| Monday, January 24
By Mitch Lawrence
Special to ESPN.com |
|
NEW YORK -- When the proposed Jamal Mashburn deal to Philly for Larry
Hughes and Billy Owens fell through last week, that ruined a second
major deal that Pat Riley had up his Armani sleeve.
|  | | Eddie Jones is one guy Pat Riley would love to bring to Miami. |
According to Miami moles, the Heat's president and head coach was going to turn around and try to trade for Charlotte's Eddie Jones.
Riley had hoped to send Hughes and Voshon Lenard to the Hornets in
exchange for Jones, a player he has long admired. To make it work
cap-wise, the Heat would have had to take another player back. But it
all became moot when the Sixers leaked the first part of the deal.
"Pat wasn't happy at all that it didn't come off," the Miami insider
said. "He really likes Eddie."
So much so that you can expect the Heat to be talking to the Hornets
right up to the Feb. 24 trading deadline.
While the Hornets are saying that they intend to re-sign Jones at all
costs -- it might very well take the $86 million this summer that he can
demand -- it's obvious from Riley's plan that there are some teams out there who believe that the Hornets can be outbid for Jones' services.
Put it this way: If the Hornets expect to get a new arena and show their fans that they are committed to winning, they have no choice but to open their wallets for Jones, who is completing his sixth season, meaning that his new deal can start at $9 million for next season.
But while Charlotte is saying all the right things, Jones, who makes
around $2.5 million this season, has told friends that he's thinking
about hooking up with Orlando. That isn't surprising, since the Magic would love to see him in one of their uniforms and could be close to
$20 million under the cap this summer, thereby being more than able to
afford Jones' asking price.
Jones will almost certainly see at least one other team bid for his
services, assuring that his price tag is driven up to the maximum. The
Bulls, also in the $20 million range to spend on free agents, have tried
in the past to deal for Jones.
Rim Shots I
Now that the Magic have given up on making the playoffs,
they've turned their attention to balloon flying. Doc Rivers has been
busy sending sending out trial balloons.
He's floated the notion that rookie Corey Maggette is available at the right price, while also telling confidantes that he'd like to make a play in the free-agent market for the Clips' Maurice Taylor. To aid in the Magic's quest to dump more salaries and free up more cap room for free agents this summer, Orlando is busy trying to get rid of Chris Gatling and Derek Strong, "and any other player who has a contract beyond this season," one rival Eastern Conference GM said.
Lamar Odom is learning what's
it like to be a Clipper. A few weeks back, he questioned the direction
of the team, which looks like it is accepting the fact that Maurice
Taylor and Derek Anderson are walking out of L.A. when they become free
agents this July. Odom, who could be held hostage for four more seasons in Clipper-land, was absolutely right to start wondering about where owner Donald Sterling's priorities are.
But when the Clips caught wind of Odom's all-too legitimate concerns, Elgin Baylor called his star rookie and threatened to suspend him if he made any further similar statements. Odom has complied with Baylor's order, lame as it was.
You mean to tell me that after they hurled vicious, nasty comments
each other's way at a negotiating session just 15 months ago during
David Stern's lockout, Michael Jordan and Abe Pollin were able to sit
down and do business? Sounds to me -- and others around the NBA -- like the league pushed for Pollin to make the deal. So how long before the Wizards "win" the draft lottery, anyway?
If you're scoring at home, they haven't had the No.1 overall pick in a draft since Walt Bellamy in 1961. But this isn't the year to get the top choice, since there's no franchise player in the college ranks. Right now, Cincy's Kenyon Martin could be the top choice, according to a few pro scouts.
Now Scottie
Pippen says he was "booted" out of Houston for making disparaging comments about Charles Barkley, when we all know Scottie's comments were calculated to force a deal. He knew he would be sent off for hurling insults at Rudy Tomjanovich's all-time favorite player. Pippen had more bad stuff to say about Sir Charles last week. Barkley's response? "I don't hold any ill will toward Scottie ... but I do hold bad will."
Rim Shots II
That was full-contact practice that Sean Elliott's
kidney-transplant doctors OK'd him for, not actual game playing. There's a big difference, which all the national cable sports shows failed to realize. Elliott had hoped to be playing again around the All-Star break.
"It will be a while longer than that," he said the other day.
Nothing before March, rest assured. Spurs GM and coach Gregg Popovich: "Before Sean could ever play, he will have to show us that he is in game condition in a whole lot of practices over a period of time. We're in unchartered waters. I have no clue how his body is going to react. And neither does anybody else. So it's really ridiculous to speculate when he'll be back."
In the meantime, the Spurs are looking at dealing
for Doug Christie or Toni Kukoc as ways to solve one of their glaring weaknesses. With Elliott out, they lack someone who can break down the defense and get to the basket. Christie is the better choice, since the Spurs also need a player who can defend the kind of slashers who have had field days driving vs. San Antonio. He's been targeted in the past when they dangled Will Perdue.
"The way the new rules are, where you can't put your hands on anybody, I'm having a hard time trying to guard people," said Mario Elie. So look for Samaki Walker to be the trade bait when the Spurs make a move. The Raptors need to get younger up front, especially at power spots where Charles Oakley and Kevin Willis reside.
The Bulls will take it up to the trading deadline before pulling the trigger on any Kukoc deal.
See what happens when Rasheed Wallace keeps his focus and his head on straight? Blazers become world-beaters, totally
dismantling the Spurs and KO'ing the Lakers -- both on the road. Wallace took Tim Duncan totally out of the game, to the point where the MVP of
last June's Finals wouldn't even look at the basket after getting his
first shot of the night swatted away by Wallace. In Laker win, it became obvious that Kobe Bryant can't guard Damon Stoudamire a little bit. But quick, little guards have always exposed Phil Jackson's big backcourts, too.
The best take on Jordan's chances of being a successful GM -- and
not the next Elgin Baylor -- came from Jordan's old teammate, Steve Kerr.
"Michael can evaluate talent," Kerr said. "But now it's a question of
whether he'll be lucky enough to get the talent."
Steve Francis, on
his success against the Blazers' Stoudamire: "I feel like I can
take him any time." When it comes to the Rockets' rookie, a lot of
other point guards are in the same boat as Stoudamire.
Unable to move the Grizzlies to St. Louis, Bill Laurie gave up on buying the team and could go after the Nuggets.
Mavs moles see new owner Mark Cuban, a huge basketball fan from Indiana University, making a run at Steve Alford down the road. From what we hear, Cuban will be leaning heavily on ex-Mav coach and IU legend Quinn Buckner for input on what to do with his front office and coaching staff.
Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com. |  |
Lawrence: Blazers need calm Rasheed
