Investigators suspect Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier died of a heart problem and will announce their findings Tuesday.

The 28-year-old player died Oct. 15 after he had trouble breathing in his Georgia home.

The autopsy was conducted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. GBI spokesman John Bankhead says the office performs all Forsyth County autopsies, and Bankhead said this autopsy showed the cause of death to be "heart-related."

The corner's office announced a news conference for Tuesday.

"It's a heart abnormality," said Collier's agent, Richard Howell. "It certainly appears to be that. Signs point to that."

Coroner Lauren McDonald III said his office pulled Collier's medical records from the Houston Rockets and Atlanta Hawks.

The Atlanta Hawks today waived guard Anthony Grundy and forward Ajani Williams, according to Executive Vice President/General Manager Billy Knight.

Grundy totaled 2 points and 3 assists in his only preseason action (10/18 at New Orleans/Oklahoma City), while Williams averaged 0.5 ppg in two contests.

Joe Johnson, the Hawks starting point guard, won't play in Saturday night's game against Orlando, the plantar fasciitis in his left foot will keep him out for at least the next two exhibition games, he said.
 
"It's actually pretty painful," Johnson said. "I need to give it a few days and see how I feel."

With Hurricane Wilma wreaking havoc on the college and professional sports schedule in Florida this weekend, the Hawks find themselves in weather-related limbo for Saturday night's game against the Magic in Orlando.

The Hawks are still scheduled to leave Friday afternoon for Orlando. But Saturday's 7 p.m. game time could be moved up if necessary, at the discretion of the Magic, Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche said.

Instead of staying in Orlando for practice Sunday before leaving for Nashville, and Monday night's game against Miami, the Hawks will depart Orlando after Saturday night's game and return to Atlanta.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson said his main concern is the safety of his players and coaches.

"We don't want to be in the middle of a hurricane zone," he said Thursday before the Hawks' annual golf tournament at White Columns Golf Club in Alpharetta. "It's not up to us but we don't want to be anywhere near that kind of severe weather."

The NBA is considering a league-wide standard for physical exams following the death of Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier.

Individual team doctors from each of the NBA's 30 franchises currently determine the physical exams for their players.

"The medical protocols employed by our teams have traditionally been left to the best practices of team physicians," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said. "However, in light of recent events that have occurred not just in the NBA but in other sports as well, we think it is prudent to follow up with our teams to find out what the norms are across the league."

All players get physicals before training camp, and some teams use echocardiograms to detect heart problems. But not all teams use the tests and the league has no standard for physicals, the USA Today reported Thursday.

The 28-year-old Collier died Saturday after he had difficulty breathing at home. His agent, Richard Howell, said Collier may have had an enlarged heart.

Medical examiners are focusing on the possibility of a heart abnormality in their investigation into the sudden death of 28-year-old Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier, according to his agent.

"They are looking at the heart," agent Richard Howell told ESPN.com. "They preliminarily see an abnormality, but they still have a lot of work to do. It could be anything, and they're looking at everything."

Howell said he had received no further specifics on what particular type of heart abnormality Collier apparently had. Collier died early Saturday after experiencing trouble breathing at his home. His wife administered CPR, but Collier was pronounced dead on arrival at a suburban Atlanta hospital.

Forsyth County coroner Lauren McDonald said it could take up to six weeks before the autopsy is finalized. Pathologists and technicians are conducting numerous tests and reviewing Collier's medical records from his time with the Houston Rockets and Hawks as part of their investigation.

Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche said the team had been asked by Collier's family to defer any comment until after Collier's funeral Wednesday.

Jason Collier's family asked that results of his autopsy be kept private until after Wednesday's funeral.

Collier, the Atlanta Hawks' 28-year-old center, died early Saturday after he had trouble breathing in his north Georgia home.

"We need to make sure we're very thorough with this," Forsyth County Coroner Lauren McDonald III said Monday. "It's a situation that may take time. I really don't want to say too much until after the service, out of respect for the family, as far as talking about the results. They would appreciate if we could not discuss that aspect until after the service."

On Monday in Charlotte, N.C., Collier's uniform hung in an empty locker as the Hawks lost a preseason game to the Charlotte Bobcats. The team said it will leave the uniform in the locker and set out a chair for Collier before each game.

Players will wear permanent black shoulder patches on their uniforms to honor Collier, who was a part-time starter the last two seasons for Atlanta after three years in Houston. He began his college career at Indiana before transferring to Georgia Tech.

McDonald said his office is pulling Collier's medical records from the Rockets and Hawks and forwarding that information to the pathologist.

Foul play is not a suspected cause of death, he said.

"There is not anything that would cause anyone to think there was any foul play," McDonald said.

"I look at this guy as being as healthy as can be. It shocked me and shocked the family and of course the sports community. We want to make sure we do this very thoroughly, just as on any 28-year-old you would want to know, even if he wasn't in the good health Mr. Collier was."

Autopsy results in the death of Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier will not be available until Monday at the earliest.

The autopsy on the 7-foot, 260-pound player has been performed but other tests are needed, the coroner said Sunday.

"Due to the weekend and the case volume of the pathologist, further testing will not begin until Monday," coroner Lauren W. McDonald III said. "It would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause of Mr. Collier's death until further examinations are completed."

The 28-year-old player died early Saturday after he had trouble breathing in his home, according to his father.

Jeff Collier told The Associated Press his son died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital and did not have any diagnosed health problems apart from his knees.

The Atlanta Hawks website is reporting that center Jason Collier died this morning after he went into cardiac arrest.

The Hawks have cancelled Saturday's open scrimmage at Woodward Academy.

?Jason and his family are first and foremost in our prayers during this difficult time,? said Hawks Executive Vice President and General Manager Billy Knight.  ?Jason was a devoted family man who deeply loved his wife Katie, daughter Elezan (Ella), his parents and siblings.  He was also a tremendous friend to the Hawks employees who spent time with him, and a hard-working and dedicated teammate to many NBA players over his five seasons in the league.  We will truly miss Jason?s personality and his spirit, and he will be in the thoughts and minds of our team and organization forever.?

RealGM, L.L.C. sends their deepest and most heartfeld condolences to the Atlanta Hawks, the Atlanta Spirit ownership group, and Jason Collier's family.

The Knicks were re buffed by the Blazers in their attempt to ob tain Theo Ratliff and Darius Miles, according to Peter Vecsey of the New York Post.

Portland may have been a bit tempted to trade Ratliff, had Isiah offered Tim Thomas instead of Penny Hardaway. Then again, it's hard to believe Nate McMillan would consent to dealing his best shot-blocker and rebounder when much-improved backup Joel Przybilla can't be re-signed until the summer.

Miles is being counted on to carry the team's offense and, therefore, is untouchable.

Al Harrington is another tantalizing target of the Knicks, to name one of about 20 teams. The arrival of Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams figure to make Isiah's former pet Pacer largely extraneous, yet it's doubtful the Knicks have fair compensation to exchange.

In view of the Knicks' lack of leadership and delinquent defense at both guard slots (and beyond), it's logical to expect Eric Snow to show up sooner than later now that Eddy Curry is on board. His care-taking of the ball alongside Allen Iverson worked wonders for Larry Brown and it stands to reason the veteran, currently competing with Damon Jones for the Cavaliers' starting point guard position, would be perfect opposite Stephon Marbury. Snow's straight-forward style would also accelerate the team's progress in adapting to Brown's personality.