In a stunning turnaround, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) said Sunday that he had decided against selling the Milwaukee Bucks to Michael Jordan and would "continue to own them, improve them and commit them to remaining in Wisconsin."

Kohl's abrupt announcement came after weeks of intense local and national speculation that the retired basketball superstar had reached a tentative agreement to buy the team or was about to do so. The announcement would have to be considered a huge disappointment for Jordan.

Kohl's announcement capped an afternoon in which the Bucks released general manager Ernie Grunfeld from the last year of his contract, allowing Grunfeld to pursue what is expected to be a similar position with the Washington Wizards. That move immediately raised questions about the future of the basketball operations of the franchise.

Assistant general manager Larry Harris, the son of former Bucks coach Del Harris, was named acting general manager.

Jordan ended his playing career this season with the Wizards, then was fired by owner Abe Pollin as Jordan was poised to take over that team's basketball operations. Jordan had high hopes of becoming an owner in the National Basketball Association.

Ernie Grunfeld's job is done with the Milwaukee Bucks.

But it appears likely his days with the Washington Wizards are just beginning.

Bucks owner Herb Kohl released Grunfeld from the final year of his general manager's contract Sunday, just a few hours before Kohl announced that the National Basketball Association team was no longer for sale.

With Grunfeld officially out, the Bucks named Larry Harris as acting general manager. The 40-year-old Harris has been with the Bucks organization in various positions since 1990, and has served as assistant general manager to Grunfeld since August 2001.

Grunfeld is expected to interview for the Wizards' president of basketball operations position, a job once held by Michael Jordan. Wizards owner Abe Pollin has targeted the 48-year-old Grunfeld as the man to resurrect the moribund Washington franchise, which has not reached the playoffs since 1997.

The Milwaukee Bucks yesterday released General Manager Ernie Grunfeld from the final year of his contract, allowing him to begin official negotiations with the Washington Wizards about their vacant president of basketball operations job.

If hired, Grunfeld would assume the job left vacant by Michael Jordan, who yesterday was no longer a candidate to purchase the Milwaukee franchise. The Bucks' owner, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), pulled out of negotiations to sell the team to Jordan, who played for the past two seasons with Washington before being rebuffed by Wizards owner Abe Pollin in an attempt to regain his front-office job as president of basketball operations. Jordan held the top basketball executive post from January 2000 to September 2001, before coming back to play.

The move to hire Grunfeld has been in the works for days.

"I have one year left on my contract and the Bucks graciously have allowed me to resign and seek employment," Grunfeld said in a statement released by the Bucks.

Grunfeld and his agent were expected to begin talks with Pollin right away. League sources recently said a deal could be finalized by early this week -- maybe as soon as today -- and Grunfeld could be with the Wizards by the time the free agent negotiating period gets underway Tuesday.

The team has called a news conference for 2:30 p.m. today at MCI Center. Initially it was to introduce draft picks Jarvis Hayes and Steve Blake, but the media advisory regarding the news conference gave no specifics about the topic of the assembly. The only other candidates for the basketball operations job known to have spoken to the Wizards are attorney and former University of Maryland star Len Elmore and NBA official and Hall of Fame player Bob Lanier.

Michael Jordan looked into buying the Milwaukee Bucks. But in the end, Herb Kohl wasn't ready to sell.

Kohl, the Bucks owner and U.S. senator from Wisconsin, announced that he is pulling his team off the market.

In a statement released Sunday, Kohl said: "I have decided not to sell the Milwaukee Bucks at this time, and will continue to own them, improve them, and commit them to remaining in Wisconsin."

Kohl, a Milwaukee native who has owned the team since 1985, acknowledged that he had "detailed discussions" with Jordan, who is looking to remain in the league after retiring in Washington as a player after the 2002-03 season.

The deal apparently was close to getting done, although it still would have needed the NBA's approval, a process that could have taken several weeks.

It's nearly time to find out if Gary Payton will stay in Milwaukee or hit the road, after just a few months in a Bucks uniform.

Tuesday marks the start of the free-agent signing period in the National Basketball Association, and it opens the door for aggressive courting of several big-name free agents. Included in that list are Payton, Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone, Indiana Pacers forward Jermaine O'Neal, New Orleans Hornets forward P.J. Brown, Portland Trail Blazers guard Scottie Pippen and New Jersey Nets point guard Jason Kidd.

Given the difficult financial situations faced by many NBA teams, the free-agent market may be depressed this summer. Teams are able to negotiate with free agents over a two-week period, and they may begin signing those players July 16.

"We feel good where we are right now," Bucks general manager Ernie Grunfeld said. "Our first option is (signing) Gary; obviously we want to retain him.

"If that doesn't work out, we will have some money to use to get other players. We will see how the whole market goes, see what type of player we need and act accordingly."

While talks regarding the sale of the Milwaukee Bucks continue to center on National Basketball Association legend Michael Jordan, local efforts to buy the team from U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl have foundered.

Potential investors and area business leaders, all of whom requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of their relationship with Kohl, have concluded that the price isn't right and that the team is a bad investment.

"The numbers are ugly," said one prominent businessman who, while expressing his support for Kohl, said he would not be an investor. "Their revenue streams are going south, and there is a huge negative cash flow."

Since several months ago when Kohl said he would be willing to sell either a majority or minority interest, a small local group - all of whom desperately want the Bucks to stay in Milwaukee - has studied the Bucks' financial situation. Kohl wants more than $170 million for the team, a price considered too high by both local and national experts knowledgeable about the value of sports franchises.

But there seems to be little movement. Witness the case of Milwaukee philanthropist Chris Abele, who said recently that he would consider using some of his personal fortune to buy an interest in the team.

"Maybe they'll call me when they hear about it," Abele said, referring to the ownership group.

The Timberwolves on Thursday drafted for the future. On Friday, they dealt for the present.

In a move team vice president Kevin McHale hopes will kick-start an active summer, the Timberwolves traded forward Joe Smith and guard Anthony Peeler to the Milwaukee Bucks for point guard Sam Cassell and center Ervin Johnson.

The swap gives Minnesota more depth at point guard while giving the Bucks more flexibility to re-sign point guard Gary Payton.

"We're trying to shore up some other areas," McHale said. "Hopefully, this isn't the end of everything. This is just the start of some stuff.''

At the center of the deal is Cassell, 33, a 10-year veteran who averaged 19.7 points and 5.8 assists last season. He has three years and about $17 million left on his contract and a reputation of being outspoken. But he also has a reputation for agitating defenders.

"I don't think we'll have a lot of problems with him; a lot of times that is because he's so competitive,'' Wolves coach Flip Saunders said of Cassell's reputation. "He wants to win."

The 19-year-old high school kid and the skinny long shot from Duluth -- the Timberwolves' two draft picks Thursday night -- realistically won't help the team improve much next season.

Maybe the 33-year-old point guard and the 35-year-old backup center the Wolves acquired Friday will.

In a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Wolves swapped guard Anthony Peeler and forward Joe Smith for guard Sam Cassell and big man Ervin Johnson. The trade, initiated about two weeks ago and completed Friday afternoon, is contingent on all four players passing physicals.

The move is said to be the first of several in the offseason intended to boost the Wolves, if not beyond their 51-31 regular-season record in 2002-03, then at least out of the playoffs' first round next spring. Also on their agenda: finding a taker for injured point guard Terrell Brandon's contract in a trade for a healthy player or two, re-signing free-agent center Rasho Nesterovic, luring one or more free agents to accept the team's salary-cap exception slots and getting All-Star forward Kevin Garnett to commit to a contract extension beyond 2003-04.

Cassell, who will turn 34 a few weeks into the coming season, is the best player in Friday's trade. He has averaged 15.9 points, 6.1 assists, 1.18 steals and 30.4 minutes over 10 NBA seasons, split among five teams.

An extroverted 6-3 playmaker who was a member of Houston's championship teams in 1994 and 1995, Cassell spent the past four full seasons in Milwaukee -- which, coincidentally, acquired him in the three-team trade in March 1999 when Stephon Marbury forced his way from Minnesota to New Jersey and Brandon moved into the vacated spot in the Twin Cities.

Contract difficulties prevented the Wolves from getting Cassell straight-up at the time. But they liked him then and they like him now.

U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, speaking publicly for the first time since Michael Jordan emerged as a possible new owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, said Friday that he had no deal with the former basketball superstar.

"We have no agreements with Michael Jordan or anybody else at this point to sell the team," Kohl said in remarks recorded by WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) as the Democratic senator arrived in Milwaukee after a flight from Washington, D.C.

Kohl said no announcement of a sale was imminent, and added that he thought the attention over Jordan's involvement was overblown.

"Frankly, I think all of this stuff about another buyer, whoever it may be, is somewhat overblown, although I do understand the concern people have," he told WTMJ.

Kohl said he thought that, under certain conditions, Jordan would make a good owner, and made reference to the fact that Jordan maintained a home near Chicago with proximity to Milwaukee.

Kohl was unavailable for additional comment.

The almighty greenback continues to be a deciding factor in the Milwaukee Bucks' player personnel moves.

In an effort to cut salaries and reduce their chances of having to pay the National Basketball Association's luxury tax, the Bucks on Thursday traded guard Sam Cassell and center Ervin Johnson to the Minnesota Timberwolves for forward Joe Smith and guard Anthony Peeler.

Peeler's contract is not guaranteed after this season so the Bucks will cut him and save the $3.7 million and $4.1 million that he was to be paid for the next two seasons.

Are the Bucks a better team after the trade? That can be debated, but their player payroll will be lighter in a few days after Peeler is cut.

Bucks general manager Ernie Grunfeld contended that the money saved would give the Bucks a better chance to re-sign free agent Gary Payton.