A Trade for Better or Worse

Stanley Roberts, a 309-pound post man, and Mark Jackson, a considerably smaller point man, are the newest constellations in the all-star revue of our ever-evolving Los Angeles Clippers. I have already taken it upon myself to dub them with new names--Big Clipper and Little Clipper.

Two new starters for the price of two. And too soon to tell if the Clippers just got better or just got robbed.

But at least this has been our first major NBA seismic activity of the off-season, while Magic Johnson sits around picking daisy petals and saying: “They want me. They want me not. They want me. They want me not.”

Magic is expected to make up his mind no later than halftime of the Laker season opener.

Speaking of famous players, Roberts accepted his trade to Los Angeles with the following comment to a Florida radio station: “I can become a famous player there if I want to.”

Yes, you can, Stan--good famous or bad famous.

“And work hard,” he added.

Good thing to add.

Seeing as how Stanley once reported 25 pounds overweight to an NBA pre-draft camp in Chicago, seeing as how the Clippers then drafted center LeRon Ellis instead of him, and seeing as how Stanley pulled down 60 fewer rebounds in his NBA rookie season than Mark Jackson did in his NBA rookie season, yes, Stanley, please work hard.

As for Jackson, well, what he wants is a chance to work hard. Once, when the New York Knicks failed to give him that, Jackson gave them so much back talk that they ended up suspending him for four days.

They have come to a playoff club that came within minutes of eliminating Utah and advancing to the second round. It has been my opinion that one reason the Clippers finally did reach the playoffs was that they finally found someone, Doc Rivers, who could play sensibly and unselfishly without butchering fast breaks. Doc was smart. Doc played smart.

Elgin Baylor and Donald Sterling also made their smartest move ever--hiring Larry Brown. I had Baylor and Brown over for lunch after the trade but didn’t invite Stanley Roberts because there wasn’t enough to go around. Each man said he hated to sacrifice Rivers to New York along with Charles Smith, but without Doc there was no deal. That Pat Riley is pretty smart himself.

What the Clippers did was surrender proven for potential. We know Smith to be super. We know Rivers to be steady. But we have no idea what to make of Jackson, whose career has had so many ups and downs, they should make him a ride at Magic Mountain. As for Roberts, he is a mountain of a man being asked to fill a very big hole.

The Clippers could have kept Smith and James Edwards, sure--but then where would they be in 1993? At least they got two starters out of it, which is more than they can say for the first round of this year’s draft. Three first-round picks produced no likely starters--Randy Woods, Elmore Spencer and Don MacLean.

But you don’t win the NBA title with five guys. The Clippers do have some depth. Woods will spell Jackson, or beat him out. Spencer will spell Roberts, and has greatly improved over the summer, according to his coach. And now that Smith has split and MacLean is no longer talking about donning a fake black mustache and boarding a Greek freighter, maybe he can find a few minutes at forward for the Clippers.

After all, if the Knicks can talk championship with Charles Oakley or Tony Campbell at forward, the Clippers don’t have to act impressed.

Jackson needed to feel wanted with the Knicks or else he felt useless. (And was.) When he’s happy and healthy, Jackson can shoot from medium range and maneuver through traffic without being particularly fast. He is so-so shooting free throws but a little tiger of a rebounder and a fine passer.

Defense? “Jackson’s D is not a weakness,” Rick Barry once assessed. “It’s an out-and-out liability.”

Roberts, meanwhile, will not have the same problem playing for Larry Brown as he did in college for Dale Brown or would have had for Orlando. He won’t have to caddie for Shaquille O’Neal.

The low post is his and his alone. He can shoot his fluffy little 12-footers, pound those boards and stiff-arm those skyscraper centers. This is Danny Manning’s front line the same way Chicago’s is Scottie Pippen’s, but somebody has to guard O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson. “Hey, don’t look at me,” Charles Smith told the Clippers. So, OK. Make a name for yourself, Stanley.

Personally, I don’t know what to expect. When the day comes that Pat Riley is coaching Charles Smith in New York while Larry Brown is coaching Mark Jackson in Los Angeles, don’t ask me to predict what happens next.