Stern Might Consider Planting Seeds of Change

Phil Jackson, Coach

Los Angeles Lakers

El Segundo, Calif.

Dear Phil,

Don’t do that to me again.

Sincerely,

David Stern, Commissioner

National Basketball Assn.

*

As David Stern’s deputy, Russ Granik, said before the NBA Finals when they were doing their usual reassuring number on the yawning East-West chasm, “Let’s see how the Nets do.”

If only everyone else had held up their end as well as the Nets did.

Stern still thinks he has a marquee event but after four years of walkovers, his audience doesn’t seem to have much hope invested in the East, so even if it’s 2-2, fans still think the West will win, or, worse, don’t care.

Perception rides on the TV number, which produced a historic flop, although, for perspective, the rating in Los Angeles, 8.3, still beat the Stanley Cup finals’ 7.1, with the Ducks in it and the series going seven games.

Nevertheless, perception counts, making it look as if the NBA is sagging, compared to baseball and hockey. Happily for Stern, his league is in better shape than his Finals, having managed to get the big issues right.

He locked his players out in 1999 but, unlike the NHL and Major League Baseball, got a good deal out of it, making the industry profitable again and bringing back labor peace. He negotiated a TV deal at the depth of the recession in 2002, dodging NBC’s huge pay cut by going to a cable-oriented package with ABC and ESPN, a move deemed controversial in the entertainment biz but one other commissioners are sure to follow.

Compared to issues that thorny, what’s so hard about putting on a good Finals? Everyone else has those.

With a cap that keeps San Antonio and Sacramento on a par with Los Angeles and New York, geographic balance should take care of itself but this is an extraordinary time in the NBA, with size, talent and flair so concentrated in the West, it has won the last five Finals, 20-6.

Stern no longer dismisses seeding out of hand -- “We look at everything. We don’t say we do, but we do.” -- but privately scorns the idea. A league official notes it would not only be gimmicky, it would look desperate.

Of course, if they aren’t desperate by now, they’re not paying attention.

Barring a miracle turnaround, we have seen the future and it had better have seeding in it, in one form or another.

Change is in the air. Golden State broadcaster Bob Fitzgerald is faxing around his idea for a six-division, no-conference scheme for 2004-05 when the Charlotte Bobcats start play, with division winners making the playoffs along with the next 10 best records and the whole postseason seeded.

Of course, this would work for the Warriors, who are bottled up under the West powers. But, it could work for the league too.

Stern also has mentioned a six-division realignment, although with no details, and he surely hopes to preserve the East-West configuration.

On the other hand, if these Finals didn’t do it, one more debacle should convince him he’d better do something.

Stern, the smart cookie, also has been a lucky cookie. Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, who arrived just before he took over, were not only transcendent personalities, they went to glamour teams on opposite coasts and reinvigorated the greatest rivalry of all, giving us the golden age of the ‘80s.

Five years later, with Magic and Bird in their primes, along came Michael Jordan, who would take the league to a new level in the ‘90s.

No tinkering was required, just some adroit marketing of what people were keen to buy, which Stern was good at.

Jordan’s 1998 departure was supposed to herald a difficult transition to Stern’s “stars of tomorrow,” but that wasn’t how it turned out. The stars are here. What more could he ask than Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, both spectacular and colorful, taking the Lakers to three titles in a row?

One little thing. Stern had better find them someone to play in prime time.

Last spring, Game 7 of the Lakers-Kings West finals got a blowout 19 rating for NBC. Then the Lakers swept the Nets and got a 10.2, the worst Finals number since 1981 ... until this spring’s 6.5.

Nor is the end in sight. The Lakers should get another major piece, the Kings were better than they were last season and insiders say the Spurs are still targeting Jason Kidd.

“The West is the stronger conference,” said the Nets’ Richard Jefferson when it was 2-2. “That’s never going to change, even if we’re fortunate enough to win the series.

“The West is going to be stronger next year and the year after until LeBron James takes over in Cleveland and makes them an undefeated team.”

Since LeBron just turned 18, the commissioner may want to address the interim.

Faces and Figures

The Clippers’ negotiations with Mike Dunleavy have hit a snag. There has been no contact since he met with owner Donald T. Sterling nine days ago, and Dunleavy has begun interviewing with other teams. Few coaches with a choice even talk to the Clippers, but Dunleavy liked the thought of running and pressing with their deep roster, as opposed to starting over with a team such as the Atlanta Hawks. However, Dunleavy wants tangible assurance the Clippers will spend money to keep players, his price for rolling the dice with them.

After last season’s organizational no-show, hiring him would be a coup, but now looks more like a missed opportunity.

Clipper smorgasbord, er, watch: The Denver Nuggets are eyeing Corey Maggette. Lots of teams like Lamar Odom and Andre Miller. Every team wants Elton Brand. However, they’re restricted free agents and Sterling has shown he will match offers, once the market is set. The real fastbreak will be next summer, when they’re totally free, if they’re not re-signed or already gone.

New Houston Coach Jeff Van Gundy wants to acquire some of his old Knicks, such as Latrell Sprewell. Knick management is down on Sprewell for defying them and, with Antonio McDyess’ return uncertain, may take Rocket disappointments Eddie Griffin and/or Kelvin Cato.

The Knicks are having a nightmare off-season, and it has barely started. First, they learned McDyess’ knee needed further surgery and he won’t be ready by the opener. Then Milos Vujanic, the Yugoslav point guard they were hyping, said he wasn’t coming, in what looks like a ploy for a big contract.

Said General Manager Scott Layden: “Our sense is that he’ll play overseas for another year.”

Our sense is that they’re in even worse shape than even we would have projected.

New Jersey assistant Eddie Jordan is Washington’s new coach and this is a welcome development because: 1) lots of people gave him more credit than Byron Scott so we’ll see how Jordan does on his own, and 2) it may open a spot for Scott’s former teammate, Michael Cooper, who has become the John Wooden of the WNBA.

More troubles in the East: Chicago’s rising power was set back by Jay Williams’ motorcycle accident, with best-case scenarios now projecting him to miss one season. The Bulls were already shopping their other point guard Jamal Crawford, having decided he was too much trouble after he told them he would require a maximum salary in a year and didn’t show up for team workouts.

The draft has turned into a comedy act with 18-year-old, 7-foot-3, 300-pound Pavel Podkolzine, a major comer, pulling out because he couldn’t get a guarantee from anyone -- though he was sure to go in the top 10.

No guarantee was forthcoming because the top three picks are set, and No. 4 Toronto, No. 5 Miami and No. 7 Chicago are trying to trade their picks.

Here’s what we (think we) know about the draft: 1. Cleveland, James. 2. Detroit, Darko Milicic. 3. Denver, Carmelo Anthony. 4. Toronto, T.J. Ford. 5. Miami, Chris Bosh. 6. Clippers, Chris Kaman. 7. Milwaukee, Kirk Hinrich.

Others in the lottery: Michael Sweetney and Mickael Pietrus should make the lottery with Nick Collison, Maciej Lampe, Luke Ridnour, Dwyane Wade, Reece Gaines and Jarvis Hayes on the bubble.

This summer’s free-agent market will be tight because some teams won’t spend their $4.5-million exception. New Boston General Manager Danny Ainge, who needs players, says he won’t use his since, “The bottom line is $17 million out-of-pocket money.” That’s $4.5 million for the player, $4.5 for the luxury tax if the team is at the threshold, as the Celtics and 14 other teams are, plus $8 million in forfeited rebates for going over the threshold.

With only three maximum slots available -- Denver can create two, the Spurs one -- and a free-agent list that could include Kidd, Gilbert Arenas, who looks Denver-bound; Jermaine O’Neal, Brad Miller, Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Michael Olowokandi, Juwan Howard, P.J. Brown, Alonzo Mourning, Reggie Miller, Rasho Nesterovic, Keon Clark and Dale Davis, there will be major bargains.

In the hope of getting a better attraction, it would be nice if the synergy-crazed ABC gang learned to televise a game as if it thought someone wanted to see it, without rock stars or plugging the entire list of Disney summer releases.

“There were too many announcers,” former ABC Sports Vice President Jim Spence told Bloomberg News. “Too many camera cuts and an overuse of technology.

“It was hard to settle in as a viewer.”