Karl’s Name Lacking a Certain Ring to It

It’s here at last, the anticipated matchup between the Pacific Division co-champions, as Del Harris--and only Del Harris--would put it.

Standing at center stage will be Harris and his counterpart, Seattle Coach George Karl.

And Harris looks like the favorite--if not to win this series, then to keep his job next year.

Two months ago, who would have thought Harris’ prospects would look better than Karl’s?

That was when the SuperSonics had a firm grip on the divisional lead. That was before Karl’s uncertain contract status loomed larger and larger and the SuperSonics started stumbling.

The best barometer of where Harris and Karl stand might be the comments from the owners. Jerry Buss, more than willing to take injuries to Shaquille O’Neal and Nick Van Exel in account when evaluating the Lakers’ “disappointing” 61-win season, made statements such as “Del seems fine to me” and “Del has been kind of a favorite of mine for a long time” to Times reporter Scott Howard-Cooper.

Meanwhile, SuperSonic owner Barry Ackerley griped to The Seattle Times, “Where are my rings?”

It always seemed as though the second round would determine Harris’ fate. Advance to the conference finals and at least he could claim improvement over last season; lose and the season would be a waste.

Now this round looks a little less relevant, which is good news for Harris and bad news for Karl. Even a victory over the Lakers probably wouldn’t be enough to save him. He needs a trip to the finals for a little breathing room and an NBA championship to keep the moving vans away.

One thing that needs to be stopped entirely is any talk of Karl replacing Harris as the Laker coach.

It wouldn’t work. Karl’s SuperSonics play aggressive defense and show good judgment and ball movement on offense, all qualities the Lakers could use.

But coaching is more than what goes on on the court. It’s also the ability to handle egos, and Karl wouldn’t be a good fit for some of the fragile psyches on the Lakers.

Karl isn’t afraid to air out his team’s internal bickering in public. Harris does not rip his players to the press, to the point of being too defensive. He even spent a good part of the season trying to downplay the relevance of the Lakers’ poor free-throw shooting, which is a little like suggesting we don’t need air and water to survive.

And if one of the main complaints about Harris is the Lakers aren’t ready at the start of games, why is it the SuperSonics never come out ready for the start of the playoffs? They have been bounced or pushed to the brink of elimination in the first round four times in five years, including their narrow escape from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

To make it worse, those two early exits came in 1994 and 1995, the years Michael Jordan spent most of his time playing baseball and the NBA title was up for grabs. If Ackerley wonders where those missing rings are, he should start there.

Karl isn’t cut out for the L.A. scene. Back in the ‘80s, when he was coaching the Golden State Warriors, Karl sneered at the “Chanel No. 5” smell at the Forum. Sorry, Karl, but Chanel hasn’t gone out of style.

Harris fits in better than you might think. He’s an underrated dresser (those monochromatic shirt and tie combinations are working, Del), and he doesn’t cry out for attention in a city where fame can be fleeting anyway.

If the most relevant question is “What have you done for me lately”, Harris can be proud of his most recent effort, Game 4 of the Portland series.

Harris was stung by criticism that he should have given more playing time to Corie Blount to counteract Portland’s rebounding dominance and should have played Van Exel down the stretch in Game 3. But instead of being stubborn or afraid to give the appearance of caving in to outside pressure, he used Van Exel and Blount early and often--with great results.

Really now, what other active coach could realistically take Harris’ place and do better?

Phil Jackson? Could you see these Lakers buying into his deep-breathing, incense-burning group focus sessions?

Mike Fratello is a coach who does more with less. He has done a great job with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but never got his talent-laden Atlanta Hawks to the finals in the 1980s.

Lenny Wilkens has won more games than any coach in history, but he hasn’t done anything in the playoffs in almost 20 years.

Rick Pitino would want too much power. Larry Bird is too Celtic-y.

Harris might not be the solution, but he isn’t the problem. If the Lakers could make free throws, they’d have the best record in the league and Harris would be living easy.

So what becomes of Karl? If his time is up in Seattle and he couldn’t work here, where should he go?

There’s another idea that’s floating around out there. Maybe Chicago Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause can get over his infatuation with Tim Floyd and hire Karl as Jackson’s replacement. Jordan, looking for any excuse he can to keep playing, should be willing to stick around with Karl, a fellow North Carolina Tar Heel.

And if Karl’s presence means the return of Jordan, that would be enough to get this vote for 1998-99 coach of the year.