NBA NOTES : League Has Way of Selling ‘Trash Sports’

One of the more interesting accomplishments by the NBA in the ‘80s was the respectability the league brought to gimmick events, or in the jargon of the early ‘80s -- trash sports.

The slam dunk contest was revived during the weekend of the 1984 All-Star Game in Denver and the three-point shooting contest was initiated before the 1986 All-Star Game in Dallas. The most fascinating result of the events was the respectability earned by some of those who won.

In the first slam dunk event, Larry Nance surprised the fans by defeating Julius Erving. Nance’s victory so impressed NBA coaches that they noticed he also was a pretty good basketball player, and the next season, they voted him to the All-Star team for the first time.

Larry Bird added to his legend by winning the first three three-point contests. At one point in the first event, he made 11 consecutive three-point shots. With the money on the line, it was apparent no one was better than Bird -- even in a trash sport.

Last year, the Knicks’ Kenny Walker won the dunk contest, and in his own mind, that gave him credibility as a player. Whether it did is secondary. Self-confidence cannot be minimized.

Even the old-timers games, which are about as trashy as you can get, have titillated the imaginations of some. After 40-year-old Calvin Murphy made a three-point shot at the buzzer to give his team a victory last season, other old-timers suggested that a team needing a part-time outside shooter should consider Murphy.

And last year, the All-Star weekend provided a preview of the influx of foreign players when Soviet sharpshooter (relax, it’s merely an expression) Rimas Kurtainaitis was invited to participate in the three-point event.

The most inspirational performance, however, was by 5-7, 135-pound Spud Webb in the 1986 dunk event -- despite hands that were too small to palm the ball. Webb devised a series of creative dunks -- often bouncing the ball off the floor, meeting it above the rim, and stuffing it through the basket -- and won the competition.

And that accomplishment, despite occurring in a gimmick event, should have an effect on the future of basketball. Periodically, there are suggestions that the game has become too easy. A way to make it more difficult would be to raise the basket. Eliminate a few dunks, this mentality suggests, and the game would be better.

But raising the basket to 11 or 12 feet would not prevent the 7-footers from dunking. And the better shooters quickly would adjust. The only group that would be significantly affected are smaller players.

What Webb gave the traditionalists in 1986 was an argument against changing a fundamental rule of basketball. If the basket had been a foot higher, Webb’s dunking victory -- a triumph for the common man, who is not 6-8 and does not have legs powered by rocket boosters -- never would have occurred.

And so, Webb illustrated that the 10-foot basket should be left alone. And, in the process, he brought honor to the NBA’s institution of trash events. Strangely enough, that happened a lot during the ‘80s.

Webb declined an invitation to be in the dunk event this year, perhaps because he was excited about the prospect of watching Saturday night trash sports. Remember those great newspaper color photos last year of Walker winning the dunk contest? Remember the ones of Michael Jordan, and Dominique Wilkins and Webb? The possibility of seeing such photos the day after the contest has been eliminated by NBA Commissioner David Stern, who has decreed that the dunking will be held after 10 Saturday night -- too late for color photos to appear in newspapers. About the most readers can expect on Sunday is a photo from the old-timers game. Perhaps they will be entertained by a color shot of Oscar Robertson’s paunch.

Stern moved the events because he was asked to by the moguls at TNT, who pay big bucks for NBA events. Stern would do almost anything for the big-bucks TV guys, except, perhaps, make a joint speaking appearance with Guns ‘N’ Roses. Anyway, moving the All-Star Saturday events from day to night should paralyze the ticket business on Broadway. Given the choice, what would you rather do: Go to the theater or stay home and watch Rex Chapman dunk?

More from the George Shinn file. The Hornets’ owner, who has won no accolades for his patience (he fired expansion Coach Dick Harter after only a season and a half), has not demonstrated a great deal of insight, either. Someone joked with Shinn recently that Nuggets Coach Doug Moe, who went to North Carolina, would not be a candidate for the Hornets’ job because he is not a neat dresser, a Shinn requisite. Shinn, who apparently consistently craves the taste of leather, promptly inserted foot in mouth.

“It has been proven historically in the business world that people tend to perform better when they look their best and act their best,” Shinn said.

“Not only in the business world, but in the sports world. The top-dressed coaches in the NBA won the last three NBA championships. Chuck Daly and Pat Riley have been one-two on the best-dressed list. They believe in it. They have brought pride in their communities. Look at Doug Moe. He and Frank Layden. They have consistanly been the worst dressed and how many championships have they won?”

The answer is no NBA championships. But teams coached or assembled by Moe and Layden have won the Midwest Division title four of the last six years. And someone please inform George that Red Auerbach never was asked to pose for GQ.

Nuggets officials say the Knicks, who claim they have not been actively seeking a trade, actively tried to trade last week for Fat Lever. Nuggets Coach Doug Moe said the Knicks magnanimously offered Rod Strickland and Johnny Newman for Lever, a two-time All-Star (who should have made it at least two additional times). In the last three seasons, Lever has averaged 19.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists. The Knicks’ modest offer nearly sent Moe into convulsions, but he did manage to retain his composure long enough to say, “No,” in so many words.

Around the league:

--The Nuggets’ 4-9 record last month was their worst record in any January in the past 14 seasons. Before January, the Nuggets had won 31 of their previous 33 home games. In January, they were 3-4.

--Jazz owner Larry Miller said his team will open the 1990-91 season with two games in Japan. Possible opponents are the Sonics or Blazers.

--Pacers GM Donnie Walsh, who said about 10 days ago that the Pacers are not interested in a trade, said this week that the Pacers may be interested in a trade. One thing Walsh should realize, however, is that the Knicks aren’t actively seeking a trade, although they actively sought Lever. The trading deadline is Feb. 22. Apparently, between now and then, teams such as the Pacers and Knicks may or may not actively seek a trade, unless, of course, they change their minds.