Though he has publicly kept his mouth shut, Grant has been rumored to have complained about having to play center so often. The three man rotation with the power forward and center in Portland is Rasheed Wallace, Arvydas Sabonis, and Grant. Because of this, he regularly has to drag his undersized 6'9" body out to cover some of the leagues biggest and best big men. In the conference finals against the Lakers, he was assigned the job of guarding Shaq, the leagues MVP. Now that is a pretty formidable task, especially for someone of Grant's size, and it is a travesty that a man with his talent as a power forward should be forced into doing something he can't do. That will not happen in LA. Grant would have the opportunity to shine to his fullest.

    Of greater importance, Grant has also complained about his diminutive role with the Blazers this season. His diminished role is to be of no surprise, however. When you play on a team where you have so much talent that the top five players off the bench could start on any other NBA team, long minutes desired touches each game are hard to come by. That would not be the case in LA. - a team with two great players, Shaq and Kobe, with the rest of the roster being occupied by scrubs. A.C. Green is LA's starting power forward, and Robert Horry plays backup and gets most of the minutes. Both are severely inadequate at the position. Green is too short, old, slow, and is simply not good enough to defend against the best. Horry is more talented, is taller, and can score points, but lacks the essential strength to bang against the biggest power forwards in the league.
    If Brian Grant became a member of this Laker squad, his importance would increase dramatically. In Portland he is just another talented player on the deepest team in the league. In LA, after Shaq and Kobe, Grant would be the most important man on the court. He would be given the opportunity to shoot a few jumpers or post up in Phil Jackson's triangle offense, where Shaq is being constantly double teamed and therefore someone is always open. While Grant's scoring would be important, his number one duty would be to defend the opponent's starting power forward and to help Shaq clean up the misses. He would be depended on greatly, and would be given a chance to shine, just like he did in Sacramento, and Portland before this year.
 

    Brian Grant as a Laker would fill their only hole and help create a dynasty. He is a relatively young man (28 years old - the same age as Shaq), with many good years left in his system. If he chooses to sign with the Lakers, look for Grant, Shaq and Kobe to find their hands weighed down to the ground with championship rings.
 
 
Jon Atwood
McLean, VA

6/24/2000
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