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Jordan creates a Catch-22 for the Wiz Posted: Friday February 01, 2002 11:40 AM
Sports Illustrated senior writer Jack McCallum will answer your NBA questions every week during the season. Click here to send him a question. What is the next logical step for the Wizards? They have a group of young guys,
some mid-career journeymen, and an aging, but still potent version of the
"Greatest Ever." They're also playing .500 ball and selling out games.
How do they continue this and also improve as a
franchise?
Washington is in a curious and not altogether enviable position. Normally when a great player is aging his skills are deteriorating and the team is grooming someone to replace him. Richard Hamilton, for example, would be the heir apparent to Jordan. The problem is, Hamilton is not nearly as good as Jordan and won't be next season, either. Their other problem is Kwame Brown -- with the surprising play of Jahidi White and Brendan Haywood, the Wizards haven't needed Brown all that much, but they are disappointed by what he's shown. He may have to be the piece in a deal that would bring the Wizards more scoring after Michael leaves. The franchise hopes that the professionalism Jordan has showed will rub off in a permanent way on guys like Rip, Chris Whitney and Christian Laettner. It's possible ... but it's also possible that the Wiz will once again be on the Skidz when No. 23 leaves the court for the owner's box. In your last
mailbag, you said that Tim Duncan is one of the three best players in the NBA. I
couldn't believe my eyes! Duncan might be in the top five, but top three? Shaq,
Kobe and Iverson are the three best, and I think Chris Webber is better than
Duncan. Duncan has David Robinson helping out in the middle, but Webber has no
protection whatsoever in the paint. If you look at Duncan's and Webber's numbers
over the past three seasons, wouldn't you have to agree that Webber is the
better player?
You've got to be kidding, right? David Robinson is half the player he used to be and what Duncan gets from the power forward position he gets himself. Webber is really good, no doubt about that, probably better than I thought. But he has far more offensive support than Duncan. I bet you wouldn't get more than two GMs in the whole league to take C-Webb over T-Dunc. Jack, is it just me or has Vince Carter really wilted away the past two
seasons? A couple of years ago, the buzz couldn't have been louder and the M.J.
comparisons were pouring in. I'm surprised by Carter's lackadaisical approach of
just taking jump shots and staying away from the dunks for which he still got so
many All-Star votes. I love the guy, but he's just not that deserving in my
view. What do you
think?
It's a joke Carter was the All-Star Game's leading vote-getter. For what he is, I think Tracy McGrady is the better player. I do think the buzz around the league is that Vince is going to have to pick it up to stay with Kobe, Tracy and Kevin Garnett, and that among that quartet of young players, Carter is clearly fourth. I would like to know if Marc Jackson plans to file a grievance against the
Warriors. He signed an offer sheet this summer with Houston, only to have it
matched because Golden State didn't want him to leave without compensation.
Then, to top things off, he's told he will not get any playing time this season
because he doesn't want to be with the franchise -- but he is still required to
go to practice. If he is not traded by the deadline, can these two parties work
out some type of buyout? This has to be having a very negative effect on Golden
State's reputation around the
league.
I think it has hurt Golden State, particularly since the Warriors have had such a poor season while refusing to let this guy go. He could be helping Houston right now instead of sitting around taking up space. It's an unusual situation. Jackson's name comes up most often in any discussion of trade rumors, but what from I understand nothing is really close yet. What do you think about the talk that John Stockton and Karl Malone are the
two dirtiest great players of all time? No one would dispute that these guys are
Hall of Famers, but Stockton has spent a career grabbing and pulling, flopping,
sliding under people, and setting cheap moving backscreens. The Mailman, for his
part, never seems to go to the basket without elbows flying and feet kicking at
the defender in front of him. Do you agree with any of this, and if so, will it
impact their
legacies?
The talk about Stockton and Malone, J.D.? Jeez, these guys have been around since the early '80s so it's not like it's a new story. The answer to your question: It will absolutely not tarnish their legend. Stockton will be remembered as a guy who, as much as any player in history, got every ounce out of his talent. Malone, when he's done, may be the league's all-time leading scorer. I guess teams that really hate the Jazz will concentrate on those cheap-shot reputations, but by and large, their legacies will be secure. You say that you feel sorry for teams like the Kings because they won't get
to the Finals. How could you feel sorry for a team with the best record in the
league? Although I live near Sacramento, I do not consider myself a biased,
diehard Kings fan. The Kings have already beaten the Lakers this year and are in
first place in the Pacific Division, ahead of the Lakers. The Kings are an
obvious shoe-in for the Western Conference Finals, and will most likely reach
the NBA Finals. I think you have to give credit to a team that is firing on all
cylinders, instead of jumping on the Lakers'
bandwagon.
Hmmm, I read that you're not a biased, diehard fan, yet you take a simple comment as jumping on the Lakers' bandwagon. To think a team will beat another team is not to "jump on a bandwagon"; it's an honest opinion. The Kings are a terrific team with, it appears now, the best chance of upsetting the Lakers. Let's see if they do. Assuming they both enter the draft after this year, does Dajuan Wagner of
Memphis have any chance to be the first pick ahead of Jason Williams of
Duke?
I'm no G.M., Steve, but, man, I just can't see it. Sports Illustrated senior writer Jack McCallum will answer your NBA questions every week during the season. Click here to send him a question. |
