NBA NOTES : Rockets Won’t Fire Without Olajuwon

Happy-go-lucky Ray Patterson probably will be his usual happy-go-lucky self Thursday. The Rockets’ president will go to the office, greet all employees and visitors enthusiastically, and in his private moments he will sit and smile ... while his franchise continues to go down in flames.

Patterson was in a strange, upbeat mood last week when he learned Akeem Olajuwon, his all-interplanetary center, would be unable to play in preseason games. That seems to be a weird reason to celebrate and declare, as Patterson did, “I’m so enthusiastic, I can’t control it.”

Patterson claimed to be happy because he had been worried Olajuwon would not be ready to play when the regular season begins Nov. 3. Before last week, however, Patterson never expressed concern. Obviously he and the Rockets had been covering up the seriousness of the thrombophlebitis that forced Olajuwon to be hospitalized for eight days in early July. Olajuwon, in fact, had been telling close friends he did not expect to play until December.

But now the doctors say he will play, yet Patterson’s ecstasy seems premature and unrealistic. Olajuwon still is on blood thinners to prevent clotting in his left calf and cannot risk contact because something as simple as a Charles Barkley knee to the calf might cause hemorrhaging.

Olajuwon is allowed to participate in conditioning drills, yet there is little doubt that when the season begins he will not be in game shape. And despite Patterson’s blind optimism: If Akeem has been slowed during the off-season because of the leg problem, what will happen during the rigors of the 82-game regular season? Does anyone in Houston really believe Akeem will make it through the season unscathed?

The Rockets appear to be in a close-your-eyes, keep-your-fingers-crossed and hope-for-the-best mode, but it would be rather ignorant to ignore the bleak possibility of Olajuwon missing significant time. The Rockets weren’t going to be a great team with a healthy Olajuwon. Without him at full strength, their chances of winning the lottery are better than their chances of winning a title.

The NBA and top amateur basketball officials are expected to announce Thursday in Colorado Springs that the NBA will join USA Basketball, the new name for the governing body of amateur basketball in the country. What will not be announced is that there is at least one major area of agreement between the pros and amateurs. It is a certainty the coach of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics will be a current or former NBA coach. The days of a Bob Knight or John Thompson getting the job have ended.

But it will be a while before NBA players play for the U.S. national team. Despite public utterings to the contrary, those familiar with negotiations have said NBA players will not participate in international events until the 1992 Olympics. There has been speculation they might play in the 1990 Goodwill Games in Seattle or in the 1990 World Championships in Argentina. The NBA wants to make a grand entrance into international play, so why play in the World Championships, which are an insignificant event in this country?

The World Championships, however, are important everywhere else. And national teams in the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia were assured their NBA players could return to play for their country. So the Soviet and Yugoslav NBA players probably will participate in the 1990 World Championships, which means it is unlikely a team of U.S. collegiate players will win. If Danny Ferry and Brian Shaw have not signed with NBA teams, however, they would not be under NBA jurisdiction and could be on the U.S. team. That would make the World Championships interesting.

More evidence that Bill Musselman is firmly in control of the Timberwolves. The Lakers have offered two No. 1 picks and center Mark McNamara for Rick Mahorn. That’s correct. Two No. 1 picks. The Timberwolves have rejected the deal, saying it was a collective management decision. But General Manager Billy McKinney is a respected basketball man and it is unlikely he would not take two No. 1 picks -- no matter how late in the first round those picks will be -- for a player with a bad back who is not going to win one game for an expansion team. That decision smells of a coach who cannot judge talent and a rookie owner, Bob Stein. With Musselman making talent decisions, the Timberwolves’ long-range prospects are dismal.

Rockets guard Lewis Lloyd missed practice time last week because of a bruised foot. Seems Lew was doing a serious number on the dance floor when he felt pain. Turns out there was a dime in his shoe, and while doing some sort of funky hop, Lew awkwardly came down on his foot. “I kept wondering if anybody put it in there intentionally,” said Lloyd, who apparently is going to keep closer watch.

And Spurs forward Terry Cummings has taken such a liking to Yugoslav forward Zarko Paspalj that Cummings is writing and recording a song about Paspalj. Can’t wait to hear that classic. And neither can Lloyd, who probably will not be impressed by the lyrics, but perhaps he will find the beat simply irresistible.