11 May-21 May 1996
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John Thompson, the coach of the Georgetown Hoyas basketball team, was the featured guest on the 11 May 1996 edition of Full Court Press. They discussed college (and high school) players entering the NBA early, and the need for education (and teaching) players. Thompson did reveal (not widely known) that he urged Ewing to enter the NBA after Ewing's sophomore year; Ewing chose to stay the full four years.

Thompson expressed that there is a desire to possibly go to the NBA and coach (some day). However, he does not have any intense interest in any one job and is currently happy at Georgetown. His feelings towards the NCAA are a lot less positive. If offered a professional coaching job, he will consider it (like he did with the Nuggets a few years ago), but it has to be the right offer and situation.

wtf 28 May 1996
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Rasheed Wallace was named to the NBA All-Rookie 2nd Team for the 1995-96 season. He received a total of 15 points, tied with G Tyus Edney of Sacramento. Also named to the second team were Keven Garnett of Minnesota (35 points), Bryant Reeves of Vancouver (28), and Brent Barry of the LA Clippers (21).

The first team consisted of Damon Stoudamire of Toronto (56), Joe Smith of Golden State (54), Jerry Stackhouse of Philadelphia (52), Antonio McDyess of Denver (50), Michael Finley of Phoenix (41), and Arvydas Sabonis of Portland (41). Stoudamire received the maximum 28 first-team votes. This is only the third time in NBA history that six players were selected to the first team.

Congratulations, Rasheed. Hopefully, you will improve on your efforts of last season.

wtf 20 May 1996
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Tim Legler was the featured guest on the 18 May 1996 edition of Full Court Press. Tim is currently 2 or 3 weeks ahead of his rehab schedule, after having surgery to repair a torn right anterior cruciate ligament and some cartilage damage. Most noteworthy indication of his rapid healing is that he was on an exercise cycle making full rotation of the pedal a mere 10 days after surgery. When I had my ACL surgery two years ago, I was still struggling to get a 90 degree bend in my knee after 10 days; it was closer to three weeks before I was cycling. Great news, indeed!

He's probably about 10 weeks away from returning to the court and doing stationary shooting drills. But shooting doesn't mean he's ready to return. He still has to work on straight-ahead running, eventually progressing to lateral motion and other basketball skills (e.g., ball handling, defensive positioning). He still has a long road ahead of him, let's just hope he stays ahead of schedule during the entire rehabilitation process. (In my case, I started slow, but finished fast, being fully rehabbed in just under 7 months. Of course, I didn't have to play NBA basketball at that point, either.)

One interesting rumor: Jim Lynam, although he recently received a one-year contract extension, supposedly has until the end of the month (May 1996) to shop around the league for another coaching position. However, the Bullets position is probably one of the best player situations in the league, so it's doubtful he'll leave.

Lastly, I saw a new Juwan Howard commercial during the show (~21 minute mark). It was a commercial for Sprite, and it was kinda funny.

wtf 20 May 1996
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Well, the Bullets weren't snake-bitten by their lottery luck. Their lottery pick, which they traded to Cleveland in the Mark Price trade, was not a top 3 pick. The pick is #12 overall, which, when looking at this draft, isn't that great of a pick overall.

Unfortunately, the only pick the Bullets hold is the #55 pick overall, which is the fourth to last pick in the 2nd round. I don't know how they wound up with this pick (their regular 2nd pick went to Orlando as part of the Scott Skiles trade). If I find out, I will add information here.

Look shortly for a summary from me on what I think of the Bullets' off-season prospects/plans.

wtf 20 May 1996
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Well, at first glance, it seemed like a bit of a surprise, with Juwan only being in his second year. But then, thinking back on the season and the rest of the league, it's not all that surprising. There's probably 5 great forwards in the league, as the voting indicated, and then Juwan heads up the next level.

For those who don't know what I'm talking about, Juwan Howard was named to the Third-Team All-NBA squad for the 1995-96 season. Juwan received 68 points in the voting, including 3 votes to the First Team All-NBA! Also joining Juwan on the All-NBA Third Team was Phoenix's Charles Barkley (236 points/10 first-team votes) at forward, Orlando's Shaquille O'Neal (185/8) at center, and Sacramento's Mitch Richmond (167/1) and Indiana's Reggie Miller (90/0) at guard.

The First-Team All-NBA squad consisted of forwards Scottie Pippen of Chicago (517/91) and Karl Malone of Utah (509/89), center David Robinson of San Antonio (442/65), and guards Michael Jordan of Chicago (565/113) and Anfernee Hardaway of Orlando (516/90). The Second-Team All-NBA squad included forwards Shawn Kemp of Seattle (306/18) and Grant Hill of Detroit (266/14), center Hakeem Olajuwon of Houston (378/40), and guards Gary Payton of Seattle (294/14) and John Stockton of Utah (258/7).

The rules are simple. The 113-member voting panel, consisting of 26 national media members and three media members who cover the NBA regularly from each of the league's 29 cities, voted for All-NBA First, Second and Third teams by position. Points were awarded on a 5-3-1 basis.

Other players receiving votes, with point totals (First Team votes in parentheses): Dennis Rodman, Chicago, 57 (1); Jason Kidd, Dallas, 43 (1); Rod Strickland, Portland, 33; Sean Elliott, San Antonio, 27; Terrell Brandon, Cleveland, 25; Vin Baker, Milwaukee, 23; Clyde Drexler, Houston, 18; Glen Rice, Charlotte, 10; Detlef Schrempf, Seattle, 9; Alonzo Mourning, Miami, 8; Earvin Johnson, L.A. Lakers, 7; Patrick Ewing, New York, 3; Horace Grant, Orlando, 3; Allan Houston, Detroit, 3; Dennis Scott, Orlando, 3; Latrell Sprewell, Golden State, 3; Larry Johnson, Charlotte, 2; Mookie Blaylock, Atlanta, 1; Elden Campbell, L.A. Lakers, 1; Cedric Ceballos, L.A. Lakers, 1; Avery Johnson, San Antonio, 1; Kevin Johnson, Phoenix, 1; Dikembe Mutombo, Denver, 1; Bobby Phills, Cleveland, 1; Clifford Robinson, Portland, 1; Damon Stoudamire, Toronto, 1; Nick Van Exel, L.A. Lakers, 1; Clarence Weatherspoon, Philadelphia, 1.

All I can say is, this is the beginning of many honors to come for Juwan. Please make sure they're in a Bullets uniform.

wtf 2 June 1996
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For those of you who read Tony Kornheiser's column, he and I were thinking pretty much along the same lines. Richard Justice had a very interesting article in the May 21 Washington Post Sports section about how agent David Falk (who will represent free agent-to-be Juwan Howard) views things.

First off, some will hint that one of the reasons former GM John Nash was dumped was because he was a liability in the upcoming Howard negotiations. Falk hasn't forgotten the previous negotiations, but claims that it would have had little bearing on the actual negotiations, once they begin July 1.

However, it appears that Falk does indeed have an axe to grind, and may actually want to get the upper hand on Pollin. On one level, Falk seems to be acting like a professional agent representing his client. Falk: "I've told him my job is to make sure the money is the same from every team, and Juwan can concentrate on other factors, such as where he has the best chance of winning a championship. ... He's going to have pretty strong ideas about what he wants to do. I'm trying to help educate him through the process." Falk admits the Bullets have two things going for them: Howard's love of coach Jim Lynam and the city of Washington.

However, that last sentence (quoted) has a hidden personal agenda, IMO; it gets stronger. Falk: "My last two experiences with the Bullets have been distasteful and highly unprofessional. They have been arguably dishonest and it goes against the grain of everything Mr. Pollin publicly proclaims himself to be. He had some very nasty and demeaning comments about me at a public meeting shortly after the Juwan negotiations. He said the reason Juwan Howard hadn't signed earlier is because David Falk is a bad guy.

"When Mr. Pollin came out recently and said he'd pay whatever it takes to keep Juwan, it was a nice gesture on one level. It may have been his way of saying they made a mistake the first time around. On the other hand, it's like saying, 'We treated you badely. We challenged your dignity. We put you through the wringer. We embarrassed you publicly. But don't worry because we're going to pay you.' It's about more than money, particularly for a person like Juwan, with the way he conducts himself and the contribution he has made to the community. It was almost like putting salt in the wound. It was saying, 'It's only about money.'"

You want more? "Obviously, I have my own personal feelings, and I also have my feelings on behalf of Juwan. It is incredible to me that my company represents about 30 very high profile players in the NBA and there's a professional basketball franchise in my backyard--the owner lives two miles from my house. And that we're not allies. I didn't say friends--I said allies. ...

"Why don't we work more closely together to find a way to bring some of that talent to the Washington Bullets? ... It disappoints only because it is so illogical. I had a meeting with Abe ... and said: 'You guys made a terrible mistake in the Juwan Howard scenario. You compounded the crime by reneging on a deal for Rex Chapman.' [wtf note: Chapman and Falk claimed the Bullets reneged on a 5-year, $16M deal for Chapman a few months after the acrimonious Howard negotiations. The Bullets deny it.] ...

"I'm not looking for an olive branch. I'm looking for a protocol in which we can do business together. ... Without being negative to the Bullets, I'm not sure you'd give them a very good report card on the intangibles--based on the last 20 years. ... I don't have Pollin's respect. In the fall of 1994, I said to him, 'You're never going to have a player who reminds you more of Wes Unseld [than Juwan Howard]. He's not a flashy player, but he's going to be a great, Hall of Fame player. He's got a rock solid character and a tremendous integrity and work ethic. Please don't let this go on for another minute. You're stripping him of his dignity and it's unnecessary.' That had zero influence on what he does. That tells me the man has little respect for me and my opinion." I think that last paragraph sums it up, don't you? It's about being respected as the master agent of the universe, with all of the power and knowledge. He failed last season, when he tried to orchestrate a takeover of the NBA Player's Union. (He was right, the original deal was severely flawed; but he had a not-so-hidden agenda behind the actions that led to the lockout.) But the Bullets aren't apt to kiss his keister. And I don't believe Falk has total sway over Juwan; Juwan is a VERY smart man. Falk is probably a very good agent, when that's all he does--representing his client's interests. But he seems to want a lot more, especially in the power department.

wtf 17 June 1996
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