Philadelphia 76ers Work on Chemistry After Housecleaning

When the cocky New York Knicks borrowed brooms from the crowd and swept the Spectrum floor last May following their 3-0 blitz of Philadelphia in the opening round of the playoffs, the symbolism was not lost on John Nash, the 76ers’ general manager.

Nash made some sweeping changes of his own. His off-season housecleaning altered half the team roster, with six new faces ready to greet the Washington Bullets in their first encounter at the Spectrum Friday night.

Two of the new additions -- point guard Johnny Dawkins, acquired from the San Antonio Spurs, and power forward Rick Mahorn, obtained in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves -- have moved into the starting lineup. Forward Jay Vincent, also part of the Spurs deal, is a key frontcourt reserve.

“We had to take a realistic look at ourselves,” Nash said. “Even though we were in all three of those playoff games, we had to look down the road. We knew we had to improve ourselves to be as good as the Knicks.”

So Nash took a calculated risk in his five-man swap with the Spurs, trading a hometown favorite in classic point guard Maurice Cheeks, the last link to the 1983 championship team. Reserve guard David Wingate and back-up center Chris Welp, both regarded as disappointments last year, were included in the deal.

In essence, it was a Cheeks-for-Dawkins deal, experience for youth. In Nash’s mind, keeping the popular Cheeks, 33, any longer would have seriously diminished his trade value.

“It was a very painful decision,” Nash said. “I loved Maurice as a person and a player. For 11 years here, he was the consummate, selfless pro. He led on the floor by example. His character was reflected in statistics in last year’s playoffs, when he elevated his performance a notch.

“Trading a quality guy like Cheeks makes a lot of people squeamish. But if I waited until Maurice retired, I would have been left without a starting point guard. People would have howled if I had to start Scott Brooks (the 5-foot-11 reserve playmaker).”

Nash said he learned his lesson in allowing 76ers stars Julius Erving, Bobby Jones and Andrew Toney to play out the string when they might have fetched a young player in return. “You have to trade players when they’re still worth something,” Nash said.

Dawkins, the former Duke All-American who appeared in only 37 games for the Spurs last season after damaging a nerve in his leg, is under extreme pressure to make the 76ers faithful forget Cheeks and his quiet leadership.

He is being groomed as a point guard after he primarily played the off guard position in San Antonio alongside Alvin Robertson, who was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks this season.

“Johnny is not at Maurice’s level yet,” Nash said. “Cheeks was an All-Star, but Johnny was coming along before he got hurt last year.”

Said Dawkins: “I’ve only played the point for a short time, but I was doing well last year before my injury in December.”

He was averaging over more than 17 points and seven rebounds for the Spurs before he bruised his left knee. In a few days, his left foot turned numb. It was diagnosed as damage to the peroneal nerve, which runs the length of the leg’s fibula and controls motion of the foot.

“I didn’t know if I would ever walk again on my left leg, let alone play,” Dawkins said in retrospect. “I’d always felt invincible. But all of a sudden I was vulnerable, and it was scary. But I told myself, ‘If I can walk, I’ll run. If I can run, I can play.’ ”

After extensive therapy and a summer of testing the leg against playground competition, Dawkins insists his leg problems are behind him.

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Still, the trade in August was maybe more of a shock for him than for Cheeks, who, at least, had heard rumors during the June draft that he might be traded to the Chicago Bulls or Houston Rockets for a high draft choice.

“I thought I figured in San Antonio’s long-range plans,” said Dawkins, a Washington native. “I was really looking forward to playing this season with David Robinson. But I think the move to Philadelphia will be good for me. I’m an East Coast guy, and this brings me a lot closer to home.”

Meanwhile, Dawkins’ new teammates are taking a wait-and-see attitude, particularly Charles Barkley, a forward who remains the 76ers’ unquestioned leader.

“I was upset the day of the trade was first made,” Barkley said. “I didn’t like the way the team informed a great pro like Maurice. We’ll obviously miss him, but I’ve found that Johnny does a good job of distributing the ball and forcing the break. That opens things up for me and (off guard) Hersey Hawkins.”

In obtaining Vincent and Mahorn, Nash hopes to see Barkley employed more often at small forward, where he could overpower his defender. But Barkley and Mahorn, two physical, outspoken competitors, already have exchanged angry words on and off the court, and 76ers Coach Jim Lynam faces early problems maintaining team harmony.

“We’ve got a lot of new guys who are playing a lot of minutes,” assistant coach Fred Carter said. “Right now, the chemistry isn’t right. Our offense is not as smooth as it will be. We still have to tighten up the spokes before we really get rolling.”