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Future bright in Vancouver Hollins secure with Grizzlies; changes ahead for Heard
Posted: Monday January 17, 2000 12:35 PM
CNN/Sports Illustrated's basketball insider Stephen A. Smith spoke with Larry Smith and Inga Hammond Sunday night on CNN/Sports Illustrated's This Week in the NBA about the week's comings and goings in the league: Larry Smith: Lionel Hollins took over as Vancouver Grizzlies coach on December 16 and in his first 30 days he's made a splash. He has the Grizzlies on pace for their first-ever 20-win season. Only three coaches-Gregg Popovich, Jeff Van Gundy and Rudy Tomjanovich-have eventually gone onto the NBA Finals this decade taking over in midseason. Obviously, Vancouver a long way away from that, but what is the future for Hollins and the Grizzlies? Stephen A. Smith: The future right now is obviously quite optimistic. I spoke to Stu Jackson Sunday and he's very high on the job that Lionel Hollins is doing. He's got the players believing in themselves, he's got the players believing in his system. Even though they are 6-9, if you know anything about Vancouver's history, that's a vast improvement. So certainly he is happy with Lionel Hollins and even though that interim tag is there right now, as Stu Jackson told me, he wouldn't have given him the job if he didn't have confidence in the man's ability. Inga Hammond: As a team, the Charlotte Hornets were already struggling before the death of Bobby Phills, having lost seven in a row. They looked devasted against the Knicks on Saturday night. Can they as a team come together and recover from this? Stephen A. Smith: I don't know. Certainly, it appears that it is going to be extremely difficult for them to do so. You've got to remember earlier this season Derrick Coleman was in a car accident. Eldridge Recasner, their back-up shooting guard, was hurt in that accident and because of that he's out practically for the year. Then Bobby Phills' death... certainly it is a tremendous loss, their psyche is down, everything is going wrong for them at this moment in time. But you know you can expect them to fight because they have a lot of fight in them, especially with Paul Silas as their coach. But you've got to believe that the deficiency in manpower is going to affect them come playoff time. Larry Smith: What about Wizards coach Gar Heard -- word is if Michael Jordan takes over as head of basketball operations for that franchise, Heard and the coaching staff may be out. Should they be concerned? Stephen A. Smith: I think he should be, but I just spoke to Gar Heard a little while ago and he said he wasn't too concerned at all. He signed a three-year guaranteed deal. The bottom line is, he walked in there and he knew changes had to be made, and he is in the process of making them. He is motivating guys and doing whatever he can to help this team get better and work harder. He doesn't feel there is anything wrong with that and rightfully so. If Michael Jordan walks into the situation, Heard believes that once Jordan takes a look at the situation, Jordan will make the moves that are necessary to help this franchise and he's all for that. Larry Smith: The San Antonio Spurs lobbied and got voter approval to build a new arena. Will this be enough to keep Tim Duncan in town? Stephen A. Smith: There is no certainty with that right now. The Spurs are a very old team. Tim Duncan is approaching his free-agent year this year, he's looking at this team, he's noticing that David Robinson is approaching the last year of his contract next season. Who knows how long Terry Porter and guys like Sean Elliott and Avery Johnson and Samaki Walker are going to be around? If you want Tim Duncan to sign a seven-year deal, you better get somebody in place that is going to make him want to stay. Remember, Grant Hill is a free agent out there and Orlando has enough money under the cap to get both Duncan and Hill this season. So the Spurs better do something and something quick. Stephen A. Smith covers the NBA for the Philadelphia Inquirer and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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