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Tuesday, Feb. 2, 1999

Rodman, Stickland among the NBA's unsigned stragglers

Associated Press

   With opening night in the NBA just a few days away, the seven-time rebounding champion and last season's assists leader are still available on the free agent market.
   For Dennis Rodman, it appears his next team will be the Orlando Magic or Los Angeles Lakers.
   For Rod Strickland, it's a choice between taking $30 million from Washington, holding out or hoping for a trade.
   Rodman, Strickland, Kevin Johnson, Jim Jackson, Sherman Douglas, Dominique Wilkins and Scott Burrell are the top free agents still on the market, although all of them have narrowed their options to a few teams.
   Rodman's first choice seems to be Orlando, where he would be reunited with his former coach, Chuck Daly. The Magic played Monday night in Miami, where Rodman spent the past week attending Super Bowl festivities.
   Orlando owner Rich DeVos is wary of bringing in a player with such a checkered reputation, so Rodman could end up being available to the Lakers.
   "I can't say we're interested or we're not interested," Lakers general manager Jerry West said Monday. "But there would be an awful lot to talk about it internally before we'd do something like that."
   Shaquille O'Neal has endorsed the possibility of bringing in Rodman, who would become the only true power forward on the Lakers' roster.
   "I would not want to go against my big man," coach Del Harris said. "I have the highest regard for the abilities of the guy who could win the rebounding title seven years in a row and who has been on two different championship teams as many times as he has."
   Meanwhile, the stalemate between the Washington Wizards and Strickland showed no signs of ending. Washington has offered Strickland a five-year contract with three years guaranteed for $30 million. Strickland's agent, David Falk, is said to be demanding $55 million guaranteed.
   With no other team able to offer Strickland more than $1.75 million for one year, his options are limited.
   "We are optimistic about it," Wizards coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. "I've had a very cordial conversation with Rod, and I think he would like to be here and we would like to have him. I guess it gets to being about business."
   Strickland could be involved in a sign-and-trade deal sending him to Houston, Detroit or Orlando. Wizards GM Wes Unseld has set Friday as the deadline for the 32-year-old Strickland to decide whether to take the $30 million.
   "If it's not done by the time we open up the season, then it's not going to get done," Unseld said.
   The Rockets and Pistons also have interest in Johnson, the 11-year veteran who spent almost his entire career with the Phoenix Suns.
   Sacramento also could be the eventual destination for Johnson, who has backed off his statements of two years ago saying he would like to retire.
   "He's on his own timetable,' said his representative, Kevin Hiestand.
   Douglas, who played last season for the New Jersey Nets, is waiting to see how the Strickland situation unfolds.
   If Strickland is traded by the Wizards, Douglas would sign in Washington. If Strickland stays, Douglas probably would accept the next-most lucrative offer from the Los Angeles Clippers.
   Jackson, who played for the Warriors, 76ers, Nets and Mavericks over the past two seasons, is drawing interest from teams needing a scorer. It's still possible that he'll be involved in a sign-and-trade deal sending him from Golden State to a contender.
   Once the Jackson question is answered, it should give Wilkins, the nine-time All-Star and former scoring champ, an idea of where he can sign. Aside from several of the top contending teams, the Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic have expressed interest in the 39-year-old Wilkins.
   Burrell, who played last season for the Chicago Bulls, might end up taking a one-year offer from the New Jersey Nets.
   Other veterans still available include Chris Morris, Stanley Roberts, Oliver Miller and Brian Shaw.
   

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