the task.

"You're trying to buy an asset that is controlled by two individuals (Shinn and Wooldridge) who have publicly said they don't want to sell and have made an application to move the asset to another city," Schwab said.

"I think there are a lot of issues to work through," he added. "There are legal and other issues ... and we're getting through those as diligently as we can."

A spokesman for Wooldridge could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Shinn and Wooldridge can void their contract to move the team to Louisiana if the Hornets do not receive deposits for 52 luxury suites and 10,450 season tickets there by March 15. As of Friday, the team was less than halfway to both targets.

McDavid, Smith not involved

Schwab said Texas auto dealer David McDavid, former part-owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and Charlotte motor sports billionaire Bruton Smith, who wants to buy the Orlando Magic and move them to Charlotte to replace the Hornets, are not currently involved in the ownership proposal. Both men have been the subject of speculation that they could be prospective Hornets buyers.

Schwab said Smith would be welcome as a potential buyer, but that the Speedway Motorsports head appears focused on buying the Magic.

Smith has said Shinn backed out of an agreement the two had for Smith to buy the Hornets for $130 million in 1997.

Schwab said that even if Smith does buy the Magic, the team could not move here until 2003 at the earliest. The team was offered for sale last month and has not begun taking offers. The NBA has said it would like the Magic to remain in Florida.

"That's a longer-term strategy, and I think we have to put our best foot forward in the short term, as it relates to the relocation to New Orleans," Schwab said.

As for McDavid, who tried unsuccessfully to buy the Denver Nuggets after selling his Mavericks stake, Schwab said his last conversation with the car dealer was a year ago.

Charlotte's future in mind

Schwab helped restart the arena debate in January, brokering an offer by Wachovia, Bank of America and Duke Energy to front the city $100 million for construction of an arena. In exchange, the businesses would receive $50 million in city-owned land and up to $50 million in revenues from marketing arena-related rights such as premium seat deposits and naming privileges.

Schwab said he has spent a lot of time on the phone in recent weeks, trying to finish the ownership proposal even as he attended the Winter Olympics in Utah.

He said his primary interest has been to do something good for Charlotte.

"Fortunately, people care about their communities," he said. "A lot of people have done things like that in this city in the past."

Schwab, who heads the Carousel Capital firm, said he has put his regular work on hold during the Hornets effort.

"I'm juggling things," he said. "Fortunately, I have partners who bring in some money."

He does not expect to take even a small stake in the Hornets' ownership if they stay in Charlotte.

"I've been so involved in it, that might be viewed as a conflict," he said. "That (ownership) isn't that important to me."

Tim Whitmire of the Charlotte Observer reports: The Charlotte-based proposal to buy the Hornets is near completion and will be unveiled by the end of next week, the man leading the effort to keep the team in Charlotte said Wednesday.

No word on who the buyer or buyers is.

Sources have said the National Basketball Association needs to see a new arena deal, a profitable lease and an offer of at least $200 million for the team to consider turning down Shinn and Wooldridge's requested move. The issue will be decided by a majority vote of representatives of the NBA's 29 teams, expected to occur at an April 8-9 meeting of the league Board of Governors.

A relocation committee of seven owners will make a recommendation before that vote.

The Charlotte Hornets just might be the NBA's most enigmatic team: Better road record than the Sacramento Kings, worse home record than the Chicago Bulls. Go figure.

The Timberwolves had that in their favor, then, in their 97-92 victory over the Hornets on Monday night at the sparsely filled Charlotte Coliseum.

Yet the Wolves were a little puzzling, too, considering that they let the Hornets shoot 51.4 percent -- nearly 57 percent through three quarters. That was trouble, because Minnesota hardly ever wins when getting outshot. How hardly? Think 1-14 when that happens, at least until Monday.

So what was the difference this time? Rebounds. Rebounds. And still more rebounds.

Look at it this way: The Wolves dominated the boards, 47-28. Of the 40 available rebounds at the basket they were attacking, the Wolves grabbed 18. That's 45 percent, compared to a league average of 29 percent.

It was even more tilted at the other end. Of the 35 available rebounds at the basket the Wolves were defending, they claimed 29. That's 83 percent, when the league average is 71 percent.

North Carolina is basketball country the way Minnesota is a hockey state. So maybe it shouldn't be surprising that Charlotte is on the verge of losing the Hornets.The announced attendance for the Wolves' 97-92 victory on Monday was 11,222 and that was with the the Hornets offering dual promotions at reluctant fans: It was P.J. Brown bobblehead night (but only for the first 1,000 customers) and $29 seats were being offered on a two-for-one basis.

Remember how Wolves co-founder Marv Wolfenson got teased a number of years ago for nodding off during a game at the "Hive" and winding up on the video boards? These days, it's quiet enough to bring along a blankie and a teddy bear.

The Hornets entered Monday's game with a 226-152 record (.598) over the past five seasons, eighth best in the league and third best in the Eastern Conference. They have reached the playoffs in four of the past five seasons. Yet the current players are suffering from the lack of support, and it shows in their 11-17 home record.

Better make space at the top of the Midwest Division. Because the Timberwolves are climbing back there by making more space for themselves in the lane.

The reason the Wolves topped the Hornets 97-92 at Charlotte Coliseum Monday night is the same reason they pummeled San Antonio last Saturday to go 3-1 this road trip: Rebounding.

Not only did Minnesota beat up Charlotte 47-28 on the boards, but it was center Rasho Nesterovic's tip-back with 7.9 seconds left that halted the Hornets' late 8-2 run and sealed the victory. The Wolves also out-rebounded the taller Spurs 41-25. With 26 games left in the regular season, Minnesota (38-18) trails division-leading Dallas by one game.

"We rebound a lot because of our length,'' said Wolves coach Flip Saunders, who moved 7-foot-1 Kevin Garnett back to small forward this season to make his lineup taller. "Now, we're moving people out, too.''

Now that they have 6-10, 270-pound Marc Jackson, that is.

The Timberwolves, who had lost in Charlotte 11 straight times before last season, probably wouldn't mind if they never entered Charlotte Coliseum again.

And they might not.

Barring a new stadium deal, the Hornets franchise probably will move to New Orleans next season. It's a relocation the Wolves almost pulled off in 1995, before current owner Glen Taylor stepped in and bought the team.

It's a relocation possibility Wolves guard Will Avery, who played at Duke, just doesn't get.

"When I was in college, we'd drive down here to watch the Hornets, and the crowds were great," he said. "And for it to change so much in just a few years, that's amazing."

Also read Wally Sczcerbiak's comments on new team-mate Marc Jackson: "He's not built for a bunch of clowns like they have in Golden State. He's more of a guy who needs to play with players who know how to play. He makes them better, and we make him better."

For all the grief they have received in recent years -- the Mavericks' maverick owner and the maverick coach -- Mark Cuban and Don Nelson should take a bow.

They will get the last laugh now.

The blockbuster trade last week that brought budding center Raef LaFrentz and irascible point guard Nick Van Exel to Dallas was a bold move that took deep pockets and lots of testerone.

It probably won't get them past the Los Angeles Lakers -- not as long as Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant stay healthy -- but it should push them past everyone else in the NBA for several years.

Watching them hammer the Sacramento Kings -- with the league's best record -- Saturday was a good example of what's to come

Maybe they didn't get a brute to arm-wrestle Shaquille O'Neal, but they now have the deepest, most talented team in the league, putting the pressure on Nelson to make it all work.

He has been waiting for years for something like this, giving him a chance to validate his personal belief that he is the smartest coach in the league.

LaFrentz gives them a shot-blocking center who can also score and rebound, a player who every team in the league wanted to put on its free-agent wish list in two summers. He won't go anywhere now.

Van Exel gives them another big-time scorer in the backcourt, a chance for Nelson to try several more of his offbeat theories on how to win games with unorthodox lineups. Nelson has promised eventually to start Van Exel alongside point guard Steve Nash, even though it could be a defensive liability.

The Mavericks will also move Michael Finley to small forward, where he belongs, and Dirk Nowitzki back to power forward, moving both Evan Eschmeyer and Shawn Bradley into backup roles at center.

It gives the Mavericks three 7-footers who can consistently hit 3-point shots in Nowitzki, LaFrentz and ZhiZhi Wang.

"This makes my team more consistent," Nelson said. "I have some players now who are alike in the things we like to run. I have three big men who can take the shot outside, making it difficult for matchups with other big men."

The only thing puzzling about the trade with Denver is why the Nuggets agreed to it. How can they possibly sell tickets with a straight face, knowing they now have the worst team in the league? In the deal, they got Juwan Howard, who walks around with a sign on his back that says "overpaid," and a breaking-down Tim Hardaway, who must have swallowed a lemon when he heard.

Although Van Exel has been a disruptive force before, with the Los Angeles Lakers and in Denver, the Mavericks are betting it won't happen now, believing he will be so happy to leave Denver that he will behave.

Naturally, the Mavs had to take some guys they didn't want -- like Tariq Abdul-Wahad and his $43 million contract -- but Cuban wasn't fazed by that. He plays this game like some people play with Monopoly money.

And he wants to win now.

"We're flexible now," Nelson said. "Everything is going to work out just fine."

Magic officials waiting

Although new ownership for the Orlando Magic likely will bring some changes in the front office, they haven't started jumping ship just yet. John Weisbrod, the chief operating officer, turned down a chance recently to become the general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning when Rick Dudley was fired. Weisbrod, who has a hockey background, came to Orlando originally to be the general manager of the Orlando Solar Bears. A few years ago he might have jumped at a NHL position, but not now.

Chocolate Thunder speaks

Some guys grow old, but they never grow up. Listen to this question-and-answer session with still lovable Darryl Dawkins, the Orlando Evans High School star who jumped directly into the NBA before it became so popular.

Dawkins, who now coaches the Pennsylvania Valley Dogs in the United States Basketball League, was an assistant coach at the NBA Rookie Game, working alongside veteran Chuck Daly. Bet there were some interesting discussions between those two.

But this is the one we know about:

Q: Is Chocolate Thunder still in effect?

Dawkins: Chocolate Thunder is still in effect. I'm still funking for Jamaica and enjoying life.

Q: Who's that on your cell phone [when it rings during the interview]?

Dawkins: It's just the president calling: `Mr. Bush, don't worry about it.'

Q: Was that the planet Lovetron?

Dawkins: No, they can't call me from there. I've got to go there.

Q: What does it mean to have the all-star game in Philadelphia [where you once played]?

Dawkins: It's great because this is the cheesesteak capital of the world. And if you ain't got grease on your bag, you ain't got a cheesesteak.

Jordan's play paying dividends

Want to know how important Michael Jordan's presence is to the Wizards? Here are some numbers that should catch your eye:

Their per-game ticket gross last season was an estimated $400,000. Their per-game ticket gross this season is $850,000. Over the course of a season, that's nearly a $19-million difference.

Don't bet on this Magic move

Don't hold your breath on that Magic-moving-to-Charlotte story last week. Bruton Smith, the North Carolina billionaire who told everyone he wanted to buy the team and use it to replace the Hornets, has been known for his unrealistic bluster in the past.

If you are betting, it's a good bet that he'll never get that chance. And here's why: Watch for the NBA to scuttle the Hornets? proposed move to New Orleans despite the desires of George Shinn, the current Hornets owner.

Most of the league owners hate the city of New Orleans and don't believe it could support a team. The league will force Shinn to stay in Charlotte, effectively forcing Shinn to sell the team to someone else in North Carolina.

Once Shinn is gone, a new arena will be built and the Hornets will live happily-ever-after in Charlotte -- possibly with Smith as the new owner.

Could the above game be a fixture on future NBA schedules?  According to a report by John Delong in today's Winston-Salem Journal it certainly is on the cards.

So desperate are some in Charlotte to keep an NBA franchise in Charlotte that Bruton Smith, the Charlotte-based CEO of Speedway Motorsports, has begun preliminary negotiations to buy the Orlando Magic.  If the Hornets move to New Orleans and Smith is successful in his purchase of the Magic he will certainly try to move the team back to Charlotte.

In December Smith told WFNZ that he would "guarantee" a local group would purchase the Hornets if the opportunity ever presented itself, adding that he believed that curreny owner George Shinn had a "moral obligation" to sell to someone who would keep the Hornets in Charlotte.

Money a problem?  Not with Smith.  He owns several auto dealerships in the Charlotte area along with seven NASCAR tracks, and along with another group that have already pledged $100 million to the construction of a new arena in uptown Charlotte he is committed to keeping an NBA influence where they are.

According to Delong Smith's emergence may create a difficult situation for the NBA.  According to sources Smith has already spoken to Rich DeVos, the owner of the Magic, and other Magic officials, including Pat Williams, one of the team's vice presidents. If Smith does in fact buy the Magic it would be difficult for the NBA to allow the Hornets to move to New Orleans and then disapprove Smith's bid to move the Magic to Charlotte.  David Stern is already on record as saying he wants to keep the Magic in Orlando.

Another interesting tidbit was the fact that Smith claimed Charlotte does not need a new arena, and that an NBA team can still be successful playing in the Charlotte Coliseum.  This has been the basis of Shinn's move to New Orleans, stating that the current system isn't viable long term despite the fact that the Hornets sold out every game before ownership started with roster instability.

CHARLOTTE

The mere mention of Shaquille O'Neal can cause many coaches around the NBA to grimace.

But mention O'Neal to Brian Hill, the Charlotte Hornets' top assistant, and he smiles broadly.

Hill was an assistant with the Orlando Magic when O'Neal came into the league in 1992. Then Hill moved up to head coach the next season and was O'Neal's coach for the next three seasons.

O'Neal moved on to the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996, but Hill has continued to keep a keen eye on O'Neal's development into the most dominant player in the game.

"He's my favorite," Hill said earlier this week. "He's the best. I just can't say enough about that guy."

The Lakers will make their only regular-season visit to Charlotte tonight when they take on the Hornets at the Charlotte Coliseum. The game has been sold out for months.

Hill, in his first season on Coach Paul Silas' staff, compiled a 167-79 record (.679) in three seasons with O'Neal in his lineup. The Magic won two Atlantic Division titles in those three years and went to the NBA Finals in 1995 before losing to Houston.

It was then that the foundation was laid for what has followed - back-to-back NBA championships the past two years, the MVP award in 2000, three all-NBA first-team selections and 10 trips to the All-Star Game.

Hill says this is pretty much what he expected O'Neal to develop into all along.

"I don't think there's any question he's improved over the years, but to me he's pretty much the same guy he's always been," Hill said. "I think what we're seeing now is there's a maturity level and an experience level that's there, and he's continued to get bigger. I'd say he's at least 50 pounds heavier than he was in Orlando, and that's made him an even more dominant force."

Before the Lakers' game at Cleveland last night, O'Neal was averaging 26.1 points, 11 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.32 blocked shots in 38 games this season, shooting 57.2 percent from the field. He leads the NBA in field-goal percentage, ranks third in scoring and is seventh in rebounding.

Hill says he doesn't think the average fan realizes how good of a basketball player O'Neal truly is. There's a notion sometimes that O'Neal is effective just because of his size and strength, but Hill says that O'Neal is better technically and fundamentally than any big man he's ever coached.

"The thing that shocked me when I first saw him was, he's always had phenomenal footwork and he's always had great hands," Hill said. "There's nothing you can throw at him that he can't catch. Whether it's low, high, wide, whatever, he's going to catch it. And I always felt more comfortable with him bringing the ball upcourt in a three-on-two situation than some of my guards. I always knew he was going to make the right pass and that he was never going to be out of control, and that he would throw the right type of pass - whether it's a bounce pass or whatever.

"He really has the skills of a smaller player as far as passing and ballhandling. Not the shooting skills, but he has always had the footwork, the ballhandling and the passing skills of players much smaller."

Hill also says there's a dedication and seriousness about O'Neal that the average fan wouldn't realize. O'Neal has dabbled with movies and a rap career and has been known to enjoy life in the spotlight in L.A., but he has never lost sight of his goals as a basketball player.

"I think the thing I always appreciated as much as anything from a coaching standpoint was the fact that he came every day and he worked," Hill said. "This is a guy that practiced hard every day. There were days I'd walk in after a back-to-back or maybe four games in five nights and say, 'Big fella, why don't you take the day off today?' And he'd look at you and say, 'Really?' And you'd say, 'Yeah, relax, take the day off.'

"And then he'd thank you and go out and practice. He just appreciated the fact that you thought enough of him to give him the day off, but he didn't want the day off."

The payoff is coming now, in the form of NBA titles.

"I've seen all the hard work he puts in," Hill said. "He might put on this persona with everyone else that he's all about having a good time, but I know who he is and what he's all about. He loves basketball and he loves to compete and he works very hard. And he is all about winning.

"We used to discuss it all the time - ultimately, the final evaluation of how great a player you are is how many rings you win. You can lead the league in scoring as many times as you want and make all the All-Star teams and MVPs, but it's going to be winning titles that people remember you by. That's what he's doing now."

It seems timing really is everything. Even when it means, literally, one excruciating second.

The Hornets squeezed every bit of time out of their marathon with Toronto Wednesday night and in the process they freed themselves of the frustration that followed them through this game and through more than half of an injury-filled season.

Jamal Mashburn and Baron Davis delivered the big plays at the finish, helping the Hornets escape Air Canada Centre with a 78-77 victory over the Raptors and -- sustained drum roll, please -- a winning record!

They moved to 27-26 with their fifth consecutive road victory, a mark that at this stage of an NBA season may be pretty mediocre for some teams.

Given what the Hornets' inconsistent ride to this stage and a long list of missed opportunities to get back above .500, they viewed it as yet another sign of success.

It seemed fitting that it came on a night when they struggled, looking for a long while as if they were going to lose despite the absence of injured Raptors All-Star Vince Carter.

They had to go to the wire to do it after surrendering an 11-point lead, then scrambling at the finish to overcome a six-point deficit of their own.

"It wasn't real pretty," Mashburn said. "It was kind of an ugly game."

He was laughing as he spoke and Wednesday, he could afford to after scoring Charlotte's last six points.

He had spent most of the game looking not at all like himself, not nearly as much so as he had Monday in Milwaukee when he returned from a 42-game absence with a lower abdominal strain.

Davis hadn't been as sharp as usual either at the point. But with time running out he teamed with Mashburn on a couple of pick-and-roll plays that led to Mashburn's baskets. And he stood his ground with tight defense, refusing to give Toronto's Alvin Williams the clear path and open look he wanted as he took the game's last shot.

The jumper, launched from above the lane about 18 feet out with 7/10ths of a second on the clock, bounced off the rim, allowing the Hornets to exhale. None of them cared then about the unattractive nature of the 2-hour 20-minute struggle.

"I am very happy with everything that happened tonight," coach Paul Silas said. "It was very positive. Everything I saw was positive.

"We found a way to win, and I'm very happy about that."

The Raptors were fueled by forward Antonio Davis (29 points, 14 rebounds).

And, after Morris Peterson's three-pointer with 5:01 to play, they led 76-70.

Moments later, with the Raptors ahead 76-72, Mashburn hit two free throws, then followed with a running shot in the lane and a turnaround wing jumper, putting the Hornets up 78-76 with 48 seconds left.

Williams hit one of two free throws -- the only point Charlotte's defense allowed in Toronto's last six possessions -- for a 78-77 count. Lee Nailon missed on the other end and, with 5.6 seconds to play, the Raptors got the ball to Williams for a final attempt.

Davis played him tightly but still fretted as the fadeway jumper went up.

"I tried to make him turn and take a tough shot," Davis said. "I still thought it was going in when he shot it."

The ball bounced off the rim as time expired, finally resolving the matter.