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Mixed emotions As he sits, Richmond moves closer to winning ringPosted: Wednesday June 12, 2002 7:29 PMEAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Mitch Richmond tried to keep his emotions from getting the best of him as he explained why even one minute of playing time would mean so much to him. In the first three games of the NBA Finals, the seven-time All-Star and two-time Olympian did not take his warmups off. Through the Lakers' first 18 playoff games, he has appeared on the court for only three minutes -- in Game 5 against Sacramento. On the verge of winning the first championship of his 14-year career, Richmond was hoping to get onto the court in Game 4 of the NBA Finals against the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night. "I want to play real bad," Richmond said. "We're in the championship game, the last game of the season. I'm a little upset that I haven't played, but other than that I feel good about it." In a league where players' careers are often defined by their achievements in the postseason, especially among their peers, Richmond had built a reputation as a great shooter and scorer whose teams never did much. He went to the playoffs in two of his first three seasons with Golden State, then was traded to Sacramento in 1991. He spent eight seasons there and made it to the playoffs only once, in 1996 when the Kings were knocked out in the first round. After being dealt to Washington for Chris Webber, Richmond spent two uneventful seasons with the underachieving pre-Jordan Wizards before signing with the Lakers for this season. Richmond opened the year with a career scoring average of 22.1, but scored only 260 points while appearing in 64 games. He dropped out of the rotation in the playoffs, with coach Phil Jackson doling out all the backup minutes in the backcourt to Lindsey Hunter and Brian Shaw. Prior to the start of the finals, Richmond told Jackson: "Don't forget about me," and Jackson said there would be a role for Richmond. But in Games 1, 2 and 3, Richmond was no more than a cheerleader. "I think Mitch would have hoped to be more of a contributing factor, and maybe back in September when we sat down and talked about players and their contributions, we thought he'd be playing more, too," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said. "But he played a lot in the regular season. He was a key substitute, and I don't think you can minimize his leadership. Those things factor into chemistry, and that's one thing this team had this year -- great chemistry," Kupchak said. Richmond is one of the players who keeps the mood light. His teammates say his sense of humor, along with his tutoring of the team's younger players, has been invaluable during a season in which the team battled boredom and complacency. Many of the younger Lakers have been lucky enough to join the right team at the right time. Devean George is on the verge of winning his third title in his three NBA seasons, and Mark Madsen and Slava Medvedenko may soon have two championship rings apiece. "You've got guys like Barkley and Karl Malone who've never seen a ring, so this situation for Mitch Richmond is a blessing," Lakers forward Samaki Walker said. "This is what you play for. You compete for what everybody feels is the golden egg -- a title." Richmond, who turns 37 later this month, might not have had to wait this long if things had gone differently earlier in his career. He was Rookie of the Year for Golden State in 1988-89 and made it to the second round of the playoffs in 1991 with a team that featured three players averaging at least 22.9 points -- Richmond, Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin. "I thought we were forming a group that was devastating on the court and had a lot of fun -- kind of like Dallas plays now, although we played a little more defense than them," Richmond said. But the Warriors dealt him to Sacramento for Billy Owens that summer, and Richmond's only moments of glory in the ensuing years were his Olympic gold medals and his All-Star appearances. He was a player never associated with team success, a tag no NBA player wants to finish his career with. "I think you've got a little power over guys when you have a ring. You're known as a winner," Richmond said. Richmond spoke Tuesday about how he has cherished his time in the league, joking that he's had a lot of time to reflect on it while sitting on the bench. He wants to play one more year and would welcome a chance to return to the Lakers. As for the present, he wanted to have a taste of meaningful playing time in Game 4. "When looking back, probably no one would know that I didn't play any minutes in the series," Richmond said. "They'd just look back on my career and say I do have a ring. That's the only positive way I have to look at it." |
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