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Riley feeling the heat Aging team starting to concern Miami coach
Posted: Monday January 24, 2000 01:39 PM
Stephen A. Smith of The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke with CNN/Sports Illustrated's Inga Hammond about the comings and goings in the league during Sunday's This Week in the NBA: Inga Hammond: Pat Riley is not happy with the way his Miami Heat team has been playing lately and he's also not happy that rumors of a trade of 27-year-old Jamal Mashburn for the Sixers' 21-year-old Larry Hughes leaked out. Is this a sign that Riley is starting to think about the future? Stephen A. Smith: Absolutely. He knows that his team is not very young anymore. Tim Hardaway could very well be on his last legs, if not this year then within the next two to three years. Alonzo Mourning isn't as young as he once was. Jamal Mashburn is 27 years old; certainly he's not 40 but he's not 20 either. That is why Riley was talking to the 76ers earlier this week about Larry Hughes, that's why he is still contemplating whether or not to do that deal. That deal is not off the table, it is certainly something he is still considering because he knows he needs to get younger and look towards the future. He may not be able to win with the bunch that he presently has in place. Inga Hammond: Hughes is just 21 and talented. Why would the Philadelphia 76ers want to make this deal, or any deal involving him? Stephen A. Smith: Because in Larry Brown's eyes, Larry Hughes is a 2-guard. And who is the franchise player in Philadelphia? Allen Iverson, who also happens to be a 2-guard. Larry Hughes is not a small forward in Larry Brown's eyes and he's not a point guard. In order to play Hughes, you've got to sit down Iverson and Larry Brown is simply not going to do that because he knows better and he knows how the city of Philadelphia will react to that. And Brown does not believe that Iverson and Hughes can play together, so that's the reason why he is considering trading Hughes. Inga Hammond: Michael Jordan was named president of basketball operations and part owner of the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, but can he turn this team around? Stephen A. Smith: Well, I don't know, that remains to be seen. The fact of the matter is he won't be dunking the ball on anybody anymore and he can't impose his will on the 28 owners throughout the league -- it takes two to tango, to make a deal. If guys don't want to trade with him and help him get rid of some of these players he has on his roster, he might have a very tough time being as successful in the front office as he was on the basketball court. Inga Hammond: Jordan didn't come right out and say that he was going to get rid of coach Gar Heard, but he didn't give him a rousing vote of confidence, either. Might we actually see Michael Jordan himself coaching this team? Stephen A. Smith: I think it would be a long shot and I certainly think that Gar Heard deserves the benefit of the doubt. I think that Jordan recognizes that and Jordan will give that to him. But like anybody else, every executive likes his own guy and Gar Heard is Wes Unseld's guy. Jordan right now is the president of basketball operations, he is not the guy that selected Gar Heard, so you have to wonder how he is looking at that situation, especially since he came out the other day and said that everybody is expendable. Inga Hammond: It's been three years since the Milwaukee Bucks sent a player to the NBA All-Star Game. Is this the year the draught ends and does it end with Glenn Robinson? Stephen A. Smith: It should definitely end. Glenn Robinson is averaging over 22 points per game, he is shooting 49% from the field, which is very, very impressive considering the amount of perimeter shots he takes. It's bad enough that the guy signed a $69 million contract and asked for over $100 million when he first came into the league. I think people are still holding that against him, plus the fact that he came out in the same class as Grant Hill and Jason Kidd. People are not looking at the fact that this guy is a big-time talent. He deserves to be an All-Star and, quite frankly, I think he should be there. Inga Hammond: Sean Elliott, who had a kidney transplant during this past offseason, was cleared to begin practice this week. The Spurs have lost 12 of their last 24 games; obviously they miss Elliott, but how much? Stephen A. Smith: Desperately. They don't have a small forward that can create his own shot off the dribble. They don't have a small forward that can hit perimeter shots consistently and they don't have a small forward that can defend other small forwards the way that Gregg Popovich wants them to defend. Popovich desperately hopes that Sean Elliott is well enough to come back. He went out and got Chucky Brown because no one was getting the job done for him and that is why Elliott's return is so important. Stephen A. Smith covers the NBA for the Philadelphia Inquirer and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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