Dunce Cap : Heat’s Blunder With Howard Is Wildest Story of Wild Free-Agent Summer

General managers setting up “war rooms.” . . . Super-agent David Falk announcing his schedule (GMs can call from 10 a.m. to noon, Falk makes presentations in the afternoon, all business to be concluded before his July 19 European vacation). . . . Michael Jordan getting $30 million, the biggest one-year sports contract ever. . . . Shaquille O’Neal getting a long-term $120-million deal, another all-timer. . . . Jerry West, the big winner in this sweepstakes, saying it almost finished him.

No one ever saw anything like the NBA’s free-agent shopping binge, and more general managers than the high-strung West hope they never see anything like it again.

“This is the craziest period I’ve ever gone through,” said Donnie Walsh, whose Indiana Pacers escaped damage. “This knocked the hell out of me.”

It was harder than that on Pat Riley, Miami’s coach, co-owner and fledgling administrator who steamed into battle, guns blazing, racked up a series of impressive victories but was sunk by a David Stern broadside.

In a decision that shook the balance of power in the Eastern Conference (and which Stern has chosen not to explain), the commissioner voided Juwan Howard’s signing. Riley holed up for a week before calling it “a new low in my 30 years in the NBA.”

Licking his wounds, Riley said the league was out to get him, which may have been true, although not because Miami is less important than Washington, Bullet owner Abe Pollin is an inner-circle guy or Riley was in league with Falk, who has slipped off Stern’s greeting card list.

The Heat had already gotten off lightly once ($1 million plus a No. 1 pick) when a faxed memo of agreement suggested it tampered with Riley, then coach of the New York Knicks.

Riley’s aggressive spirit, handing out million-dollar bonuses deemed “unlikely” (and thus, not on the cap) for sure bets such as 43 wins, was being monitored by the league. A week into the bidding process, it e-mailed teams, saying they couldn’t do that.

It might have taken a softer approach on Howard, since these are matters of interpretation, but Stern had a bigger problem with Riley’s willingness to rebuild at any price, to himself or the league’s salary structure.

Riley’s boss, Heat owner Mickey Arison, who built the Carnival Cruise Line, is worth an estimated $1.4 billion. Magic Johnson tells the story of Arison tying up one of his huge yachts at Barcelona for the 1992 Olympics but sending for another one just as big and luxurious when the air conditioning malfunctioned.

Arison’s money and Riley’s drive spelled trouble for bottom lines everywhere. Sure enough, Riley threw in with Falk to spring Alonzo Mourning out of Charlotte, where he had been expected to sign for $11 million; Mourning wound up turning it down, going to Miami--and getting not $12 million, or $13 million, but $16 million.

When the Bullets convinced themselves no one would go higher than $95 million for Howard, Falk took him to Riley, who offered $100 million. Howard said he would sign with Miami.

For years, teams had been signing their own free agents last to maximize cap room. Carrying Mourning at 150% of his old salary ($7.8 million) instead of his new one (which started at $9.375 million) enabled the Heat to offer Howard an extra $23.5 million over seven years.

The Lakers did the same thing with Elden Campbell, carrying him at $3.6 million before signing O’Neal, then giving Elden $7 million a year, freeing $38 million more for Shaq.

However, no one has suggested the Lakers had any deal with Campbell--and Elden didn’t go on TV and say he had one, as Mourning did. Three days after Howard’s announcement--and one day before he signed--Mourning confirmed press reports he had agreed to a $100-million-plus contract on ESPN’s “Up Close,” in an offhand conversation with host Chris Myers.

There went the centerpiece of the Miami rebuilding project. The Bullets promptly raised their offer to $100 million, and Howard, who had said he didn’t want to leave, jumped back. Riley, despairing of going to arbitration over a player who didn’t want to be there, couldn’t pursue it, complaining that neither Falk nor Howard would return his calls after the league intervened.

(Of course, in Falk’s case, he would have had to call from Europe, where his vacation had started, right on time.)

Riley is still figuring out his next move. There may never be another buying opportunity like this one, with more than 100 free agents and a salary cap going up an unprecedented 50%--$8 million--but last spring’s draftees can all become free agents in the summer of 1998.

Several teams, including the Lakers, Pacers and Orlando Magic, seem to be setting themselves up to get under the cap in 1998. There may never be another one like this one, but in the NBA, the good old summertime is over.

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HOW THEY RATE

THE WINNERS

* 1. LAKERS--No contest. They got Shaq.

* 2. NEW YORK KNICKS--By trading for Larry Johnson instead of pursuing Howard, they created enough room for Allan Houston and Chris Childs too. Problem: Johnson’s pay runs them out of moves. They have to re-sign Patrick Ewing, 34, so their window won’t stay open long.

* 3. ATLANTA HAWKS--Underappreciated General Manager Pete Babcock stole Dikembe Mutombo from the mouths of the gaping Detroit Pistons.

* 4. WASHINGTON BULLETS--Got Howard back, traded for Rod Strickland. Problem: Chris Webber is reportedly upset that everyone says his buddy, Howard, is better than he is.

* 5. VANCOUVER GRIZZLIES--Sat on the sidelines for the auction but picked up a starting guard, Anthony Peeler, for a second-round draft pick.

* 6. TORONTO RAPTORS--Isiah Thomas gets useful Popeye Jones, Hubert Davis from teams trying to clear room.

* 7. INDIANA PACERS--Had everything to lose and nothing to gain but will have dodged the bullet, retaining their three free agents if they get Reggie Miller back, as expected.

* 8. UTAH JAZZ--Picked up Brooks Thompson, an Orlando reserve guard some teams liked, for extra center Felton Spencer when the Magic found itself in dire need of a someone better than Jon Koncak.

THE LOSERS

* 1. ORLANDO MAGIC--No contest. They lost Shaq. Rich DeVos, Fortune magazine’s fourth richest American at $4.3 billion, shows how a real capitalist works, buying the team for $70 million, watching it appreciate $100 million or so in four years, then deciding he can’t afford the game’s best young center.

* 2. MIAMI HEAT--One moment it was a rising power. The next, all it had to show for this summer was P.J. Brown and Gary Grant. Riley still has $4.5 million, which he could spend now or bank for next year.

* 3. DENVER NUGGETS--Goodbye Dikembe, hello . . . Ervin Johnson? Nugget executives say they’ll be better because the former Seattle SuperSonic center doesn’t want the ball because he knows he can’t score, unlike Mutombo. Rationalization makes the world go around.

* 4. NEW JERSEY NETS--After last season’s trades of Kenny Anderson and Derrick Coleman, lost three more starters--Childs, Brown and Armon Gilliam.

* 5. PHOENIX SUNS--They were trying to take advantage of the auction to deal Charles Barkley, but the league nixed the three-way trade for Mutombo that would have sent Barkley to Houston. They still have no center and an increasingly upset Barkley, who can make an even bigger pain of himself.

* 6. PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS--Trader Bob Whitsitt puzzles everyone, signing Anderson for $6 million a year, taking head cases J.R. Rider and Rasheed Wallace in trades.

* 7. DETROIT PISTONS--With Grant Hill, cap room and a rising team, they were supposed to be hunters instead of hunted. They were shocked by Houston’s exit, fanned on Mutombo and spent their money for Grant Long and Stacey Augmon.

* 8. HOUSTON ROCKETS--They almost got Barkley in the three-way for Sam Cassell and Robert Horry, which would have given them a chance for a last hurrah. Settled for Brent Price.

UNCERTAIN

* 1. CHICAGO BULLS--Kept Michael Jordan, but all he would sign was a one-year deal. Offered Dennis Rodman only one year and reportedly beat his agent up in negotiations. Looks like the era of good feeling is over.

* 2. SEATTLE SUPERSONICS--Gave $4 million a year to shot-blocker Jim McIlvaine, who never played 15 minutes a game in two seasons despite all the injuries to the other Bullet centers.

* 3. DALLAS MAVERICKS--Got old pro Derek Harper, but Jason Kidd will take up the point guard minutes. They hope Harper can mend the Jim Jackson-Kidd feud; if he can, Derek ought to run the United Nations next.

* 4. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS--Retained Latrell Sprewell, took a cheap flier on creaky Mark Price.

* 5. PHILADELPHIA 76ERS--Picked up Don MacLean and Lucious Harris but needed a center.

* 6. MILWAUKEE BUCKS--Got Gilliam, known for scoring lots of points for losing teams. They still have $4 million left, but owner Herb Kohl has declared his own “internal” salary cap.

SAT THIS DANCE OUT

* 1. CLEVELAND CAVALIERS--Signed Mark West cheap. Still have $4 million plus in cap room, may save it till next summer.

* 2. BOSTON CELTICS--M.L. Carr could have been $3 million under if he hadn’t signed Dominique Wilkins, who left after one year, and Dana Barros, who’s a reserve now.

* 3. CLIPPERS--Untouched so far but far apart in scant negotiations with Brian Williams.

* 4. MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES--Another team still under the cap but sitting on its money.

* 5. CHARLOTTE HORNETS--Their big move was getting rid of Johnson and his money, as demanded by prospective new buyer Bruton Smith.

* 6. SAN ANTONIO SPURS--Their big move was trading for Charles Smith last season. So far, it could be looking better.

* 7. SACRAMENTO KINGS--Their money was already tied up.

West Painted the Laker Portrait With an Eye Toward the Future

If Jerry West were a painter, this would be his Mona Lisa.

Even after signing Shaquille O’Neal to a $120-million deal, the biggest in sports history, and bringing Elden Campbell back for $49 million, the Lakers may be able to get under the cap in the summer of 1998 when the Joe Smith-Antonio McDyess class goes on the market.

In two years, the salary cap is projected to be increased to $27.7 million. The Lakers are within striking distance, now committed to $30.1 million.

LAKER SALARIES (Figures in millions)

*--*

Player 1996-97 97-98 98-99 99-2000 00-01 01-02 02-03 Shaquille O’Neal* $10.7 12.9 15.0* 17.1 19.3 21.4 23.6 Elden Campbell* 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0 Cedric Ceballos* 2.4 2.6 Nick Van Exel* 1.9 1.9 1.9 Eddie Jones* 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.5 Corie Blount* 1.2 1.4 Sean Rooks* 1.2 1.4 1.7 1.9 2.2 2.4 2.6 Kobe Bryant* 1.0 1.2 1.4 Derek Fisher .611 .732 .855 Travis Knight .2475 Rumeal Robinson .2475 Jerome Kersey .2475 Trevor Wilson .2475

*--*

* guaranteed contracts