Rodman Rolling With the Punches

Dealing with his personal problems in his inimitable style, Dennis Rodman continues shuttling between his Newport Beach home and the Las Vegas strip.

“I’m working on accomplishing things in my own way,” he told TNT. “It has nothing to do with the team or anger with the coach. I’ll be back before people think, in full force, to lead the team to the championship.”

And, asked about gambling and drinking in Las Vegas: “Vegas is my therapy. Whenever I get stressed out, I like to forget things and roll the dice.”

There still is no indication when he will rejoin the Lakers, but Tuesday, Jack Tiernan, one of Rodman’s former agents in Dwight Manley’s office, blasted Rodman’s new International Creative Management representatives, insisting Rodman has more problems than marital ones.

“Since 1995 [when Manley began representing him], Dennis has always been out of control,” Tiernan said. “But when Dwight had him, it was a controlled out of control.

“Dwight invested in people around him who took care of him. The people who say they are representing him now are star-struck by him. There’s a layer of yes-men, Hollywood people, who want to exploit him, commercially and financially, and don’t care about the personal ramifications.”

In his two weeks with the Lakers, sources say, Rodman has continued his partying, favoring clubs such as Barfly on the Sunset Strip, which has a flashy, celebrity-heavy Hollywood crowd.

Rodman has never made a secret of his carousing, even writing about it in his last book, “Walk on the Wild Side,” published in 1997, after his second season with the Chicago Bulls.

In it, he describes coming off “an eight-month binge that would send a normal person to the Betty Ford Clinic” and during the NBA finals against the Utah Jazz, downing “sake bombers the way a dying man in the desert drinks water.”

Since the end of his last season in Chicago, several people around Rodman, Manley among them, have advised him to seek help. Rodman, however, has always denied having a problem.

“He could go out all night and the next morning, he’d still be chasing Michael [Jordan] and Scottie [Pippen] down,” Tiernan said. “We thought he was pushing the envelope but it’s hard to convince someone they may have a problem, when it’s not affecting their work.

“Now, it appears the people around him are trying to sweep this under the rug and just get what they can out of him. They’re not helping him. In our business, you have to be as concerned about the person as you are about the player.”

Rodman’s marriage to actress Carmen Electra has been tumultuous, since they were wed in a Las Vegas chapel in the early hours of the morning last Nov. 14 , having known each other only briefly.

Rodman then filed a petition to annul the marriage but never followed through with it, leaving the newlyweds still married, although they have never lived together. When asked at the Planet Hollywood news conference after he’d joined the Lakers if they were looking for a home, Rodman, seemingly surprised at the question, said no.

“I just know that Dennis loves her and she has the ability to affect his emotions, as any wife would,” Tiernan said.

“When I first found out Dennis was married, it was like when I first heard from my mom there was no Santa Claus. Any person of his stature and financial significance has to be protected.

“Dwight said, ‘If Carmen is the person you want to spend your life with, God bless her and I’ll pay for the wedding. But let’s do it the right way.’ ”

Manley wanted Electra to sign a prenuptial agreement but lost that battle and his client, in the process. Rodman and Manley parted, leaving Rodman’s ICM agent, Steve Chasman, who had represented him in show business deals, to deal with NBA teams as the player looked into joining the Miami Heat, Orlando Magic and finally the Lakers.

Manley said he had no comment. Chasman could not be reached for comment. An ICM spokesman said, “According to our practice, we don’t comment on our clients’ business.”

Actually, Rodman’s spokesmen seem to be multiplying.

The Beverly Hills PR firm of Baker, Winokur and Ryder released this statement:

“Dennis appreciates the level of interest that people have taken in his life. He’s currently dealing with personal matters and when they are resolved, looks forward to rejoining the Lakers with the same intensity that he’s displayed throughout his career. Dennis is thankful for the support of his teammates and the Lakers’ management.”