|  | | Pistons star Grant Hill sits with his crutches at a press conference in Auburn Hills, Mich. |
Two teams, dismissed in the first round of the playoffs like Lewinsky's
Weight Watchers counselor.
The Pistons, smoked by Miami in three games.
The Raptors, a near-miss three straight times against the Knicks.
But two very different futures. Detroit, get ready to rejoice. Toronto, prepare for tears.
Grant Hill will stay in Detroit. And Tracy McGrady will bolt the Dinosaurs.
I believe that Hill has gotten assurances from the Pistons that their
roster, exposed as deficient by the Heat, will be blown up. Detroit has
already dispatched Bison Dele's $6.58 million from its cap for the 2000-01
season by filing the mercurial center's retirement papers. (Meaning he can't
play until next March at the earliest, and even then, only for the Pistons,
at a dramatically reduced rate.)
Does that mean the rejuvenated Jerry Stackhouse could be sent packing?
That's what I'm saying, Sammy.
Imagine if Detroit can package Stackhouse and Michael Curry (a modest
$5.3 and $2.2 million next season, respectively) to a two-guard starved
outfit (did someone say San Antonio?) Then the Pistons start to clear some
serious cap room, which would be more serious if Loy Vaught's $4.56 million
wasn't polluting the waters. It's not Stack's fault, but Detroit's got too
many areas in which it needs an upgrade.
Because I'm professional, I asked Lon Babby, Hill's agent, if my
hypothesis was correct. Of course, he told me -- after demanding to know I got
his cell number -- that I was jumping the gun, that Hill was certainly going
to test the free agent waters. And he'd be a fool not to. But I don't think
anybody's going to be able to convince him to jump ship.
That is not the case in the Great White North. The Raptors hold out
hope they'll be able to convince McGrady of the uniqueness of a future with
Vince Carter, and it's certainly enticing. But it doesn't matter. "He is
gone," says someone with discreet knowledge of the situation. "And it won't
be a sign and trade, either." Meaning T-Mac 2000 is Orlando or Chicago
bound.
As I've told you about a thousand times, McGrady's agent, Arn Tellem,
and his shoe company, Adidas, will have a lot of say in where he winds up.
And despite Toronto's management's good faith best efforts to shore up those
relationships, Tellem and Butch Carter are still fussing and feuding.
Westphal's gosh-darn future
Is Paul Westphal on thin ice in Seattle?
The Whispering Society, as the late ref Earl Strom used to call the
rumor mill, has begun in earnest about Westphal's future. Which is
unfortunate, because Westphal's done a pretty good job, it says here, with a
strange, volatile collection of talent. For most of the year, Seattle
played .600 basketball in the toughest division in the league, with Westphal
juggling lineups left and right, getting production out of Ruben Patterson
and Rashard Lewis and Jelani McCoy.
But he has to come to grips with one problem, sources say: He's lost
his best player, Gary Payton. And that usually spells doom for a coach.
One problem that you wouldn't think would be a problem: Westphal, a
very religious man, doesn't curse. At all. Which is noble, and exemplary.
But think about it: in the locker room, when you're down 20, do you take
seriously a guy who can only manage a "gosh-darn?"
It's Shaq vs. Chucky
I can't tell you how much I respect my Denver colleague Mike "Money"
Monroe. He's forgotten more about this league than I'll ever know. But the
fact remains: When it comes to this coach of the year business, I am right
and he is wrong.
I voted for Doc Rivers.
He voted for Phil Jackson.
Once again, I have no problem if someone votes for Jackson. The record
and the accomplishment Jackson achieved this season are worthy, exceptional
and deserve to be honored. It was a great coaching job.
With Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant and Glen Rice.
Here are some of the arguments I've heard against voting for
Rivers -- none advanced by Mike, by the way: 1) Orlando was a .500 team that
didn't make the playoffs; how can you vote for a coach whose team didn't
make the postseason?; 2) People who voted for Rivers really didn't want to,
but were swooned by Rivers' media-friendly personality; 3) The Magic's
record was puffed up by playing in the B-league Eastern Conference.
Let's take 'em one at a time.
First, if Chucky Atkins makes an open three-pointer in the waning
seconds against Milwaukee April 17, the Magic beat the Bucks and make the
playoffs. Simple as that. One missed shot doesn't undo Rivers's job. And
other coaches have won the award with comparable records to Orlando's 41-41.
Jack McKinney got the award in 1981, after his Pacers finished 44-38, sixth
in the East. The next season, Gene Shue went 43-39 in Washington, fifth-best
in the conference, but got the hardware. If Atkins hits the shot, the Magic
finish 42-40.
Second, there's no argument that Rivers is accessible, honest and
funny. So is George Karl. And Larry Brown. And Rudy Tomjanovich. And Gregg
Popovich. By contrast, Pat Riley views the media as a collection of vermin,
but has won Coach of the Year three times since 1990. To suggest that the
vote for Rivers isn't legit because writers and broadcasters like Rivers
personally demeans the voter and Rivers.
Third, Orlando went 27-27 against the East, 14-14 against the West.
(Parenthetically, if the East stinks as badly as everyone claims, why didn't
one of its few good teams, like Indiana or New York or Miami, approach 70
wins by beating up on its weaker sisters? In actuality, it was the Lakers
and Blazers whose records were bloated by feasting on the likes of the
Clippers, Warriors, Grizzlies, Rockets and Nuggets.)
Look, this is the last time I'll talk about this. Jackson had three
All-Stars to build around. Rivers had John Amaechi and Atkins and Ben
Wallace. Jackson has coached for 10 years. Rivers never coached anywhere.
The Lakers were expected to win the Pacific. The Magic were expected to win
15 games.
Doc Rivers is Coach of the Year. And, based on the fact that the 67-15
Lakers are suddenly life and death with the eighth seed in the first round
of the playoffs, I'm feeling better and better about it.
Around The NBA
Don Casey got fired in a diner in New Jersey by team tri-owner Lewis
Katz. "Miami Arena wasn't available," said an Exit 16 Wiseguy. As far as
Joisey's future, the new braintrust wants to keep John Nash on until after
the draft and hire a director of basketball operations first, who would then
hire the new coach. The Nets' DBO wish list? Danny Ainge, Doug Collins, John
Thompson and Lenny Wilkens.
That's only the latest group; they've talked to everybody, from Donnie
Walsh to Julius Erving to ex-Knicks GM Ed Tapscott. One person that they
haven't talked to, for some reason, is Cleveland's Wayne Embry. Don't ask me
why not; Embry only built the Bucks and Cavs (the pre-Fratello Cavs, I mean)
into contenders. But Embry gets all the blame from some for the Shawn Kemp
signing.
I know that the commish and Big Russ believe there's a conflict of
interest with Isiah Thomas owning the CBA while seeking a head coaching job,
and that they insist Thomas divest himself of the league before he gets on
an NBA bench.
I know the rule has been in place for years. But I just can't help but
think this is about the NBA's developmental league, and the fact that Thomas
won't play ball. The two sides have been unable to come to terms on what to
do with the CBA. The league would like to take control of the CBA,
consolidate it with the new league and give Thomas a management role. But
Thomas already owns it. It's like if you own an apartment dwelling, and
somebody comes along and says he wants to buy it, but he'll give you a good
rate on a two-bedroom unit.
Some say that because Thomas sets the salaries in the CBA, he could
"hide" players there by allowing them to make more until he called them up
to whatever NBA team he's coaching (and not counting against the NBA team's
cap.) True, I suppose. I'm equally sure that no NBA team has ever paid a
free agent prospect a few bucks under the table in the summer to ensure that
they don't sign with another squad. Or flown an unrestricted free agent
around on a corporate plane, showed the free agent a video made by Spike Lee
and starring Peter Falk and ... oh, never mind.
Everyone uses what they have. Certain agents are cozy with certain
teams. Star players have influence on who the 12th man on their squads will
be.
Let's be real. Are there so many superstar players in the CBA that
Thomas would have a prohibitive edge on the rest of the league because he
may have some influence on their call-ups? Or is this a convenient means to
squeeze some concessions out of him before the league allows him in its
club?
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