Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 26, 1993 TAG: 9305260051
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Jack Bogaczyk
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
More than a few NBA club executives are howling about Orlando winning the draft lottery two straight years. Ralph Sampson should get some of the credit for this Magic act.
The former Virginia star had as much as anyone to do with the NBA turning to a lottery in 1985. People around the league still talk about how Houston coach Bill Fitch's team took a dive late in the 1982-83 season to get a shot at the 7-foot-4 center. The league's credibility, boosted by the bubbling Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rivalry, took a hit.
Then, the Rockets still had the worst Western Conference team in Sampson's rookie season, so they were involved in a coin flip for the chance to pick Hakeem Olajuwon - and won. The next season, the lottery became a part of the NBA resurgence. Now, after a 41-41 Orlando team got the big prize as the longest shot, many teams are screaming about revising this game of chance.
It will take 21 of 27 team votes to change the format, and the lottery almost certainly will be on the agenda for the September owners' meeting. Long before then, however, it will take some magic for Orlando to fit under the salary cap, which rises from $14.5 million to $15.65 million next season.
Already last summer, Magic general manager Pat Williams restructured the contracts of six players and traded Sam Vincent to give Shaquille O'Neal a $3 million start on a seven-year, $40 million contract. The Magic was $3 million over this year's cap - allowable in resigning your own veteran players - and they're looking at a $5 million reduction now.
Michigan's Chris Webber is likely to get a rookie salary in the $2.4 million range. Shaq will make $3.9 million next season, and even if he agrees to defer all of that salary down the road, the Magic still can't get under the cap because Orlando signed guard Nick Anderson to a new deal during the season that will pay $2.7 million in 1993-94.
It would appear that forward Dennis Scott is history with the Magic - but only at a fire-sale return - taking a $2.8 million salary with him.
\ HOOPLA: With Charlotte having played tough before falling in the NBA playoffs, it appears coach Allan Bristow will return to the Hornets' sideline next season. Now the task for the Virginia Tech grad is to keep shooting guard Kendall Gill from asking to leave the huge shadows of Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson.
The Hornets aren't going to improve much with the 17th and 20th picks in the first round of the draft. If Gill asks for a trade, Charlotte would likely be interested in Mark Price, who expects to be dealt by Cleveland with the emergence of backup Terrell Brandon. Another ex-Hokie, Portland assistant coach John Wetzel, is among the potential candidates to replace the resigned Lenny Wilkens as the Cavaliers' head coach.
\ TIRED: For the Indianapolis 500 and its weeks of qualifying and practice, Goodyear sent 4,000 tires to The Brickyard. Of those, 80 percent will be only 20 percent worn when they are pulled. The life of an Indy-car tire is about 240 miles, maximum.
A front tire for an Indy car - 10 inches wide, 18 pounds - costs $250. A 23-pound, 14-inch rear tire is $350. A Goodyear spokesman said that the highest-quality passenger car tire, if run at Indy, would not make it through two corners before the tread would start shearing off.
\ BUCKS: He knew the price of an NFL expansion franchise would be higher than Bill Clinton's haircut, but hopeful Charlotte club owner Jerry Richardson is staring at a $300 million ticket before he even hires a coach or pays a player.
In addition to the greedy expansion fee of $140 million - the NFL owners know they're going to have a revenue falloff in the next TV contract - Richardson unveiled plans for a privately funded, $160 million downtown stadium over the weekend.
The model of the 72,302-seat stadium included a pair of granite black cats flanking the main entrance - making it obvious that if Charlotte gets one of the two franchises to be awarded this fall, the team will be named the Carolina Panthers.
St. Louis is considered a lock for one team, with Charlotte and Baltimore ahead of Memphis and Jacksonville in the race for the other. Richardson now will try to sell commitments for 50,000 season tickets to stay in this very expensive game.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL AUTO RACING FOOTBALL
by CNB