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Kwazimodal
Posts: 20896
Alba Posts: 5
Joined: 8/3/2004
Member: #728
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Lebron to Knicks? Im not holding my breath but its a nice dream....
The Top Five
Jack McCallum, SI.com
For this week's five-pack I had intended to analyze the franchises that are having the five worst seasons, not based, necessarily, on wins and losses. With that standard, the Los Angeles Lakers -- despite their indisputable mediocrity -- probably would not have made my list until, of course, this week's the sudden and shocking resignation of Rudy Tomjanovich as coach.
In the weeks ahead there will be much more on the Rudy T story, although I hope that if he does have serious health concerns, they don't get worse by having to deal with the endless speculation. In all likelihood, the departure of Tomjanovich and the ascension of assistant Frank Hamblen, a well-respected NBA lifer, will neither propel the Lakers to the top nor seal their fate as a miss-the-playoffs also-ran. Rather, it will all depend on how healthy Kobe Bryant is when he returns from an ankle injury.
But there is little question that the Lakers again have claimed center stage in the NBA, and not for the right reasons.
Isn't that always the case, lately?
So, here are my top five NBA trouble spots:
1. L.A. Lakers
Whatever is known or not known about Tomjanovich's resignation, it most assuredly had a lot to do with stress. That is no one's fault -- certainly not owner Jerry Buss' -- and it's a wonder that more coaches aren't brought down by it. But make no mistake, Buss has to answer for what happened.
Buss wasn't the sole reason that a team that won three straight championships couldn't stay together, but he was the main reason. He put the wants and desires of Kobe Bryant ahead of everyone, and so it was goodbye to Shaquille O'Neal and Phil Jackson. Ask opponents which version of the Lakers they'd rather play -- Shaq-Kobe or Kobe-everybody else -- and everyone would say the latter.
Further, Buss sent a message, implicit or otherwise, to the new coach that Kobe is the one who counts. Tomjanovich then proceeded to build a run-and-gun team almost solely around Bryant. But as brilliant a player as Bryant is, the team wasn't any better than average, even when he was healthy.
The Lakers are still a dream job for a coach. Rumors of Jackson coming back or Isiah Thomas moving West most likely are no more than rumors. But there will be a marquee coach in L.A. come next fall. (Connecticut's Jim Calhoun, maybe?) And you know what: He won't have any easier a task than Tomjanovich did.
2. Minnesota Timberwolves
The T'wolves are an abject lesson in how quickly things can change in the NBA. Last season, the T'wolves were the feel-good story of the league, a harder-edged version of what the Phoenix Suns are this season. We all went to Minnesota to hear Kevin Garnett proclaim how nice it was to have a supporting cast (he refused to be photographed for an SI cover unless Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell were with him) and to hear Spree and Sam talk about how nice it was to have a real leader in Garnett and an open-minded coach in Flip Saunders.
The easy answer is to blame the money squabbles of Cassell and Sprewell, including Spree's celebrated "I need to feed my family" quote. And while those have been factors in the slide, they are overblown.
The truth is, Minnesota may have been a bit of a one-year wonder. Cassell and Spree are an aging backcourt that found the magic last season but haven't been able to find it again. The return of Hudson has only made everyone edgy about his minutes. And don't forget that Wally Szczerbiak, another perimeter player, still needs PT and shots. It's understandable that Saunders went a little Yogi on us when he said, "Wally is a starter; he's just not starting." One could fault Saunders for failing to come up with a workable rotation, but, given this combustible mix of players and personalities, I'm not sure anyone could.
Look for this team to break up over the summer. Owner Glen Taylor is tired of hearing Sprewell and Cassell talk about money, and center Michael Olowokandi is a goner for sure. The big issue for general manager Kevin McHale is Saunders. They are good friends and McHale knows that Saunders is a good coach who would surely get another head job. But when a team that's supposed to be good fails to meet expectations, we all know who gets blamed.
3. New York Knicks
Whenever the subject of the Knicks comes up around the league you hear variations on the same comment: Well, they certainly have a talented roster. Translation: They have a mishmash of guys who might be good but can't play together. Shake up the roster, you might say. The problem is general manager Isiah Thomas has done little else besides shake up the roster since he took over.
But Thomas' first priority is getting a coach -- which is making for a unique cross-continental who's-going-to-lead-us? war between the Lakers and Knicks -- and he had better make a good choice. As great as Lenny Wilkens once was, he was not the man to lead the Knicks.
After next season the Knicks have quite a bit of potential wiggle room under the salary cap with a few high-priced contracts expiring, including Penny Hardaway's $15.75 million. But my guess is Thomas has his mind on only one name -- LeBron James. The word is Thomas has cultivated a relationship with James's agent, Aaron Goodwin, with whom he worked to get Jamal Crawford from Chicago. But James is a restricted free agent before he's unrestricted, and, anyway, playing in Madison Square Garden doesn't have quite the allure it used to.4. Portland Trail Blazers
This is a recording. Repeat, this is a recording.
Management is trying. It really is. The front office unloaded Rasheed Wallace after he led the planet in technical fouls. It unloaded Bonzi Wells after he cursed at coach Maurice Cheeks on at least two occasions. It recently unloaded Qyntel Woods after he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor animal abuse stemming from allegations of dog fighting -- not the first time the young forward has been in trouble. (Woods made NBA history last year when he showed a policeman his Blazers trading card, in lieu of his driver's license, after being stopped for a violation.) And it recently suspended Darius Miles for conduct deemed detrimental to the team, reportedly over an incident with Cheeks in the film room. Along with all of that, attendance has waned at the once raucous Rose Garden, and owner Paul Allen is losing a bundle.
The Trail Blazers pledge fealty to the idea that they are trying to improve the culture of bad behavior that has overtaken the team by dealing with troublemakers, and it appears they are. But they've got a long way to go. They continue to acquire players who have had trouble in the past (Miles and Nick Van Exel are two recent acquisitions), the team isn't good enough to go anywhere and, on top of it all, they've been unlucky with injuries.
Look at them through the prism of their best player, Zach Randolph. He's a wonderful scoring forward who just does not -- repeat, does not -- give up the rock. He's not necessarily a selfish player; he just doesn't know how to pass.
Cheeks, who is at the end of a four-year contract, will most assuredly be gone after this season. He may be the happiest jettisoned coach in recent memory.
5. Detroit Pistons
Larry Brown is the opposite of an acquired taste. When he takes a job -- and this is a guy who will take a job -- he's instantly accepted by the players. His knowledge and passion for the game is contagious. But over time his desire for perfection and his proclivity to be disappointed in his players gradually grates on them. He doesn't handle success well and recently he didn't show the proper diplomacy when asked, inevitably, about becoming the Knicks coach. First he called it a "dream job" and, only when pressed, did he say he wasn't interested. That didn't please owner Bill Davison, who gave Brown a $30-million contract that still has three years left after this one. You knew things weren't good in Detroit when Ben Wallace, that rare player cast in the role of both tough guy and good guy, got publicly irritated with Brown for criticizing them after a loss to Chicago.
Still in all, the Pistons probably shouldn't be in this list. They're potentially too good and they could still be playing in June. They didn't peak until the Finals last season, they're still in the weakest conference and they know what it takes to win. And here's a number to digest: 88. That's the number of points teams are scoring against them. Only San Antonio is stingier, and it says here that the Spurs will still be playing in June, too.
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2/4/2005 12:25 PM
