Inside the NBA
Posted: Tuesday February 16, 1999 03:23 PM
This week's topics:
Getting to Point A | The Candy Man Can, Eventually
When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Hurt
That Is No Longer the Question...
Around The Rim | Spotlight
Getting to Point A Top free-agent guard Kevin Johnson is on the speed dial of many
G.M.s
By Jackie MacMullan
Free-agent point guard Kevin Johnson is watching a lot of NBA
games on television these days, methodically surfing the
channels, evaluating his suitors, trying to imagine himself
wearing this or that uniform.
His phone rings every day. He could have played for Sacramento
yesterday, and he could play for Golden State tomorrow. The
Clippers, Knicks, Lakers, Pistons, Rockets and Sonics have all
called. But, still, he just won't make a commitment. "For me to
play again, it has to be a great situation," Johnson says. "I'm
not going to play just to play."
The optimal situation probably slipped away early in the
free-agent frenzy, when the Lakers, a contending team close to
Johnson's Sacramento roots, told KJ they would love to have him
and would pay him the veterans' exception of $1.75 million. "It
was a great opportunity," he says, "but the Lakers wanted to move
quickly, and I wanted more time to evaluate everything." L.A.
signed veteran Derek Harper instead.
KJ, who made $8 million last year, knows he'll make significantly
less this year -- if he signs -- and insists that money is not his
primary motivation. The ring's the thing, so when Seattle talked
about bringing him in to back up perennial All-Star Gary Payton,
Johnson listened. The hitch: Payton plays workhorse minutes, and
the Sonics worried about how KJ would handle fewer minutes and
fewer shots. Those doubts have also been raised in Houston, where
a team that has Scottie Pippen, Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles
Barkley doesn't need another scorer; it needs a guy who can get
those players the ball and then get out of their way.
KJ waves off those misgivings. "I can adapt my game," he says.
"My goal is to win a championship. Whatever I have to do to get
there is fine. I think I proved that last year when I played so
much two guard for Phoenix. I didn't like playing there at all,
but I did it because it was what the team needed."
The Pistons like KJ, but they, too, are seeking a pass-first
guard. Nevertheless KJ has been studying the Pistons via his
dish, and he wonders if they have what it takes to go all the
way. "I'm trying to figure out the direction they are going in,"
he says. "Are they looking for a point guard who can spot up the
way [Lindsey] Hunter does? Do they want Grant Hill to handle the
ball as much as he does now, or would they like someone else to
help him?"
In handicapping contenders for the title -- and for his
services -- Johnson has made one firm determination. "In this
shortened season it will be hard for teams who haven't been
together very long to do well in the playoffs," he says, "and the
Pistons made a lot of changes." New York, which has also shaken
up its roster, had expressed interest in Johnson, but team
sources say the only way KJ will become a Knick is if either
starting point Charlie Ward or backup Chris Childs goes down with
an injury or Childs is traded. Seattle has not shut the door on
Johnson, but its interest wanes with each three-pointer that
falls for rookie Moochie Norris.
Although KJ has no firm timetable, he knows that the longer he
waits, the less likely he is to sign with anybody. Yet he
continues to deliberate, continues to work out on his own at the
downtown YMCA in Phoenix. One twisted ankle or tweaked knee could
immediately change the complexion of a contender, so KJ sits back
in front of his television and waits. He admits that he's a bit
surprised by how ragged the play has been in the early going.
"There are a lot of nights," KJ says, "when I'm watching those
games and I'm glad I'm not in them."
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The No. 1 Update: The Candy Man Can, Eventually
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Once Olowokandi (43) masters the fundamentals, other centers may not be able to touch him. John W. McDonough |
If you were one of the precious few who watched the Clippers lose
at home to the gutted Bulls on Feb. 7, you probably concluded
that everything is "same as it ever was" on the bad ship Clipper.
L.A.'s other franchise stumbled out of the blocks with an 0-5
record, but a closer look at the league's most maligned franchise
reveals a novel sentiment: hope.
The inexperience of the Clippers' (and the '98 draft's) No. 1
pick, center Michael Olowokandi, is apparent, but so is his
aggressiveness in games and in practice. Teammates say the Candy
Man is fiercely determined to prove his standing as the top pick,
even if it takes some time.
It will. The fundamentals of basketball are still a mystery, at
times, to Olowokandi, who had played only 77 games in his life
before being drafted. In a recent game two Clippers had an
opponent double-teamed in the post. Olowokandi was so intent on
getting a blocked shot that he moved over for the triple team,
leaving his own man wide open on the weak side. It was a
fundamental error that could have been disastrous late in a tight
game. Such mistakes are easily corrected by instruction -- and
experience. Meanwhile the rookie has surprised new coach Chris
Ford with his exceptional quickness and agility around the
basket, which Olowokandi attributes to his years of playing
soccer in his native Nigeria and in England, where he went to
boarding school.
Ford is even more impressed with Olowokandi's steep learning
curve. At practice one day Ford noticed that Olowokandi, who shot
.466 from the line in college, had a hitch in his motion, so he
pulled the rookie aside and worked with him for 10 minutes. Ford
says he then stood there amazed as Olowokandi made the adjustment
and knocked down eight free throws in a row.
The challenge, of course, is to keep all the Clippers -- especially
Olowokandi -- upbeat until their hard work translates into wins.
Veteran point guard Sherman Douglas should make a big
contribution when he gets himself into game shape, and Ford plans
on doing his part by taking a kinder, gentler approach with his
new team. "I find myself teaching more than I ever have," he
says. "These guys are willing to say they don't have all the
answers. They want help. That is refreshing."
Olowokandi has taken his time adapting to Los Angeles. He still
doesn't have his driver's license but plans to get one soon.
Teammate Darrick Martin serves as his chauffeur to and from
practices and games, an arrangement that has worked out well for
both. Most of the time. As the Clippers gathered at the airport
to embark on their first road trip, a head count confirmed that
one guy was missing. "Coach!" screamed Martin, jumping up
suddenly. "I forgot Michael!"
No matter. The rookie, ever the quick study, had wedged himself
into a cab and arrived with two minutes to spare.
Back to the top
Caution: Snapping Ligaments: When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Hurt
After scrutinizing the preseason workouts of small forward Jamal
Mashburn, any thoughts Miami president and coach Pat Riley had
entertained of trading Mashburn vaporized. "I was going to ride
him like a horse," Riley says. "I had him down for 40 minutes a
night."
Instead Mashburn hyperextended his left knee on Feb. 9 and is out
for four to six weeks. To compound Miami's misfortune, shooting
guard Voshon Lenard underwent surgery for a stress fracture in
his left leg on Feb. 12 and is likely gone for the year.
The moment Mashburn went down, the whispers started: Riley, a
conditioning drill sergeant, had pushed his players too hard in
the abbreviated preseason. Never mind that Lenard's injury
occurred before he reported or that Mashburn was in the best
shape of his career when he suffered a freak injury. "To tell you
the truth, I'm kicking myself in the ass for not pushing them
harder," Riley says. "We backed off because we knew some of our
guys weren't in great condition. We actually spent more time than
we ever have walking through drills."
Riley is certain that the combination of a long layoff and a
short training camp will result in more players than ever being
sidelined. "You're going to see hamstrings, groin pulls, stress
fractures, things like that," he says. "You've got guys who were
doing next to nothing for 8 1/2 months. Like Voshon. I think he
did very little."
Shaquille O'Neal was doing plenty -- he spent much of his summer
strengthening the abdominal muscles that caused him to miss 22
games last season -- but found himself sidelined for one game last
week with a groin pull. Trainers around the league say that no
conditioning regimen can prepare a body -- even a 315-pound
body -- for the pounding O'Neal takes under the boards. Add a game
or two a week to the usual workload, and injuries seem inevitable.
Ironically, one statistic that's down this year is the number of
players on the injured list, but there's an easy explanation: The
NBA allowed teams to expand their rosters from 12 to 14 for the
first two weeks, and those extra players filled the void left by
downed players. That temporary roster expansion ends on Friday,
and NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik says at least one club
has asked the league to extend it for the entire season. "There's
virtually no chance of that happening," he says.
Riley, meanwhile, thinks the injury bug may actually help one
team. He posits that the foot injury that knocked Latrell
Sprewell out of the Knicks' starting lineup will make them a
better team down the road. "It's a blessing in disguise," Riley
says, offering what is either a perceptive insight or a deft
elbow to the head of his former team. "Now they can play their
normal backcourt of Ward and [Allan] Houston and move Larry
Johnson from the power forward back to the three spot. They start
Kurt Thomas at the four and bring Marcus Camby off the bench. I
love Kurt. If he stays healthy, he's another [Charles] Oakley.
"Now they can justify bringing Sprewell off the bench when he
comes back."
Back to the top
Kobe or Not Kobe? That Is No Longer the Question...
When informed on opening night that starting small forward Rick
Fox would not be able to play because of a problem with his
orthotics, Lakers executive vice president Jerry West mused, "I
hope everyone realizes that once we let Kobe [Bryant] into the
starting lineup, we'll never get him out."
West, as usual, was prophetic. Bryant had 25 points and 10
rebounds against Houston that night and has added four more
double doubles since, which is five more than he had coming into
this season. Furthermore, at week's end Bryant -- whose career high
for rebounds was eight -- was averaging 9.0 boards a game. The
stat-sheet number that most impressed his teammates? Five assists
against the Nuggets.
West and coach Del Harris took a lot of heat last season from
fans -- and from Lakers owner Jerry Buss -- for keeping Bryant out of
the starting lineup. While West and Harris both recognize
Bryant's extraordinary talent, they did not want him to get too
stuck on himself, as so many budding stars have done (e.g., Allen
Iverson, Stephon Marbury and Jerry Stackhouse). Bryant showed
troubling symptoms of self-absorption when he tried to turn last
year's All-Star Game into a one-on-one duel with Michael Jordan.
He got shredded by Jordan on the court and ripped by teammates
afterward.
That backlash did little to temper Bryant's confidence, proving
that youth -- and otherworldly hang time -- mean never having to say
you're sorry. Shortly before this season began, Bryant was asked
if he regretted his actions at the All-Star Game. "Absolutely
not!" he answered. "I'd do it all over again. I had a blast in
that game. I'm sorry if some guys didn't like it, but this is who
I am."
It goes without saying that Bryant will most likely continue to
be a starter for the next, oh, 15 years or so.
Back to the top
Around The Rim
Look for Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich , who stuck with the U.S.
team for the world championships last summer even though the
locked-out pros bailed, to be named this week U.S. Olympic coach
for the 2000 Games in Sydney....
Guess what Pacers rookie Al Harrington , who was drafted out of
high school, did when teammates demanded that all newcomers sing
their college alma mater's fight song: He belted out the Barney
theme song....
Opposing coaches impressed with the Sixers' fast start are
crediting Larry Brown with a subtle move that is paying off in
wins: He's having Eric Snow bring the ball up more often, which
enables Allen Iverson to set up in the corner, where he's in
prime position to catch and shoot or to wreak havoc by going
baseline....
Pistons center Bison Dele has ticked off teammates by giving
what they consider a less than total effort in practice. Maybe
that's why backup center Eric Montross , who was on the trading
block in the preseason, is no longer being shopped....
Donyell Marshall, who seemed to have pulled his career out of
the garbage disposal last year, is chafing about all the bench
time he's getting and plans to ask Golden State for a trade.
Cleveland coach Mike Fratello is willing to look into a Marshall
for Bobby Sura swap, but sources say Cavs president Wayne Embry
has vowed to nix any trade involving Marshall....
Said Celtics center Dwayne Schintzius after breaking his nose for
the second time in three weeks, "I just can't get a break."
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Issue date: February 22, 1999
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