THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 14, 1996 TAG: 9608140511
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: 68 lines
Pat Riley could be right. Just because you feel paranoid, it doesn't mean somebody isn't out to get you.
Perhaps it's true that the National Basketball Association deliberately sabotaged the work of Riley's best accountants.
Maybe officials who were dressed in trench coats and whispering into their lapels arranged to snatch Juwan Howard from Riley and return him to the Washington Bullets.
A league conspiracy against the Miami Heat? I won't know for sure until I get through to Oliver Stone, but why be so quick to dismiss Riley's suspicions?
The NBA, Riley said, ``simply wanted Juwan to go back to Washington, maybe with the new arena and all.''
As scenarios go, this is not so far-fetched.
You can argue that Howard is not worth the money (so much for someone who has yet to appear in a single playoff game), but there is no question he is the most popular basketball player - possibly the best-liked athlete - in the Washington metro area.
As he proved by signing with the Heat, money means as much to Howard as it does to the most callous multi-millionaire (What, you actually believed him when he said he always wanted to play for Riley?). But in a world where many stars are uncooperative or unsavory, Howard is held up as a model citizen. He also happens to be a terrific player who will only get better.
Without Howard, a franchise that has struggled for years to regain credibility was in danger of becoming the East Coast Chapter of the L.A. Clippers.
In other words, there are sound reasons - business reasons - why the NBA would want Howard to remain with the Bullets.
No wonder, then, that when the NBA accuses the Heat of circumventing salary-cap rules by signing Howard - thereby neatly returning to the Bullets their future - Riley sees the handiwork of commissioner David Stern.
``The only thing we miscalculated,'' said Riley, ``was somebody's animus for us.''
To say that Riley and Puppetmaster Stern do not get along is an understatement. They go together like Shaquille O'Neal and free throws.
And speaking of Shaq, isn't it curious that the Los Angeles Lakers could find a way to remain under the cap while signing O'Neal for $120 million over seven years.
David Stern's NBA is more than a league. It is a medium. Its success depends on basketball capturing a segment of the pop culture.
As much as the Lakers need O'Neal, and as much as Orlando will miss him, the NBA wants a star attraction in Tinseltown even more.
Showtime is a fading memory at the Forum. Hard as it is to believe, the building was not selling out for Vlade Divac. What's more, L.A. is a depressed market, athletically speaking. Wayne Gretzky is gone. The NFL is gone. Tom Lasorda is reduced to a cameo role.
O'Neal, then, fills the bill, not to mention the void. With Shaq, the NBA can own L.A. Would the Puppetmaster leave something as important as this to chance?
The plot thickens. But if this is just another NBA scheme, most fans shouldn't complain.
O'Neal was needed in Orlando to get that franchise off the ground. Now he's needed in L.A., just as Howard is needed inside and outside the Beltway.
Conspiracy buffs will love the notion that, while taking care of the Bullets, the Puppetmaster might have evened an old score with Riley.
The intrigue grows. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Was there an NBA conspiracy against Miami's Pat Riley which saw
Juwan Howard snatched away and sent back to Washington? by CNB