Printer Friendly
The Free Library
4,474,226 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

LAKERS NOTEBOOK: GRANT LEAVES WITH FOURTH RING, `NO BAD FEELINGS'.


Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer

All things being equal, Horace Grant might have been in a Lakers uniform Sunday, and not opposing them as a member of the Orlando Magic. But then, all things weren't equal in July, when Grant was a free agent deciding where to end his NBA career.

The Magic offered $7 million over three years, two of them guaranteed. The Lakers, fearful of the luxury tax luxury tax, levy on articles that are not essential to a normal standard of living. Such taxes may be imposed strictly for revenue purposes or they may be intended to discourage consumption of certain articles, e.g., the tax on French lawns and laces in the 18th cent. in England. In modern times such "conventional necessities" as alcohol, tobacco, jewelry, furs, amusements, private automobiles, and candy have been taxed. and conscious of Grant's age (36), couldn't compete - although at the 11th hour, there was talk of matching Orlando's offer.

Grant chuckled Sunday upon hearing that.

``This is a great organization,'' he said, then added, ``They didn't match the offer. If they had matched the offer, it would have been two years.''

So Grant returned to Orlando, where he spent some of his best years and where he had built a sizable mansion near town. He left L.A. with a championship, his fourth (he received the ring Sunday), and with a little disappointment, but ``no bad feelings whatsoever.''

``This is a business,'' he said. ``I helped this team win a championship, and I'm grateful for them giving me the opportunity to come here and play.''

There were other lures in Orlando, including the chance to play on one of the NBA's up-and-coming powers, alongside stars Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill. No one would be surprised if Grant was competing against his old team in June.

``I felt that with this team we have a very good chance of coming out of the East and playing for a championship,'' he said.

The Lakers remain a bit unsettled at power forward, where Samaki Walker and Slava Medvedenko are still learning and Robert Horry is still valued primarily as a backup.

But Grant said that threesome is doing just fine in his place and his assessment of the Lakers required only one word: ``Wow.''

``Whenever you have a Shaq (O'Neal) and Kobe (Bryant), man, you really don't need that much more. ... I don't see any slippage.''

--Magic's kingdom? Coach Phil Jackson ranked the Magic among the best offensive teams, but not necessarily one of the best teams overall.

``They haven't got really what I would consider a lot of size or speed in the blocks,'' he said.

Much will depend on what Grant can provide.

``I bought him another year or two by only playing him 18 or 22 minutes a game,'' Jackson quipped. ``They can't play him 30 minutes a game and have Horace have any value after February.''

--Ouch OUCH - Online Uncertain Constraint Handling
OUCH - Order of Underwater Coral Heroes
OUCH - Organization for Understanding Cluster Headaches
OUCH - Organization of United Church Homes
OUCH - Ornstein-Uhlenbeck Models for Comparative Hypotheses
OUCH - Oxford University Club Hurriers (formerly Mansfield Road Runners; UK)
 report: Bryant suffered a bloody nose in the first quarter when Hill and McGrady converged on him near the 3-point arc. Bryant darted to the locker room but returned three minutes later. He'll be examined today to determine whether there was a fracture.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Daily News
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2001, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Title Annotation:Sports
Publication:Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
Date:Nov 12, 2001
Words:462
Previous Article:PALMDALE CHRISTMAS PARADE TO LIGHT UP THE NIGHT.(News)
Next Article:SCHOOL SCHEDULE COSTLY SHIFT ADDS $1.3 MILLION TO DISTRICT'S BILLS.(News)



Related Articles
HAVING TIME OF HIS LIFE BUSS ENVISIONS L.A. THREE-PEAT.(Sports)
THANK YOU, LAKERS, THINGS BACK TO NORMAL.(Sports)
SURFING THE TUBE.(Sports)
LAKERS NEARLY WIN WITHOUT SHAQ DENVER 87, LAKERS 86.(Sports)
[0] LAKERS GET HOT THEN BEAT UTAH SHAQ EJECTED, BRYANT GETS T LAKERS 82, UTAH 71.(Sports)
HARMONY TAKEN FOR GRANTED.(Sports)
PORTLAND REVISITS LAST YEAR LAKERS DELIVER SIMILAR BEATING TO TRAIL BLAZERS LAKERS 106, PORTLAND 93.(Sports)
LAKERS NOTEBOOK: BULLS IN NAME ONLY.(Sports)
BUSS DIDN'T PAY PRICE FOR SUCCESS.(Sports)
LAKERS GET A BREATHER BRYANT SCORES 42 IN ROUT OF SUPERSONICS LAKERS 117, SEATTLE 94.(Sports)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles