Michael Finley was waived late Monday night by the Dallas Mavericks, who took advantage of a one-time amnesty provision that will allow them to avoid luxury taxes on the $51.8 million owed their captain over the next three seasons.

Finley becomes an unrestricted free agent and is still guaranteed the money from his Mavericks contract, plus whatever he gets from a new team.

The Mavs spent all day Monday exploring trade options, and waited until just before the late-night deadline to release Finley and take advantage of the provision in the NBA’s new labor agreement.

“This is the hardest part of our business,” said Donnie Nelson, the team’s president of basketball operations. “Mike and I started out in Phoenix together, got reunited here and obviously he was a key part in rebuilding this franchise. … To share memories like that, it’s been a very difficult several weeks for this franchise.”

The Mavs avoid a dollar-for-dollar tax on Finley’s $15.9 million salary for the 2005-06 season. The two-time All-Star is due $17.3 million and $18.6 million over the final two seasons of the seven-year contract owner Mark Cuban gave him in 2001.

“Just what he’s meant on and off the court, he’s impacted every one from fans to the front office,” Nelson said. “Ultimately, it’s our responsibility to do what’s in the best interest of the Dallas Mavericks, but Michael has a special place in Mark’s heart, my heart, and a special place in the franchise. At the end of the day, this just feels right.”

Finley isn’t eligible to re-sign with the Mavericks until his original contract expires after the 2007-08 season, when he will be 35.

Finley was traded to Dallas from Phoenix on Dec. 26, 1996, and was the longest-tenured player for the Mavericks. He averaged 19.8 points for the Mavs in 626 games the past 8� seasons.

The Mavericks apparently already found a new veteran swingman, having reportedly agreed with Doug Christie on a one-year, $3 million contract.

Christie was waived Thursday by the Orlando Magic under the same amnesty clause. If no team claims him by Thursday, he’ll be a free agent. The Mavs wouldn’t sign him before then.

Finley was an All-Star before Steve Nash and Dirk Nowitzki, then the trio became known as the “Big Three” — taking the Mavericks from one of the league’s worst teams to having at least 50 wins and going to the playoffs four straight seasons. Nash left as a free agent last summer and joined the Suns.

All-Pro wide receiver Terrell Owens left Eagles training camp Aug. 10 after a heated exchange with coach Andy Reid.

“I got sent home until Wednesday for whatever reason,” Owens told Comcast SportsNet for a TV interview from his front lawn. “It was just a difference of opinion. I was defending myself.”

Comcast SportsNet reported the disagreement occurred during a team meeting. Owens then got his belongings and cleared out of training camp at Lehigh University.

“T.O. was asked to leave by Andy Reid,” Etheredge said. “I don’t think that it was heated, it was a difference of opinion. I don’t know if there was an argument.”

Owens did not say what the argument was about.

“If the truth needs to be told, then that’s what I’ll do,” Owens said. “If he (Reid) wants me to be a man about it and have me really go on the air and really tell the people what happened, then I can. It was a difference of opinion.”

Eagles spokesman Derek Boyko had no comment. Drew Rosenhaus, Owens’ agent, did not immediately return several messages left on his phones.

Owens is unhappy the Eagles have refused to redo his contract as he enters the second season of a seven-year, $48.97 million deal. He hired Rosenhaus and threatened to skip camp completely. Instead, Owens reported, then injured his groin last Aug. 4.

He was day-to-day and the injury wasn’t considered serious, but he missed practice Aug. 10 for the fifth time in six days.

Owens worked out with the team’s assistant trainer for about 20 minutes on a separate playing field from his teammates, catching balls from a machine and doing some light running. He did not speak to reporters or acknowledge the fans who chanted his name.

Owens also skipped a scheduled autograph session with the rest of the Eagles’ receivers after practice.

“He was unable to attend because he was injured,” Etheredge said.

Owens said the fans have been great, but he didn’t sign autographs at the tent because he was rehabbing his groin. He also said he was having fun at camp, even if it didn’t look that way.

Jamal Lewis is back at Baltimore Ravens’ training camp after four months in a federal prison and two months in a halfway house.

“I’m back doing what I like to do, doing what I do best,” said Lewis, who pleaded guilty to charges he used a cell phone in 2000 to arrange a drug deal for a friend.

“I’m not a bad person. It’s just me moving forward. I’m not looking back on the past and the things I just went through. My next step is really just prove people wrong, the people that doubt me and think I’m not in the shape I’m supposed to be.”

Except for a tender right ankle, Lewis is in excellent condition. He weighs around 240 pounds, about five pounds less than his listed weight in the media guide, and appears fit enough to plow through a couple linebackers.

Lewis is expected to put on pads, and practice with the Ravens for the first time on Wednesday. After running on his own Tuesday, he spoke for 12 minutes in front of a half-dozen TV cameras and more than a dozen microphones.

He tried to mask his bitterness toward a court case that ruined his offseason and last year earned him a two-game suspension and the loss of $761,000 in wages. But Lewis couldn’t disguise his feelings completely, especially about the fact that the government waited nearly five years to take action against him.

“It was just a case of, I was a high-profile guy and somebody just wanted to pull on me a little bit,” he said. “The statute of limitations was coming up, it was the brink of a great season, things were looking up, so hey, you just put it together.”

Lewis ran for only 1,006 yards last year, less than half the amount he amassed in 2003, when he won the NFL rushing title with 2,066 yards — the second-highest total in league history. He was selected to play in the Pro Bowl for the first time and was voted Offensive Player of the Year.

The Miami HEAT announced today that they have acquired All-Star forward Antoine Walker from the Boston Celtics, guard Jason Williams, forward James Posey, and guard Andre Emmett from the Memphis Grizzlies and the draft rights to center Roberto Duenas from the New Orleans Hornets in a five-team trade. The HEAT traded Eddie Jones to the Memphis Grizzlies, Rasual Butler to the New Orleans Hornets, and a 2006 second round draft pick, a conditional second round draft pick, Qyntel Woods and the draft rights to Albert Miralles to the Boston Celtics. Additionally, Memphis sent Greg Ostertag to the Utah Jazz and the Jazz sent Curtis Borchardt to the Celtics, Raul Lopez to the Grizzlies and Kirk Snyder to the Hornets.

�We feel like with this trade we traded a lot, but we got back three quality players,� said HEAT President Pat Riley. �Antoine Walker is one of the very best multi-faceted, versatile players in this game. I think his numbers have shown throughout his career that he has been consistent year-in and year-out, providing points and rebounds. He is able to handle the ball, pass it, make plays, shoot threes and rebound the ball. There isn�t anyone in this league better at doing that. I believe that he will bring a tremendous, versatile, play-making, scoring, rebounding dimension to our team. He is in his prime and I think he will pair up brilliantly with Shaquille, Dwyane and the rest of the team.

�Outside of Steve Nash and Jason Kidd, there isn�t a better open-floor, half-court playmaker in the league than Jason Williams. His ability to handle the ball, see the floor and hit the open man is as good as any point guard. He is a very athletic, quick, explosive scorer and has great experience. One of the reasons why we are making the trade is that we haven�t had anyone here like that since Tim Hardaway left.

�James Posey is going to be the perfect compliment to Shaq, Dwyane, Walker, Williams, Udonis, etc. because he is a defense-oriented, slashing player who can run the break, play above the rim and will make the open three.

Shaquille O’Neal probably left millions on the bargaining table. His biggest obsession now isn’t dollars but championships.

O’Neal signed a $100 million, 5-year contract with the Miami Heat on Tuesday, a deal that ensures the 12-time All-Star center plenty of added financial security while allowing the team salary flexibility to pursue other players.

He’ll make $20 million in each of the next five seasons in an agreement believed to include incentives. He was to have earned $30.6 million this coming season, opting out of that deal for a longer-term pact with less money annually.

“Shaquille can name his price,” said his agent, Perry Rogers. “And the price he named was winning.”

Rogers said O’Neal remains the player with the highest annual salary in the league.

The deal was signed shortly after the league’s moratorium on player signings expired Tuesday. Signings were supposed to begin nearly two weeks ago, but minor complications in putting the new six-year collective bargaining agreement into writing forced two delays.

O’Neal, however, never looked to go elsewhere. He didn’t even speak with other clubs.

“I’m very excited about my new agreement with the Heat,” O’Neal said in a statement released by the team. “This contract allows me to address all of my family’s long-term financial goals while allowing the Heat the ability to acquire those players that we need to win a championship.”

O’Neal was vacationing Tuesday in Rome. Team doctors will fly there and administer a physical Wednesday. Heat president Pat Riley said signing O’Neal was the team’s top offseason priority.

“For over a year, the Heat’s relationship with Shaquille has been a win-win situation on and off the court,” Riley said. “We have been able to secure one of the most dominant men to ever play the game of basketball. … At the same time, we have gained flexibility to achieve our ultimate goal of winning an NBA championship.”

The Heat do not want to be a luxury-tax team, and paying O’Neal $20 million annually — a figure some could consider a bargain — should not send Miami over the tax threshold. It also seems to ensure that Miami could use its midlevel exception annually to sign players; this year’s midlevel is $5 million.

“You get paid the most, but you do it in a way that’s not detrimental to what the team wants to accomplish,” Rogers said.

The 7-foot-1, 327-pound O’Neal made an immediate impact during his first season with Miami, which acquired him in July 2004 from the Los Angeles Lakers for three players and a draft choice.

He averaged 22.9 points and 10.4 rebounds in the regular season, leading the league with a 60.1 field goal percentage. O’Neal ranked sixth in the league in blocks (2.34 a game), double-doubles (43) and rebounds.