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http://www.nba.com/pacers/news/walsh_ha ... 60821.html
Walsh Says Harrington
Deal Still On Table
By Conrad Brunner
Aug. 21, 2006
The Pacers are still very much involved in discussions about a possible sign-and-trade deal for Atlanta forward Al Harrington, franchise CEO & President Donnie Walsh said today.
Weekend media reports suggested ownership had stepped in to squelch the deal, leading the Hawks to re-open trade discussions with other teams.
"I think we're coming down to it and we'll either get it or we won't," said Walsh. "It's a negotiation – in terms of the trade, in terms of the (contract). We've been negotiating and that takes time. Usually, the press doesn't get wind of that until it gets toward the end. But here it seems like they were in it before we had any understanding we could do a trade with Atlanta and then (reported) definitely that the deal was done or that it was imminent before we even talked to Al's people. You have to understand, there was also a change of agents in all this, so that took some time, too.
"I think it's business as usual, myself. It's gone the way every deal goes for me."
Walsh said co-owners Herb and Melvin Simon have been involved in the discussions, but that has been the norm throughout his career. The difference in this case, he said, has been the public nature of the trade negotiations through ongoing newspaper accounts in Atlanta and Indianapolis.
"The owners always get involved. The owners were involved from day one," he said. "If you think you're giving out $20-40 million packages without getting in touch with the owner, you're crazy. (Herb Simon)'s involvement has always been helpful to me. Look, this guy has made some great deals in his life, so he always brings a wrinkle in that's useful.
"I think he's in support of the deal but within the parameters."
The framework for the deal is in place, Walsh said. What remains is to work out the details of Harrington's contract.
"There have been three stages to this," Walsh said. "The first stage was where there were a lot of teams trying to trade for Al, we had the exception but it looked like they could get more money if they went in different directions so we weren't as involved then. When that got over with and those trades didn't go down, then they started focusing on us. But then we had to deal with Atlanta as to what it would take to make this trade. So that was a negotiation, and that took time.
"We got to the point last week where we kind of understand each other and now we're dealing with Al. It's that simple."
While not divulging details of the negotiations, Walsh said media reports of a 6-year, $57 million deal are little more than supposition based on the Pacers' $7.5 million trade exception. Those figures were reported before Walsh had entered into negotiations with Tellem, which began in earnest last week. Harrington fired his previous agent during the trade talks and hired Tellem, who was required by league rules to wait two weeks before assuming his role as the forward's official representative.
"You're going through stages where the press seems to have things, I think from the players and the agents, because it's in their interest to kind of put it out there," he said. "I know this: we haven't made any statements, and I'm talking about me, Herb and Larry (Bird).
"I just think there's been a lot of misinformation about where this deal was and a lot of suppositions. People had the deal negotiated before we even talked about it. It was pretty easy to look at our exception and say, 'Oh, it's going to be $57 million,' when we hadn't even talked about it yet. I read last week the deal was imminent. Who's telling them that?
"Deals take time. There are negotiations going on. It's no different than any deal we've done other than it's been in the press for a long time. It has not been imminent at any point, and certainly not at the point it was reported to have been imminent."
So what is the status of the deal?
Said Walsh: "It's in negotiation."
