Mitch Lawrence: latest rumors (no direct Celtics content)

["Ozersky, Joshua A" <OzerskyJA@corning.com>]

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To School? 
Odom trying to dump agent 

SAN ANTONIO 

<Picture: Mitch Lawrence><Picture>he Bulls are rooting for the NCAA to approve Lamar Odom's request to have his eligibility reinstated at Rhode Island, so that they don't have to make him the No. 1 pick.

<Picture: odom_ri.JPG (15404 bytes)><Picture>Lamar Odom 

Odom is as close to a clear-cut top pick as the upcoming draft has to offer, but the Bulls aren't so sure about his off-court "issues," shall we say. Rather than picking him and finding out a few years from now that he wasn't the best player in the draft, they'd rather see him eliminated from the pool of players entirely.

Odom, who missed his third straight scheduled interview yesterday, blowing off his visit with Jerry Krause in Chicago, is trying to rid himself of his agent, Jeff Klein. Odom thinks by returning to Rhode Island he can do that. 

But first, the NCAA appeals council has to buy his argument that when he signed with Klein, he only wanted to find out how high he'd be drafted and that he was coerced into signing with Klein and had no idea that he was signing away his eligibility, too. Hmmm. Chances are the NCAA isn't going to rule in his favor.

<Picture: Notebook>
As Charles Oakley might put it, "Canadians . . . drive cars . . . get dirty." Yup, Oak's gone international, opening another one of his car washes, this time in Toronto. . . . Raptors have entered the Penny Hardaway Sweepstakes. While Penny associates don't think he'd ever agree to a sign-and-trade to play in Toronto, after spending his entire life in the Sun Belt, the Raptors do have two No. 1 picks that could begin to get the Magic's attention. Hardaway's top choice is still Houston. . . . Vancouver continues to strike out for veteran power forward, using No. 2 pick as bait. Grizzlies have been turned away by Portland (Rasheed Wallace) and Miami (P.J. Brown).

Power Play: Phil Jackson says the Lakers' No. 1 priority is getting a power forward (you don't say), so guess what the Lakers are going to do before they do anything else? Right, find Phil a "four." Glen Rice for P.J. Brown is one option, although Pat Riley doesn't think he can afford to give up his only legit power forward in Brown. 

Getting Horace Grant out of Orlando is perhaps a better option for Lakers. Magic want to deal off Grant, who makes $6 mil this coming season, and Shaquille O'Neal still is a big Grant fan.

More Phil Fallout: The Lakers are giving up on idea of trading a veteran, such as Rice, for a top-three pick so that they can land UCLA G Baron Davis, a player Jerry West loves. Pat Riley has his no-layup rule. Big Chief Triangle has his no-rookie rule. Jackson wants to win now, so there is no time to be wasted on breaking in novices.

Basket Case: If Don Casey is experiencing a case of deja vu, waiting for the Nets to formally make him their head coach, at least for the next 365 days, it's because he's lived through this same kind of treatment about 10 years ago when he was put on hold all summer by the Clippers. Once Donald Sterling couldn't find anyone else to coach his team, he settled on Casey, who had finished out the '89 season after Gene Shue was booted after 38 games. Of course, the Nets could be waiting for the Knicks to get swept so they can make a run at Jeff Van Gundy. Then Casey would be out. But it looks more and more like he'll get the job by default. "When Phil Jackson signed with the Lakers, Case was relieved," said a buddy. 

Not that anyone really ever thought that Jackson's ego could allow him to coach in the shadow of the Knicks, mind you.

Jermaine Man for Orlando: Magic targeting Portland free agent Jermaine O'Neal, who's still young (21 in October), tall (6-11) and athletic, but has shown almost no fire in three seasons since coming out of South Carolina high school ranks. . . . More evidence of differences between big-market Knicks and small-market Spurs: Finals T-shirts and hats going for bargain-basement $15 per. . . . That red, white and blue ball George Gervin tossed up before Game 1? Betcha it had David Stern's name on it. . . . Charlotte has settled on UCLA's Baron Davis for No. 3 pick if Steve Francis isn't there, and Marylander won't be. "Francis is like Allen Iverson; you can't stay in front of him," said Hornets VP Bob Bass. Funny, we seem to recall St. John's staying in front of Francis in NCAA tourney game.

Michaels Wrestles for a View: Shawn Michaels of WWF fame pulled a Dennis Rodman during Game 1. Sitting in his courtside seats near Spurs' bench, he kicked an NBC cameraman whom he claimed was obstructing his view. As soon as the ruckus was spotted, security and the league intervened, peace was made and all plans for steel-cage rematch are off. . . . The Wizards didn't have to spend as much money on new coach Gar Heard as they would have if they had given Isiah Thomas the job. Heard's deal calls for a guaranteed $6 mil over three seasons, with another $3 mil possible via incentives. . . . Mario Elie can live with the allotment of 18 tickets he's getting for family and friends for Game 3 Monday at the Garden. "But the location isn't great," he said. "They're all way up there." But "up there" at the Garden isn't up there at Alamodome, where you could see Corpus Christi off in the distance if there wasn't a roof.
Joshua Ozersky
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