A Fan Isn’t Buying What Hearn Is Selling

Having witnessed for the last three years the evolution of Laker basketball from offensive athletic wizardry into non-creative plodding boredom, I was grieved to see the trading deadline come and go with the relocation of only one big slug’s salary.

As I have no hope of salvaging this year’s players, I would like to turn my wrath in another direction and address another area of Laker entertainment with this question: Has the trading deadline for announcers gone by?

I would like to trade for one who doesn’t say things like we should come out and see the Dallas Mavericks because it’s going to be a good game, or that James Worthy is having a phenomenal year. Come on, Chick Hearn, there are lots of knowledgeable basketball fans listening to you, and we don’t need our hand held through the game. We need to be able to believe what you say.

MARK BARNETT

Temecula