From Deseret News archives:
Suns hope Finley returns
"I think the meeting was productive," said Henry Thomas, Finley's agent, "and Michael is still evaluating the teams that he is considering."
Finley has narrowed his choices to Miami, Phoenix and NBA champion San Antonio. He hopes to make a decision by next week, Thomas said.
He met with Heat president Pat Riley and the coach on Monday and will meet with Spurs officials later this week. The Detroit Pistons have fallen out of the picture after using most of their salary exception.
"It was a nice meeting," Suns president Bryan Colangelo told The Associated Press just before flying back to Phoenix. "We had a chance to talk to Michael and his agent, and I would say that things went well. Hopefully the story line we presented was a compelling one."
Joining Colangelo in the talks were team owner Robert Sarver, coach Mike D'Antoni and players Amare Stoudemire, Shawn Marion and Raja Bell. Not present but certainly a part of the campaign is Suns playmaker Steve Nash, a good friend and former Dallas Mavericks teammate of Finley.
Phoenix also has a message on its Web site urging fans to send e-mails pleading with Finley to come back to the Suns. Phoenix drafted Finley as the 21st pick overall in 1995. He was traded to Dallas in the 1996-97 season as part of the deal that brought Jason Kidd to the Suns.
The 32-year-old shooting guard has indicated he wants to play for a title contender, and the Suns believe they fit that description after an NBA-best 62 win season. Adding Finley would ease the impact of the departure of Joe Johnson, who went to Atlanta in a sign-and-trade deal after telling Sarver he no longer wanted to play for the Suns.
Miami can offer Finley the full $5 million midlevel exception, not to mention the opportunity to play with Shaquille O'Neal. The Suns can offer only the $1.1 million veteran's minimum.
Finley, who averaged a career-low 15.7 points last season, was waived by Dallas under a one-time "amnesty clause" that allows teams to cut players to keep their salaries from being subject to the NBA's luxury tax. Finley still will receive the $52 million remaining on his Dallas contract, but the Mavs won't have to pay that same amount in luxury tax, as they would have had he been kept on the roster.
NOWITZKI GETS OK TO PLAY: Dirk Nowitzki has received permission from the Dallas Mavericks to join the German national team for warmup games before next month's European championship.
Nowitzki had been practicing on his own, but Mavericks' owner Mark Cuban has said the forward can now start practicing and playing with his national team, the German basketball federation said Tuesday.
The NBA star's insurance against injury covers the Sept. 16-25 championship in Serbia-Montenegro.
Germany is staging a four-nation tournament this weekend that also includes Greece, Georgia and Belarus.
