| Tuesday, April 18
By Mitch Lawrence
Special to ESPN.com |
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NEW YORK -- This won't be Tim Duncan's final playoff go-round with the
Spurs.
|  | | Don't look for Tim Duncan to be leaving the Spurs, writes Lawrence. |
At least that was the hot talk among all the GMs and scouts at last
weekend's Phoenix Desert classic. As they watched another disappointing
bunch of seniors -- only St. Louis guard Justin Love has really raised his
stock in the two post-season camps -- Duncan's plan to stay in San
Antonio was Topic A.
Word is, the Spurs star, a free agent this summer who's badly wanted in
Orlando, is going to go for a four-year deal with the defending champs.
Then, when that deal is up, he'll be eligible for a contract where he
will be paid top dollar for seven years of service. Right now, a player
with seven pro seasons on his resume can start his deal at $11 million.
But that figure likely will go up in the next few years, too, as
revenues increase.
"Duncan knows that David Robinson is going to play two or three more
seasons, so the Spurs are going to still be a very good team," one GM
said. "The Magic had better shift gears with their free-agent plans. Not
only because of Duncan. But (Grant) Hill will probably stay in Detroit,
too."
Indeed, the Magic might come up short for their first two choices. But
they're still the favorites to land Tracy McGrady, a Florida native
looking to leave Toronto. Eddie Jones is another possibility.
By the way, Hill and Duncan also top the list of key players who will be nursing
injuries when the playoffs open this weekend:
Hill will sit out Tuesday night's game in New York due to a severe
high-ankle sprain. Once the Pistons clinched a playoff berth Sunday, the
plans to put him on the bench became automatic. The injury is so bad,
Detroit officials said Monday that they don't think he'll be 100 percent by the
Pistons' playoff opener over the weekend. An MRI revealed no further damage.
Duncan's cartilage tear in his left knee is viewed by Spurs doctors
as extremely slight. He didn't have an MRI, but one in five NBA players
are running around with similar tears, Spurs officials said. Even so,
Duncan is expected to miss Monday's game against the Grizzlies, his
third straight, as a precautionary measure. Like Hill, he could see some
playing time in the regular-season finale (Wednesday vs. the Lakers),
just to keep in some semblance of game condition before the post-season
opener.
In Miami, they're very nervous about Tim Hardaway's sore foot -- as they
should be. If the Heat don't have a healthy Hardaway for the playoff run
-- which is how it looks now -- there's no guarantee they'll get out of
the first round. As it is, Hardaway's physical deteroriation has really
taken its toll this season. As recently as three seasons ago, he could
beat just about anyone off the dribble, anytime he wished. Now,
opponents aren't even concerned about his break-down game. With Hardaway
hobbled, the Heat's decision to let Terry Porter go last summer could
come back to haunt Pat Riley.
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The slumping Knicks might be forced to rest Marcus Camby for their
final two games (Tuesday vs. Detroit, Wednesday at Boston) because of
his latest knee injury. Camby, who's had an injury-filled and down year,
needs to step up his play if the Knicks are to duplicate last year's march to the Finals. Camby's knee woes are only one of Jeff Van Gundy's
problems. His two wing players, Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell, have
played the last two games, losses over the weekend at Toronto and
Cleveland, as if they've quit on the regular season.
In Philly, Allen Iverson now has an injury to his shooting elbow to
go along with a rotator cuff tear and broken toe. There's no way Iverson
can go into the playoffs anywhere close to 100 percent. He'll need an entire
offseason to recover from all of his ailments. As it is, the Sixers
don't match up well with potential first-round foe Charlotte, which won
the season series 3-1. With Iverson banged up, this could be a quick
exit for Larry Brown and Co.
Rim Shots I
Time to give out some awards. The envelope, please:
MVP: Shaquille O'Neal -- Hands down.
Coach of the Year: Phil Jackson. The right man at the right time for
the right team.
Rookie of the Year: Steve Francis. Elton Brand can't match Francis
where it counts -- the win column.
Defensive Player of the Year: O'Neal. Scary thing is,
Jackson thinks he can be better at this end, where he's dominated.
Most Improved Player: Dirk Nowitzki. With Michael Finley, here are two
building blocks for Mark Cuban.
Sixth Man: Rodney Rogers. His scoring (14 ppg) and shooting (49 percent
overall, 44 percent on threes) make him one of the best free-agent signings of the
year, too.
Executive of the Year: John Gabriel. Through wheeling and dealing,
Orlando's GM broke up the old team and got $20 million under the cap so the
Magic can make a run at Tim Duncan and Grant Hill this summer. Hiring of
Doc Rivers wasn't bad, either. Just wait 'til Rivers gets some stars.
Comeback Player: Patrick Ewing. Biggest surprise is he stayed upright.
An offensive force who missed fewer games than Marcus Camby. The fact
that Ewing's lost quickness and can't defend on the ball hasn't mattered
in the center-poor East.
All-NBA first team: F Karl Malone, F Tim Duncan, C Shaquille O'Neal, G Kobe Bryant, G Gary Payton.
Second team: F Kevin Garnett, F Chris Webber, C Alonzo Mourning, G Vince Carter, G Jason Kidd.
Third team: F Jalen Rose, F Grant Hill, C David Robinson, G John Stockton, G Allen Iverson.
All-Hype: F Marcus Camby, F Vin Baker, C Dikembe Mutombo, G Jason Williams, G Ray Allen.
All-Underrated: F Jerome Williams, F Theo Ratliff, C Kelvin Cato, G Paul Pierce, G Predrag Stojakovic.
Rim Shots II
With Don Casey on the verge of getting fired -- the decision to
drop the axe has been made and it will fall next week -- Nets assistant
Eddie Jordan is the favorite to be elevated to head coach. Jordan has
Stephon Marbury in his corner, something the new YankeesNets group will
take into consideration. Marbury has already given his blessing to the
move. Now we'll see how much juice Stephon has. Since there's no obvious
coach in waiting -- Yankees-Nets brass are opposed to giving the job to
Jersey native Mike Fratello -- the post could fall in Jordan's lap. In
his only other head coaching job, he was 33-64 in Sacramento.
More
Phoenix camp fodder: Eight coaching spots are now open or are soon to have
vacancies -- the Nets, Wizards, Hawks, Pistons, Pacers, Mavs, Grizzlies
and Clippers. The Celtics will be the ninth, if Rick Pitino exits. Don't
be surprised if Seattle and Portland open up after the playoffs. Sonics
brass know that players aren't big on Paul Westphal, while Blazers need
to go deep into postseason for front office to keep believing in Mike
Dunleavy.
Everyone's waiting to see what Michael Jordan will do in
Wizard-land with Darrell Walker. If he polls his players, he might end
up keeping Walker, who's done a better job in the NBA than he did in CBA.
The Wiz like Walker. The Pacers are looking at Cincy's Bob Huggins as a possible
Larry Bird replacement. The Grizzlies will be led by Dick Versace. Pistons owners and brass love Bill Laimbeer, although there are some in
organization who would rather take a shot with a young assistant on the
rise, like Seattle's Nate McMillan.
The Magic are down on Ron Mercer because
he doesn't defend. At least that's what they're leaking about their
free-agent-to-be. If he wants to stay in Orlando, he'll have to take
much less than the $9 million max he's seeking.
A.J. Guyton helped
himself at Phoenix pre-draft camp, garnering MVP honors. Although he is
a shooting guard who'll need to play point, "the kid can play," said
one scout.
Outgoing Grizzlies exec Stu Jackson is telling pals he'd like
to get back into coaching.
It's not just that the Knicks can't guard
Vince Carter, their potential first-round playoff nightmare. Allan
Houston can't get his shot vs. Tracy McGrady either.
Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com.
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