When Worthy Is Gone, so Is Last Link to Showtime

James Worthy is on the verge of retirement from professional basketball, comes word on the grapevine. Say it ain’t so, James. Say it ain’t so.

Tell us you will be there Friday when the Lakers play their first home game of the season. Tell us that we will see that whiskered, regal, Faberge egg of a face of yours. Your presence is required, sir. Friday is Veterans Day.

Kareem is an actor and Magic’s an owner and Jamaal’s a realtor and Coop’s a coach and Byron’s a Pacer and A.C. is a Sun. For many of us, the Forum was like Camelot with hoops, but all of the knights have taken leave. We wouldn’t recognize nine or 10 of today’s Lakers if we passed them in the mall.

So, get your golden tank top and bottom over to the gym, James, where you belong. That way you can be properly introduced and we can pay our respects.

Last link to yesteryear, Worthy is halfway out the door marked Exit. He figures marginally at best in the Lakers’ strategy. He went home to North Carolina for his mother’s funeral, then was put on the injured list with tendinitis, so this is not the greatest time of James’ life.

I wouldn’t blame him one bit if he quit.

First, if seeing James Worthy ride the bench is hard on us, imagine what torture it must be for him. Second, if the thought of Scott or Green or Kurt Rambis playing for Laker opponents is uncomfortable for you, picture Worthy making a jump shot against the Lakers. Makes me cringe.

Seeing James Worthy play for somebody else would be like hearing Chick Hearn call a Knicks-Celtics game.

Frankly, I doubt that James has much left, apart from desire. Although he has always kept himself in tip-top shape, those original factory parts have a few hundred thousand miles on them. Nobody goes on forever, except vampires and Robert Parish.

Then again, I can think of a couple of NBA organizations for which Worthy could probably be a starter. At forward last week, the Clippers started someone who had never spent one day in the league, and I am not speaking of some rookie. Worthy not only would be a Clipper regular, he would lead them in scoring.

Oh, and don’t mention anything to that Riley guy, but Worthy also could start for the Knicks. All he would need are goon lessons.

The quality of pro talent is strained. For example, should anyone out there have a son or nephew 7 feet tall or larger, please, submit applications. Among the starting centers in the NBA, we have Will Perdue, Chris Dudley, Benoit Benjamin, Acie Earl, Mark West, Jon Koncak, Joe Kleine and Felton and Elmore Spencer, all of whom are eligible for this year’s No-Star game. Shawn Bradley stands 7-feet-6 and Saturday against Shaquille O’Neal he got one basket, one rebound and six fouls. Thanks for coming, big guy.

Because forwards and guards are easier to come by, Worthy is more expendable. He is not as needed as A.C. Green, who was on the court for 46 of 48 minutes Sunday for Phoenix. As for Byron Scott, who was washed up as a Laker, he scored 19 points Saturday for Indiana, in only 20 minutes.

Every so often the last year or two, Worthy has entered a game for the Lakers and reminded us of what he once was. The man still knows where the basket is. His instincts are keen, his court sense is uncommon and, let me assure you, this is a player who, if he so desired, could make one heck of a coach.

A pay-scale structure guarantees that Big Game James’ income over the next two seasons will be right up there with Big Dog Robinson’s, even though the Milwaukee rookie has the distinct disadvantage of having won or done absolutely nothing.

But unlike another wealthy fellow, outfielder Mike Jordan of the Arizona instructional baseball league, Worthy has never publicly expressed any dissatisfaction with NBA life, or any desire to get out while the getting’s good. I get the feeling the man simply finds pleasure in playing basketball. No way I’m telling him to wake up and smell the Gatorade.

Like a lot of teams that have to gulp hard before parting company with loyal people--Joe Montana, Steve Garvey and Dale Murphy leap to mind--the Lakers must hate the thought of nudging Worthy toward the door. But they also must be sensible. Yesterday’s gone. The kids need the playtime.

See you at the scorer’s table, James--checking in or checking out.

We had our own dream team here once, all from the same team. What sweet dreams they were.