Economy May Impact 2009 Free Agents

In a joyous locker room after an easy win, Brevin Knight is the Jazz player sitting with a grim conclusion.

The money is disappearing. Not to where approximately 150 impending free agents will sweat the poverty line, but dreams of receiving blank checks in the highly anticipated 2009 marketplace have crashed with the rest of the economy.

"You can't try to just say, 'Well, this guy made this [before] so I should make this,' " said Knight, a free agent-in-waiting. "Because coming up now, it's going to be a lot different than what it was."

"It's going to be a nuclear winter for them," Mavericks owner Mark Cuban predicted.

"I'm sure that tightening of the belt is something that goes through every organization's head, for obvious reasons," said Gregg Popovich, the Spurs' coach and president. "We're all part of the economy, too."

· GRIZZLIES: Memphis re-signed F Darius Miles yesterday despite a threat of legal action from the Trail Blazers.

Portland president Larry Miller said on Friday he believed other clubs wanted to sign Miles because it would cost his team money, not because they thought he would help on the court.

Miles is coming back from major knee surgery. If he plays two more games, the Trail Blazers will be on the hook for the $18 million left on his contract. That would count against Portland's salary cap and force the team to pay luxury tax.

Memphis, which waived Miles on Wednesday, signed him to a 10-day contract. GM Chris Wallace insists Miles can be a plus.

"If he can come back and help a team to win and play at a level on the court that helps the team, we have no problem with that at all," Miller said.

-- From News Services