The Associated Press reports: Hakeem Olajuwon's NBA career appears to be over.

Olajuwon has a serious back injury, and the Toronto Raptors are awaiting a decision on whether he will retire. Toronto general manager Glen Grunwald said Monday he doesn't foresee Olajuwon playing this season.

Toronto coach Lenny Wilkens said he expects a decision from Olajuwon soon.

"We're going to know in a couple of days,'' Wilkens said.

The 39-year-old center is in Houston, where he spent 17 years playing for the Rockets before joining the Raptors before last season. He has been excused from training camp by Toronto.

"He can either try and play or decide it's too much,'' Grunwald said. "We don't expect him to play this season or in the foreseeable future.''

Olajuwon, who led the Rockets to NBA championships in 1994 and 1995, went to the Raptors in August 2001 after turning down a three-year, $13 million contract offer to stay in Houston. He signed a three-year, $18 million contract with Toronto.

"It was a gamble and I think we lost on it,'' Grunwald said. "It didn't turn out the way we had hoped.''

Olajuwon averaged 7.1 points and 6.0 rebounds in 61 games last season.

Grunwald denied the Raptors were negotiating a buyout to his contract. Olajuwon is due $12 million over the next two seasons.

"We had hoped he would be here for a couple of more years, but it doesn't look like that's going to be the case,'' Grunwald said. "It could have worked great, but it didn't. We have to move on now.''

Olajuwon was selected as one of the NBA's 50 greatest players and was on the 1996 gold medal-winning Olympic basketball team. He is a 12-time NBA All-Star.

The Associated Press reports: The Houston Rockets won't find out if they can sign Yao Ming until at least mid-October, a Chinese sports official said Sunday.

"Matters concerning Yao's playing in the NBA will be made clear after the Asian Games,'' which end Oct. 14, Li Furong was quoted as saying from Busan, South Korea, by the official Xinhua News Agency.

Li, a deputy director of the State General Administration of Sports, didn't say what issues remain to be worked out.

Yao still needs approval from the Chinese Basketball Association before signing a contract with the Rockets. The NBA team doesn't expect there to be a problem, team spokesman Nelson Luis said Sunday.

According to the Houston Chronicle, The Rockets are hoping to have Ming in town by Oct.20th, the date of their 5th preseason game.

Chinese officials have said Yao's dealings with the Rockets would not be affected by the dispute over the Dallas Mavericks' Wang Zhizhi, who angered Chinese sports officials by not reporting for training with the national team.

"Wang's issue with the Chinese team will not affect Yao's NBA future,'' Li said.

Bob Young of the Arizona Republic reports that the Suns signed another forward yesterday. Houston free agent Dan Langhi accepted a partially-guaranteed minimum salary deal. Langhi was planning to pla in Europe until Wednesday when he heard from the Suns.

"You don't know how happy I am right now. You could call my wife," Langhi said after the club's final informal workout at America West Arena. "This is a great situation. It's a young team, and we've got a lot of good players. It's a great opportunity."

Langhi was the 31st pick in the 2000 draft and had his rights traded to Houston. 2-years with the Rockets was not good for his game. "I really didn't fit in there," he said. "I enjoyed my two years there. I just didn't think that was the best opportunity for me as a player to improve Everybody treated me nice, just basketballwise it wasn't the best for me."

The 6-11, 220-pound Langhi, will try to win a spot on the roster as a backup forward.

Doug Smith of Waymoresports.com reports: Hakeem Olajuwon is suffering from a series of injuries that may force the Toronto Raptors centre and future hall of famer to retire.

The 39-year-old veteran, who missed a quarter of last season's games with several different injuries, is in Toronto to be examined by team physicians with less than three weeks until the opening of training camp.

"The primary issue now is his back," Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald said yesterday. "He has other things; there's a lot of wear and tear on his joints. Whether he'll be able to play is the issue; he's still a question mark."

However, the toll of the various injuries may be too much. The only time Olajuwon has been able to play a full season in the last five was in the lockout-shortened, 50-game campaign in 1999. He's suffered from a variety of leg, foot and now back woes and was close to retirement two seasons ago because of a blood clot in his leg.

Sources say there is no chance Olajuwon will negotiate a buyout of his contract, instead choosing to retire and collect the full two years and $12 million (all figures U.S.) that is owed him on a three-year, guaranteed deal he signed about a year ago, leaving his entire salary on the team's cap.

However, if injuries force him to retire, the Raptors could apply for a salary cap exception but that, too, would count against the cap. With the team unwilling to increase its payroll past the current amount because of luxury tax considerations, the chance of it using that exception is as remote as Olajuwon taking less than is owed him.

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports that Yao Ming?s joining the Rockets should go smoothly. While he won?t be able to physically join the team until mid-October, when he completes his participation in the Asian Games, he could receive clearance to sign his rookie contract next week.

Rockets general counsel Michael Goldberg said Monday he has been told that the China Basketball Association has no issues with the Rockets. "I've heard there's no issues with the Rockets," Goldberg said. "They've got to finish discussions with Erick (Zhang, Yao's representative) and Yao Ming. There's no issues with the Rockets. I'm confident there will be an agreement with them. I'm hoping it can be done next week."

Commissioner of the Chinese Basketball Association, Xin Lancheng is in Indianapolis with the Chinese National Team. "I don't see any difficulties at this point," Zhang said. "I don't see any major difficulties."

Agreement with Yao on his first contract is considered a formality. When the Rockets receive the official clearance needed from the China Basketball Association, Yao is expected to receive a contract worth $3,858,240 next season, and $15,690,219 over four years.

Steve Wyche of the Washington Post reports that Yao Ming?s numbers may not have been stellar, but the players that opposed him know he?s the real deal. "He's solid, all around," said United States guard Paul Pierce of Boston. "He's very fundamentally sound for a guy his size. He's got a soft touch, he can run the floor and he's very agile. He has a lot to learn about the NBA but he's going to be a good player."

Ming only scored 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds in China?s loss to Team USA. Players from the U.S. squad said Yao's ineffectiveness wasn't so much because of what they did to him but, instead, what they did defensively to his vastly overmatched teammates.

The Americans smothered the Chinese backcourt and didn?t allow them to get the ball into Ming. Yao only took six shots, two in the second half, and Team USA forced 22 turnovers, effectively executing the theory that keeping the ball away from the opponent's best player is the optimum way to make sure he can't hurt you.

What will happen when he has Steve Francis breaking down defenses? "He'll be more effective," said U.S. center Antonio Davis of the Toronto Raptors. "We just have to wait and see how he's going to adjust to the traveling and the grind of the NBA. But you're looking at him now and how he's responding to different guys that are playing him and things like that and I think he's doing pretty well."

Adjusting from the team-oriented play of international basketball to the individual style of the NBA will take some time, but Ming?s talent and skills should allow him to contribute while learning the game. "He has a great upside," Davis said. "It's just a matter of waiting and seeing how he's going to adjust. He's a very talented young man who's learning how to play the game and he's strong. He's a lot stronger than I thought he was. I thought he showed that he can shoot the ball and he has good hands. All he needs is experience."

Mark Montieth reports that Team USA had another tough test, but passed in the end. The final score may have been 84-65 but the Chinese National Team played a much closer game.  A final flurry by the Americans increased the margin of victory in an otherwise competitive contest.

As in Friday's win over Germany, the Americans started slowly but wore down their opponent with superior athleticism, balance and depth. "I wish we could get a little better flow," said U.S. coach George Karl, whose team shot 41.7 percent. "I watch these other teams and they have more plays than we do, but it's hard to prepare in a 10-day period of time. "It wasn't one of our best offensive games. Our priority is to become as great a defensive team as we can be."

China executed their half-cout offense well, but couldn?t maintain the energy throughout the game. China?s Yao Ming, the number one pick in last June?s NBA draft, only scored 2 points in the second half and only played 26 minutes due to foul trouble. He finished with 10 points and 6 rebounds before fouling out.

China raced to a 12 point lead at the end of the first quarter. They were only trailing by one at the half, 43-42.

After fighting back and forth for much of the third quarter, Team USA took the lead for good with a Jermaine O?Neal jumper with 4:17 remaining in the third. The Americans finished the quarter o a 9-0 run and coasted through the fourth. After a stellar first half, China managed just 23 points in the second half on 9-26 shooting.

"You've got to understand that teams are going to come out and give us their best shot," said Paul Pierce, who led his team with 19 points. "They aren't going to make those shots the entire game. "We've just got to be able to sustain those early runs and stay in our game."

Denver Nuggets free agent Mengke Bateer led China with 19 points and seven rebounds. The Nuggets don?t appear to be able to re-sign him, so he had what amounted to a successful audition for the rest of the NBA.