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Wednesday, February 23
Deadline should pass with no Laker changes

By Mike Monroe
Special to ESPN.com

The trade deadline is Thursday and Glen Rice is still a Laker.

Come Thursday evening, when the deadline passes, I expect he still will be.

Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant's offense -- and defense -- has the Lakers streaking again.

The rumors were flying hot and heavy around Rice last week. Speculation centered around Shawn Kemp and Brevin Knight going from Cleveland to the Lakers for Rice, Robert Horry and Derek Fisher.

There are 25 million compelling reasons why that isn't apt to happen.

Kemp, you see, will be due $25 million in the final year of his contract, and under the NBA's new collective bargaining agreement, Lakers owner Jerry Buss would have to pay that much to the league in luxury tax, meaning Kemp would cost him a cool $50 million.

Besides, and of much greater impact, the Lakers are good enough as presently constituted to win the NBA title, though even Superman (a.k.a. Shaquille O'Neal) might wear down a little playing more minutes than anyone in the NBA because the Lakers don't have a backup more legitimate than John Salley, still a great quote but hardly an NBA-caliber center.

What may have cemented Rice's spot on the Lakers' roster for at least the remainder of this season, though, was what happened Sunday in Philadelphia, where Kobe Bryant locked up Allen Iverson, the NBA's highest scorer, in the Lakers' win over the 76ers.

Since the game was televised on NBC, maybe you saw how Bryant turned Iverson into just another very quick ball handler incapable of getting an open look at the basket.

Iverson tossed it off as just one of those days when his shots didn't fall.

Anyone who enjoys watching a great defender at work, though, observed that Iverson couldn't get the shots he wanted, and that was the work of Bryant.

In fact, my own personal estimation of Bryant jumped geometrically after watching his matchup with Iverson. It was -- dare I say it? -- Jordanesque.

What made it so reminiscent of His Airness was Bryant's work on the defensive end. True, he also made the key crunch-time plays on offense, as well, but what truly singled out Jordan as the game's best player was the fact he was able to dominate the game at both ends of the floor like no non-center in the history of the game, and Bryant, for at least one big game, duplicated his idol.

Bryant isn't quite at Jordan's defensive level yet, but his work on Iverson showed that he is getting there.

And guess what? That gives the Lakers two legitimate MVP candidates, and if you think that elevates them past even the Trail Blazers, you are precisely correct.

And Shaq is even making his free throws!

The beneficiary of this largesse of MVP-caliber talent is Rice. There is scant reason at this late stage in the season to change a lineup capable of winning every game it plays. In fact, the Lakers' experience just last season, when a mid-season trade for Rice and the signing of Dennis Rodman destroyed already shaky chemistry, is additional evidence that trying to fix what ain't broke is folly.

Expect Rice to remain a Laker for the ride to the Western Finals, and beyond.

Spurs need a slam Dunc
Tim Duncan's abdomen aches and an entire south Texas community isn't feeling so hot, either, turning blue in the face from holding its breath waiting to find out how serious his injury is.

The Spurs were poised for a late-season run that I believe would have netted the Midwest Division title, and the second seed in the West, when Duncan's health became an issue for the first time in his career (except for the conference semifinals two years ago, when an ankle sprain limited his effectiveness.)

Just when the Spurs were about to get a boost from the return of Sean Elliott, one of last season's championship heroes, Duncan's immediate future became cloudy.

Duncan, the Spurs' MVP candidate power forward and co-MVP of the All-Star game, never has missed a game. Will Thursday's game in Charlotte be the first?

If you think a strained abdomen isn't serious, we offer the Lakers' O'Neal as evidence to the contrary. His strained abdomen kept him out of the lineup for a chunk of one season and limited his effectiveness when he did play. His resurgence this season, O'Neal has said, is largely attributable to his health.

With Duncan, the Spurs remain one of three Western teams capable of getting to The Finals.

Without him, they may have trouble hanging on to a home court advantage in the first round.

Suns are shining bright
Speaking of home court in the first round, look who's making a serious run at fourth in the West: the Suns. Suddenly, Penny Hardaway is back and playing, well, like Penny Hardaway, and Rodney Rogers is turning the Sixth Man race into his personal victory lap and the Suns have won seven in a row.

And that, dear friends, is one of the reasons they are not going to make the other deal that has been making the rumor rounds for the last four or five days. Dikembe Mutombo would give Phoenix the inside presence it needs to contend with the Lakers, Spurs and Blazers in the West, but the Hawks aren't giving up the league's best shotblocker and rebounder unless the Suns give up Shawn Marion.

As George Dubya's daddy liked to say: "Not gonna happen."

Pre-trade deadline chemistry in years past has shot down more than one deal that seemed to make sense, and no team in the West has better chemistry right now than the Suns ... except maybe the Lakers.

So scratch two deals that would have made for great column fodder for weeks.

Mike Monroe, who covers the NBA for the Denver Post, writes a Western Conference column for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him at monroe128@go.com


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