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Rolling the dice Contenders feel troubled players worth the risk
Updated: Thursday March 08, 2001 6:32 PM
During the offseason, troublesome players Isaiah Rider (Lakers) and Shawn Kemp (Blazers) found new homes with Western contenders. Now Rod Strickland (Blazers) and Vernon Maxwell (Mavericks) have landed on their feet as well. All those guys moved from Eastern teams (three of which couldn't get rid of them fast enough) to the West, which is a much tougher a conference. While teams can afford to be conservative in the East, the Blazers, Lakers and Mavs felt the baggage those players brought with them was a risk worth taking. The GMs see talent and think they need one more player to get to the next level, and they're willing to take that chance. Dallas' signing of "Mad Max" made a lot of sense in that regard. After trading Hubert Davis to Washington, the Mavs were down a backup guard, and Maxwell has become a pretty good citizen. The Sixers were pleased with his being on time and abiding by the team rules. The question is whether he can still play.
The Strickland signing, on the other hand, doesn't appear to be a great move, because the Blazers have Damon Stoudamire and Greg Anthony. Strickland has played in Portland before, though, so they know him. They believe they can get a good few months out of him, then they're not committed to him after that. But when Anthony comes back off the injured list, head coach Mike Dunleavy is going to have a hard time finding enough minutes for three point guards.
With Jones sidelined, the heat is on Miami's benchSacramento's Chris Webber missed 10 games with a sprained ankle, and now Miami will be without Eddie Jones for a few weeks. As a contender, losing a star player at this point in the season is really difficult, because teams are fighting for home court and trying to position themselves for the playoffs. Because of their strong bench, the Kings did as well as could be expected without Webber, going 6-4. But the Heat mortgaged their bench to have a good starting lineup this year, so it's going to be tougher for them. Dan Majerle will probably replace Jones in the starting lineup, but he's 35 years old and has had a series of injuries, so they don't want him playing 40 minutes a game. Cedric Ceballos, who is one of head coach Pat Riley's favorite players, can score, but Jones is also a tremendous defensive player and Ceballos isn't. Brian Grant and Anthony Mason will be asked to step up, but they aren't players who can come up with 30 points in a night. The Heat could get away with it for a couple of games, but if Jones is out for a month or so, as expected, it will catch up with them.
Traded players say all the right things, but ...When players who have been traded say, "I hope my former team wins" and "I wish them a lot of luck," what they really mean is, "I hope they never win again." Being traded is like selling a stock: You don't want the value to go up if you're no longer involved. Players may say the right things, but down deep, they hope their former team never wins another game. This sentiment isn't against the other players on the team; it's directed toward the organization. Players who've been traded still have some good friends they'd like to see succeed, have a good year -- but in the process they hope the team loses a lot of games. Unless the player asked to be traded or wanted out, this is a natural instinct, particularly if it's a surprise trade. Theo Ratliff, for instance, who wasn't expecting to be traded, can't possibly want the Sixers to do well. Kevin Loughery is a former NBA player and head coach. He appears each Sunday on CNN's This Week in the NBA.
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