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Brown may be ready to leave Philly Milwaukee's Cassell wants more shots, more money
Posted: Monday March 20, 2000 03:37 PM
NBA insider Stephen A. Smith of The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke with CNN/Sports Illustrated's Bob Lorenz about the goings on in the league on CNN's "This Week in the NBA": Bob Lorenz: Allen Iverson was suspended by the Philadelphia 76ers for one game after missing the shoot-around Thursday. But it's not just one missed practice that's upsetting Philadelphia coach Larry Brown. Iverson has been showing up late and missing practices for a while. Brown seems to be getting little tired of being a babysitter. Stephen A. Smith: It clearly seems that way, Bob. I wrote a story in Sunday's paper that basically said that Larry Brown is considering leaving. He has two years remaining on his contract, but he has a five-day window to opt out of his contract after each season. He just turned down a $6 million per-year offer from the Sixers approximately two weeks ago. This man is considering leaving as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers because there is too much going on. He wants to play team basketball and that is not what he is getting with all these distractions. He says he wants to stay, Philadelphia is his first choice, but you've got to believe that with what's going on, he's dismayed by it all. Bob Lorenz: Good news for the Kings in the fact that they'll make the playoffs again. But the bad news is that Rick Adelman continues to keep Jason Williams on the bench at the end of games. His offensive production has slipped dramatically since the season began, averaging 14.4 points per game in November to just 7.8 in March. How concerned is Adelman about his point guard? Stephen A. Smith: He is very concerned, as he should be. You can talk all you want about Jason Williams' offense, but he has to play better defense. A lot of guards in the Western Conference are abusing him on a nightly basis. He is a sensational player, we all know this. The Kings are one of the biggest road attractions in the league because of Jason Williams. But in the final minutes of games opposing point guards are attacking this guy because his defense is suspect and he has got to work on that. Rick Adelman knows that and if benching Williams is the answer, well then ... Bob Lorenz: In Milwaukee, Sam Cassell says he is frustrated for "not being the man, like he was in New Jersey." But he also says he doesn't want out. So Stephen, what does he want? Stephen A. Smith: Well, No. 1, he wants the ball in his hands and, No. 2, he wants it in his hands because he wants to earn more money. He is watching a lot of opposing point guards throughout the league getting paid astronomical numbers. Even Terrell Brandon, who is clearly in the same class as Sam Cassell, not a couple of notches above, signed a $58 million deal this offseason. Cassell looks at that and the fact that he is averaging just $4 million over the next three seasons after this year and he simply has a problem with that. He knows the only way to put himself in position to get those dollars is to get the ball in his hands a lot more and to hit game-winning shots just like he did earlier in his career with Houston and later on with the New Jersey Nets. Bob Lorenz: With Sunday's last-second victory over the Rockets, the Raptors have won 11 of their last 12 games. Granted, some people are saying that the refs aren't making any calls on Vince Carter or any of his teammates, but there's got to be a pretty good feeling in Toronto right now, especially if you are Butch Carter. Stephen A. Smith: Absolutely. I don't think Butch Carter has gotten the recognition he deserves this season. This man is doing a phenomenal job coaching the Raptors. It's nice that he has Vince Carter but he was struggling with him earlier this year and last year. He was scouring the NBA all year for a point guard and took a chance with Doug Christie at that spot. He was worried about Tracy McGrady and whether he's going to stay. Suddenly he puts McGrady in the starting lineup and now he has a big guard tandem causing teams havoc throughout the league because nobody can stick with these three guys on the basketball court. Butch Carter deserves an immense amount of credit, especially when you consider that he does not have a legitimate post-up presence on his team, as far as that frontline is concerned. Charles Oakley and Antonio Davis are defensive wizards and they are very physical but they are not offensive juggernauts. So give Butch Carter credit. He is one of my top three or four candidates for Coach of the Year.
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