Mutombo Trade Still Being Debated

Maybe Dikembe Mutombo doesn’t realize it, but there’s been a palpable, lingering sense of unease in this city over the trade that brought the 7-foot-2 center to the league’s best team.

The Feb. 22 deal that sent Theo Ratliff and Toni Kukoc from Philadelphia to Atlanta plainly violated the age-old adage that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

More than a week after the trade, it continues to be vigorously debated and has caused somewhat of a crisis in confidence among many of the fans who fear the 76ers may have mortgaged too much of their future to gamble on their present.

No one, however, has argued its comparative merits with Mutombo himself.

“Yesterday, I ate outside on Market Street and I didn’t meet anybody who said ‘Mr. Mutombo, what are you doing in my town?”’ Mutombo said. “Everywhere I have been in Philadelphia, people are welcoming me.

“I don’t know where the debate comes from. Do you think I listen to the radio when I’m trying to take a nap?”

The Sixers lost two of their first three games with Mutombo before beating the Miami Heat on Wednesday night behind a strong performance from their new center. He grabbed 16 rebounds, blocked five shots and altered so many others that Heat center Brian Grant shot 1-for-13 and Anthony Mason was 1-for-8.

It was another exhibit of Mutombo being so dominating a presence that he keeps opposing players from going near the basket and makes them radically change the trajectory of their shots when they do.

It might have been the kind of performance that will tilt public opinion more in favor of the trade.

Early last week, a team official estimated that public sentiment was probably running 60-40 against the trade. There was sympathy for Ratliff, who was having a dominating season before fracturing hiswrist three weeks ago, mixed with bewilderment over how the Sixers were giving up on Kukoc, who was acquired at a high price a year earlier and never really produced or fit in.

“If we debate it, let’s debate whether it’s going to help next year,” said coach Larry Brown, who made the trade because he knows the Sixers have a strong chance at finishing with the best record in the league and locking up homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs. “My sense is we might not have been able to hold on without Theo. I didn’t expect him to be back and contributing until the playoffs.”

Brown’s win-now philosophy has placed an added pressure on the Sixers, who have maintained the NBA’s best record throughout the season despite a series of injuries to key players.

Critics of the deal point out that Mutombo can leave at the end of the season as a free agent, although team president Pat Croce dismissed that notion and general manager Billy King pointed out that Philadelphia can exceed the salary cap to keep Mutombo.

“Where else can he get $15 million a year?” King said. “We’ll get it done.”

The loss of Kukoc is not a huge one from a statistical standpoint, but what Kukoc brought to the team couldn’t always be measured with numbers.

When Kukoc was on the floor, opposing defenses had to respect his ability to shoot--keeping them on the perimeter rather than cheating toward the inside to cut off Allen Iverson’s drives. Kukoc’s old role is being filled by journeyman Rodney Buford, who was not even expected to make the team in training camp.

Iverson has carried the team offensively, leading the league in scoring (reaching 40 points 14 times) while becoming the leading contender for the MVP award. The Sixers discussed the trade with him before pulling the trigger.

“Great trade,” Iverson said. “It gives us a lot of experience and even more size. Dikembe is similar to Theo, but bigger.”

Getting there won’t be easy, but Mutombo gives the Sixers a center who can match up with any of the best big men in the West if the 76ers reach the NBA Finals.

In the playoffs against teams like the Milwaukee Bucks or New York Knicks that rely heavily on outside shooting, Mutombo becomes much less of a factor as a shot blocker. Against bigger teams like Charlotte or Miami, his intimidating presence inside is a bigger asset.

If the season ended now, the 76ers would meet the Indiana Pacers in the first round. Since the Pacers have two big men in Jermaine O’Neal and Sam Perkins who can shoot from outside and draw Mutombo away from the basket, they match up well with Philadelphia. The Pacers also would have the added psychological advantage of knowing that they have knocked the 76ers out of the playoffs the past twoseasons.

Both times, however, the Pacers had the homecourt advantage.

“It’s hard to fix something that was going well, but we needed a big guy for the rest of the season,” forward George Lynch said. “To win the championship it’s important to have the homecourt advantage--and to have it throughout.”

The Sixers will see how effective Mutombo is against several potential playoff opponents as two games apiece against the Bucks, Magic, Pacers over the final six weeks of the season.

In March, the Sixers have an easy schedule that includes their current stretch of games against the Wizards, Nets, Hawks, Celtics and Bulls in which they will have a chance to get more comfortable blending with Mutombo. It will also give this city’s famously fickle fans a chance to warm to the idea of taking such a big risk in order to win the title now when it appears to be winnable.

“Dikembe just got here. It’s hard for somebody to just jump right in,” Iverson said. “Hopefully by the playoffs we’ll be clicking the way we need to.”

By then, everybody should have a much better idea of whether the Mutombo trade was a good one.