Bulls Might Have a Baby Boom

Shaqs passing in the night ....

It’s true, what goes around, however awesome, comes back around, as if on a platter with an apple in its mouth.

This is how it is after three years of Laker rule that lots of people expect to continue, no matter how many potholes they hit. They’re playing another dreary game in another dreary season when suddenly they find themselves staring directly into the future.

Nor does this particular future have their name on it but that of the ... Chicago Bulls?

Yes, the wretches who traded in a dynasty on a rebuilding program and every manner of humiliation: losing (56-230 in four seasons); free-agent snubs (Tracy McGrady, et al.); free agents agreeing to terms and reneging (Eddie Jones); free agents taking their money and turning into stiffs (Eddie Robinson); even a high school kid (Darius Miles) trashing them because they weren’t into cornrows.

Then came this season, when they decided it was time to get back in the playoffs, weren’t even close and turned on each other.

When the Lakers arrived in Chicago, the Bulls were 22-42, having just managed to lose to the Clippers, and in the midst of another family feud, with whiney rookie Jay Williams alleging a rift between players and coaches, teammate Jalen Rose calling that “stupid,” probably only because of who said it, and Williams getting benched by Coach Bill “I Haven’t Lost Control, I Don’t Think” Cartwright.

What ensued was a stunner: A Bulls’ rout in which Shaquille O’Neal, a.k.a. Shaq Daddy, was deconstructed by 20-year-old Eddy Curry, a.k.a. Baby Shaq, who outscored his surrogate father, 20-13.

O’Neal has been outscored by other centers but it doesn’t happen often and back when it did, it was usually by some future Hall of Famer. He has been surprised by a precocious youngster, but it took Yao Ming, with his off-the-chart size, to do it and Shaq still put Yao back in his place.

What never, ever happened was a young guy taking it right at O’Neal and being allowed to continue on his merry way, after which Shaq blithely noted he “wasn’t into it.”

As recently as January, when Curry averaged five points and two rebounds, he was considered the lesser of the Bulls’ young big men -- lazy, spoiled and soft.

Cartwright had just benched him, after which Curry ranted, “I did everything he asked me to do and I guess this is how I get paid back,” and demanded a meeting with his agent and General Manager Jerry Krause, which didn’t happen.

Meanwhile, a 6-11 Greek teenager named Sofokilis Shortsianitis, called the Greek Baby Shaq, was found to be closer to 6-9 and re-christened the Greek Eddy Curry. It wasn’t a compliment.

Nevertheless, as they say about young, talented players, one day the light goes on and nothing is ever the same again.

Curry isn’t likely to be as dominating as O’Neal, who eases up on defense but is Bill Russell compared to Curry. But Curry has Shaq’s rare combination of bulk and athleticism, with the same great hands, touch and grace that will make him a monster in the post.

Happily for the Bulls, the things Curry doesn’t do, Tyson Chandler does, making them the next great tandem. If the Bulls don’t kill each other first, they should start heading back to the top of the runty East.

Of course, it’s going to be close.

“The way the young guys played today shows why they had the draft status they had, and it shows why there are the expectations for them that there are,” Rose said afterward, sounding as surprised as impressed.

It never occurred to the Bulls that rebuilding from scratch might be hard, but then humility was never one of their prime attributes, or on the list.

You can’t be incompetent and win six titles. On the other hand, the present administration inherited Michael Jordan and their reign had as much turmoil as glory.

All that changed was the cast of characters and the degree of success. The turmoil is institutional.

Imperious owner Jerry Reinsdorf is actually a warm guy, but he’s so detached -- a Dodger fan from Brooklyn, he’s more interested in his White Sox -- the only Bull who gets the benefit of his human qualities is the thorny Krause, who’s allowed to run the organization like a police state.

A runt from left field, Krause despairs of being liked and he deals abruptly or not at all with people he doesn’t control. With no friends in the press, he was roundly bashed for his daring decision to start over after three seasons by trading Elton Brand for Chandler, but the beauty of Krause’s vision is emerging, amid the cross-fire.

Krause isn’t one to worry about touchy-feely problems, such as players going off on Cartwright, one after another; tension between the young guys and the dour Rose; or strains between Williams -- “Dookie Boy” -- and everyone else.

Cartwright, old school and stubborn, persisted in running the triangle -- the Laker game was one of the first in which they completely abandoned it. He feels pressure to win as well as develop young players and rips them in the press.

Proving their future isn’t just yet, or even that close, the night after the Bulls beat the Lakers by 17, they went to Memphis and lost by 29.

The present still belongs to the Lakers, formally, at least, even if their grip looks increasingly tenuous. The more important question now is what the meeting with Curry says about O’Neal.

O’Neal let Curry get off, but at the other end, the ball wasn’t going into the post because Rick Fox dropped in three quick three-point baskets and tried five more, as the Bulls sagged. Chandler dropped off Mark Madsen to help with O’Neal.

Then when Shaq and the Lakers tried to get back into it and nothing worked, he, uh, resigned himself to circumstances.

Not that we learned anything. We already knew Shaq bores easily and he’s limited.

The big question is: How much is it the one, and how much is it the other?

Faces and Figures

Wait a couple of weeks: Coach Don Chaney on his New York Knicks, who are No. 10 in the East: “On the street, people come up to me and say they hope we get to the playoffs. Nobody has come up to me and said, ‘You guys should lose to make the lottery.’ ”

Remember when people cared what you thought? Michael Jordan’s rant -- “It’s very disappointing when a 40-year-old man has more desire than 25-, 26-, 23-year-old people” -- was aimed at Kwame Brown, 21, the top pick in the ’01 draft, who looked good early but struggled, pouted and has played little since. Showing what it is that infuriates Jordan, Brown had the effrontery to fire back, suggesting Jordan runs the franchise (true) and Coach Doug Collins is caught between them (also true.)

“I couldn’t be Doug Collins,” Brown said. “That’s why I don’t fault him. It’s not fair for me to argue or contest what he does when I know he’s in a tough spot.”

Collins reportedly had to persuade Jordan not to trade the pick for Brand in ’01 and might have to try to keep him from dumping Kwame this summer.

Portland General Manager Bob Whitsitt is another lone wolf whose risky moves open him to criticism, but his recent picks of fast-dropping Qyntel Woods at No. 21 last spring and Zach Randolph at No. 19 in 2001 now look as if they could hit big.

Indiana Coach Isiah Thomas on Randolph: “He had great footwork and low-post stuff. All these guys were getting drafted before him and I remembered him kicking all those guys’ rear ends. He’s just going through what Jermaine [O’Neal] went through. When you’re stuck behind Rasheed [Wallace], one of the top seven or eight forwards in the game, it’s kind of tough to find minutes.”

Traffic advisory: Houston’s Yao, yearning to begin driving, backed his SUV into another car in the parking lot at the Rockets’ practice site and, worse, did it in front of his teammates.

Mo Taylor: “We were like, ‘Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh -- he hit it!’ ”

Said Yao a few weeks later, after getting his license: “I’m ready. I’m ready to go to the hospital.”

The Clippers’ Lamar Odom, on the Rockets: “They’re a young, up-and-coming team. We feel we’re a young team.”