Minneapolis Star Tribune writer Steve Aschburner reports that the Timberwolves have missed out on acquiring shooting guard Ricky Davis after the Cleveland Cavaliers decided to match the Wolves offer.

Davis, a restricted free agent, had signed an offer sheet with the Minnesota Timberwolves.  His restricted free agency status gave the Cavaliers the right of first refusal, meaning that they had the opportunity to match any offer that Davis was formally given and the player would remain with the team.  Cleveland General Manager Jim Paxson had until Sept. 4 to make a decision but opted to match the deal one day after receiving formal notice of the Minnesota offer.

"If you go with that [today], you won't be wrong," Paxson told a Willoughby News-Herald reporter Tuesday evening. A formal announcement is expected today."

Both Davis and his agent Dan Fegan urged the Cavaliers to let him move on without intervention, but to their anger their pleas fell on deaf ears.  Fegan stressed that his client preferred to be in Minnesota and it would be bad business to lock up an unhappy Davis long term.

"You don't want to pay $34 million over six years for a player who wants to be somewhere else," Fegan had said Tuesday afternoon. "That's a crazy way to run a business."

The article reports that the Cavaliers did not want to lose Davis without compensation and had held discussions about potential sign and trade deals with both Denver and Minnesota.  Once Davis signed the offer sheet this option was exhaused, and now Davis cannot be traded until December 15 at the earliest but not to Minnesota for a minimum of 12 months.

Asked if he would be reluctant to commit $34 million to a player who wanted out, Kevin McHale, the Timberwolves Vice President, said: "It would be something I'd have to think about. I'm kind of close to the deal, so it's hard to be objective. Ricky's got some issues in going back there, some things he's got concerns about."

Minnesota now regains their mid-level exception which would have been used should the matching deadline have passed.

The Seattle SuperSonics today exercised their option on high flying guard Desmond Mason, the team's offical website is reporting.  Mason is now under contract through the 2003-04 season after which time the Sonics will hold the right of first refusal on any contract offers made by opposition teams.

"Due to the collective bargaining agreement, we knew we had until Oct. 31 to exercise our option on Desmond. We wanted to do it before training camp," said Sund. "Desmond is a big part of our future and we are extremely pleased to have him under contract for the next two years."

"I'm glad the Sonics are providing me the opportunity to continue my career in Seattle," said Mason. "It's a great city, with great fans and great team ownership. I really enjoy playing for Coach McMillan. I like his philosophy and the direction our team is going. I hope this extension is the beginning of a long career in Seattle."

"We're excited to have Desmond on the team for the next two seasons," said Sonics Head Coach Nate McMillan. "He's a young player who has shown tremendous potential and versatility."

Martin McNeal of the Sacramento Bee reports: On Thursday, Mike Bibby agreed to a new seven-year, $80 million contract with the Sacramento KIngs.

 "I'm happy," Bibby said Thursday night from Las Vegas before a late dinner. "I figured something would happen in that meeting. I'm glad to be back in Sac."

The Kings will announce the signing today at a news conference in Las Vegas.

It is the team's second news conference in three days after signing free-agent forward Keon Clark on Wednesday.

The L.A. Lakers deepened their bench even further today by signing Bulls free agent A.J. Guyton, ESPN.com is reporting.  While terms were not disclosed it is suspected that the contract will be for the league minimum.

The Portland Trail Blazers today signed ex-Clippers point guard Jeff McInnis to a three year contract, blazers.com is reporting.  McInnis is set to join newly acquired Antonio Daniels and Damon Stoudamire in the Blazers backcourt, something that excites Portland officials.

?We are very pleased to announce the signing of Jeff McInnis,? said GM Bob Whitsitt. ?Since the beginning of the off season, we have said we wanted to address our size and depth in the backcourt. Jeff and Antonio Daniels, who we acquired last week, give us two players who fulfill that need. We believe Damon Stoudamire, Jeff and Antonio give us great stability, depth and experience in the backcourt. We believe we have definitely upgraded this area for next season.?

?I'm very excited to have Jeff join our team,? said Blazers Head Coach Maurice Cheeks. ?Jeff and Antonio give us two big bodies in our backcourt that make us that much tougher in this area. Jeff is a big guard who can defend and run a basketball team and regardless of who plays, we feel very comfortable with the players we will have on the court.?

Terms of the contract were not disclosed.

The Miami Herald is reporting that the Miami Heat and free agent guard Rod Strickland are still at length in negotiations about a new contract, with Pat Riley adding that Miami's search for a veteran point guard might stretch into September.

According to an official close to the situation, the Heat wants Strickland to accept a one-year, $1.1 million offer, while Strickland wants a multiyear deal for substantially more.  What does not bode well for Strickland, however, is the fact that the team re-signed backup center Vladimir Stepania to a one-year deal worth more than $1.2 million and are also chasing Sixer Matt Harpring, who is also attracting attention from the Bulls and Jazz.  The Heat have maintained that they will not get into luxury tax waters unless absolutely necessary.

Travis Best and Jeff McInnis are the only other starting-caliber free agent point guards, each of whom the Heat are hoping they can sign for the $1.1 million slot.

Because the Heat wants cap space next summer, Riley said he is ''not comfortable'' signing any player for more than one year.

The Heat also have a backup plan in case they cannot sign Harpring to play small forward, signing Jimmy Jackson for $1 million.

''We feel good at that position,'' Riley said. ``We're very high on Caron and Rasual. At the summer league [in Long Beach, Calif.], Caron's ball-handling impressed me the most. He is very strong in the low post.''

New York today addressed its size issue by finally coming to terms with former Cavalier Michael Doleac, ESPN.com is reporting.  Doleac, a four-year veteran, signed a contract with the Knicks today (Wednesday) and is expected to come off the bench.

"Looking at our team and where we are, it's a good signing for us because it addresses several needs,'' Knicks president Scott Layden said.

The Knicks now have three players capable of playing center after starter Marcus Camby was traded to Denver on draft night; Kurt Thomas, Travis Knight and Doleac.

Layden also added that the Knicks are not done looing for ways to improve their roster, indicating that he'd like the team to have depth at each position.

"We're still going to explore the free agent players that are still available and will see if there's anyone there that can help our team,'' Layden said. "One of the things we can't lose sight of is we feel good about the depth of several positions.''