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Three's a crowd Strickland signing makes little sense for Blazers
Updated: Tuesday March 06, 2001 2:42 PM
CNN/Sports Illustrated's NBA insider Kevin Loughery joined the Sports Tonight gang to discuss the NBA Monday night. Fred Hickman: Do you like the deal that essentially sent Rod Strickland to Portland? Kevin Loughery: It's a good deal for the Wizards, getting rid of that contract. But I am a little surprised that Portland would pick up Strickland in all honesty, because they have Damon Stoudamire, who is an outstanding point guard, and Greg Anthony, who they put on the injured-reserve list, but will be back for the playoffs. Once he returns, they never will find room for three point guards, and Anthony is their best defensive point guard. I think the one big reason they picked up Strickland was to keep him away from their No. 1 rival in the West, the L.A. Lakers. Hickman: Is Strickland coachable? Loughery: I think he is coachable to a point when he is playing basketball. I think his biggest problem is getting to the games on time, getting to practices. When you are the team's leader at point guard and you can't abide by the team rules, you lose that leadership and the players will not follow you. His not being on time hurt their team in that area. Hickman: On Monday, Miami's Eddie Jones went out with a separated left shoulder. That has to hurt the Heat. Loughery: It really does. They are in a situation where they basically mortgaged their bench to have probably the best starting lineup in the East. They lose Alonzo Mourning, and now Jones. And Jones is a player, who, when he is hurt, usually stays out of the lineup a little longer. So they lose Jones' offense, but maybe Cedric Ceballos can pick that up. But Jones is an outstanding defensive player and Heat coach Pat Riley doesn't like the defense of Ceballos. This will really hurt Miami's chances to win the East if Jones is out a long time. Hickman: What do you think of the Dikembe Mutombo trade now? Loughery: It really surprised me that Philadelphia would trade for Mutombo without having him signed. If he leaves this club at the end of the year, they lose Theo Ratliff, , Toni Kukoc, Nazr Mohammed and Mutombo. That will really set back that franchise. Basketball-wise, Mutombo's defensive performance against Miami last week was the most dominant defensive job I have seen a player have in a long time. He held the Heat's front line to 3-for-28 shooting, dominated the game, and Philly won. He'll fit in, but if he leaves at the end of the year, it will be devastating for the franchise.
Lorenz: Does Mark Jackson help the Knicks coming over from Toronto? Loughery: I think he will help the Knicks, Bob, because he is so much more creative than Chris Childs or Charlie Ward . But it takes a point guard a lot longer to get adapted to his teammates than any other position. What scared me about the Knicks' past two games, against Chicago and Toronto -- both close games -- was that Jackson did not play in the fourth quarter, which means he has not adjusted to the Knicks' offense. Lorenz: As far as cap room, look what happened to the Bulls. They cleared up all that room and no one wanted to go there. Loughery: What happens is that players in the NBA do not want to be pioneers. They do not want to go some team that is not very talented. They want to go somewhere they have a chance to win right away. They can basically pick their teams. Fred Hickman: The Wizards were going nowhere. They basically had to dump some money to get something for next year, right? Loughery: What the Wizards have going for them is Michael Jordan, and particularly his agent, David Falk, who Michael basically made. And Falk has an awful lot of players as clients. So Michael might have a chance to sign some players. But I think the Hawks are far ahead. They solved their center position with Ratliff and Mohammed and Jason Terry is a legitimate two-guard who can play in this league. Toni Kukoc can score. They will lose a lot of games with Ratliff hurt, which will put them in good draft position. Lorenz: We have another caller. Caller: With all the distractions the Timberwolves had at the beginning of the season, what are their chances of getting back to the form they were in before the All-Star break and what is their future? Loughery: When you lose a couple of real good players, they are tough to replace. They haven't got enough big people, but they do have a great player and leader in Kevin Garnett and a good point guard in Terrell Brandon. But they don't have enough size to go deep in the playoffs. And with the loss of draft picks, that is going to be a disaster for a long time.
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