Daniels gone....

Antonio Daniels to sign with Seattle...

By DANNY O'NEIL
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Antonio Daniels' flight was landing in Seattle last night. It appears that will be his destination for next season, too.

Though the free-agent guard had not signed with the Sonics yet, a deal likely will be finalized this morning.

"We anticipate something could be done this weekend," Tony Dutt, Daniels' Houston-based agent, said last night.

General manager Rick Sund would not comment on negotiations with Daniels either in terms of the timetable or salary specifics. It is believed the Sonics have offered Daniels a contract similar to the one presented to Kevin Ollie, a three-year deal worth more than $6 million. Ollie chose Cleveland's offer of $15 million over five years, signing with the Cavaliers earlier this week.

Daniels, 28, is 6 feet 4 and capable of playing both backcourt positions. In six NBA seasons he has averaged 7.1 points and 3.0 assists. Last year, he averaged a career-low in points (3.7) and minutes (13.0) with the Blazers.

The Sonics are over the salary cap, but can use part of what is called the midlevel exception to sign Daniels. The midlevel exception allows for no more than a starting salary of $4.9 million, but may be split among players.

If the Sonics sign Daniels, it's unlikely the Sonics would try to sign any more free agents. Instead, they would focus on re-signing restricted free agents Reggie Evans and Predrag Drobnjak in that order.

NOTE: Murray scored 32 points as the Sonics beat the Clippers 112-100 last night in the Summer Pro League in Long Beach, Calif. The Sonics (4-1) conclude play tonight at 7:30 against Memphis.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/131566_sonx19.html