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Pacers' Rose blooming by design
Posted: Monday March 27, 2000 12:38 PM
NBA insider Stephen A. Smith of The Philadelphia Inquirer chatted about the goings on in the league with Bob Lorenz on CNN's This Week in the NBA: Bob Lorenz: The focus of the Pacers' offense has changed this year from Reggie Miller to Jalen Rose. Since February, Rose has averaged nearly five more points per game than Reggie Miller has. Stephen, what do you think the reason for the change is? Stephen A. Smith: I spoke to some officials in Indiana, Bob, and they told me this is something that has happened gradually and naturally. It wasn't a planned scheme. You can believe that if you want to, maybe there is some truth to it, but Jalen Rose is approaching the last year of his contract and re-signing him is a priority for this organization. So I think what you are seeing is more than just a mere coincidence. Rose is evolving into the player he always knew he could be, and Indiana is recognizing that there is a new era approaching. BL: When Jason Kidd went down with an injury, the Phoenix Suns called on the retired Kevin Johnson, who they signed through the end of the season. Stephen, what everybody wants to know is, can KJ still play and can he help the Suns win? SS: Well, there is no doubt that he can still play -- this is KJ we are talking about -- but don't look for him to be the second coming of Michael Jordan. He has never captured an NBA title, and if you recall, he wasn't an explosive scorer. He isn't really the point guard that Jason Kidd is in terms of distributing the basketball and getting other people involved. The Suns will have to call upon Penny Hardaway to do that. What you are going to see is Penny Hardaway getting shifted to that point guard spot, that same spot he lamented having to play during his later days in Orlando, and KJ will move to the two- guard spot. BL: The Vancouver Grizzlies always have trouble in the month of March, but there could be more trouble brewing there with the impending change of ownership. Might that rock the boat? SS: It may. Shareef Abdur-Rahim knows that general manager Stu Jackson's job is on the line and he has said that he would demand to be traded in the event that Stu Jackson is removed from his position. From what I'm hearing Stu Jackson will be removed from his position at the end of this year and Dick Versace will be elevated into that position. So you can expect to see some changes there and because of those changes who knows what Shareef will do. He has already said he would demand to be traded, Vancouver will not trade him because they don't have to and after they gave into the pressure with Steve Francis last summer, it wouldn't be wise for Vancouver to give in to any similar demands with Shareef. BL: Toronto's Vince Carter accepted an invitation to join the U.S. Olympic team that will compete this summer in Sydney, replacing the injured Tom Gugliotta. It was obviously a no-brainer for USA Basketball, but was it for Vince Carter? SS: It was not a no-brainer for Carter. He hesitated for a long, long time, actually down to the last minute. A lot of people talked about how he wanted to go to school, but I am told that he hesitated because he received the cold shoulder from numerous players during All-Star weekend. That really depressed him to some degree, which made him hesitant to commit six weeks of his summer to a similar environment and a similar situation to what he experienced during All-Star weekend. So he was very reluctant but ultimately in the end he wanted to represent his country. BL: The Lakers' Kobe Bryant has said he wouldn't play in the Olympics even if he were invited. He wasn't, but is that entirely true? SS: No, it is not true. Kobe is a very politically-correct individual, and he is definitely going to say all the correct things. But my sources tell me that he did want to play . And he made overtures to the league saying that he would be willing to participate in the Olympic Games. Kobe is a very intelligent young man, and he is aware of all the hype and publicity that somebody like Vince Carter is receiving, and he wants that as well. He knows that someday he will receive an invitation if the Lakers win a championship, and they are very close to doing so. Clearly, he wanted to be a part of that Olympic team, make no mistake about it. BL: Given all the publicity that Carter is receiving lately, some people wonder whether that will affect Kobe in a negative way, might he become a more selfish player? SS: Phil Jackson is one of the best coaches in the business and clearly since Phil Jackson has been with the Lakers there has been a transformation in Kobe's game. You look at Jackson and say to yourself, would he allow that to happen, I don't think so. The Lakers are en route to capturing an NBA title and Kobe knows that winning comes above everything else. He is not going to let all this affect his game, because he knows that all the accolades and all the hype and hoopla will come his way once the Lakers win a championship, and Vince Carter is years removed from capturing one.
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