LAKERS DIE-NASTY - Part 2

James Loving/National Radio Text Service

While the Rodman fury and the Jones trade aftermath continued, West chose to maintain a low profile by not showing up at the Forum. He chose to go into hibernation at his home. He was barley seen until the playoffs began with Houston. The LA Times reported that West said of his absence in an interview with NBC television. "Sometimes in your life… it's hard for me to watch games. I'm an EMOTIONAL GUY. It's easier for me to watch games on TV than in the arena."

Then came the long rumored trade. EDDIE JONES, a crowd favorite and ELDEN CAMPBELL were dealt to the Charlotte Hornets for GLEN RICE and JR REID on March 10th. Laker brass tried to put a positive spin on the deal that was questioned form the start. It later proved the Lakers weren't dealing from the bottom of the deck. It showed they didn't have a full one. It showed they had NO FACE cards. Management did not smell like a rose.

The Lakers never recovered from the deal. What came out of it was a team with bad chemistry and MORE chaos. The chemicals started to fume. Chemistry? What chemistry? The irony is that team owner Buss has degrees in chemistry from Wyoming and the University of Southern California. Those degrees are failing him now. Chemistry is what the organization so badly lacks, with the exception of the management's self-adulation.

The LA Times reported that Buss derives most of his millionaire's income from the team. The team is expected to bring in $135 million next year when they move to the new Staples Arena.

After the trade things began to really get UGLY. The media got its wish when Rodman was given his walking papers with 10 games remaining in the regular season April 15th. He had to take his hair and unruly act elsewhere. Elsewhere materialized in the form of his recent agreement to join the professional wrestling tour. Since the Lakers didn't embrace Rodman's irrational behavior he will now have to get his hugs in the ring.

After his departure the Lakers showed they missed his playing prowess, they were 6-4 for the remainder life after Rodman regular season games. That contrasted greatly with their 17-6 record while he was in uniform with the team. Former Chicago Bulls coach PHIL JACKSON won three of his six NBA championships with Rodman as a Bull. In May, the LA Times reported that Jackson said the Lakers didn't handle Rodman right. West's response was, "He's entitled to his opinion."

While the Rodman fury and the Jones trade aftermath continued, West chose to maintain a low profile by not showing up at the Forum. He chose to go into hibernation at his home. He was barley seen until the playoffs began with Houston. The LA Times reported that West said of his absence in an interview with NBC television. "Sometimes in your life… it's hard for me to watch games. I'm an EMOTIONAL GUY. It's easier for me to watch games on TV than in the arena."

Wilt Chamberlain is considered by many as the greatest NBA player of all-time. As a Philadelphia Warrior he averaged 50.4 points a game FOR THE 1961-62 SEASON. On March 2, 1962 he scored 100 points in a game against the New York Knicks. He was a Laker teammate of West's for five years (1968-69/1972-73) including the 1972 NBA championship team.

Regarding West's performance as a Laker executive Chamberlain told the LA Times in an interview April 25th, "When something big comes up such as problems with Rodman, the man disappears."

Rodman's behavior has always been criticized. West's decision making has seldom been challenged. How rational is his thinking? Why all the changes? The LA Times quoted West as saying ON THE FIRST DAY OF TRAINING CAMP when they had Jones, Campbell, Harris and pre Rodman, Rice and Reid. "I don't understand why we'd want to add a lot of people myself," West said. "We like what we have. My goodness, if we don't like this, we better all get out of the business."

Did someone say, please exit stage left???

After Rodman's departure, the Lakers boat sailed on calm seas… FOR A WHILE. They defeated the Houston Rockets in four games in the opening round of the playoffs. They and the LA media were elated BUT THEN… they got caught up in some SPURS. It was another case of giddy-up cowboy. This time, the Spurs were doing the riding. They broke the Lakers backs right out of the playoffs and… this NBA season.

While the team took their loss like men, the press revealed themselves as the whiners in the City of Angels, (we use that term loosely). During the Spurs sweep, the press pulled out its hammers and saws. They started to bang and cut away to find who was at fault. Their Lakers were slaughtered and the press wanted blood.

Throughout the season the Los Angeles media had supported West and the Lakers organization like a woman's girdle. When the going got tough the media jumped ship and became bloodthirsty in its quest to find someone to blame and at whom to point a finger. It was as if the Titanic was going down. With Rodman not around they had to wait until the playoffs to find other prey.

The LA Times reported West as saying that the finger could be pointed at him. The Lakers then found themselves walking on quicksand. During the Spurs series the two-faced press noted Kobe Bryant's shortcomings. They criticized his missing key foul shots and making poor shooting decisions as being reminiscent of Eddie Jones past post season woes. (Oh my!… Who loves-ya baby?)

But hey….Irony? You want irony? Eddie Jones was the primary benefactor of this Lakers topsy-turvy chaotic season. He was provided MENTAL relief. He took his talents where they were appreciated. He escaped the Lakers relentless trade-talk pressure and team turmoil. He regained his upbeat positive spirit and finished his season with the Hornets strong and productive. He was in a POSITIVE environment where he was WANTED.

In an NBA conference call with the media April 21st, Jones summed up his feelings about the trade and the Lakers.

"The change was beneficial for myself and also Elden Campbell. We got out of a situation that was very distracting. When you're in a situation that's distracting you really can't perform at the level that you're capable of performing. Here (Charlotte) we're just playing basketball and enjoying the game again.

"What bothered (me) the most was the fact that I heard my name every week in a trade. The finger pointing, saying this guy isn't doing this - that's distracting to a player. If we can't just think about playing basketball, you have to worry about every other thing. You can't really focus on what the job is about and they just totally took me out of I like to do best, play basketball. I never had an opportunity to just play basketball there. I had to deal with too many other aspects."

During the final game with the Spurs Laker fans expressed their pain of missing Jones as they chanted "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie". It was a reminder of the mistakes that management made. The organization made plenty of blunders. They acknowledge them with their ARROGANT demeanor. They dismissed them as if nothing ever happened. It was as if they were hoping media scrutiny would go away.

After the season, West admitted to the LA Times in probably one of the BIGGGEST UNNDERSTATEMENTS of his life.

"I think in a shortened season, we tried we tried to push the envelope a little bit, we wanted to win a championship this year. WE DIDN'T DO IT." (Oh please….Where's that barf bag?)

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