Could Hill, Duncan Be the Latest Great Duo?

A tale of two cities: No, not London and Paris. This is only the NBA. How about the Paris of south Texas, San Antonio, and the London of central Florida, Orlando?

One of them may make out, as speculation mounts that Grant Hill has finally figured out that the Pistons aren’t just in a slump but hopelessly mired in the middle of the pack and he won’t stick it out another year.

If Hill leaves, he would seem to have two prime options:

* Go to under-the-cap Orlando for $70 million for seven years and hope Tim Duncan, his friend, joins him.

* Join Duncan in over-the-cap San Antonio for one year at $2 million, then sign for two more at $3 million per and then, in 2003, get a $90-million long-term deal.

The Bulls and Clippers have cap space too, but neither seems attractive. The Bulls are too destitute, the Clippers too Donald T. Sterling.

As misfortune would have it, the Spurs had to visit Orlando last week, after a season’s worth of speculation on Duncan’s doubts about re-signing with his aging, deteriorating team and his friendship with Magic Coach Doc Rivers.

It went about as expected. The town drooled all over Duncan, who was as stoic as a mummy and no more communicative. There were suggestions in the papers about hiring a skywriter to welcome him, about banners proclaiming the TD in TD Waterhouse Arena stood for . . . aw, you guessed it.

A local doughnut magnate printed 15,000 posters proclaiming “A Magical Combo--#21 [Tim’s number] plus Dunkin’ Donuts,” a plug so shameless as to prove forever the hardiness of the American entrepreneurial spirit.

Thoughtfully, the Magic called the league to ask about the posters. Happily, the league said not to do it, proving it has some dignity left, unless, of course, it’s NBC that’s asking.

In a surprise, the Magic won as John Amaechi, a free-agent rookie center who played last year in England--yes, the one in Europe--outscored Duncan, 24-13, whom Rivers had thoughtfully ringed with defenders, challenging the other Spurs to beat them. It’s a challenge the Spurs get nightly but answer only occasionally.

In a big surprise, it was Orlando’s seventh consecutive victory. The team that traded four starters, made 38 deals and began the season with 12 players who had a combined NBA scoring average of 55 points now seems headed for the playoffs.

How this happened is a mystery, even in the front office. Said an official at midseason, “Every time we win a game, I don’t know how we did it.”

Basically, Rivers, a rookie himself, started using all 12 players in preseason games, got them playing hard and they’ve never stopped.

“If we played as hard as the Magic did every night, we’d be very good,” said the Knicks’ Jeff Van Gundy, issuing the supreme compliment.

On top of that, Orlando has $18 million in cap space. Of course, it remains to be seen if it will get Duncan and Hill or two from the list of Eddie Jones, Tracy McGrady, Jalen Rose and Ron Mercer.

Duncan is a hard read. At midseason, people around him seemed to signal he would stay, since he likes San Antonio and Coach-General Manager Gregg Popovich. Then they hit the skids when veterans Avery Johnson and Mario Elie started looking their ages, or older.

Nevertheless, San Antonio is the devil Duncan knows and Orlando the one he doesn’t.

Hill reportedly told some Spurs during their last game that money won’t be his deciding factor. He gets $8 million a year from Fila and can afford groceries in any case.

Hill’s coming West would further tilt the already-tilted balance of power. Duncan and David Robinson were tough enough. Hill would make them a rival worthy even of today’s Lakers. Or vice versa.

FACES AND FIGURES

* Are you sure this isn’t a sitcom? Boston Celtic Coach Rick Pitino is still insisting he isn’t leaving . . . while announcing new severance terms. First he said he’d never quit, but if fired, wanted another NBA job. (Alerting suitors he’d soon be available?) Then he said he would leave if the Celtics don’t make the playoffs next season.

Last week, he noted, “I don’t want to be kept on because money is owed to me. I would just shake your hand and say, ‘You don’t owe me the money.’ That’s the way I feel.” He also said he can’t “in all fairness” say he’ll be back next season.

In other words, Pitino wants out now--and doesn’t need a buyout of the $30 million left on his contract, which was thought to be the big stumbling block. (You don’t think he could already have been contacted by the New Jersey Nets, who want him, do you?) Personal to Celtic owner Paul Gaston: Please, make him stay. This is better than anything on TV.

* Failing to even come up with a dog-ate-my-homework excuse, the Washington Wizards’ Rod Strickland said he skipped a game while on the injured list because, “I kind of didn’t even want to be around.” Wizard President Michael Jordan and General Manager Wes Unseld bawled him out and fined him. Of course, Jordan, rarely in town, participated via long distance telephone.

* New Charlotte Hornet owner Ray Woolridge, greeted as a savior, because, unlike predecessor George Shinn, he wasn’t involved in any sex scandals, horrified the city by asking that it pay 100% of a new $220-million arena.

Wrote Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer, “We are all grown up now. We no longer derive our identity from the Hornets. We derive our identity from the [NFL] Panthers.” Replied a chastened Woolridge, “It was just one proposal. It was premature.”

Meanwhile, the Hornets’ prize soon-to-be free agent, Jones, is having his best season but losing weight, having trouble sleeping and no longer vowing to stay. “I have to see what’s up with the arena here,” he said. “I have to see what’s going to happen with that whole plan. I can’t just say, ‘This is it.’ Who knows?”

In other words, unless something excellent happens in the playoffs, he’s out of there. Who in his right mind chooses to play with Derrick Coleman and Anthony Mason?

* Oops: Indiana insiders say Rose, the Pacers’ high scorer the last two months, is unhappy about something and last week it surfaced. Coach Larry Bird, noting Rose plays better with the second unit than the first, said Rose “might be a little bit” intimidated by veterans Mark Jackson and Reggie Miller.

Said Bird, “When you talk to [Rose] he says, ‘Hell no,’ but I think there’s a little intimidation.”

Meanwhile, Miller, asked about Rose’s new preeminence, replied, “That’s good. Maybe they’ll start double-teaming him and I can get the wide-open looks he’s been getting because of me.”

* For sale: big overrated dog. Anyone needing a 20-point career scorer, call the Milwaukee Bucks--provided you’re willing to overlook the fact Glenn Robinson is averaging 17 points and shooting 43% since the All-Star break. Said the ever-effervescent Big Dog, “I’m just playing; 82 games is a lot of games.” For sure. And $8.1 million, which is what he’s making, is a lot of money.

* Nice knowing you: On March 20, the Toronto Raptors were No. 4 in the East, a game out of No. 3, having just chopped 3 1/2 games off the Knicks’ lead. Now they are No. 6 and reeling, with veterans second-guessing Coach Butch Carter for catering to the young stars and one of the young guys, McGrady, announcing, “The ship is sinking.” The situation was so dire, team President Richard Peddie gave Carter a dread vote of confidence.

“He’s still learning,” Peddie said. “He’s in his first full season as a head coach. I like to say mistakes give you experience, and experience gives you wisdom. Players will cut a more experienced coach more slack.”

What Peddie was really trying to say: “I know, I know, but we owe him $6 million for three more seasons. We’ll give him one more to see if he can get his stuff together.”

* Indiana’s Rose on the NCAA finals, just concluded in Indianapolis: “In the entire Final Four there might have been three or four pros. When I was coming out of college, everybody could play.”