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Mitch Lawrence
Tuesday, April 18
Duncan will stay with Robinson in San Antonio



NEW YORK -- This won't be Tim Duncan's final playoff go-round with the Spurs.

Tim Duncan
Don't look for Tim Duncan to be leaving the Spurs, writes Lawrence.

At least that was the hot talk among all the GMs and scouts at last weekend's Phoenix Desert classic. As they watched another disappointing bunch of seniors -- only St. Louis guard Justin Love has really raised his stock in the two post-season camps -- Duncan's plan to stay in San Antonio was Topic A.

Word is, the Spurs star, a free agent this summer who's badly wanted in Orlando, is going to go for a four-year deal with the defending champs. Then, when that deal is up, he'll be eligible for a contract where he will be paid top dollar for seven years of service. Right now, a player with seven pro seasons on his resume can start his deal at $11 million. But that figure likely will go up in the next few years, too, as revenues increase.

"Duncan knows that David Robinson is going to play two or three more seasons, so the Spurs are going to still be a very good team," one GM said. "The Magic had better shift gears with their free-agent plans. Not only because of Duncan. But (Grant) Hill will probably stay in Detroit, too."

Indeed, the Magic might come up short for their first two choices. But they're still the favorites to land Tracy McGrady, a Florida native looking to leave Toronto. Eddie Jones is another possibility.

By the way, Hill and Duncan also top the list of key players who will be nursing injuries when the playoffs open this weekend:

  • Hill will sit out Tuesday night's game in New York due to a severe high-ankle sprain. Once the Pistons clinched a playoff berth Sunday, the plans to put him on the bench became automatic. The injury is so bad, Detroit officials said Monday that they don't think he'll be 100 percent by the Pistons' playoff opener over the weekend. An MRI revealed no further damage.

  • Duncan's cartilage tear in his left knee is viewed by Spurs doctors as extremely slight. He didn't have an MRI, but one in five NBA players are running around with similar tears, Spurs officials said. Even so, Duncan is expected to miss Monday's game against the Grizzlies, his third straight, as a precautionary measure. Like Hill, he could see some playing time in the regular-season finale (Wednesday vs. the Lakers), just to keep in some semblance of game condition before the post-season opener.

  • In Miami, they're very nervous about Tim Hardaway's sore foot -- as they should be. If the Heat don't have a healthy Hardaway for the playoff run -- which is how it looks now -- there's no guarantee they'll get out of the first round. As it is, Hardaway's physical deteroriation has really taken its toll this season. As recently as three seasons ago, he could beat just about anyone off the dribble, anytime he wished. Now, opponents aren't even concerned about his break-down game. With Hardaway hobbled, the Heat's decision to let Terry Porter go last summer could come back to haunt Pat Riley.

    Feedback for Mitch
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  • The slumping Knicks might be forced to rest Marcus Camby for their final two games (Tuesday vs. Detroit, Wednesday at Boston) because of his latest knee injury. Camby, who's had an injury-filled and down year, needs to step up his play if the Knicks are to duplicate last year's march to the Finals. Camby's knee woes are only one of Jeff Van Gundy's problems. His two wing players, Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell, have played the last two games, losses over the weekend at Toronto and Cleveland, as if they've quit on the regular season.

  • In Philly, Allen Iverson now has an injury to his shooting elbow to go along with a rotator cuff tear and broken toe. There's no way Iverson can go into the playoffs anywhere close to 100 percent. He'll need an entire offseason to recover from all of his ailments. As it is, the Sixers don't match up well with potential first-round foe Charlotte, which won the season series 3-1. With Iverson banged up, this could be a quick exit for Larry Brown and Co.

    Rim Shots I
  • Time to give out some awards. The envelope, please:
    MVP: Shaquille O'Neal -- Hands down.
    Coach of the Year: Phil Jackson. The right man at the right time for the right team.
    Rookie of the Year: Steve Francis. Elton Brand can't match Francis where it counts -- the win column.
    Defensive Player of the Year: O'Neal. Scary thing is, Jackson thinks he can be better at this end, where he's dominated.
    Most Improved Player: Dirk Nowitzki. With Michael Finley, here are two building blocks for Mark Cuban.
    Sixth Man: Rodney Rogers. His scoring (14 ppg) and shooting (49 percent overall, 44 percent on threes) make him one of the best free-agent signings of the year, too.
    Executive of the Year: John Gabriel. Through wheeling and dealing, Orlando's GM broke up the old team and got $20 million under the cap so the Magic can make a run at Tim Duncan and Grant Hill this summer. Hiring of Doc Rivers wasn't bad, either. Just wait 'til Rivers gets some stars.
    Comeback Player: Patrick Ewing. Biggest surprise is he stayed upright. An offensive force who missed fewer games than Marcus Camby. The fact that Ewing's lost quickness and can't defend on the ball hasn't mattered in the center-poor East.
    All-NBA first team: F Karl Malone, F Tim Duncan, C Shaquille O'Neal, G Kobe Bryant, G Gary Payton.
    Second team: F Kevin Garnett, F Chris Webber, C Alonzo Mourning, G Vince Carter, G Jason Kidd.
    Third team: F Jalen Rose, F Grant Hill, C David Robinson, G John Stockton, G Allen Iverson.
    All-Hype: F Marcus Camby, F Vin Baker, C Dikembe Mutombo, G Jason Williams, G Ray Allen.
    All-Underrated: F Jerome Williams, F Theo Ratliff, C Kelvin Cato, G Paul Pierce, G Predrag Stojakovic.

    Rim Shots II
  • With Don Casey on the verge of getting fired -- the decision to drop the axe has been made and it will fall next week -- Nets assistant Eddie Jordan is the favorite to be elevated to head coach. Jordan has Stephon Marbury in his corner, something the new YankeesNets group will take into consideration. Marbury has already given his blessing to the move. Now we'll see how much juice Stephon has. Since there's no obvious coach in waiting -- Yankees-Nets brass are opposed to giving the job to Jersey native Mike Fratello -- the post could fall in Jordan's lap. In his only other head coaching job, he was 33-64 in Sacramento.

  • More Phoenix camp fodder: Eight coaching spots are now open or are soon to have vacancies -- the Nets, Wizards, Hawks, Pistons, Pacers, Mavs, Grizzlies and Clippers. The Celtics will be the ninth, if Rick Pitino exits. Don't be surprised if Seattle and Portland open up after the playoffs. Sonics brass know that players aren't big on Paul Westphal, while Blazers need to go deep into postseason for front office to keep believing in Mike Dunleavy.

    Everyone's waiting to see what Michael Jordan will do in Wizard-land with Darrell Walker. If he polls his players, he might end up keeping Walker, who's done a better job in the NBA than he did in CBA. The Wiz like Walker. The Pacers are looking at Cincy's Bob Huggins as a possible Larry Bird replacement. The Grizzlies will be led by Dick Versace. Pistons owners and brass love Bill Laimbeer, although there are some in organization who would rather take a shot with a young assistant on the rise, like Seattle's Nate McMillan.

  • The Magic are down on Ron Mercer because he doesn't defend. At least that's what they're leaking about their free-agent-to-be. If he wants to stay in Orlando, he'll have to take much less than the $9 million max he's seeking.

  • A.J. Guyton helped himself at Phoenix pre-draft camp, garnering MVP honors. Although he is a shooting guard who'll need to play point, "the kid can play," said one scout.

  • Outgoing Grizzlies exec Stu Jackson is telling pals he'd like to get back into coaching.

  • It's not just that the Knicks can't guard Vince Carter, their potential first-round playoff nightmare. Allan Houston can't get his shot vs. Tracy McGrady either.

    Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com.


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