THE NBA : With Rambis Talking, Suns Are Winning

After all this time, Kurt Rambis finds himself in the unlikely position of elder statesman and unofficial vocal leader of the Phoenix Suns, a young team with championship aspirations.

As surprised as anyone about this development after having been a supporting player during the Lakers’ championship reign and then being in near exile as a Charlotte Hornet, Rambis nonetheless has embraced the role.

Two weeks ago, before a game at New York, Rambis delivered an impassioned locker-room address that Sun players say turned the season around for them. At the time, the Suns’ record was below .500 and they were coming off their poorest effort of the season in a loss to Cleveland.

So, Coach Cotton Fitzsimmons gave Rambis the floor, then let the 31-year-old forward speak his mind for the first time since being traded to Phoenix in December for Armon Gilliam.

“When you look at this team, there is no reason why it can’t be a champion if it just does the dirty things--rebounding and defense--the things I’ve done my whole career,” Rambis said, when asked to synopsize his pep talk. “This team can win big, but it just can’t throw itself on the floor and say they’re going to do it.”

Since that talk, the Suns have won nine of 11 games, among them victories over New York and the Lakers. Although still only 18-14, the Suns are finally resembling the team that advanced to the Western Conference finals last season.

Phoenix’s biggest problem this season has been replacing Tyrone Corbin, who was lost to Minnesota in the expansion draft, at small forward. They have tried Gilliam, Tim Perry, Dan Majerle and, now, Rambis occasionally starts. But even when used off the bench, Rambis at least gives the Suns maximum effort, which Gilliam apparently did not.

“He’s a blender,” Jerry Colangelo, the Suns’ president, recently said of Rambis. “He’s a guy who’s part of that chemistry you talk about on a winning team.”

Rambis has played on one of the NBA’s best teams, the Lakers, and one of the worst, the Hornets. He said he missed playing for a winner, but liked playing 30 minutes every game and being an offensive threat.

With the Suns, Rambis’ minutes have been cut but his responsibilities are many. He said he is happy to be in Phoenix, away from the constant losing in Charlotte and closer to his Manhattan Beach home.

“I guess the ideal situation would be to play 30 to 40 minutes a game on a championship team,” Rambis said. “That’s ideal. But if you’re asking me if, given the choice of playing 30 minutes a game on a loser or coming off the bench for a contending team, well, you see the smile on my face. You know which one I’d pick.”

Not that Rambis was unhappy in Charlotte. After signing a lucrative four-year contract with the Hornets as a free agent in 1988-89, he resigned himself to finishing his career in Charlotte. He talked of helping the franchise reach respectability, and there even was talk of Rambis remaining with the organization after retirement.

Rambis said he was not surprised to be traded. He said he figured either he or veteran Kelly Tripucka--or both--would eventually be traded for younger players.

With age, apparently, has come wisdom. Which is why Fitzsimmons said he asked Rambis to speak to Sun players, who might now be called Rambis Youth.

“I asked Kurt (to talk), and he put some good wisdom in them,” Fitzsimmons said.

Wes Matthews, another former Laker, returned to the NBA recently by signing a 10-day contract with the injury-depleted Atlanta Hawks.

Matthews’ Laker tenure is best remembered for his fight with Seattle’s Xavier McDaniel, during which McDaniel wrapped his fingers around Matthews’ throat. Afterward, Matthews said of McDaniel, “His bald head is mine.”

Matthews’ pugnacious reputation followed him this season to Italy, where he became a star on a team called Ranger Verese. But Matthews fought with Brazilian Oscar Schmidt at the Italian all-star game. Matthews, who was averaging 22 points in Italy, was named MVP of the game.

A recent run-in with an Italian referee resulted in a three-game suspension for Matthews, who then left the team and headed back to the United States. Officials of Ranger Verese are trying to revoke Matthews’ guaranteed contract, but he may go back for the Italian playoffs.

Concerning his latest episode, Matthews said: “I said some things, things any player says in frustration at the end of a game. I don’t understand it. I don’t even think the referee understood English.”

Hawk Coach Mike Fratello, in need of guard help after Doc Rivers and John Battle were injured, did not hesitate to bring Matthews back. Fratello’s first cut when he became coach in 1983 was Matthews.

“Wes will fight anybody,” Fratello said. “He’s tough. I know he’s got to be in shape. I’ll give a guy another chance.”

Chris Morris, a forward for the New Jersey Nets, was impressed earlier this season when he listened to Rick Carlisle, a Net assistant coach, play piano in a Los Angeles hotel lobby. So, Morris made a request.

“Play some Picasso,” he demanded.

Adrian Dantley wants so badly to leave the Dallas Mavericks that he is close to completing a buyout of the remaining four seasons of his contract. Dantley will be giving up $1.25 million to achieve free agency after this season.

“People have said I’ve been greedy and selfish,” Dantley said. “I guess that’s not true now.”

And where will Dantley wind up next season? Well, stop No. 7 in Dantley’s nomadic career, according to the Hartford Courant, could be Minnesota, Charlotte, Milwaukee or maybe even Boston, if the Celtics can maneuver around the salary cap.

John MacLeod, Dantley’s former boss at Dallas, lost out to Dick Motta for the Sacramento Kings’ coaching position. So, MacLeod replaced Motta as the Detroit Pistons’ television commentator. MacLeod said he still wants to coach, but probably will return to the college ranks. MacLeod coached at Oklahoma in 1967-73 before coming to the NBA.

“The college game has changed a lot since I was last there,” MacLeod said. “It’s faster paced (than it was), a lot more man-to-man. The game has gotten more exciting. Also, I like the fact I’m dealing with 18- or 19-year-olds. With those kids, you can have some effect in molding them. You can forget about doing that once you get in the pros.”

NBA Notes

Denver Coach Doug Moe says that, if Golden State Coach Don Nelson wants to coach the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1992, Olympic officials should let him. “I’d give it to him right now, and get it over with,” Moe said. Just don’t ask Moe to coach the team. “It’s a headache,” Moe said. “I’m sure there’s a lot of pride, a great honor, but I wouldn’t want to do it. They should just give it to someone who wants it.”

Moe also says that NBA players should not compete in the Olympics. He scoffs at the argument that players from Eastern European countries are professionals who play year-round on a national team. “What a joke,” Moe said. “Our college system is more professional than their pro leagues. They’re more professional than college? Why? Because they pay their players? A lot of college players get paid anyway.”

Frank Layden, former coach of the Utah Jazz, reflected on his reason for quitting recently on the one-year anniversary of his resignation. “More than anything else, it was the officiating,” Layden said. “I couldn’t cope with it. The feeling of helplessness is so overwhelming. It got to be so unfair. So, I thought, if you can’t take it, get out.” . . . When Bill Musselman was named coach of the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves, the club received about a dozen negative letters from fans. Musselman called all of those letter writers and took each of them to dinner in attempts to win them over. It worked. All but two of the fans bought season tickets.