Note From The Underground

Teams looking for a center in next summer's free-agent market will monitor the play of Hornets starter Vlade Divac and his backup, Matt Geiger (right), both of whom are in the final year of their contracts. Geiger wants to be a starter—preferably in Charlotte. To that end, he says, "I want to kick Vlad's butt every day in practice." This season Geiger will earn $1.5 million plus incentives; some scouts say that a strong '97-98 could triple that figure on the open market.