The Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) Friday announced that Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Del Harris has been appointed China's head coach for the Olympics campaign.

Former Lithuanian national team coach Jonas Kazlauskas was named as an assistant coach at a press conference.

Harris will be the first foreign head coach for the Chinese national squad.

CBA commissioner Li Yuanwei said Harris will not join the Chinese team until the Mavericks' season is over in June and Kazlauskas will fly to China in early March to work as acting headcoach.

Current Chinese national coach Jiang Xingquan will remain with the team as a consultant while his current assistant A Dijiang will serve as an assistant along with Min Lulei.

Harris and Kazlauskas will be under contract until after the Athens Olympic Games, when the CBA will decide whether to keep them onboard in the run-up to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, CBA spokesman Hu Jiashi said.

The squad would be selected after consulting Harris and his staff.

Hu denied the report that the CBA was paying up to 1.5 million dollars for the two coaches.

"It's not about money. We are not to pay them much. Coach Harris and Kazlauskas are our friends and they are looking forward to helping China's basketball, " he said.

The 66-year-old Harris logged a record of 556-457 in 13 years as a head coach with the Houston Rockets, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Lakers. He took Houston to the 1981 NBA Finals, where they fell to the Boston Celtics.

Kazlauskas directed Lithuania to bronze medal at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics.

China finished 10th at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and 12th at the 2002 World Championships.

(Xinhua News Agency February 20, 2004)