Nets assistant coach Eddie Jordan has been granted permission to interview with another team about its head coaching position sometime after the NBA Finals. Nets director of scouting Ed Stefanski may be on his way to Washington to take a job as Wizards general manager.

Most intriguingly, Stefanski may get hired in Washington and bring Jordan with him.
   
That was the fallout from a busy day in an NBA rumor mill that really got churning once the Wizards finally made it official and fired head coach Doug Collins.

Nets president Rod Thorn confirmed he had given approval to another NBA team to talk to Jordan about its head coaching vacancy, but Thorn would not say which team.

"We gave permission to talk at an appropriate time, yes," Thorn said. "I'm not going to say which team. There are nine possibilities."

There are nine teams with vacancies, but the Raptors, Hawks, Sixers and Clippers seem among the more likely candidates.

The Washington Wizards, seeking to quell a firestorm of angry fans seeking some sign of direction from the team, are offering refunds to season-ticket holders unsatisfied with the team's actions this offseason.

Owner Abe Pollin, in a letter that will be sent to season-ticket holders Monday, will pay back in full any deposits to account holders who want them after the offseason. Initial season-ticket deposits are due within the next several weeks and in the past have been non-refundable.

"If you renew your Wizards ticket plan now, you are doing so at no risk," Pollin writes in the letter. "If you are not satisfied following the off-season, you will not risk your deposit. I am confidant [sic] that you will be pleased with our new direction and you will look forward to coming out again for another exciting season."
   
Pollin's surprising letter comes as the team operates without a president of basketball operations or a coach following yesterday's firing of Doug Collins. Also, general manager Wes Unseld will take a leave of absence after next month's draft.

The Washington Wizards fired Coach Doug Collins yesterday, opening the door for the pursuit of former Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown and other potential candidates.

Collins said he had expected to be fired after the team declined to rehire Michael Jordan as president of basketball operations. Jordan hired Collins in April 2001 and was tightly aligned with the coach during Jordan's two seasons as a player.

"Everybody had the sense all along that I was going to be fired," Collins said in a conference call from Hawaii, where he is celebrating his 30th wedding anniversary. "I think it was just a matter of when that was going to happen. Obviously, any time you get fired, it's disappointing. That hurts. But I understand the organization is moving in another direction. [Team owner Abe] Pollin was always very nice to me and the one thing I told them was I appreciated the opportunity to coach there in Washington."

Milwaukee Bucks general manager Ernie Grunfeld has not talked to other teams about employment possibilities, but he is not ruling out doing so in the future if the circumstances are right.

It's not that Grunfeld wants to leave the Bucks, but if the team is sold, it only stands to reason that he may have to seek employment elsewhere. Grunfeld did acknowledge that an unspecified number of teams have asked permission to speak to him but that the Bucks had not, as of yet, granted that permission.

"I'm flattered that people have called to ask permission, that I am well-regarded," Grunfeld said. "We've had a good run here and I have every intention of being back with the Bucks. But in this business, it never hurts to talk to people if the timing is right."

The Bucks have issued a statement saying that Grunfeld had not been granted permission to talk to other teams "to this point."

The Washington Wizards today announced they had fired head coach Doug Collins after back-to-back 37-win seasons in which the team failed to make the playoffs.

Collins's firing was not unexpected because he had been recruited by former Wizards basketball president Michael Jordan. Wizards owner Abe Pollin told Jordan during an acrimonious meeting earlier this month that the organization was ending its relationship with Jordan, who had been president of basketball operations for nearly two years before joining the team as a player the past two seasons.

Several assistants recruited by Jordan and Collins are also expected to leave in the near future.

The Washington Wizards have approached Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown about becoming their president of basketball operations and head coach. Brown, however, has so far declined to entertain overtures because Doug Collins remains under contract as the team's coach, sources said.

Brown resigned as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.

"Washington Sports and Entertainment and [chairman] Abe Pollin are not discussing the interviewing process or the candidates we are speaking to," Wizards team president Susan O'Malley said.

Brown, 62, cancelled a meeting with the Wizards that was scheduled for this morning after making contact Wednesday with Pollin or O'Malley. Brown has not ruled out future conversations with the Wizards but he won't meet with them while Collins, a friend, is still employed by the team.

The Bucks have denied the Wizards permission to speak to GM Ernie Grunfeld about Washington's vacant president of basketball operations job. Grunfeld has one year left on his contract with Milwaukee.

"No permission has been granted at this point," Bucks team spokeswoman Cheri Hansen said.

Wizards owner Abe Pollin said last week that he has interviewed some candidates and plans to interview more in the coming days. He would not set a deadline on when a new basketball operations chief would be in place but earlier said it would be ideal to have someone in charge by the June 26 draft.

Authorities in Salt Lake City have determined that there is insufficient evidence to file sexual assault charges against Washington Wizards center Jahidi White, according to a spokesman for the Salt Lake County District Attorney's office.

A 24-year-old Salt Lake City woman accused White of raping her at Grand America Hotel on Feb. 14, hours before the Wizards were to play the Utah Jazz at Delta Center.

White, 27, who was never arrested nor charged, was unavailable for comment yesterday.

The Wizards said in February that they believed the charges were without merit.

Robert L. Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, said yesterday that he is dropping his efforts to buy the Montreal Expos and move them to the Washington area. Johnson, a District resident, cited his "heavy involvement" as owner of the NBA's expansion franchise in Charlotte and "the fact I think the baseball train is moving significantly slower than I thought it would move."

In a telephone interview, Johnson said, "It's particularly a lot to do at the pace baseball is moving. If it was moving faster and I could see the direction [for a move in 2004], I could perhaps be more aggressive in making things happen. But, as it stands now, the better part of my time and resources could be spent on everything I need to get done in Charlotte."

Coaching lifer Larry Brown, known for rebuilding franchises and moving to the next challenge, resigned from his job with Philadelphia Monday.

His departure means that almost one-fourth of the NBA's 29 head-coaching jobs now are vacant. Within the week, the Washington Wizards are expected to fire Doug Collins, and then there would be eight available.

The league is set for one crazy summer of turnover, and in the process, even Orlando might feel the effects.

Speculation again has Magic Coach Doc Rivers as a candidate for a new job. The Houston Chronicle reported Monday that the Rockets, searching for a successor to Rudy Tomjanovich, might call Rivers. The Rockets are first expected to flirt with veteran candidates Mike Dunleavy, Jeff Van Gundy and Brown, but if those attempts fail, they would be interested in Rivers, a young, rising coach.