The Associated Press reports that Clippers power forward Elton Brand had arthroscopic surgery on his hyperextended right knee on Thursday. The surgery was done in Wilmington, Del., to repair a minor tear of the lateral knee cartilage, suffered during the World Championships in August.

An earlier MRI revealed no damage, but a follow up on Wednesday convinced Brand to have the procedeure.

A timetable for his rehab and return will be announced on Friday.

The Associated Press reports: Restricted free agent Michael Olowokandi has accepted the one-year qualifying offer of about $6.1 million extended by the Los Angeles Clippers nearly three months ago.

Negotiations on a long-term deal stalled last week, and the 7-foot, 270-pound center will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.

''I'm looking forward to getting to work,'' the 27-year-old said in a statement issued by the team Monday. ''We have a very good team, and I'm excited to get the season under way.''

Olowokandi averaged 11.1 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots last season -- his fourth with the Clippers, who made him the first overall pick in the 1998 pick. He averaged 13.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots in 77 career games at the University of Pacific.

''We expect that Michael will work hard to continue to improve, and that he will be prepared to make a big contribution to our team's success this year,'' said Elgin Baylor, the Clippers' vice president of basketball operations.

The Orlando Magic have signed free agent forward-center Obinna Ekezie, General Manager John Gabriel announced today. Per team policy, terms of the deal are not disclosed.

Ekezie (6?9?, 270, 8/22/75) played in 29 regular season games with the Los Angeles Clippers last season, averaging 1.9 ppg. and 1.2 rpg. in 5.2 minpg. He scored a season-high 11 points on Feb. 26 @ Houston.

Originally selected in the second round (37th overall) of the 1999 NBA Draft by Vancouver (now Memphis), Ekezie has appeared in 101 career games with Vancouver, Washington, Dallas and the Clippers, averaging 2.8 ppg. and 2.0 rpg. in 7.8 minpg. He played college basketball at the University of Maryland, where he averaged 9.9 ppg. and 5.7 rpg. in 118 career outings.

The Magic will hold training camp at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville from October 1-6.

Orlando's roster now stands at 19.

The Associated Press reports that investigators have found what appears to be blood traces on Bison Dele?s 55-foot catamaran. Authorities found traces of the substance on the inside and the outside of the vessel, said Michel Marotte, Tahiti's chief prosecutor. The findings must be verified in a laboratory "but it does seem to be blood traces,'' he told The Associated Press on Friday.

Dele's brother, Miles Dabord who is also known as Kevin Williams, was in a coma and in critical condition at a hospital in Chula Vista. He was found unconscious in Mexico last week. The FBI arrested him Thursday on a fraud charge after learning his identity. Dabord allegedly used his brother's former name, Brian Williams, while trying to buy $152,000 in gold in Phoenix earlier this month.

Dabord's mother, Patricia Phillips, told the Los Angeles Times she fears her son may have tried to commit suicide in a fit of guilt, somehow believing he was responsible for his brother's disappearance. On Friday, she stood at his bedside in a San Diego hospital. "I wanted to hug him, to stroke his face, to hold his hand,'' she said.

In a Sept. 13 telephone call, Phillips said Dabord sounded groggy and spoke of committing suicide. He told her he hadn't killed his brother and that he wanted her to know this before ending his life, she said.

Marotte said there is reason to think that Dele, his 30-year-old girlfriend Serena Karlan and Bertrand Saldo, the captain of Dele's sailboat, were killed July 6 or 7 during a layover in Tahiti. Investigators are working on the suspicion that a single person committed the killings, and "that is the brother of the victim, Kevin Williams.''

"We presume that the bodies of these people must be in the sea, the ocean, and will probably never be found,'' said Marotte, who speculated that the bodies could have been weighted down to sink them. "But we're still looking.''

The LA Times adds that Dabord may not live to tell his side of the story. Law enforcement officials admitted Saturday that they might never know exactly what happened to a missing former NBA player and two others who are presumed dead in the waters of the South Pacific.

Dabord is "dead, living only through artificial means," his mother said. Patricia Phillips said doctors have discovered severe damage to her son's brain--injuries they have told her are the result of an insulin overdose and Dabord not taking his asthma medication.

The Los Angeles Daily News reports that Michael Olowokandi?s self-imposed deadline for a new contract has come and gone without a signing. It appears as if the Clippers? center is poised to accept a one-year offer and try again in free agency next summer.

That means there is a chance this season will be Olowokandi's last as a Clipper, if he and his agent stick to the terms of the ultimatum they set over the weekend. However, it is not definite he will leave Los Angeles.

Both Olowokandi and the Clippers have said that they would prefer he remain a Clipper. Although Olowokandi?s deadline passed, a deal still could be worked out, if the center and his agent continue to negotiate. Officially, the sides have until Oct. 31 to make a deal.

Olowokandi and his agent, Bill Duffy, are seeking a deal similar to that of the Kings? Mike Bibby who signed a seven-year, $80 million contract extension earlier this summer. Olowokandi is a restricted free agent this summer, meaning the Clippers could match any other team?s offer. If Olowokandi accepts the one year qualifying offer of $6.1 million, he will be an unrestricted free agent next summer and the Clippers will not be able to match offers.

Michael Olowokandi?s agent has set Wednesday as the deadline for the Clippers and ?Kandi to agree to a long-term extension of their existing contract.

Art Thompson says in the Orange County Register that agent Bill Duffy met with Clippers executive vice president Andy Roeser this week, the first conversation between the sides in weeks.  

If there?s no agreement, Kandi will accept the Clippers? qualifying offer.  This would be a contract for the 2002/03 season, at the end of which he would be an unrestricted free agent.

Says Olowokandi: "I can definitely say, without a shadow of doubt, that if nothing is done by (Wednesday), I'm not buying any more stories. I'll play that last year, and that's it.?

What?s even worse is this (and you probably haven?t seen it in any mainstream papers): If Kandi accepts the Clippers qualifying offer, the Clippers would not be able to trade him.  

The reason is that the qualifying offer is a new, one-year contract.  And players who will be Bird free agents at the end of a one-year contract cannot be traded during that contract.

So that Wednesday deadline could also be the deadline for when the Clippers can trade Kandi before the risk losing him with no compensation next summer.

The Clippers have not signed a player to a maximum contract extension since the existing collective-bargaining agreement began in 1999.  Although it?s an open question whether Kandi is worth a maximum contract, there?s no question he would command a large, long-term contract on the open market.

And where would he like to play?  Bill Duffy says, ?Michael loves L.A.  He wants to stay with the Clippers.?  And Kandi says, ?I have always expressed the desire to be a Clipper.?

There is no indication of whether they?re close to a deal.  Should be an interesting few days.

K.C. Johnson and Todd Lighty report that the Bison dele disappearance case has taken a strange turn. The FBI has joined the investigation and they are looking for Dele's brother, Kevin Williams for questioning.

Kevin Williams was questioned by Phoenix Police last week after he allegedly tried to buy about $150,000 in gold coins while posing as Dele. He has not been seen since, but his mother, Patricia Phillips, said she had received anguished calls from him Tuesday and Wednesday.

In those calls, Phillips told the Tribune, "[Kevin] said, 'Mom, I just need you to believe me. I wouldn't hurt my brother. I need to know that you love me before I die. I can't go to prison. You know my personality is the type that can't survive in prison. Nobody will believe my story.'"

Dele, his girlfriend, Serena Karlan and Bertrand Saldo, the captain of Dele's 55-foot catamaran were sailing from Tahiti to Hawaii two months ago when the vessel disappeared. "We're involved in this case as a missing persons investigation," FBI spokesman Andrew Black said. "We're interested in the disappearance of those three people. "One of the individuals we are actively looking to speak with is Kevin Eugene Williams."

Dele has not been heard from since July 8th. The mystery deepened a month later when a man who identified himself as Brian Williams tried to buy a quantity of 1-ounce gold coins from Certified Mint, a precious metal and investment house in Phoenix. Dele, who had played at the University of Arizona as Brian Williams, apparently kept his financial records, such as banking accounts, in that name.

After learning that the bank was investigating whether the check for the coins was fraudulent, arrangements were made to stake out Certified Mint. When the man arrived to pick up the coins, he was taken into custody by the Phoenix Police.

Detectives questioned the man for several hours. But they released him, a department spokesman said, because they did not have enough evidence to bring charges, even though the man had three credit cards and a passport issued in Brian Williams' name.

Phillips said authorities told her the FBI believes Kevin Williams had fled to Mexico.

The Associated Press reports: The Los Angeles Clippers signed forward Melvin Ely, the 12th overall pick in the draft, to a contract Wednesday.

Under the NBA's rookie salary scale, Ely's salary will be about $4.1 million over the three years.

Ely averaged 23.3 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks as a senior at Fresno State, where he finished his four-year career as the school's leading scorer and shot blocker.

The 6-foot-10, 260-pound Ely was the first college senior taken in the draft.

Last month, the Clippers signed their other first-round pick, forward Chris Wilcox of Maryland.