NBA Will Distribute Up to $200 Million for Interested Teams

The NBA has lined up $200 million to distribute to teams interested in additional cash, which the league considers a sign it remains strong in a slumping economy.

Between $13 million and $20 million will be available to each of 12 teams that have expressed interest in the funds, NBA Commissioner David Stern said yesterday. The money can be used for any purpose, including helping teams deal with operating losses incurred because of the economy.

It should not, Stern said, be construed as a bailout. At a time when credit markets have been frozen, investors saw the NBA as a safe bet. "It's exactly the opposite" of a bailout, Stern said. "This was a show of strength in the credit worthiness of the NBA's teams."

-- OBITUARIES: Former Bulls guard and broadcaster Norm Van Lier was found dead yesterday at his home in Chicago, authorities said.

Firefighters went to his home to respond to a request for a well-being check. They found Van Lier unresponsive around 1 p.m., and he was pronounced dead at the scene. He was 61.

Van Lier began his NBA career with Cincinnati in 1969. He later spent more than six seasons with the Bulls before finishing his career with the Bucks in 1979.

Also yesterday, Johnny "Red" Kerr, the former Bulls coach who spent more than three decades as a broadcaster for the team, died. He was 76.

Bulls spokesman Tim Hallam said Kerr died at his home. He had been battling prostate cancer.

The Bulls unveiled a statue of Kerr at United Center during an emotional ceremony earlier this month that included taped messages from President Obama and Commissioner David Stern and speeches from Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan.

-- CELTICS: G Gabe Pruitt apologized after he was stopped on a Hollywood street and arrested for investigation of misdemeanor drunken driving.