NBA BASKETBALL
Time to Stir the Pot
<December 4, 2001>

By Tom Snow

In the spirit of patriotism in general, and the holiday day season in particular, I am arbitrarily and unilaterally suspending salary cap rules so that that the NBA can be reconstructed into the image of, well, an interesting sports league. So let’s haul in the old trees and see what they look like after we rearrange the lights and the ornaments and create a new look for the season.

First, MJ can’t stay in Washington. It’s interesting to watch, but there is no lasting value to this exercise and certainly no immediate gratification. The answer, therefore, is too move MJ to Philadelphia for a package of starters and draft picks. MJ, AI, and Dikembe Mutombo can then match up with anyone else in the East and even give pause to the Lakers, Kings, and Spurs in the West.

Second, I want Alonzo Mourning in Atlanta. Zo in the middle moves Theo Ratliff to the four spot and stabilizes a starting group with Jason Terry at two and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. The Heat get their choice of two players from Hanna Mottolo, Dermarr Johnson, and Nazr Mohommed plus a draft pick. Miami begins to rebuild in earnest and Zo gets a shot at a ring sooner rather than the “may not happen at all” later.

My last move in the east has to involve Orlando. The Grant Hill and Tracy Mcgrady tandem needs a boost from a big body with mobility and talent. Karl Malone wants a shot at a ring and he can bang, rebound, and score inside. This lets Ewing focus on defense and rebounding during carefully allocated minutes on court.

Out in the West, the rebuilding starts with tearing down the Trailblazers condemned structure. I want to see Scottie Pippen exiled to a team where he can cruise toward retirement in relative anonymity. Let’s trade him to the clippers for troubled youngster Lamar Odom. This might just help the Clippers and Scottie and maybe Lamar will benefit from some senior citizen guidance while he learns to shave and drive.

The next question is, how can we toughen up Dallas? Malone is in Orlando and Zo has a home in Atlanta. How about Steve Nash and Juwan Howard for Gary Payton and Vin Baker. Baker and Howard cancel themselves out until one or the other decides to start hustling, but Payton brings experience, defense, and intensity to the sometimes too loose Mavs. This move doesn’t solve the Shaq matchup problem, but that particular problem simply isn’t resolvable.

Lastly, Sacramento has all of the pieces, but so did Michigan when Chris Webber played college ball. There is still an intangible missing. In many ways this team is a younger and more innocent version of the dysfunctional Blazers. Bibby is a big improvement over JWill, both in terms of basketball skills and team psychology, but this team needs someone who has “done it” before. (Not just been there when it was done like Divac) I think that the Kings should trade Divacs and Hedo Turkoglu for David Robinson and Malik Rose. The Kings get a more mature Robinson to replace the petulant Divacs and scrappy Rose in place of the emerging Turk. The spurs get younger and with Duncan at four and Tony Parker at point they may not lose anything now while improving for next year and beyond.

Yes, there are still problem teams, but I offer these stocking stuffers as a way to move the game forward, improve competition on the court, and stimulate good-natured arguments among fans around the country. Say what you will, but it’s fun to be the league General Manager for a day. If you don’t like it, just fire me.

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