Matt Steinmetz's Usually Good NBA Column

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

[Hot CoCo]

   Published on January 3, 1999                       
                                                       
   NBA: MATT STEINMETZ                                     

   There's time to beat the buzzer -- but who takes the last shot?

   IT'S CRUNCH TIME for the NBA.

   Not money time, mind you, because for the past six months the
   owner-imposed lockout has been only about money.

   But now, as the Jan. 7 drop-dead date for the cancellation of the
   season looms, commissioner David Stern, union chief Billy Hunter,
   owners and players find themselves in a crucial game with the
   possibility everyone will lose.

   There have been no NBA games since June, and the possibility the next
   one won't occur until November is becoming more and more real.

   In basketball parlance, it's time for someone "to step up."

   Instead, what we're getting is a game without big-time players, with
   all the participants wilting under the glare of the pressure. Is
   anyone willing to take the big shot here?

   The players union comes up with what it calls an "unprecedented"
   concession as part of its latest offer but can't -- or isn't allowed
   -- to get it into the hands of Stern and the owners?

   You've got to be kidding.

   "He told me no one in the NBA may meet with us to receive the
   proposal and discuss it," said Jeffrey Kessler, chief outside counsel
   for the union. "... That's not how two sides who respect each other
   bargain. It's too late for parlor games."

   "He's overlooking a critical point," replied Jeffrey Mishkin, the
   NBA's chief legal officer. "We made our final offer. They rejected
   it. This isn't about playing games."

   What is this? Third grade? If Stern, Hunter, any owner or any player
   wants to know why, in general, fans don't care about the lockout,
   that's it in a nutshell.

   C'mon, this is ridiculous. Just get them the proposal. Fax it, e-mail
   it, send it by bike messenger, for goodness sakes. Even a postage
   stamp still works these days.

   If the union's offer is so good, why can't Hunter drive it to Stern's
   Westchester house and present it himself. If Stern cares even a
   little bit about the multibillion dollar league he helped create, why
   can't he meet Hunter in New York City for a cup of coffee to hear
   about it?

   Stern just doesn't get it. And we're not talking only about the
   proposal here. It's beginning to sound like neither he nor the owners
   want to make a deal at all. Which would be important if anyone cared
   anymore. But no one does. And it's hard to blame them.

   PANIC MODE: It's obvious players and agents are feeling the heat of
   what a canceled season might mean. Back in August and September, when
   the novelty of the lockout hadn't worn off, there was a lot of brave
   talk.

   Now, words and moods have changed. Everyone's a little cranky and
   nobody's worried about offending anybody. Here's just a sample of
   this week's comments:

      * Player agent Dan Fegan: "If I were the players, I wouldn't take
        the (owners') deal on the table. I would pass on the season. The
        deal is horrible. In my opinion, David Stern and the owners are
        greedy pigs. They want to have their cake and eat it, too. They
        want to cut the players' share of (basketball-related income)
        and prevent mobility, too."
      * Heat free-agent forward Keith Askins: "If Billy Hunter is so
        strong the masses will vote it down. What's wrong with putting
        it out there, letting us vote on it and see what happens?"
      * Player agent Steve Woods: "Billy has done a disservice to the
        entire sport. If there were a Hall of Fame for labor
        negotiations and they had a special wing for unity, Billy would
        be a lock to be in that wing. But he wasn't hired to create
        unity -- he was hired to make a deal. In that, he has failed
        miserably."

   HE ALWAYS COULD DRIVE: Jazz point guard John Stockton hasn't been
   driving and dishing on the court these days but he's made an impact
   at the rink.

   That's right, Stockton has been busy driving the Zamboni for the Utah
   Grizzlies of the International Hockey League, who play at the E
   Center in Salt Lake City.

   "We were watching a game one night, and he said he hated it when the
   Zamboni driver missed a spot," said Grizzlies executive Tim Mouser.
   "I told him it was a lot harder than it looked and asked him if he
   would like to try it. He said he'd love to."

   Stockton joined Mouser for a trial run on an off-day last season,
   finally driving between periods at a game later in the year.
   Obviously, Stockton has had more time to perfect his loops and turns
   this year.

   Stockton also has skated and worked out periodically with the
   Grizzlies.

   "He's not a guy you'd pick first in a pickup game," said Mouser, who
   played minor-league hockey. "He has good size. He's athletic. And
   he's so competitive. If he had picked up the game as a teen-ager, he
   could have developed into a good hockey player."

   THE BONUS: Somebody needs to tell Warriors first-round draft pick
   Antawn Jamison it's not always like this. When Jamison came to the
   Bay Area this week to see North Carolina play at the New Arena in the
   Pete Newell Challenge, he was among more than 19,600 fans, the
   largest crowd to ever see a college game in the state of California.
   Unfortunately, the Warriors only averaged 12,201 fans per game last
   year, third-lowest in the league. ... And finally this, from Raptors
   forward Reggie Slater: "If we're going to go down, we've decided to
   stand up together rather than die."

   Edition: LD,  Section: B,  Page: 2


                         © 1998 Contra Costa Times