We regret to report that fans of the NBA's All-Admirable Team might have more to fear than David Robinson fouling up his pristine image.

	It would be hard to imagine the Jazz without Stockton.

It's not just the center, sadly. The summer could get just as messy for our beacon of point guards, too.

All the attention, understandably, is focused on San Antonio, where Robinson is apparently backing off his promise to accept a significant wage cut. This time last year, Robinson was flying in heroically from Hawaii to sway Tim Duncan away from Orlando. This summer, The Admiral's unthinkably hard-line negotiating stance must be making Duncan wonder why he stayed.

In Utah, meanwhile, a similar scenario is possible -- even though it's not generating any hoopla. John Stockton has also been asked to accept a hefty reduction in pay, with no guarantee that he will. Watching the Robinson saga for the past week, preceded by Hakeem Olajuwon's demoralizing attempts to force his way out of Houston last spring, should serve as a sufficient warning to all.

That warning: Take nothing for granted.

Not even little Stock, who, like Robinson, has been essentially unrippable as a human being since he came into our lives. Even more than Magic Johnson or Bob Cousy or Oscar Robertson, we have come to see Stockton as synonymous with the act of providing for others. So, naturally, we expect the game's all-time assist king to happily give up millions to make his owner happy and keep Utah out of the luxury-tax bracket.

Now to see if that actually happens. Utah already has 10 players under contract for next season, including the en-route Russian rookie Andrei Kirilenko, to push its payroll over the estimated salary-cap ceiling of $42.7 million. The luxury-tax threshold should fall between $53 and $56 million, which leaves the Jazz roughly $10-13 million to re-sign Stockton and make any other additions before the dollar-for-dollar penalties kick in.

	Robinson

	Malone

Stockton, remember, earned $11 million last season -- which ended with a nightmarish collapse from 2-nil up against Dallas in the first round. That series, more than anything that has happened to the Jazz in the past half-decade, was the most clear evidence yet that the slowest-shutting window in sports is finally slipping on Stockton and Karl Malone. The fogies need dependable help if they want to keep playing, but that would require Stockton to cut his salary in half. Just like the Spurs have asked Robinson.

Larry Miller, you see, has made it clear that he will not pay one cent of luxury tariffs.

"No matter what that means," Miller said last month.

Which means we're looking at a couple of outcomes, unless Miller changes his stance. Either Stockton takes the reduced wages, leaving room for the re-signing of Danny Manning and the pursuit of Mitch Richmond. Or Stockton retires at 39, since, unlike Robinson, there won't be any flirtations with other teams. Detroit? Chicago? The Clips? The one guarantee we feel comfortable making is that Stockton would rather stop playing before leaving Wasatch Country.

Yet what if No. 12 really does retire? Jazz insiders certainly don't expect it, but it can't be totally ruled out. Should Stock indeed elect to walk, Utah then would have to entertain the course of action it still doesn't even want to contemplate -- trading Malone away for prospects and starting all over.

	Stith

	Amaechi

Robinson will continue to hog the headlines for now because Stockton -- a perennial summertime recluse -- has told Miller that they'll deal with the contract in September. Miller recently shared that Stockton's parting words for the off-season were "count me in," but that's only somewhat settling. Every time Utah courts another free agent this summer -- and they've talked to Richmond, John Amaechi and Bryant Stith, among others -- management has to factor in Stockton's projected salary.

And hope they've projected it right. We'd like to assume that Stockton and Miller have at least discussed ballpark figures ... but you know where assuming got us with Admiral Robinson.

Around The League