Divac postpones retirement decision again

Center, 37, still unsure; team has until Oct. 21 to pick up contract

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updated 3:51 p.m. ET Sept. 30, 2005

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles Lakers and Vlade Divac agreed for a second time to postpone a decision on the status of the veteran center’s contract.

The Lakers have the option of picking up a one-year, $5.4 million contract option or buying him out for $2 million. The decision was due Friday, but the parties put it off until Oct. 21. The original deadline was July 1.

“He’s still under contract and he’s still on our roster, so obviously there’s a chance he might play,” Lakers spokesman John Black said. “As was the case earlier this summer, this gives both sides more time to analyze the situation and weigh our options.”

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Black said Divac would not be with the team when it leaves Monday for 10 days of training camp in Honolulu.

Marc Fleisher, Divac’s representative, said his client hasn’t decided what he wants to do. Divac has said repeatedly he will retire if he doesn’t return to the Lakers.

“He goes from feeling like he wants to play one day to not being sure the next,” Fleisher said. “His back sometimes feels good, sometimes it’s stiffer than others. That’s what makes him swing back and forth.”

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Fleisher said he saw Divac last Sunday in Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro, where a Serbian newspaper quoted Divac two weeks ago as saying he planned to retire but would remain with the Lakers as an assistant coach and scout.

The 37-year-old Divac returned to the Lakers last season. He had back surgery in January and played in only 15 games, averaging 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds. He averaged 11.9 points and 8.3 rebounds in 15 previous NBA seasons — seven with the Lakers, two with Charlotte and six with Sacramento.