by Bill Nichols

    After weeks of proposals, counter-proposals and an awful lot of waiting, Cleveland was granted a franchise yesterday in the National Basketball Association for the 1970-71 season.

    The announcement that Cleveland, Buffalo, Portland, Ore., and Houston were added to the NBA came following a lengthy closed-door session yesterday in Los Angeles by the league's Board of Governors (all 14 owners).

    "After nearly 15 months of working and waiting on this, it's like a dream come true," said Nick Mileti, head of the Cleveland group trying to secure a franchise, last night by telephone from Los Angeles.

    The price for the new franchise is $3,700,000.

    The new teams are equal partners and will share equally in the television receipts.

    The new teams will select 7-8-9-10 in the first round of next month's college player draft.

    The 14 established teams will protect seven players on their roster and each of these clubs will send three players to the new franchises.

    There will be four divisions in the NBA next season with one new franchise in each division.  Two divisions will have four teams each and there will be five each in the other two.  The divisional alignments will be announced in a few weeks.

    There will be an equal schedule for all 18 teams, not to exceed 82 games, the present limit.

    Mileti deposited $100,000 in earnest money yesterday.  He will then pay $650,000 in the next few days, $750,000 before the college draft in March and the balance of $2,200,000 over the next four years.

    Mileti said that prime days (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) will be made available for the NBA at the Arena.  This means the new basketball franchise will share the important Saturday  night dates with the Barons.

    "CLEVELAND IS my town and it's a big league town," declared Nick.  " We have pledged to bring big league basketball here.
    "Do you know this is the first new major league franchise in Cleveland since the Browns  joined the Nawtional Football League in 1950?" he asked.  "It's great.  I'm thrilled."
    "Here we've been supporting a team (Cincinnati Royals) that wasn't even ours.  In fact, we supported them better than their own city did."

    Mileti will be president of the new team.  However, he said last night that he just hasn't had time yet to think about filling out his staff.

    "WE'VE BEEN WORKING to get a franchise.  Now we've got an awful lot to do in the next few weeks, but it will be well worth it," concluded Nick, who represents some 25 investors in the franchise.

    Also announced at the Board of Governors' meeting was that the American Basketball Association formed a group to discuss a merger with the NBA.

    Judge Alfonse J. Zirpoli of the San Francisco Federal Court has requested merger talks and Jack Dolph, president of the ABA, has submitted a written request for talks with NBA commissioner Walter J. Kennedy.

    "I don't see an actual merger for several years,"  Kennedy said last night.
    "In another year, there might be a common draft, but a merger is at least three or four years off."

    The NBA originally agreed to expand above the 14 teams in Jan. 1969 and narrowed the field of eligible applicants to Cleveland, Buffalo, Portland and Houston.

    Prior to the Board of Governors' meeting Jan. 1970 in Philadelphia changes were made and expansion appeared dead.  Four of the 14 established teams voted against expansion, which required 11 affirmative votes.  However, on Jan. 20 the board finally agreed and invited these four cities to join the league.

    THE TERMS offered, however, were substantially changed from what were stated previously.

    Mileti and the other applicants then had until Jan. 26 to accept or reject the offer.

    They did neither.

    Counter proposals were then offered by the applicants.

    The NBA then took until yesterday to discuss and finally vote on new terms, very similar to what the applicants requested.

    And as a result Cleveland is a bona fide member of the National Basketball Association.