NBA NOTES : Knicks Will Have Trouble Dealing the Current Jackson

NEW YORK —  An NBA general manager made the statement in a very authoritative voice. “The Knicks have been trying to move Mark Jackson for about three weeks,” he said. “They want a key player for him, but it’s going to be hard to get one.”

Most of that statement, particularly the latter part, is not hard to believe. It seems apparent now that if the Knicks adopted an “either Mark Jackson or Rod Strickland” position, they would choose Strickland. But considering the way Jackson looks and has played, why would another team be willing to give up a front-line player to get him?

Knicks GM Al Bianchi denied the Jackson trade rumor but said, “We’ve said all along there is a possibility that we could do something with our point guard situation. But right now, everything is on hold. What we would like to do is keep them both.”

And while some Knicks fans might consider that repugnant in the current Jackson-bashing atmosphere, it only makes sense. If Jackson is traded, who is the backup point guard? The Knicks need another frontcourt player, but no one is going to give up a big man and backup point guard for an out-of-shape 6-3 guard who is not blessed with superior athletic skills and is not outworking anybody.

Besides, like the Knicks, the rest of the league is wondering if Jackson has peaked and is starting to decline. That seems incredible since he was rookie of the year only two years ago, was an All-Star only last year and has yet to celebrate his 25th birthday. And if Jackson were a little more dedicated to his craft, perhaps it would not even be an issue.

But Jackson reported to training camp out of shape and has done little extra to get back into shape. That, too, is incredible because if great players such as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird can spend their summers working hard and preparing for the competition, why can’t Mark Jackson? And why is it now that Jackson does not stay after practice and do extra work to get in better shape?

The rest of the league also cannot be impressed by Jackson’s growing battle with Knicks fans who boo his every turnover. Jackson has a severe case of rabbit ears, which also hurts his trade value. Who wants someone who points at the home fans after he makes a good play?

If Jackson is smart, he will start working harder and wear earplugs at home games. If he does neither, perhaps there will be a time when the Knicks cut their losses and dump him for very little in return. But that won’t be soon, because in his current physical state, if the Knicks wanted to trade Jackson, next to nothing is all they would get.

John MacLeod has always been one of the nicest guys in the NBA, but he also is one of the most naive. MacLeod could have had the Knicks’ job after Rick Pitino left, but he chose to stay with Dallas despite getting no guarantees.

When he walked onto the Mavericks’ training camp floor for the first time, MacLeod had Roy Tarpley in front of him, only one snort away from a two-year drug-related suspension, and Mavericks ownership behind him, waiting to thrust a figurative knife in his back. Tarpley lasted six games before being suspended indefinitely for alcohol violations, and MacLeod lasted only 11 games before being fired Wednesday.

While it was gutless on the Mavericks’ part not to tell MacLeod during the spring, “John, you’d better take the Knicks’ job because we don’t want you,” it was stupid for MacLeod not to be aware of his tentative status. The Knicks are lucky MacLeod was not interested in the job. If a man is that out of touch, how can he be expected to formulate a plan that will produce a championship?

You’ve got to admire those TV wizards over at the NBA office. What sort of brilliant mind conceived the idea of scheduling the Detroit Pistons and Los Angeles Lakers for a 10:30 p.m. EST start Friday? This is so elementary that it is a little embarrassing to suggest it, but shouldn’t the first regular-season meeting of the two participants in the previous finals be more of a prime-time affair? The NBA finalists play only two regular-season games. Why not have both on Sunday afternoons?

“Personally, I think they should,” Pistons Coach Chuck Daly said.

“There’s a lot of merit to that,” Lakers Coach Pat Riley said. “It’s definitely a big NBA game. People would like to see us play Detroit with Byron (Scott) and Magic healthy. Something should be done. Call the commissioner.”

No need to, Pat. David Stern recently negotiated that new $600-million deal with NBC. And last Sunday, NBC televised an NFL game and the Skins Game. If NBC can televise a pointless, contrived golf event during football season, certainly it can televise a regular-season NBA game featuring the previous finalists during football season. And Stern, being the gifted visionary that he is, undoubtedly negotiated that in the deal.

Sherman Douglas had an excellent game for the Miami Heat Tuesday when he had 12 points and 12 assists in a 104-99 loss to the Orlando Magic. But the former Syracuse star’s most interesting move nearly came before the game, shortly after he discovered his worst move.

Douglas was certain that before he left Miami, he packed his road uniform. But when he arrived at the Orlando Arena, he discovered he had brought nothing. He walked onto the court, saw a fan dressed in a Heat jersey and started walking toward him. “I was going to ask him for it,” Douglas said. “But I changed my mind.”

Douglas’ forgetfulness restricted Heat Coach Ron Rothstein. Douglas played the game wearing the uniform of fellow rookie Scott Haffner, who wore an extra uniform belonging to Jon Sunvold. Sunvold and Haffner each had a jersey with the number 24, which meant Rothstein could not play them at the same time. So Haffner did not get to play at all.

Around the league:

--The Hawks should learn a lot about themselves in December. Beginning Friday, nine of their next 12 games are at home and two of their road games are at Orlando and Miami.

--Ron Harper scored 79 points in his first three games with the Clippers. And he also has made it clear that the Clippers will have to pay for quality. Harper’s agent has indicated that Harper, a restricted free agent after the season, will seek a contract paying him at least $2.5 million a year.

--The Nuggets are the only team in the league with three guards -- Fat Lever, Walter Davis and Michael Adams -- as their leading scorers.

--Journeyman center Greg Kite signed with the Kings last week, but the Magic also was interested. Kite attended the Kings-Magic game in Sacramento and joked, “I’m going to see who is leading at halftime, and sign with them.”