Harris’ Shingle Is Still Up

News item: Jerry West issues press release denying speculation he’s interested in Rick Pitino and Roy Williams.

Comment: Did I miss something, or don’t the Lakers still have a coach?

Speculation comes with the turf and, if it makes West crazy, it’s an offshoot of the rising interest that pays their rising salaries. If it isn’t kind, a coach should be able to endure it for his $750,000. If it’s mindless, that’s life in the public eye.

What’s hard to understand is why would anyone think Del Harris is in trouble?

With nine new Lakers, including three rookies, one from high school, they started 37-13 before Shaquille O’Neal got hurt, a pace that projected to 61 victories.

For the six weeks before Shaq went down, they were 18-4, a pace that projected to 66.

In four weeks, without two starters, they’ve ridden out their bumps and are still close in the Pacific Division, having developed their kids as they’ve gone. Kobe Bryant, a prodigious if impatient talent, has been calmed down, looks to pass occasionally and is starting to show his monster potential. Elden Campbell, thrust into the forefront because of O’Neal’s injury, has revived. Eddie Jones has become an all-star. Nick Van Exel has gotten past his disastrous spring of ’96.

When the season began, Laker brass didn’t think this was a finished product. Now, with a rotation averaging 25.3 years of age, five players 6 feet 10 or over and athletes everywhere, the Lakers should be the beasts of the West for the rest of the century.

Of course, when losses mount, there’s a tendency for the guys who didn’t play to say they don’t know their roles, etc. Let’s face it, the white-haired, professorial Harris isn’t really one of them, tattoo or no tattoo.

Nevertheless, he long ago proved he could coach them. Upon arrival, he organized what had been rabble under well-intentioned Randy Pfund and horrified Magic Johnson, took them to 48 victories, an improvement of 14, and was named coach of the year.

Two years later, despite the squawking, Harris and his young players are doing OK. He may lecture them at length but lets them call plays and covers for them, as when Van Exel took himself out of a game in Portland and Harris recommended against suspending him. Harris even claims to love Shaq’s rap albums. What more could they ask for?

Of course, the younger they are, the more apt they are to think of something.

In another year or two, Harris may be expected to win a title and be held accountable if he doesn’t. In the meantime, good organizations don’t shuffle coaches on whims. Delmer, the one the Lakers have, is holding up his end.

A BIRD IN THE HAND’S WORTH HOW MANY IN INDIANA?

M.L. Carr may have been fired last week. He just doesn’t know it.

Pitino announced if Larry Bird doesn’t take over the front office, he won’t be interested in coaching the Celtics.

This suggests if Bird does get one of Carr’s titles, Pitino may be persuaded to take the other. Pitino’s wife is from Boston, they’ve gotten the Boston papers through their eight years in Kentucky, and Rick is now in close touch with Boston reporters, even giving them his mobile phone number, so it looks like his interest is more than casual.

The question ringing throughout Boston is, why don’t they fire Carr, hire Bird and get on with it?

The answer may be . . . Red Auerbach, genius emeritus and personal advisor to owner Paul Gaston. M.L. was probably Auerbach’s recommendation--and Red is reportedly peeved at Bird for openly wooing Pitino.

Bird already is easing into some GM duties, like scouting, but if it doesn’t work out, he has options . . . like coaching the Pacers.

He turned that job down four years ago but it may re-open. Bringing back Bird, whose legend in Indiana eclipses even that of the IU-tollah, Bob Knight, would be a coup for the Pacers, who need one.

Stay tuned, someone’s going somewhere.

SONIC SAGA: STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE

The SuperSonics, the Pacific Division’s answer to the Marx Brothers, are circling the wagons once more, after another running debacle:

Saturday--Shawn Kemp misses flight to Phoenix.

Sunday--George Karl doesn’t start Kemp, who comes off the bench, plays a listless 22 minutes and scores three points as Seattle loses, 107-106.

Says Kemp to reporters: “Nothing to talk about, fellas,” and keeps walking.

Says Karl: “He said he slept through it [the flight]. I’m not a big believer in pursuing reasons or excuses. It’s over. It’s done.

“We handled it internally as a team today and I am more than satisfied. It was a good meeting. I explained where I was and other guys threw in what they thought, and I think Shawn took it positively and we’ll move forward now. . . .

“You guys [reporters] are magnifying a circumstance to create controversy and a perception. I think I know him better than you all know him. I think he is committed and wants to win a championship. Is there confusion there? Yeah. But all players have confusion today with the money that is being thrown around.”

Tuesday--Kemp, coming off the bench, waits until Campbell and Knight have left to turn it on in the third quarter. He scores 21 points but SuperSonics lose to Lakers, 99-97.

Gary Payton huddles with Karl for almost 30 minutes afterward. Karl won’t say what they talked about, but what do you want to bet his initials were SK? “That’s between Gary and I,” Karl says. “But he’s as concerned as I am and it shows his leadership and class to come in and talk about it.”

Wednesday--Kemp is late for a team meeting.

“The world of sports surprises us every day, doesn’t it?” says Karl, finally out of compliments.

Sometimes, but this isn’t one of them.

Friday--Kemp misses another practice, which Karl says is excused. However, team President Wally Walker overrules him and fines Kemp.

The SuperSonics are used to discord, but even for them this has been a bad week.

NAMES AND NUMBERS

Running out of Magic in the Kingdom: The Orlando Sentinel fingered Penny Hardaway as the ringleader of the coup that claimed Coach Brian Hill. Said Hardaway to the Sentinel: “People look at our record and say that we won all of these games and went to the NBA finals, but I think we were the reason that we were winning because we overpowered people with Shaquille and outplayed them with our talent.” Fans, who’d stopped booing when the Magic started winning under Richie Adubato, opened up again at the next game, a home loss to the 76ers. Brian Shaw made an obscene gesture back and it cost him $2,000. . . . Forever Derrick: The 76ers won three games in a row with 6-11 Derrick Coleman at center. “I know Derrick doesn’t like to do it, but we are a lot better when he does,” Jerry Stackhouse said. “A lot better.” The next game, Coleman sat out because of a sore calf as the 76ers lost at Toronto. . . . Why do NBA teams drool at Pitino’s name? Here’s the Pacers’ Mark Jackson, who played for him as a Knick: “He’s simply the best. He’s a winner, he’s a player’s coach, he’s a workaholic, he’s a perfectionist, he’s a leader. He demands a lot from players and he wants you to be the best and he’s encouraging. He was a joy to play for.”

Guess who he’s voting for as defensive player of the year? Personable but, uh, assertive Atlanta center Dikembe Mutombo, who once said the league could “go to hell” if he wasn’t chosen for the All-Star game, says he should get this honor too. “I deserve to win it,” Mutombo says. “The team is having that kind of season and I am having that kind of season.” OK, he has a case: Mutombo is second to Shawn Bradley in blocks, second to Dennis Rodman in rebounding. . . . Oh, yeah, him: Rodman already has clinched his sixth consecutive rebounding title. Even though he’ll manage to play only 55 games, he’ll prevail since he needs either 70 games or 800 rebounds. Rodman’s abbreviated season, which coincided nicely with the opening of “Double Team,” his movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme, got him to 883. Mutombo would have to average about 40 to catch him. . . . Ron Harper, on the movie: “Dennis was very funny. He talked more in that than he has here in two years.” . . . What, him worry? Michael Jordan averaged 26.1 points in March and shot 44%, one of the worst months of his career. His average is now under 30, lower than in any full season since he was a rookie. Said Jordan, asked about it at a news conference for his underwear line: “At least I look good in my Hanes.”