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Blazers controversy brewing
Posted: Friday April 28, 2000 02:59 PM
Scottie Pippen is reliving his Bulls glory days. Rasheed Wallace is defending Kevin Garnett with the same intensity as that mob in the Nike commercial. Even Arvydas Sabonis is acting like a kid again. In short, the Blazers appear to be back to their early season status as legit NBA title contenders. So how come there's so much controversy in Rip City? Speculation continues to swirl that the Blazers will fire coach Mike Dunleavy if the team doesn't reach the conference finals. Also, there's talk that Blazers forward Brian Grant, who has an opt-out in his contract after the season, might leave to go someplace where he can play more minutes. Grant played just 21 minutes in Game 1 and 17 minutes in Game 2. His agent, Mark Bartelstein, said Thursday that Grant would wait until after the season to make his decision.. To the Blazers' credit, they have put the distractions aside and focused on the Timberwolves. Blazers GM Bob Whitsitt says Dunleavy has not once raised the subject of his future to him in any of their daily meetings. As for Grant, Whitsitt says he believes his power forward likes living in the Portland area and wants to win. He also points out that Grant signed a seven-year deal with Portland in `97 knowing Wallace was part of the team. "All these rumors are just media people trying to stir the pot," Whitsitt says. Perhaps. But why is the pot in Portland always simmering? Will Duncan follow Hill?The Spurs have to be wondering if Grant Hill' s season-ending injury might impact Tim Duncan' s decision as Duncan considers whether or not to play on his injured left knee. Hill, who had been battling a bruised left foot, broke his left ankle in his team's Game 2 loss at Miami on Wednesday night. Though a Pistons team doctor said the break probably wasn't caused by the foot injury, he couldn't rule it out. Hill and Duncan, both free agents after the season, share the same agent, Lon Babby, and are good friends. Anderson eyeing RockiesClippers free agent guard Derek Anderson, possibly headed to Denver in a sign-and-trade for Nuggets guard Tariq Abdul-Wahad, wouldn't mind playing in the Rockies. "Derek's got four or five places in mind, and Denver is definitely one of them," says agent Tony Dutt, who also represents current Nuggets Antonio McDyess, Nick Van Exel, Keon Clark and Roy Rogers. "We're willing to work with the Clippers to help them get back something in return." Nuggets GM/coach Dan Issel, a Kentucky alum, reportedly has been a big fan of Anderson since D.A. helped lead the Wildcats to the '96 NCAA title. Around the rimSuns center Luc Longley recently revealed he had suffered what has to be the NBA's most bizarre injury of the year. Two weeks ago Longley was sitting on his floor at home, sorting through CDs, when a scorpion bit him on the foot. A few minutes later he sat back down, and was bitten on the backside. Longley didn't miss a game, but he said his foot and rump were sore for days. ... Sixers free agent forward Toni Kukoc says he likes playing in Philadelphia, an indication he'll re-sign with the team after the season. Kukoc, a native of Croatia, had said in the past that he'd consider retiring or returning to Europe. Sixers GM Billy King told me recently the club definitely intends to re-sign Kukoc and is confident terms will be reached. ... Look for the Cavaliers to try to move point guard Brevin Knight in the off-season. Knight lost his starting job late in the season to rookie Andre Miller, and is said to be less-than-thrilled about the prospect of coming off the bench next season. Shrinking VioletsWhile Shaq, the Mailman and Scottie have raised their games to match their big names during the playoffs, other so-called NBA stars have seen their production take a Cliff-dive through the early games of the first round. Here are a few marquee players who have been so anonymous in Games 1-2 they might as well be named, well, Joe Smith: Cliff Robinson, Suns: 9-of-35 FG (25.7%)
Sports Illustrated staff writer Marty Burns covers pro basketball for CNNSI.com. Look for his columns on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Click here to send Marty a comment.
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