| Tuesday, November 9
By Mitch Lawrence
Special to ESPN.com |
|
NEW YORK -- Thanks to a recent ruling, expect those Glen Rice trade
rumors to heat up a little more in the coming weeks.
|  | | Rice, off to a good start, is easier to deal now. |
A systems arbitrator ruled last week that Rice is no longer just a
"base-year compensation" player whose contract was worth $5 million and
change. Now a team that wants to trade for Rice has to send back to the
Lakers $7 million in salaries, the actual money Rice makes this season. Now
that they can get more in return, that should give the Lakers a few more
options.
"Before, it was harder for the Lakers to make a deal involving Rice," said one Eastern Confernce GM after the decision was revealed to NBA
teams. "Now, it should be a little easier to trade him. They can get
more in return, in a two-for-one deal, or another type of deal, because
they can get bigger salaries in return."
The Heat still are interested in L.A.'s sharpshooter but dead-set
against giving up P.J. Brown, the player Phil Jackson has been asking
for to fill his power-forward void.
Rim Shots I
Not that it wasn't expected, but Patrick Ewing has lost his
No. 1 ranking as the NBA's highest-paid player. Ewing, who made $18.5
million last season (minus 40 percent, due to the lockout), is tied for fourth
with Juwan Howard, at $15 million. The top three players: Shaquille O'Neal,
$17.1 million; Kevin Garnett, $16.8 million; and Alonzo Mourning, $15.1 million.
Almost two weeks went by before Derrick Coleman bothered to find out how Eldridge Recasner was doing after Recasner suffered a busted shoulder
and collapsed lung while riding in a car Coleman was driving. After the
accident, Coleman never called Recasner or went to see him in the
hospital. According to witnesses, the two had a matter-of-fact exchange
at courtside before a game in Charlotte last week. "Eldridge is very,
very upset," said one Recasner confidant. Recasner, out until
mid-January, has every right to be. The Hornets, meanwhile, have to be a
little worried that rookie point guard Baron Davis is getting his
surgically repaired knee checked out this week. He's experienced some
"locking" recently.
The Nets' sloooow start isn't making life any
easier for new head coach Don Casey. Kendall Gill, one of Casey's big
backers, even felt the need to give Casey an endorsement. "We were only
0-3," Gill said. "If we were 0-15, I'd understand." If they were 0-15,
Casey would be long gone and assistant coach Jimmy Lynam would be
calling the shots.
The Heat have made it no secret that they're
interested in Derek Harper, now in limbo/retirement, to be their veteran
third guard. But when the Pistons, point blank, last week offered Harper
to the Heat, Miami's response was "No way!" Of course, the Pistons did
ask for a No. 1 pick.
With Patrick Ewing's return still a long way
off, the Knicks have to be alarmed about Larry Johnson's new back problem. Doctors are calling them spasms, but LJ says the back feels the same as it did five years ago when he herniated a disc. "The only
difference is that I don't have pain shooting down my leg," Johnson
said. "But it feels the same." Hmmmm.
Denver has called Detroit about trading for the retired Bison Dele. But the Pistons are not interested, even if Dele returns to the country. "Heck, we want him to
play for us," said Detroit VP Rick Sund. "But will he come back to this
country? I don't know." Dele is living now in Lebanon, where he has a
business.
Rim Shots II
Phil Jackson has challenged Shaquille O'Neal to be the
dominant player he was last in the '98 playoffs vs. Seattle. Jackson did
it a short time ago, as he discussed the differences between taking over
the Lakers and inheriting Michael Jordan and the the Bulls.
"The difference is that Michael had tremendous success in NCAA ball and
tremendous success as an MVP player prior to me even being a part of the
coaching staff in Chicago," Jackson said. "So Michael was an
established player who really had a dynamic impact on this league. Shaq
has had a great impact. But his impact came early. He has yet to really
establish that in his last two years. And that's something he has to
re-establish -- the dominance he can have in this game."
It's the Shaq who personally took out the Sonics in the '98 playoffs.
Once that series had ended, George Karl surveyed the carnage and
compared O'Neal to Wilt Chamberlain. Lately, there's been no comparison.
"For Shaq to re-establish that dominance, he has to complete his
all-around game," Jackson said. "It has to be intimidation inside,
rebounding and blocking shots. Passing will be a natural for him in this
offense, because he'll get the ball a lot, he's a good passer and he
likes to pass. And then his ability to make free throws at the end of
the game. To be a contributor, that is very important."
To be a contributor, Shaq can't afford to get tossed from games, as he
was in the final 9:40 of a loss to Portland last Saturday.
Rim Shots III
Word has it, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had his foot examined in New
York while the Cavs were in town last week, and he's been advised to get
a screw inserted. The operation would KO him from yet another season, his
third out of four.
Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy on Allan Houston:
"Consistency is where Allan has to make his biggest strides. He's had
periods of greatness. But it's that consistency that separates
players." Separates the good ones from the great ones.
Gregg Popovich is telling friends that by the end of the season, Tim Duncan will be getting big minutes at small forward. "Pop" better be careful. Mr.
Duncan's not too happy with the prospect of chasing small forwards.
Kebu Stewart went AWOL from the Mavs this past week, and it's not too
difficult to imagine why.
No, Van Gundy didn't drop by the NBA Store
Monday to do a little reminiscing when his ex-boss, current Bucks GM
Ernie Grunfeld, made an appearance. Neither did Garden CEO Dave
Checketts.
Steve Smith, after Portland saw Lamar Odom for the first
time: "In our game plan, we were told to double-team him every time he
got the ball in the low post." All that respect after Odom had played
all of one game.
Before anyone gets the idea that the record for
free-throw attempts in a game is in imminent danger, Wilt Chamberlain
once took 34 foul shots in a game. And that wasn't even on the night he
scored 100.
Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com. |  |
