WOE CANADA: RAPTORS FLOUNDER NORTHERN TEAM'S FORTUNES GOING SOUTH.

Byline: RICH HAMMOND  NBA 

What a team, eh?

The Toronto Raptors once were a budding model NBA organization, an expansion team full of potential with two young future superstars, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, and an impressive fan base that was enthusiastic for basketball north of the border. Doesn't seem like very long ago, does it?

These days the Raptors are making the Clippers look like a model of stability.

First-year coach Sam Mitchell is running into all sorts of problems. Within the past month, his starting point guard has walked out of practice and left the arena during the fourth quarter of a game, and a supposed veteran team leader has cursed his teammates and demanded a trade.

All that, and no hockey, too? That rough Canadian winter isn't getting any more tolerable.

It would be easy to write off Rafer Alston and Eric Williams as two more NBA malcontents who should just shut up and play, but in this case, the problem might be more with Mitchell, who seems lost.

The word ``respect'' gets tossed around far too much in professional sports, but today's reality is that if a coach doesn't have the respect of his players, the team has no chance to succeed.

Even before their recent issues, the Raptors weren't much to see. They already were hopelessly out of the playoff picture, and Carter had received his long-held wish to leave town, with a trade to New Jersey.

Things quickly got worse. After a verbal dispute with Mitchell, Alston walked out of a Jan. 29 practice and received a two-game suspension. Then, in his third game back, against Cleveland, Alston committed three turnovers in the first eight minutes and was benched the rest of the first half.

At halftime, Alston said Mitchell told him he wouldn't play for the rest of the game and to ``just sit there.'' Alston stayed in the locker room before leaving the arena in the fourth quarter.

According to one report, an employee at the Cleveland arena said the Mitchell-Alston dispute turned physical in the locker room, an assertion disputed by everyone in the Toronto organization.

``I laugh at the (idea) that it got away from shouting, where I was actually rolling around on the floor with my nice suit on,'' Mitchell said. ``I don't do that anymore; I'm a little too old.''

So apparently Mitchell thinks it's all a joke. Mitchell made himself look worse in the aftermath, when he not only failed to explain his reasoning for benching Alston, but did not suspend him for his insubordination. Alston then demanded an apology, turning the whole thing into a circus.

Into the center ring stepped Williams, who, in the Alston aftermath, sat down with a Toronto Star reporter and ripped the Raptors organization just one month after he arrived in the Carter trade.

``It's a damn shame that a guy's got to be (a jerk) in order to get some attention around here,'' Williams said, two hours before a loss to Milwaukee. ``All the (jerks) get the attention.''

Williams said he asked his agent to initiate a trade from Toronto, and Williams' outburst carries a bit more weight because he's known around the league as a level-headed veteran.

All of this leaves Mitchell in a tough spot. The current trend in the NBA is to hire former players who, as the theory goes, better understand today's game and its players. The flip side is that these coaches have little experience, and when things start to go wrong, they don't know how to keep things under control.

Alston just signed a six-year, $27 million contract, and Williams was a major part of the Carter trade. Mitchell is the Raptors' third coach in three seasons. Guess who's more likely to leave?

--More problems: What's going on in Utah? First, Carlos Arroyo feuded with coach Jerry Sloan and got sent out of town, and now owner Larry Miller is going after Carlos Boozer.

The Jazz signed Boozer to a controversial six-year, $68 million contract last summer after Boozer allegedly backed out of a deal with Cleveland. Boozer has been solid, averaging almost 18 points and nine rebounds per game, but after he totaled nine points in consecutive losses, Miller expressed frustration.

``Carlos has been terrific some nights,'' Miller told the Deseret News. ``Some nights he's acted like he didn't care that much. ... He's a talented player. I'm not sure how tough he is.''

The next day, Miller insinuated that he would be open to trading Boozer and said three or four teams would be interested. Clearly, the post-Stockton-and-Malone rebuilding process in Utah isn't going well.

--Waiting game: Here's something the oh-so-patient fans and media in New York must love: Team president Isiah Thomas preached patience in an interview with the New York Daily News last week and essentially said he shouldn't be expected to produce a winning team right away.

``At some point in time, we want to be playing for the NBA championship,'' Thomas said. ``That's going to be a slow, tedious process. It took a long time to get in this spot that we find ourselves in today.''

Despite an almost complete roster turnover in Thomas' 14-month tenure, the Knicks aren't making much progress. Thomas seemed eager to blame the problems on the spending habits of former president Scott Layden, who did leave the team in salary-cap peril, but Thomas is far from blameless.

Remember, Thomas is the one who built this roster and ran off coach Don Chaney, and yet the Knicks are still terrible. Clearly, Thomas thought this team would be pretty good, but it isn't.

OFF THE GLASS

BASELINE-TO-BASELINE COVERAGE OF THE WEEK IN THE NBA

MAKING MOVES

Give the Phoenix Suns credit for not standing pat despite their tremendous record, but their recent moves suggest a chemistry experiment that might blow up in their faces. In the past month, the Suns have traded for Jim Jackson and Walter McCarty, talented players who have been known to complain about their playing time and status on a team. The Suns have been rolling along as a cohesive unit, defying low expectations with their great teamwork. In the right environment, Jackson and McCarty could make them much better, but they also have the potential to disrupt the good times going on in Phoenix.

MILLER TIME

It's a shame that Reggie Miller most likely will end his career without a NBA championship. Miller was a contemporary of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan but never reached their level in part because the Indiana Pacers teams he played for were never quite good enough. That shouldn't take away from what was a great and entertaining career. Some disliked Miller for his showmanship, but his on-court ``feud'' with Spike Lee in New York made for a lot of fun, and some of the NBA's most exciting moments in recent years saw Miller holding the ball in the final seconds, taking a game-winning shot.

OLDER AND WISER

Alonzo Mourning is headed back to Miami. Toronto, which acquired him in the blockbuster deal that sent Vince Carter to the New Jersey Nets, agreed to void Mourning's contract after he refused to report to the Raptors. Although Mourning might be past his prime, it is a move that could pay off deep into the postseason because of his leadership ability. We all know how easily Shaquille O'Neal can get distracted at times, and Mourning could keep that young Miami team on track.

-Rich Hammond

THEY SAID IT

``I'll come back for $100 million for two months. Tax free (and) no practices.''

- Shaquille O'Neal

Joking about the terms of his return to the Lakers.

THIS WEEK'S BEST BET

SAN ANTONIO AT MIAMI

Today, 10 a.m., Ch. 7

Tim Duncan is expected to be back for this possible NBA Finals preview.

CAPTION(S):

2 boxes

Box:

(1) OFF THE GLASS (see text)

(2) Daily News/CBS 2/KCAL 9 SPORTS CENTRAL POWER RANKINGS

- Ross Siler