Strong Move Puts Orlando in Position

I get a vacation, you get a vacation, Donald T. Sterling just came back from vacation and could leave again. But for Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and 27 other general managers, the fun (?) just started.

If the weather is hot, the sun is bright and the players are headed for Tahiti or Cancun, do you know what time it is?

It’s free-agent time!

Teams can begin talking to and making deals today with the brightest class since 1996, when Shaquille O’Neal left Orlando for the Lakers.

Actually, Orlando, which learned this game the hard way, began making phone calls at 12:01 a.m. this morning and, today, Tim Duncan, Grant Hill and Tracy McGrady were all expected to climb off airplanes for a visit.

The Magic was presumably ready to whisk them into air-conditioned limos before the 100-degree temperature and 70% humidity melted them down. If it can talk Duncan and either of the others into staying, the East, which needs help, may be competitive again.

Even after last summer’s self-destructo when the Magic dumped four starters, it still had to unload Derek Strong’s $3.5 million for the two $9.5-million slots necessary. Not that anyone in the East intended to help, understanding what Orlando was doing and why.

Thus, New Jersey turned down the No. 5 and 10 picks, plus Strong, Corey Maggette and/or Michael Doleac, all for Kenyon Martin.

And Indiana turned down No. 13, Doleac and Strong, all for their third-string center, Zan Tabak.

Orlando needed a Western team that didn’t care if it helped sign Duncan and Hill. That was the Clippers, who took Strong, Maggette and the No. 10 pick, which became Keyon Dooling--all for a lottery-protected future No. 1.

“We’re trying to build a contender here,” Magic General Manager John Gabriel said from Orlando, “but it looks like we helped put together a nice little club there too.”

In the next few days, Gabriel may find out what he has built for himself. No one can sign until Aug. 1, but agreements can be reached.

Chicago has two $9.5-million slots but will have to wait to see who wants to go to Orlando.

After that, everyone will have to try to work sign-and-trade deals to get where they want to go.

Here are the best of the rest:

* Eddie Jones, Charlotte--Looks like he’s leaving for sure. Says he wants to go to Miami on a sign-trade, but cap rules will make that hard.

* Rashard Lewis, Seattle--The least-known plum, a 6-foot-10 small forward who turns 21 in a month. He entered the draft out of high school, went in the second round and got a two-year deal, making him a free agent now. The SuperSonics can offer $3.8 million a year. Other general managers say the market will go higher.

* Tim Thomas, Milwaukee--A 6-10 small forward who broke out after two disappointing seasons. The Bucks want him back, but the Bulls have him targeted.

* Glen Rice, Lakers--They don’t want him but must find a taker. That could be the 76ers, who are no longer keen on Toni Kukoc, whom Phil Jackson still likes.

* Maurice Taylor, Clippers--Everyone finally realized 6.5 rebounds is a little light for a power forward, even if he can score. David Falk found no one wants to max him out at $9.5 million, but the Knicks do want Taylor.

* Derek Anderson, Clippers--He’s gone too. Maybe to Denver, which has been love-bombing him for months.

* Brian Grant, Portland--Opted out of a contract paying more than $10 million a year. Did anyone tell him he can’t hope to make that much anywhere else? The most likely scenario is that made-of-money owner Paul Allen will give him a raise and keep him. There’s no reason to believe Grant would take a cut all the way down to the $2.25 million exception, which he’d have to do to play for the Lakers.

* Ron Mercer, Orlando--He told the Celtics he’d need the max, whereupon they traded him to Denver, where he shot just about every time he touched the ball and was traded to Orlando, where he was unimpressive. He won’t be back and he won’t get $9 million, either.

* Cuttino Mobley, Houston--High-energy 6-4 guard who averaged 15.8 points off the bench. Says he likes it there, but the Rockets can offer him only $3 million a year.

* Mark Jackson, Indiana--Pacers want to start Jalen Rose at the point. Jackson won’t like that and has suitors, including Toronto. The Clippers, who have 37 seasons of experience on the entire roster (of which Strong, Eric Piatkowski and Sean Rooks have 24), should think about him too.

* Greg Anthony, Portland--Another veteran point the Clippers are considering.

It’ll be enough to tie up 29 haggard general managers for months. Everyone else, make sure you use enough sun screen.

FACES AND FIGURES

Far be it from me to offer Sterling any advice but: Dear Donald, it’s time to hire a big-time coach again. My suggestions are John Thompson or Mike Fratello. Either will cost you a lot of money, but then, you have so much. If next season turns into another clueless romp to nowhere, it won’t be your lowest-paid-coach-in-the-NBA who gets blamed for it and it won’t be Elgin Baylor. Best wishes, your faithful correspondent, MH .

Riles, the reevaluation continues: Miami’s Pat Riley, who said he wouldn’t break up his nucleus, then hinted he would, then vowed he wouldn’t, and would and wouldn’t and would and wouldn’t, etc., finally announced a coherent plan: he’s saving major cap space for next summer--when Sacramento’s Chris Webber and Dallas’ Michael Finley could be on the market. “Our No. 1 priority--unless we stumble across a superstar--is to be free a year from now,” Riley said. “Now if someone who is a superstar [read: McGrady or Jones] stumbles across our path and changes the salary-cap room, I will expedite it.” . . . Meantime, the Isaiah Rider-to-Miami thing is on. Rider will be invited in on a one-year, be-good-or-else contract. “We don’t pay any attention to that [warnings],” Riley said. “We will talk to him. I’m very interested in the package of skills he has. All things being equal, he would be up there with the top five free agents.”

He’s at it again: Boston’s Rick Pitino offered Portland three No. 1 picks, including this year’s No. 11 that he ultimately used for Jerome Moiso, for Jermaine O’Neal but was turned down. “Our owner [Paul Gaston] told us that the future is now,” Pitino said. “He said the fans have been patient for the last six or seven years.” . . . What Rick really means is: I’m only going to be here for another season, so the future had better be now . . . Comment: Better tell those fans to plan on being patient for another six or seven years . . . Grant’s agent, Mark Bartelstein, said his client’s opt-out represents only “an opportunity to look around that players don’t get very often, not a desire to leave the Trail Blazers.” The agent says the Trail Blazers “have made it clear to us that they want Brian back in a big way.”

He’s at it again too: Falk, who said Taylor would never agree to a sign-and-trade with the Clippers after the terrible things they did to him, now says his client will do one after all because the situation has changed . . . Translation: The change is that there are no bidders with major cap space for Taylor. The Knicks want Taylor but can only give him a big contract with a sign-and-trade . . . Meanwhile, Falk had vowed privately before the draft that if the Clippers dared to take Darius Miles, he’d sign his client with Kobe Bryant’s Italian team for the next five years. However, Miles liked the idea of playing with the Clippers. With a five-year rookie cap that undercuts the agents’ power, which was once immense, the one-time super-agent is learning humility, albeit slowly . . . More client problems: Stephon Marbury said he fired Falk for shipwrecking him in New Jersey without endorsement deals (“My major problem was that I was promised deals and nothing happened.”) Falk insisted he had resigned . . . Orlando’s ebullient Coach Doc Rivers has been joking to upcoming free agents about the warm weather and lack of a state income tax all winter, but today the wraps come off. “We could not have set the stage any better than we did,” he said. “But now we have to do whatever you do on stage--sing and dance and put on a good show. We’ll be making calls at 12:01 a.m. . . . There’s no reason to let anyone get the jump on you. It’s not going to be hard to see Orlando.”

Meanwhile, Bull General Manager Jerry Krause reportedly is fuming about possible tampering violations. Of course, Bull owner Jerry Reinsdorf made the Pistons crazy a few months ago when he publicly chatted at length with Grant Hill’s mother, Janet, who serves with him on a baseball committee . . . Oh yeah, Detroit basketball boss Joe Dumars still insists Hill is staying.

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Key Dates

TODAY

Teams may begin negotiating with free agents.

AUG. 1

Teams may begin signing free agents. Salary cap set for 2000-01 season.

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* FREE-AGENT LIST, PAGE 11