Let’s Play Chicken

In the regular season, the NBA plays a game called basketball. In the off-season, they play something called chicken.Here’s how it works. On one side you have a team’s management. On the other side you have a player (or a coach) and his agent. The two sides begin battling as soon as the free-agent season gets going, and don’t stop until one side flinches.The biggest and best game of chicken can be found in Detroit, where Pistons coach Larry Brown and his agent are meeting with the team’s management today to try to determine Brown’s future. Both sides are saying publicly that they want Brown to continue as Detroit’s head coach. But privately, one gets the impression both sides would prefer to part ways.Brown is famous for his wanderlust, not least when he agreed to coach Kansas while he was still under contract with the Nets two decades ago. New Jersey fired him for that transgression, even though it was just before the playoffs, but that hasn’t stopped Brown’s eye from straying. During this past season alone, he speculated that the Knicks might be his dream job and openly flirted with the Cavs about a management position while his team was playing in the Eastern Conference finals.All of this suggests Brown is trying to bait the Pistons into firing him – which would allow him to collect on the rest of his contract from the comfort of his couch. Why would Brown want to leave Detroit when he won a championship there and nearly took a second? For starters it’s, um, Detroit. But beyond location, Brown could make substantially more money in New York than he’s currently pulling down in Motown.Plus, there’s Brown’s health issue – a bladder problem related to his hip surgery that supposedly could keep him from coaching again. While the issue is real, it’s also a fairly obvious red herring to keep the Pistons in limbo and force their hand. Brown already coached the final four months of the season with the condition, so it’s obvious that his malady, while uncomfortable, doesn’t preclude him from coaching.As for the Pistons, they figure Brown doesn’t really want to come back and want to see him resign so that he doesn’t collect any more money. They’re also upset that he refuses to play the Pistons’ two first-round draft choices in 2003, Darko Milicic and Carlos Delfino. They’d probably like to fire him anyway after his indiscretions this season. If Brown were coaching Atlanta or New Orleans and another team came calling, his willingness to talk would be more understandable. But while he’s coaching the defending champions?In today’s meeting, that ongoing tug-of-war may finally get resolution. But it isn’t a fair fight. Brown holds most of the cards – his contract is guaranteed, and the Pistons can’t keep chosen successor Flip Saunders waiting on the sidelines forever.Of course, the Knicks won’t be neutral observers to the proceedings. Team President Isiah Thomas is waiting to pounce on his old buddy should the Pistons put him on the market, providing Gotham with its first dose of credibility on the sideline since Jeff Van Gundy skipped town.Brown’s confrontation with the Pistons is not the only game of chicken of interest to local observers. We’re seeing a similar battle being waged between New Jersey and Portland over Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and it looks to be a much more even contest.The Nets are trying to obtain the high-scoring forward by using their $5 million trade exception from last year’s Kerry Kittles trade. Doing so would allow the Nets to acquire Abdur-Rahim in a sign-and-trade deal by which Portland would “sign” Abdur-Rahim for six years and $38 million – about $10 million more than he could get from a team’s mid-level exception – and then deal him to the Nets.Obviously, it’s in Abdur-Rahim’s interest to go in this direction, because his other suitors can’t offer as much money. It’s also in New Jersey’s interest because it would provide the Nets with the power forward they need while preserving their mid-level exception to pursue another player. The question is whether it’s in Portland’s interest.After all, the Blazers have no incentive to complete the deal unless the Nets throw something their way. New Jersey is offering a second-round pick, but the Blazers want a first-rounder. That demand may seem crazy considering the Blazers would get nothing if Abdur-Rahim were to sign somewhere else. But the Blazers are smart to raise the stakes because they know they’re one of the few useful outlets for New Jersey’s trade exception, and that the deal would be worthwhile for the Nets even if they had to give up a no. 1 pick. Besides, second-round picks are almost worthless.As a result, the stare down is taking place. The Nets are insisting they won’t give up a first-round pick. The Blazers are adamant that a no. 2 pick isn’t enough. Over the next two weeks, somebody will blink. Chances are New Jersey will resist upping its offer to a no. 1 pick but instead offer other sweeteners – cash, perhaps, or an additional second-rounder. But with Abdur-Rahim’s agent hounding both sides to pull the trigger, something should get done.While Abdur-Rahim and Brown are the two local cases of interest, the most common game of chicken around the league involves restricted free agents. We hear the bluster from teams every summer – they will match every offer for their restricted free agents, they insist. This bluster is expected, as they hope to discourage rivals from signing their players to an offer sheet. Already, the Suns have put word out they intend to match a maximum offer that Joe Johnson is expected to get from Atlanta, in hopes of giving the Hawks cold feet. The 76ers (Sam Dalembert), Bulls (Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry), and Sonics (Vladimir Radmanovic) also insist they’ll match any offer.That’s how it worked for the Nets and Nuggets last season. The Nuggets said they were going to sign Kenyon Martin to a maximum deal despite New Jersey’s insistence that it would match the offer. At the last minute, the Nets caved, agreeing to sign-and-trade Martin in return for draft picks – one of which may end up going to Portland for Abdur-Rahim, oddly enough.That’s how the world turns in the NBA’s off-season, where talking a good game becomes more important than playing one. Expect plenty more standoffs as the summer progresses, but don’t take either side’s words at face value. They’re just playing the game.Mr. Hollinger is the author of “2005–06 Pro Basketball Forecast.” He can be reached at jhollinger@nysun.com.

Let’s Play Chicken

Let’s Play Chicken

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