ARG - Scola NBA switch edges closer

HOUSTON, (NBA) - Argentina International and Tau Ceramica's Luis Scola on Saturday moved a step closer to signing for NBA outfit the Houston Rockets.

On Thursday night, Houston worked a trade with San Antonio for the rights to the Argentinian power forward, with the Spurs having selected Scola in the second round of the 2002 draft.

Scola, 27, one of the best players in Europe over the past few years, has a year remaining on his contract at Tau and is understood to have a buyout clause of close to $3million (£1.5m).

A statement on Tau's website on Saturday morning read: "In the next few hours, the player's agent will get in touch with the club to negotiate the details of the player's exit."

Scola's agent, Claudio Villanueva, said: "Obviously, Houston bought the player's rights and sent an offer. Everything could be completed today."

Tau have been one of the leading teams in Spain and Europe for several years, and Scola, a key member of the Argentina squad that captured the gold medal at the 2004 Olympics, has been their inspiration.

Club president Josean Querejeta said: "I have said many times that he is the most important player in the club's history, so to lose a player of this calibre would logically be a problem.

"He is also one of the most important players in Europe, but in the past we have been able to overcome the departures of (Andres) Nocioni, (Jose Manuel) Calderon and (Arvydas) Macijauskas.

"The player has told me that he has an offer from Houston and that he wants to accept it. He says that he is very sorry, but that this is his ambition.

"We thank him for his behaviour and we support him."

But Querejeta warned Scola and his agent not to expect a reduction in the buyout clause.

"The buyout clauses are there to be followed," Querejeta added.

"Evidently, if he pays the buyout clause there's nothing to discuss because he is within his right of leaving.

"I understand Luis' dream to play in the NBA. We have spoken about it many times.

"He has had an exceptional period at the club, both in a sporting sense but also because of his human qualities."

If Scola does finalise the deal, he would become the sixth player from Argentina currently in the NBA.

Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto are on the books at San Antonio, Nocioni, Scola's former team-mate at Tau, plies his trade with the Chicago Bulls, while Detroit traded Carlos Delfino to the Toronto Raptors this summer.

Walter Herrmann is also in the league after a fabulous rookie campaign with the Charlotte Bobcats.

Cindy Garcia-Bennett
FIBA