Wednesday Insider...ALERT -- THERE IS HAWK TALK!!

[Admin]

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- NBA commissioner David Stern's "state of the NBA" address was filled with hope and optimism Tuesday. But nothing was more telling about the true state of the NBA than Stern's brief statement about the Grizzlies and Timberwolves.

With Shaq and the Lakers terrorizing the league, the Kings getting stronger by the minute and Mark Cuban throwing billions around in Dallas -- the Grizzlies and T-Wolves want out. Of the Western Conference that is.

Both Minnesota and Memphis have officially requested a move to the Eastern Conference, in hopes that the league will realign and move the New Orleans Hornets to the West starting in 2003-04. Both teams claim that the move is for travel reasons, not to gain a competitive advantage.

Right.

The T-Wolves were 21-9 versus the East this season. Even the lowly Grizzlies fared OK, winning nine games against the East. In fact, only five Western Conference teams -- the Suns, Rockets, Nuggets, Grizzlies and Warriors -- had losing records versus the East. The Hornets, on the other hand, had a losing record, 13-15, versus the West this year. They were joined by 10 more East teams.

With the T-Wolves' frustration reaching the boiling point over tough first-round losses and new team president Jerry West determined to turn the Grizzlies into winners before we know it, both teams see the move as vital to the long-term health of their franchises.

While in Chicago, Insider talked to a high-level T-Wolves source who was convinced that his team would have been playing in the NBA Finals this season had it played in the East. A Grizzlies source told Insider that one of West's first order of business was petitioning the league for a conference move. He knows all too well what monsters lurk in the West.

To teams in the West, the East is wide open. Just look at the Nets, Pistons and Celtics this year. Any team with a little luck and a little talent has a shot to win it all. In the West, the dominance of teams like the Lakers and Kings foretells misery for years to come.

What's the problem? Talent. The West just has a lot more of it.

Size still matters in the NBA. The East contains only two top centers -- Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo -- and each is in the twilight of his career. Even at power forward, the East's top players like Antoine Walker, Jermaine O'Neal and Antonio Davis aren't much of a match for the West's Tim Duncan, Chris Webber, Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace, Dirk Nowitzki, Karl Malone, Elton Brand and even Pau Gasol.

The East's strength in small forwards and shooting guards doesn't make up for the fact that with the exception of Jason Kidd and young point guards Andre Miller and Baron Davis, most of the best floor leaders also live in the West. Gary Payton, Steve Francis, Steve Nash, Mike Bibby, Stephon Marbury, John Stockton and Tony Parker prove the point.

So forgive West if he sees an opportunity for his Grizzlies to make their mark in a different conference. With the top eight teams in the West pretty solid and with a few other teams like the Rockets, Clippers, Suns and Warriors stocking up on young talent, there isn't much breathing room for the Grizzlies no matter what type of moves they make.

Ditto for the T-Wolves, who are stuck as a second-tier team with no draft picks to speak of for the next six years. The thinking in Minnesota is that if it can get in the East, it'll have an easier time luring free agents with promises of a chance to compete in the Finals. They can't offer the same thing in the West with a straight face.

Will it be too late? That is the big question on everyone's mind. The NBA is cyclical. If the Magic pull off their master plan next summer and land Duncan to go along with Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill, or if the Nets find a way to steal away Antonio McDyess or Karl Malone, will everyone in the East suddenly be crying that they don't have a shot at the title?

One league executive doesn't think so. "The problem in the West is that there isn't any real foreseeable turnover. The Lakers will have Shaq and Kobe for as long as they want to play. Dallas has all their young stars locked up for the next six or seven years. So do the Kings. The Blazers have an owner who will spend whatever it takes to keep his team competitive. The Spurs are the only top team here with a good shot of going south quickly if they lose Duncan. Eventually things will change. They always do. But for the next five or so years, my guess is that the Western Conference Championship will be the real NBA Finals."

Muddying things are the chances that the NBA puts an expansion team in Charlotte. Although Stern said nothing would be decided until after the Finals, several GM's told Insider that they were under the impression that the NBA would make it happen as soon as possible as long as the city of Charlotte had an arena plan approved.

If the NBA adds a 30th team in Charlotte, it will be in the East. That leaves only one slot available for relocation. With the Grizzlies closer to Eastern teams than the T-Wolves, expect Garnett to start thinking twice about signing that long-term extension with the Wolves.

Grizzlies seeking move to Eastern Conference

Ronald Tillery / Memphis Commercial Appeal

NBA ponders way it's aligned

John Reid / New Orleans Times-Picayune

Rockets clear a big hurdle with Yao

Just how close is Yao Ming to being a Rocket? The news from China is encouraging.

Rockets general counsel Michael Goldberg said Sharks general manager Li Yaomin and owner Bai Li pledged to offer their recommendation to the China Basketball Association that Yao be included in this month's NBA draft.

"I believe based on our meetings that they don't have any objections," Goldberg told the Houston Chronicle. "In the very short time we've been here, we've developed very good relationships. It went very well. Very well."

According to the report, several other myths were destroyed. The Sharks have not made any unreasonable demands for players or cash, Goldberg told the Chronicle. And Yao's mother told coach Rudy Tomjanovich that despite rumors to the contrary, her son would love to play for the Rockets.

Today, the Rockets will try to get clearance from the Chinese Basketball Association. If they can get that, FIBA approval will only be a formality.

What didn't get reported in the Chronicle was that the Rockets also told the Sharks that they have no plans to trade Yao if they draft him. That assurance was deemed crucial to the Sharks' permission to let Yao go. According to the Xinhau News Agency, the Sharks got it.

Rockets' tall order gets easier

John Lopez / Houston Chronicle

Yao process one step from FIBA nod

Jonathan Feigen / Houston Chronicle

Rockets Have no Plan to Trade Yao Ming

Staff / Xinhua News Agency

Draft Rumors: Is Tskitishvili in for a Gasol-type rise?

The buzz surrounding international phenom Nikoloz Tskitishivili increased significantly Tuesday. Tskitishivili's agent, Marc Fleisher, told Insider that it looks like "Skita" will keep his name in the draft.

"Right now he's in. The information I'm getting is that he's a top-10 pick.so yes, he's staying in the draft. If my information changes over the next week or so, we'll reserve the right to pull him out, but I don't anticipate that happening."

Fleisher also said there's a slim possibility that Tskitishivili may work out in the U.S. a day or two before the draft. Right now Skita's team, Benetton Treviso, is playing in the Italian League Championships. Bennetton leads the series 2-0. If it wins this weekend, he may have time to get his visa and conduct a general workout for the lottery teams.

Some NBA teams aren't taking the chance. A Warriors source told Insider that GM Garry St. Jean will make a trip to Italy this weekend to get one last look at Tskitishivili and his teammate, Bostjan Nachbar. A Grizzlies source told Insider that the team was also making preparations for Jerry West, who hasn't seen Skita in person, to fly to Italy a day or two before the draft if Skita isn't able to come to America and work out.

While speculation has been running rampant that Benetton coach Mike D'Antoni will bring Skita with him when he joins the Suns as an assistant coach, Tskitishivili may not be around when the Suns pick at No. 9. Last year, Pau Gasol was projected as the No. 10 pick until the last week when he rose all the way to No. 3. The interest by the Warriors and Grizzlies suggests he may be in for the same rise.

KU forward Drew Gooden is done working out. Gooden canceled a workout in Denver today and has also put a Cavs workout on hold. Gooden's agent, Bill Duffy, told Insider that, in all likelihood, Gooden will not work out for any more teams before the draft. "We think he's proved everything he needs to prove," Duffy told Insider. "So what's the point?" Gooden has only worked out for the top 4 teams: Houston, Chicago, Golden State and Memphis. Duffy refused to divulge whether Gooden had received a draft "promise" from one of those four teams.

Maryland's Chris Wilcox tried to convince Gooden to work out against him in Chicago today. Instead, Wilcox will work out against Charlotte's Jermaine Williams. "All of a sudden, his so-called competitors aren't returning my calls," his agent, Rock Newman, told the N.Y. Post. For his New York workout Saturday, Wilcox will face a little tougher competition. Frenso State's Melvin Ely is expected to be Wilcox's workout partner.

Stanford coach Mike Montgomery weighed in on the likelihood that Casey Jacobsen and Curtis Borchardt pull out of the draft.

Montgomery said Jacobsen is seeking assurance that someone will take him in the first round, but teams are wary of making promises.

"He'd prefer to go, all things being equal,''Montgomery told the San Jose Mercury News. "Curtis is at the opposite end. In a perfect world, he'd probably prefer to stay. But with the slope he's on, it's hard to stop.''

Underclassmen have until June 19th to pull out of the draft.

The Hawks failed in their bid to convince the Pistons to send them their first round pick this year instead of next. The team had targeted several point guards at No. 23 that they thought could help the team.

The Pistons had until midnight last night to convey the pick to Atlanta. Pistons director of player personnel John Hammonds told Insider in Chicago that it's likely that the team will send the pick next year when they get a hold of the Grizzlies first round pick (assuming it's not the No. 1 pick overall).

Still, the Hawks have several first round prospects like Kentucky's Tayshaun Prince and Oregon's Freddie Jones coming in for workouts. Hawks GM Pete Babcock said the team may still make a move to get a first round pick.

"We would have interest in moving up in the first round if we could get a specific player," Babcock told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. "If a team called and said we'll trade you our pick, we would only want to do it on a contingency basis. We're not interested just in being a player in the first round."

Knicks Will Finally Get To See Wilcox

Marc Berman / New York Post

Juniors appear draft-bound

Jon Wilner / San Jose Mercury News

Hawks likely won't get a 1st-rounder

Jeffrey Denberg / Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Is Raul Lopez close to being free?

The Jazz may be getting last year's first-round pick, Spanish point guard Raul Lopez, after all.

After a month of on-again, off-again negotiations between Lopez and his team, Real Madrid, the two sides are close to a buyout.

"We're not very far apart on numbers," Lopez's agent, David Bauman, told Insider. "Right now we are just looking at the structure of the buyout. Will it be all up front or staggered?"

Lopez's team spent $2.4 million dollars to acquire the rights to Lopez a few years ago. It wants to recoup that money before letting its star point guard leave for the NBA. The Jazz met with Real Madrid officials in the spring hoping to get a clearer understanding of when Lopez would be allowed to play for them.

With John Stockton in his final year and no real backup point guards to speak of, the Jazz need Lopez as soon as possible.

In other international news, agent Bill Duffy told Insider that his client, Marko Jaric, will arrive in the U.S. next week to begin negotiations with the Clippers. Jaric, who is considered the top point guard in Europe, was drafted by L.A. in the second round of 2000 draft. Because he was drafted in the second round, Jaric isn't limited by the rookie wage scale. Duffy is reportedly seeking a deal starting at 3 to 4 million a year.

Workout Watch

Teams begin private workouts today. The top players working out today include Chris Wilcox in Chicago; Caron Butler, Qyntel Woods and Jared Jeffries in Denver; and Curtis Borchardt and Nene Hilario in Milwaukee.

Because of the large number of players and workouts Insider has collected, you must click here to go to a complete list of workouts.

Butler catches Denver's eye

Marc J. Spears / Denver Post

Knicks Will Finally Get To See Wilcox

Marc Berman / New York Post

Draft list taking shape

Ronald Tillery / Memphis Commercial Appeal

Writers Bloc: Where does Shaq rank?

That the Lakers will defeat the Nets to win their third consecutive title is already a surety. But, believe it or not, there are further questions that need answering . . .

Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post wonders aloud if Shaq is as good as Wilt, Russell and Jabbar.

"What's becoming clear in this new century is that O'Neal may be winning championships with less superstar assistance than any mega-center before him. Nets Coach Byron Scott said on Sunday, 'Shaq could probably take the Grizzlies to the Finals.' Russell had a host of co-stars and Red Auerbach for a coach. Chamberlain's bitter distinction was that he could lose to Russell whether he had Jerry West and Elgin Baylor for teammates or, in Philadelphia, had a virtual all-star team -- Hal Greer, Chet Walker, Billy Cunningham, Wali Jones and Lucious Jackson -- around him. Even Abdul-Jabbar had Magic Johnson and James Worthy. Shaq merely has Kobe Bryant, plus a half-dozen guys whose careers would be utterly forgotten if they hadn't ridden O'Neal's cape tails to multiple world titles."

J.A. Adande of L.A. Times asks if these Lakers are ready to take their place among the all-time teams of the NBA.

"You would think there would be nothing unprecedented in the winning department for a franchise and a coach so rich in championships. The Lakers have won the NBA title 13 times in two cities. Phil Jackson is halfway toward opening his own jewelry shop, having coached his way to eight rings. But they've never swept a team in the NBA Finals. Up three games to none against the New Jersey Nets, the Lakers and Jackson have their chance tonight. And they could also earn a distinction among the other four champions that have won three consecutive times: They could become the first team to win three championships in only 15 Finals games. In other words, their total of three Finals defeats would be the fewest of any for a team in a three-year run. A three-peat with only three-beat. 'I think it will put us up there,' O'Neal said. 'We've been together a long time. We've been through a lot of hard times, more good times than hard times. But I think it will put us right up there with all the other great teams.' And, in some ways, above them."

Steve Dilbeck of the L.A. Daily News thinks that there is something much, much more to the combination of Shaq and Kobe.

"Enjoy this. Savor it, recognize just how extraordinary it truly is. This is not something that rarely happens. This has never happened, at least not to this level. Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, the two greatest players to be on the same NBA team. To be in their prime. To win championships. To play together. To complement each other. Shaq and Kobe, the very heart of a Lakers team poised to win its third consecutive NBA title with a sweep tonight of the New Jersey Nets. There has never been two such great players, in their prime, playing on the same team together, winning world championships. Not in the NBA's 55-year history."

And from, of all places, Sacramento, Ailene Voisin of the Bee ponders the legacy of Phil Jackson through bloodshot Red eyes.

"Is nothing sacred in hoops? Not anymore. Not even Red. Within a matter of hours, or at most a few days, Jackson will match the legendary Red Auerbach, who coached the Boston Celtics to nine championships, including eight straight from 1959-66. And though separated by a generation and almost everything else -- one smokes cigars, the other blows smoke -- their improbable pairing was also inevitable. Nine titles. In any era, amazing. While the two men have exchanged barbs for weeks, Auerbach grousing that Jackson was gift-wrapped the game's dominant players, first in Chicago and then in Los Angeles, and Jackson retorting that the Celtics patriarch 'always irritated people,' both maintain a healthy appreciation for great theater. They also enjoy a good locker-room drama, and there's nothing quite like that storied Lakers-Celtics rivalry to provoke another round of long-distance sparring. So does Red really believe Phil has enjoyed a shortcut to success? Absolutely. But does this mean Red, however grudgingly, fails to acknowledge the [gulp] greatness of Phil? Absolutely not."

[Guest]

I think the invivtations to Freddie Jones & Tayshaun Prince confirms the Hawks' intentions to get another scoring option, although they probably will have to settle for someone to come off the bench. Having watched Jones in the NCAA tourney, he's quite an explosive player, but I think that both players are extremely inconsistent.

On the other hand, the interest in picking up a late first-round PG is intriguing; do you guys think Babcock is looking for a quality backup or a potential starter (this draft has much more PG depth than last year)?

[Admin]

I think that he will be selected around #20 or slightly there after. Those picks are for teams that are pretty good already and may be looking to get cap room, so maybe we can give them our second and a future first to get their first. I think that Maddux would be an absolute steal there and I pray that we get him since we are likely going to lose JV and I am not comfortable with Email, Cookie, or Scoonie being our main backup....I also wouldnt mind one bit getting Williams, but I think he will be gone also.

[Hawks4ever]

Jones is amazing. He brought the house down in Atlanta during that dunk contest. WOW.

[jaywalker72]

This season has got to get going or I am going on a shooting spree on everyone moving Terry off of the point.

Today, Denberg's conversation re: the Hawks wanting to bring in a PG will only fuel such nonsense, as Pete is looking to replace Vaughn, who he ALWAYS saw as abackup PG.

But, I would expect people to continue this blather about JT until he makes some noise in the playoffs, like his buddy Mike Bibby.

But, if we do move him to SG and DJ to SF, we have blown it big time, taking an advantage and making it a push, at best.

[Guest]

Glover for a late first?

I think it's more likely going to be Toni for a player and a late pick..

Something like Toni to San Antonio for #26 and Parks??

Then with #26 we take a chance on Tayshun Prince or Freddie Jones depending on where Slim is.

[Guest]

Drafting a guy like Jones might help get more fans into the Hawks' arena b/c of his explosiveness...Wouldn't be surprised to see someone to go in the first round, but I've read articles after article that would make me think he might still fall to us with #37 (36). However, his lack of height (6-4, I think) is the last thing we need...

[Guest]

Bottomline,either we play JT at the PG or trade him.6'1 170

pounders aren't made to play the 2 guard.If JT plays SG it

shows me he really don't want to be the best he can be.

The only problem is JT has alittle trade value right now.How

many teams want a 6 foot SG?As far as I am concerned,I like

JT,but if he doesn't play PG he is a bust as a top 10 pick.

How many anyone expect a mide or late first rounder to be

a starter in the NBA?How can you count on that?

I don't care how good Tito Maddux or whomever is...JT as a

SG=Hawks promised failure.

[MoonKnight]

While we have depth problems at the swing positions at 2 and 3, the key is still Theo's health. We cannot afford Nazr as our starting 5 due to his horrible D. We cannot win enough games to a playoff contender with Nazr as our starting 5. Has anyone heard anything about Theo's health? His health affects everything we do this offseason, including the draft. Let's not forget that interior D is the key to a winning season.

[Guest]

It doesn't matter.Say we get Maddux

Maddux/JT/DJ/SAR/Theo

Theo/JT/DJ are all out of position and

after Maddux we have a starting lineup

of Tweeners.That type of team will not

win basketball games.

[Admin]

report that we got a few weeks ago. They say that this will be a breakout season due to his new workout regimen. I am stoked about that too. Our main problems right now are starting SF and backup PG....signing Deavon George and drafting Maddux would solve those woes.

[Guest Walter]

It would be a small backcourt even with JT playing Pg. I do love his athleticism, though.

W

[Guest]

We need to move up to get Tayshun.

Although he's 215 listed.. If we could put 20 lbs on him, he'd be the man. A 6'10 Sf who can play outside or take it to the rack.