NBA NOTES : Best Has Yet To Come for Robinson

San Antonio Coach Larry Brown preedicts that David Robinson, his spectacular rockie center, will get much better in the not-so-distant future.

“Patrick Ewing has been great for a long time--since high school,” Brown said. “I think Patrick can still get better, but David’s best basketball is still far in front of him.

“When Patrick was in high school at Rindge & Latin (in Cambridge, Mass.), college coaches had to make an appointment to see him. When David was in high school, I could have gone to his house any time, and his mother probably would have cooked dinner for me.,”

The point being that the 7-foot-1 Robinson, who was 6-7 coming out of high school in Manassas, Va., is still learning what it means to be an NBA big man.

Golden State’s Don Nelson, who recorded his 60th coaching victory last week, is certainly willing to shuffle the pieces in an effort to build a winner.

The Warriors have only three players-- Chris Mullin Rod Higgins and Terry Teagle-- left over from the team that was around when Nelson took over as vice president in 1987.

“I’ve never been afraid to pull the trigger, and I know that there’s going to be criticism that goes along with that,” Nelson said. “All I want is to make a good team and to change pieces that aren’t working for me.”

Nelson, who joined Lenny Wilkens as the only man to both play and coach in 1,000 games, is the second-fastest coach to reach 600 victories. He did in 1,004 games, compared to 953, by Red Auerbach.

Roy Tarpley shouldn’t be surprised if his Dallas Mavericks teammates maintain some emotional distance now that he’s back from drug rehabilitation again.

“We can’t be married to the guy, emotionally, anymore,” team captain Rolando Blackman said before Tarpley resumed playing Tuesday. “I don’t know if he can handle himself, at this point. We thought that before, and he couldn’t.”

“We are going to trust him but it really won’t be the same as the last couple of times, where we really honestly believed that he would never have a problem again,” center James Donaldson said.

There are five brother combinations in the NBA this season, and 12 NBA players have brothers playing college basketball in Division I.

Marty Blake, the NBA’s chief scout, said none of the 12 is a big-time, definitive NBA prospect. He said Mark Price’s brother Brent -- sitting out this season after transferring from South Carolina to Oklahoma -- probably is the best pro candidate of the 12.

Blake said Eddie Bird of Indiana State, Marvin Eackles of South Alabama and Jeff Majerle of Central Michigan could play professionally if they continue to develop. Their brothers are Larry Bird, Ledell Eackles and Don Majerle.

Other collegians with brothers in the NBA are Mark Hastings of Georgia State, Terrence Mullin of St. John’s, Mike Nance of Baptist (S.C.), Taju Olajuwon of Texas-San Antonio, Lee Perry of Rutgers, Dave Petersen of Texas A&M;, Kenny Robertson of Cleveland State and Chuck Robinson of Navy.

Their brothers are Scott Hastings, Chris Mullin, Larry Nance, Akeem Olajuwon, Alvin Robertson and David Robinson.

Dominique and Gerald Wilkins, Jim and John Paxson, Sam and Jay Vincent, Caldwell and Charles Jones and Vinnie and Eric Johnson are the current brothers in the NBA.

Sidney Moncrief, who had his number retired by the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 16, is No. 1 in the hearts of the team’s fans.

In a recent poll by the Milwaukee Journal, Moncrief was a landslide winner as the most popular and best Bucks player ever.

Moncrief, who retired before his season, was named by 86 voters as their favorite player, a whopping 58 more than runner-up Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who led the team to its only championship.

Moncrief also was the leading vote-getter for the Bucks’ all-time team, receiving 184 votes as a starting guard. The other starters were guard Oscar Robertson, 133 votes; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 140 votes to 62 for Bob Lanier; forward Marques Johnson, 147 votes; and forward Terry Cummings, 137 votes.