By Sam Amico / The Amico Report

TALKIN' NBA FINALS

San Antonio will be under the salary cap this summer.

That sentence has to make you shake your head and smile. Probably because it's so hard to believe. I mean, the Spurs won 60 games, eliminated the three-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers from the playoffs ... and they have money to burn.

In other words, if you ever want to run an NBA franchise, let this be your model.

A lot of talk surrounding these Finals has centered around the Spurs' available cash, and how they might use it to sign New Jersey all-star Jason Kidd during the offseason.

Well, here's a newsflash after watching San Antonio's Tony Parker -- hey, Spurs, you don't need a point guard! And just to show you that I occasionally get things right, it looks as if the Spurs no longer will try to sign Kidd during the offseason.

Not that the Spurs don't respect Kidd, or would love to have him on the roster. But as league MVP Tim Duncan has said, the Spurs need another big man. That's especially true when you consider distinguished center David Robinson is retiring after the Finals.

So, who will the Spurs go after?

The first thought that comes to my mind is Miami's Alonzo Mourning. This is pure speculation, but it would make a lot of sense. Mourning is tall, athletic, strong, and best of all, a free agent. He also could be a real bargain if he's able to bounce back from the kidney ailment that forced him to miss all of last season.

Plus, the Heat is rebuilding, and Mourning has politely made it clear he'd prefer to be no part of that. Not at 33 years old, with just another three-to-five years remaining in his career.

He'd also be the perfect fit in San Antonio, as you can be sure the Spurs admire Mourning's desire and professionalism.

So while it's hard to believe, but the Spurs may be even better next season.

-- Through the first three games, it looked as if Nets forward Richard Jefferson was doing his best Keith Van Horn imitation in the Finals. This had reader Dan Moeller saying things like, "Obviously, Nets coach Byron Scott has no idea how to utilize his small forward in the big games." Actually, I think it has more to do with the fact Jefferson is only in his second year, his first as a starter. And don't forget, he played a lot more minutes during this past regular season than he did as a rookie. It could just be a case of Jefferson burning out.

-- USA Today did an interesting story on how Spurs forward Danny Ferry could become the first former Duke player to have played for Mike Krzyzewski and win an NBA title. Krzyzewski became the coach at Duke in the 1980-81 season, and 16 of his players have been drafted in the first round -- including 11 in the lottery. Not one has won an NBA championship. Ferry was drafted No. 2 overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in 1989. He went to Italy instead, suffered a knee injury for which he reportedly never received proper treatment, and came back to have a less-than-average career with Cleveland and San Antonio. In spite of all this, he's one of the NBA's nicest guys.

TALKIN' LeBRON

I plan to write a special LeBron James edition of the newsletter sometime this summer (yes ANOTHER one), but until then, I have just one thing to say -- anyone who thinks LeBron will be an NBA point guard is nuts.

Don't misunderstand. I love LeBron. He's a great passer. He handles the ball extremely well for a young player who stands 6-foot-8. But he can't play point guard in the NBA! So please stop writing it.

Some journalists have even gone as far as calling LeBron, "The Next Magic Johnson." Of course, Magic ran the point all through high school and two years of college, while LeBron has never played the position. And now all of a sudden he's an NBA point guard?

Truth is, when it comes to passing the ball, James reminds me a lot more of Larry Bird. Like Bird, James will play small forward. He is intelligent player who shows confidence in his teammates, and knows how to keep them involved. Just don't expect him to bring the ball up the court.

-- I don't know if James is telling the truth or not, but I sure loved hearing him say the following to reporters at the Chicago pre-draft camp: "Not much has changed for me since the lottery. I haven't done too much (with the money from Nike). I don't need too much. Glamour and all that stuff doesn't excite me."

-- A lot of major news sources haven't mentioned this, mostly because they got scooped -- but do yourself a favor and check out the extensive one-on-one interview LeBron gave to Ryan Jones in Slam magazine. Jones asked some great questions and James gave heartfelt answers. It's definitely worth reading.

TALKIN' CARMELO

New Detroit coach Larry Brown is reportedly interested in selecting Syracuse star Carmelo Anthony with the No. 2 overall pick -- which would make more sense to me the than Pistons taking 17-year-old European sensation Darko Milicic, as expected. Then again, I've never seen Milicic shoot so much as a layup.

Anyway, I find the idea of the Pistons taking Anthony interesting because he's continuously referred to himself as a member of the Denver Nuggets. Anthony told the Denver Post that he's "focusing on Denver right now," and talked at great length how he looks forward to the possibility of playing in the Nuggets frontcourt with Juwan Howard and Nene Hilario (Howard is a free agent, but said he is willing to re-sign with Denver).

"I'm happy that the Nuggets are going to pick me," Anthony told the Post. "Obviously, they see something they like and a way that I can help the program."

The Nuggets own the No. 3 pick.

-- Anthony and LeBron James became close friends while playing against each other on the summer circuit and at basketball camps -- but is it just me, or does Carmelo seem a little agitated that LeBron is getting all the attention? Especially since Anthony won an NCAA title. At any rate, Anthony told the Rocky Mountain News, "Everytime LeBron and I step on the court, I think the arena is going to get sold out. Every time we play LeBron. Denver and Cleveland."

-- Anthony also said, "A lot of people ask me how I feel about not being picked No. 1. But I look at it as LeBron is set on Cleveland. Cleveland is not a city where I'd like to be."

TALKIN' DRAFT

-- Well, a new Euro emerged from the Chicago pre-draft camp as a possible top five pick, and who cares if no one had heard of Pavel Podkolzine before the first week of June. Podkolzine is a 7-4 Russian who played professionally in Italy last season. I asked one NBA GM who doesn't have a lottery pick about Podkolzine, and here is what he had to say, "(Podkolzine) is big and wide, but so was Gheorge Mureson. He's more skilled than Mureson, but he might be slower, too. If I had had the No. 5 pick, I'd probably take a pass on this guy. He might be decent, but right now, it looks more like he'll just take up space."

-- Boston College guard Troy Bell was magnificent in Chicago, and may have emerged as a first-round pick. There are still some questions as to whether or not Bell can be an effective point guard in the NBA, but there are no doubts about his ability to hit the outside shot and play with loads of confidence. Some observers are comparing Bell to Juan Dixon, who had a promising rookie season in Washington.

-- Other than Bell, top point guards in Chicago included Mo Williams (Alabama) and Jameer Nelson (St. Joseph's). Nelson single-handedly ruined Pitt guard Brandin Knight's shot at being drafted in the first round, maybe at all. Nelson played his best game of the pre-draft camp against Knight, scoring at will and forcing Knight into turnover after turnover. Afterward, the two crossed paths outside the locker room, Knight hobbling on a sore ankle. Nelson spotted Knight and asked, "You alright?" Knight offered a depressed, "Yeah," and kept walking. Nelson smiled, shrugged, and went back to speaking with reporters.

-- Top shooters in Chicago: Keith Bogans (Kentucky), James Jones (Miami, Fla.), Jason Kapono (UCLA), and Travis Hansen (BYU), who appears to have won the hearts of the Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz. Both teams are considering using their first pick on Hansen. Also, you may remember that Bogans declared for the draft last summer, but had a poor showing and went back to Kentucky. This time, though, he looks like he could be a late-first or early-second round steal.

-- High school center James Lang also gave a good showing in Chicago. I was impressed with what I saw from Lang in the McDonald's All-American Game, as his wide frame and cool demeanor reminded me very much of Chicago Bulls center Eddy Curry. Lang isn't that far along, although it looks as if he will be heading to the NBA instead of sticking with his college commitment of Louisville.

TALKIN' BOBCATS AND GRIZZLIES, OH MY

-- In case you missed it, Charlotte's expansion team will be called the Bobcats, as the organization released its logo and official colors June 11. I love the nickname and the fact that the Bobcats' predominant color is orange, but I wish the logo consisted of a basketball. Instead, it looks almost exactly like the logo of the NFL's Carolina Panthers (although, I think that was the idea). The Bobcats begin play in the 2004-05 season.

-- I wanted to take a moment to send out a special welcome to Bobcats owner Robert Johnson, who signed himself up for this newsletter earlier in the week. He also promised to include a question for publication in the near future.

-- Speaking of team colors, uniforms and logos, the Memphis Grizzlies will be changing theirs at the end of next season. The Memphis Commercial-Appeal reported that the Grizzlies will unveil the new look in 2004, about three months before the FedExForum opens in September of that year. The Commercial-Appeal also said the team's nickname will stay the same, but that Grizzlies fans can expect a "radically different and contemporary logo." Neat stuff.

FINAL RANDOM THOUGHTS

-- I'm not sold on new New Orleans coach Tim Floyd, but at least the guy will get to take over a team with some talent. You can hardly judge the guy on what he did in Chicago, considering the Bulls had just gutted the team when he took over.

-- As I wrote last week, Jeff Van Gundy was a good hire in Houston. I'm not convinced Van Gundy would have done very well in someplace like Cleveland or Washington, where he would've had to start from scratch. But all the Rockets need is some discipline, and you can be sure he will give it to them.

-- Nobody's saying much, but this will be an interesting offseason for both Toronto and Miami. The Raptors own the No. 4 overall pick, the Heat has the fifth. With some good health and a little lottery luck, the Raptors could be back in the playoffs as soon as next season. Meanwhile, the Heat will probably lose free-agent Alonzo Mourning, but they still have Pat Riley as coach -- which means they'll still play hard and be fun to watch.

-- By the way, from now on, I'm going to start calling the Heat, the Heaters. I'm tired of writing, "the Heat," followed by an "it." Every NBA team should be a "they." Just so you know.

-- Seattle will be looking for a point guard or a power forward in the draft. Players who have worked out for the Sonics include Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison (Kansas), Dwayne Wade (Marquette), Chris Thomas (Notre Dame), and Josh Howard (Wake Forest).

-- Philadelphia will be working out Robert Battle (Drexel), Willie Green (Detroit Mercy), Jeff Newton (Indiana), and Wykeen Kelly (Salem International) within the next week.

-- Every year, I pick a favorite unknown player who I follow closely on draft day -- and, of course, write way too much about him. Anyway, my "sleeper" pick this year is Bernard King Jr. out of Texas A&M. King had a marvelous career in the tough Big 12 Conference, and never complained that he didn't exactly have any help. He's a 6-4 shooting guard with great bloodlines, as I'm sure you've heard of his dad, an unstoppable scorer with New York and Washington in the 1970s and '80s. Bernard Jr. kind of reminds me of Joe Dumars.

READER FEEDBACK

From Leo Almaty, Kazakhstan

Q: I just finished reading the book you recommended to readers last year, "The Breaks of the Game," by David Halberstam. I enjoyed every bit of it, and was wondering if you could tell me about other NBA books?

A: Dear Leo, my second-favorite NBA book of all time is "What's Happenin'?" by Blaine Johnson. The book is about the SuperSonics of 1976-77, when Johnson was a beat writer covering the team. And even though the book is 25 years old, I just read it last summer and thoroughly enjoyed it. "What's Happenin'?" might be hard to find, though. I picked up a dusty copy at the local library, and Johnson gave up his beat after writing the book and hasn't been heard from since. Meanwhile, I'm currently reading "Chocolate Thunder," by Darryl Dawkins and Charley Rosen. Other than some of the strong language, it's a hoot.

From Tim Darga

Q: I disagree with your comment that Rick Carlisle is a better coach than Larry Brown. I do not agree with the way this whole thing went down, but I believe in the long run, hiring Brown was a good move for Detroit. And how can you argue with this hiring when the best basketball mind ever, North Carolina legend Dean Smith, backed this move and called Brown the best coach he has ever known?

A: Dear Tim, I just think 50 wins and an appearance in the Eastern Conference finals should be enough to make a coach feel secure. And it's not like the Pistons had Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West in uniform. I never intended to criticize Brown, as he is clearly a good coach and didn't do anything wrong by taking the job. But I can't help but wonder if Dean Smith would say that about Larry Brown if Rick Carlisle had played for Carolina instead of Virginia.

From Kielen King, Portland (Ore.)

Q: Obviously, you haven't done your homework, or you would never have come to the conclusion that the only reason Detroit fired Carlisle was to hire Brown. Whether or not Brown was available, Carlisle was on his way out. There are numerous articles in the Detroit Free-Press that said Carlisle was rude and had a bad attitude. And no matter what job you hold in America, you MUST treat those above you and their braintrusts with respect, or will lose your job. Thanks for the great articles, but I had to call you on this one.

A: Dear Kielen, you may be right -- maybe Carlisle was rude to his superiors. I just wish the Pistons would have SAID that. Instead, they said nothing, except that Carlisle was fired, and Brown was hired. Why, why, WHY? As far as the Detroit Free-Press goes, I stopped trusting sportswriters a long time ago.

NEWSLETTER NOTES

-- Just a quick note to say thanks for reading, and especially, sending your thoughts on the NBA. It's always nice to hear from people who love the league as much as I do, and even though I can't print all of the feedback, I read every last e-mail.

-- If you have a hotmail account and do not receive the newsletter during a given week, it's probably because your account is full. If that happens, there's a chance you could fall off the list. So clean out that inbox regularly.

SIGN UP FOR THE AMICO REPORT

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HAVE A GREAT DAY!


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