| Diesel might hit the
road By Mitch Lawrence Special to ESPN.com | |
SAN ANTONIO -- Here's the latest out of Laker-land: Phil Jackson isn't coming. Kurt Rambis isn't going. Jerry West isn't leaving. Shaquille O'Neal? Who knows whether he's staying or going.
And here you thought the Knicks had the onopoly on NBA soap operas.
Hollywood has its own, with Shaq's future the central plot.
The Lakers, sitting at home after yet another embarrassing playoff exit, are in worse shape than they were a year ago. Back then, nobody ever thought Shaq would entertain the idea of exercising the out clause in his contract and leaving. But he is so unhappy with how things have played out, he's considering opting out, even with $81 million in guaranteed dough left on his $126 million deal.
It's not just some Laker veterans who fear the Diesel will be pulling out of L.A. His friends say he's very, very unhappy because:
- Once again, he's being blamed for the Lakers' latest exit from the postseason. Of course, it didn't help that they went out in four. It's to the point now where when someone says "sweep," you think "Shaq."
- As soon as the Lakers were eliminated, O'Neal heard the familiar refrain, "Shaq doesn't care about winning." Those who know him better than anyone in the media say nothing could be farther from the truth. And Shaq can't stand to hear that line.
- For Shaq, Kobe Bryant is a bigger problem than Tim Duncan and David Robinson. It's getting to the point where Shaq doesn't think he and Bryant can co-exist. While Penny Hardaway accepted his No. 2 role in Orlando when Shaq was there, Bryant is showing no signs of deferring to O'Neal.
Bryant is all in favor of Rambis returning. Which makes sense, because Rambis lets him get away with whatever he wants. But Kobe is definitely in the minority. When word got out that their head coach will be coming back, several L.A. veterans said privately that Rambis already has shown he doesn't have what it takes to be a big-time leader.
Those Lakers wanted Jackson to come in and get the Shaq-Kobe mess resolved. Phil wanted the job more than any other -- even the Knicks' GM/coaching post.
After all, if you compare the two rosters, you'd have to say the Lakers have a better chance of winning the title. Plus, the Knicks might be on a nice little joyride now, but as soon as it ends, the next GM has to trade either Latrell Sprewell or Allan Houston, upgrade the point-guard spot and work with an impossible salary cap that has $67 million committed for next season and is screwed up well into the next millennium.
But Jackson priced himself out of the Lakers' job with his salary demands. He has made it clear he's not taking another job unless he makes more than he did in his final season in Chicago, when he made $6 million. His demands were entirely too much for the Lakers.
West, meanwhile, is not giving up so quickly on Rambis. If you remember, the Laker VP told Rambis last summer to turn down two head-coaching offers (Sacramento and the Clippers) and to sit tight, because Del Harris had one foot out the door when the 1999 season started. West isn't about to give up so quickly on his head coach now. And West, who was approached by the Knicks several weeks ago but has no interest in working in New York, is also definitely staying on to begin a four-year deal worth $14 million.
As for Shaq, stay tuned.
Rim Shots I
Remember
everything we said in this space last week about Jerry Krause taking Wally
Szczerbiak with the No. 1 pick? Forget every word of it. A little sleuthing has
revealed Krause and his aides spent an inordinate amount of time this season
scouting a college player the Bulls believe can be the next Scottie Pippen.
Perhaps you've heard of Lamar Odom. While the Bulls' VP of Demolishing Dynasties
loves to keep everything a deep, dark secret when it comes to his draft plans,
he reportedly is locked in on taking the New York product with the No. 1 pick.
"Jerry has kept very close track of Odom," one GM said. "They did
a lot of scouting of Odom in person." Odom is not as athletic as Pippen.
But he's 6-foot-9, can play point guard or forward, and already is considered a
better shooter than Pippen. In just one season on the college level, Odom showed
he can be a special player. "He played with a lot of bad players at Rhode
Island, but he made those kids better," a scout said. "Right now,
that's what the Bulls need, a player who can make other guys better."
Rim Shots II
Even
before Karl
Malone stunk up Portland's Rose Garden in Game 6, there was major concern in
Utah's front office that this year's team would fall short of winning the title.
The combination of the brutal end-of-season schedule (12 games in the last 18
days), the many age rings on Malone, John Stockton, et.
al, and the Jazz's surprising struggle to keep up with the Kings in the first
round sent off alarms with teams execs. Don't expect the Jazz to clean house,
but to add much-needed depth behind Malone and the center spot via free agency.
The Jazz will be about $20 million under next year's $34 million salary cap. But
a lot of owner Larry Miller's money is going to go to re-sign the old guard. No
matter what he says about free agency, Malone already has agreed to a new
extension, worth $16 million per year. Team execs say Stockton and Jeff Hornacek also
have OK'd new deals. The team's major concern is re-signing another free agent,
Shandon
Anderson, to a long-term agreement ... There are so many rumors about Phil
Jackson having a deal with the Knicks already, it's hard to believe anything.
But there will be more than a few surprised people if Jackson does take the New
York GM/coaching job. "Phil's not stupid," said Steve Kerr, who was
with Jackson in Chicago for five seasons. "He's going to go somewhere where
they have a chance to win. That's not New York. New York is going to be way over
the (salary) cap for the next several years. And they're old. This is probably
their last crack at winning. Believe me, he's not going there." ... Doc
Rivers has the Wizards' job if he wants it. Rivers, however, is gaining
popularity in Orlando, so he might hold off on Washington until he finds out if
he can have the Magic post. Given his choice, he'd be crazy not to take
Orlando's job, if offered. The Magic's own VP of the Fairways, Julius Erving,
has no shot at the job. But ex-Magic aide Bob Hill has two big backers, team
prez Bob Vander Weide and Penny Hardaway.
Rim Shots
III
Charlotte loves Steve Francis, who should still be on the
board when the Hornets pick at No. 3. Rather than go for the best pure point
guard -- UCLA's Baron Davis -- the Hornets think Francis will get his own shot
in a halfcourt game. If the Hornets can get rid of Derrick Coleman --
they're going to shop him -- they will. ... How bad a draft is it? Vancouver is
having no success trading the No. 2 pick. The Grizzlies want a veteran shooting
guard in return. ... The stat of the playoffs (so far): Allen Iverson
missed more shots (71) than any Pacer attempted in the Indy-Philly series. Reggie Miller led
Indiana with 60 field-goal attempts. ... The Clips will take local product Davis
at No. 4 to fill their much-needed point, but Corey Maggette will still be on
the board. ... Detroit VP Rick Sund and coach Alvin Gentry are safe, despite
persistent rumors about their respective firings. If Gentry thought he was
getting fired, he sure wouldn't have run off to the Bahamas this week for a
vacation. ... There's been a change of heart in Phoenix. The Suns were
supposedly finished with Danny Ainge after another first-round flop, with No.1
assistant Scott Skiles pushing behind the scenes to take over. But Ainge still
has the job. ... The NBA is looking to buy the CBA within the next year, with
plans to make the CBA its true minor league. Look for Isiah Thomas to be heavily
involved in the purchase (only one team, Sioux Falls, makes any kind of money or
has any kind of value, so most NBA stars could buy it) and for Thomas to have
David Stern's total backing. ... The moment of truth for Elton Brand comes June
12-13 in Chicago at the NBA's pre-draft camp, when the probable top picks in the
June 30 draft get weighed and measured. From what we hear out of Duke, he'll
measure out at 6-6½ -- and that's when he'll officially begin to slide
out of the top five. Unless you think a power forward of that size can get his
shot off inside. ... How come Garden CEO Dave Checketts always looks so glum
when the Knicks win?
