WASHINGTON -- The image is indelibly familiar: Duke's Christian Laettner catches a looping pass, spins on one dribble and lofts a feathery jumper that splashes through the net. Then he runs in a crazy half circle, arms wide and mouth wider, waiting for the validating embrace of his teammates and of history. Laettner is the patron saint of the buzzer-beater, his beatific smile still shining through the years. You've seen that clip often as this year's NCAA tournament has unfolded. And you'll see it a lot more if Duke and Kentucky win Thursday, setting up a rematch of that 1992 classic won on the shot that launched a million montages. "Yeah, I see it all the time," Laettner says. "And it makes me smile every time. It makes you smile even when you're depressed because you got traded. That means ESPN is on a lot around my house." This is where the fairy tale of Laettner's college career intersects with the grim reality of his life in the NBA. He was traded last month to the woeful Washington Wizards, his fifth team in nine NBA seasons and fourth in the past 5 years. How did the bright-eyed kid of our memory -- the only player to start in four Final Fours, leader of the last back-to-back national champions, probably one of history's 10 best college players -- become a journeyman pro with a rocky reputation and a rap sheet of former teams? Laettner sits on the padded base of the basket in the Wizards practice gym and considers the question. He is 31 now, his face a little fuller than the one still starring in those historic highlight reels. He smiles ruefully, still handsome almost to the point of pretty, and shakes his head. "I never would have imagined getting traded around like this," he says. "It's depressing a little, if you look at it. The biggest honor for a pro player is to be a great player and stay on one team forever. That means that you're a great player and that your team always wants you, no matter what. But that didn't work out for me." His contract is up at the end of the season. Where he'll wind up - - Washington, a former team or a sixth city -- is up in the air. Dallas, the same club that unloaded him in an eight-player deal last month, has expressed interest. Laettner hated leaving there. He liked the team and he liked the winning and he liked the house he bought from track star Michael Johnson to live in with his wife and young daughters. So you might suppose he would be happy to hear that the Mavs might well want him back. But you would be wrong. "If they really wanted me," he says acidly, "they wouldn't have traded me." It is not a tactful answer, but Laettner has never been known for tact. The media usually like a guy who doesn't carry around an edit button in his head. But Laettner has never been a darling of the press. And he thinks that's why he has a reputation as a difficult personality. "I can be good to eight media people in a row," he says. "But if I'm bad to one or two, they still have a forum to write something down, to bash your name if they want to. It's a no-win situation unless you're good with them all of the time." The solution seems simple. Why not be a good guy all of the time? His mother often tells him to try. But he says it's not as easy as that. "Maybe if I was a nicer guy I would be accommodating. But I'm not here to accommodate everybody. I'm a good guy to the people I have to be a good guy to. And that's what's most important to me, so that's the way I live." Just the facts Laettner's boss with the Wizards is a fellow named Michael Jordan. Once upon a time they were teammates on the original Dream Team. Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser says the luckiest guys in the history of Western civilization are Christian Laettner and Ringo Starr. The line makes Laettner laugh. But he has no doubt his place on that team was fully justified. "They decided the 12th guy would not be an NBA guy, it would be a collegian," he says. "And that year, '92, I was the best collegian. There was no one else who had done the things I had done. If people want to debate that, then go look at the cold, hard facts. Alonzo didn't win nothing. Shaq didn't win nothing. I won 2 years in a row." It is a recurring theme with Laettner. He likes cold, hard facts. He doesn't much care for opinion, even when it's favorable to him. "I get more excited when people say, 'Yeah, he was a part of four Final Fours and back-to-back championships' than if they say I was one of the 10 best college players of all time," he says. "That's just a hypothesis. That's guessing, really. There's no statistics that let you know you're one of the 10 best. But there's a very cut and clean statistic to show that you're a back-to-back national champion." The facts are these: Laettner won two state championships at Nichols, his prep school in Buffalo. He won two national championships at Duke. And he has an Olympic gold medal. It is an impressive array of hardware. Only an NBA championship ring is missing. Laettner was the third pick overall in the 1992 draft, taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves. And that, he figures, was the beginning of his problem in the NBA. He selected Nichols and Duke; the Timberwolves selected him. "We were good at Duke for reasons like tradition," he says. "When you're a freshman at Duke, you're part of the whole thing going back for years. If you go to a Minnesota Timberwolves, where they don't have any tradition or history, where they don't have a stern coach really laying down the law, you can't have the same kind of college feeling. You don't really find the college thing in the NBA too much." He thinks the Utah Jazz have it. He says he longs to play in a place like that, where the coach and the core players stay together for years. He wants to play four or five more seasons and maybe even get that ring. He still loves the game, if not always the way the NBA plays it. "The game is fun -- the 48 minutes of the game is very fun. All the crap that's wrapped around it isn't so much fun. . . . There's a lot of stuff that taints the game. The NBA game is not as pure as it is in college, some people say. And I agree with that a bit. I love the NBA, but we've got some funny rules. They keep changing them every year because they think it's going to make the game more popular. I think it's the opposite. People are not fooled watching one-on-one. They know that's ugly basketball." He says unselfish team offense was the way it was at Duke but too often isn't in the NBA. Nine years after The Shot, Laettner longs for what he had in college. "I've been on a few NBA teams where we stressed defense and passing and being unselfish. And I wish I would have stayed on those teams. And maybe I'll get on another team like that and beg them not to let me leave that situation. Coming from Duke, you want to be in a situation like that. If you didn't, you wouldn't have gone to Duke. You would have gone to any old college in the country." Family first Most players keep jewelry in a lock box when they play. Laettner wears his wedding ring on the laces of his sneakers. He does not regret being drafted by Minnesota: That's where he met his wife, Lisa. They have two daughters, Sophie, almost 4, and Sommer, just turned 2. They live on a lake in Minnesota in the offseason, in a home with a 6,000-gallon saltwater tank for the shark the girls call Harry. "Our kids are the most important thing in the world, and I love them more than I can possibly say. That's why it's tough when I'm away from them. It's a lot easier when you're single and alone and get traded around, because there's not as many people you have to uproot. . . . But the pay is too good, so you have to keep putting up with it." Laettner has made millions in his career. He says his children are set for life and it is a wonderful feeling. He doesn't want to give the impression that life in the NBA is all bad. He loves the money and the game and his teammates. "I've had very few run-ins with teammates and coaches where the consensus on the team would be, 'Laettner is a disease in the locker room.' That stuff comes from the media, from outsiders coming in." Dirk Nowitzki, who played with him at Dallas, says Laettner is a good guy, the kind who plays pranks and likes to laugh. Bobby Hurley, who played with him at Duke, says he had differences with Laettner at times but likes him and counts him as a friend. "He has a lot of confidence, which is what makes him good," Hurley says, "but a lot of people mistake that kind of confidence for cockiness and arrogance." Cocky. Arrogant. Moody. Petulant. Those are the kinds of words that have appeared in newspapers. "It hurts me, because I know that's not him," says Bonita Laettner, his mother. "He's loving and loyal and generous, and he's never in any trouble, and they write about him like he's evil personified." She thinks his aversion to the press goes back to his days at Duke, when stories in the mainstream press questioned his sexuality. "A lot of journalists graduated from UNC, if you ask me," she says of Duke rival North Carolina. "I tell him to smile and be nice, like Grant Hill. But I know what happens. When he doesn't want to talk, he gives them 'the look.' " In the NBA, talking to the media is part of the job. Laettner says he knows that now but didn't as a rookie. "I was an old dog by then, 22 or 23, and already set in my ways. I do understand it a little better now, but it's still very hard." Somehow controversy always finds him, even on the magic day 9 years ago when he hit The Shot. His line score: 10-for-10 from the field, 10-for-10 from the foul line -- and one sneaker print left on the chest of a fallen Wildcat. Those are cold, hard facts. The rest of it: Is he a good guy? Where will he play next fall? Hypothesis. The turnaround jumper that smote Kentucky is history, not hypothesis, still swishing on TV screens from sea to shining sea. Laettner goes back to Duke every summer to work out. He's preparing a major gift for Nichols. He loves his schools. But 9 years later, he hasn't yet found an NBA team to love -- and to love him back
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Duke celebration began with a simple gesture from in front of the Arizona bench, where coach Lute Olson held his hands in front of his waist, turned toward his players, and spread them apart. He was telling his Arizona Wildcats to let go -- of a game, a night and weeks of passionate, painful struggle to become the very best in their game. On the last Monday night of the season, in the din of the Metrodome, Duke's Blue Devils earned the eternal validation that only a championship can provide. Their basketball lives arrived at a climactic moment when Duke defeated the Wildcats 82-72 for the school's third national championship. Once Olson ended a once-taut competition, with just over 20 seconds to go, Duke guard Chris Duhon was transformed into a pogo stick near midcourt, hopping up and down, again and again, as he somehow continued to dribble the ball. Then Duhon leaned forward and pounded it hard against the wooden floor as he started to scream. Then he handed the ball to Jason Williams, his roommate and role model, for the most joyous pass of that championship season. Nearby, Shane Battier, the senior, national player of the year, focal point of the Devils and the tournament's most outstanding player, grabbed Mike Dunleavy, a sophomore and a coach's son. Dunleavy overcame the type of start that would have caused most sophomores to unravel. He had made one of his six shots in the first half, a single three-point goal. But his has been a basketball life as the son of a Brooklyn, N.Y.-raised former NBA player and current coach of the Portland Trail Blazers. He had grown up around the game, at its highest levels. The roster lists Dunleavy's address of Lake Oswego, Ore., a misleading piece of information because that town merely represents the last stop. Mike Dunleavy the elder was part of the family tree belonging to Frank McGuire, who recruited the father for South Carolina years after the coach had won a national title at North Carolina. The child developed his own identity, and the ability to throw down the type of dunks that friends of his father maintained could not have been passed down the line via the gene pool. Dunleavy the younger grew to possess the ability to relax, to maintain patience, to read the chess moves and find a way to gain any small advantage. So when the halftime box said, "DUNLEAVY, Mike 1-6" he understood this was certainly not the time to panic. Hot second half for Dunleavy Dunleavy made seven of 11 shots in the second half, including four three-pointers, and scored 18 of his 21 points. "Once I hit the second one," Dunleavy said, "I knew the rest were going to go in." The triple for the crown was a 21-footer following a pass from Williams for a 49-39 lead with 16:18 to go. Arizona's hopes would not end until Olson made his signal in the final seconds. But as Dunleavy ran back down court, the roars from the crowd of 45,994, the sound offered the first emotional clue that the night had reached the beginning of the end. "It's about time," Dunleavy would say later. "I finally made my shots in the second half and was able to give us a little boost." Now, as the final seconds disappeared, Dunleavy, Duke's leading scorer, and Battier, who scored 18, held each other in a tight embrace. "It's complete," Battier said of his career soon after the celebration had begun. "All that's left for me is to ride off into the sunset on a white horse." Williams raced to a spot near midcourt, not far from the sideline, and joined Duhon's celebration. When the final buzzer sounded, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was surrounded by his family, while Olson, at the end of a searing season in which his wife, Bobbi, died after a long fight with cancer, walked off the court alone, pausing to take one long, last look back over his shoulder. Just like previous appearances Dunleavy had lived an economically privileged life thanks to his father's job, but that does not mean his existence was simple. "I think we have moved 10 to 12 times," he said the day before the championship game. "When I was younger, people saying stuff bothered me a little, but I never let the expectations and the pressure get to me as far as being a coach's son. My parents just always taught me to be myself and not to do anything to embarrass them. I've just always worried about myself and not let other things affect me." His approach folded neatly into the outlook that Krzyzewski has taught generations of Devils for more than two decades. Duke's presence inspired flashbacks to the appearances of Krzyzewski-led teams dating back 15 years to the 1986 finalists with Johnny Dawkins, now a Duke assistant coach. But Duke's success has not been a continuum. The runs to the national final in 1999 and this season, the eighth and ninth Final Four appearances under Krzyzewski, obscure the obstacles the Devils had to overcome. There was the series of premature defections following the national runner-up season of 1999, when Elton Brand, William Avery and then Corey Maggette left for the NBA. The Devils had just returned to the highest levels of the game following the dip in the middle '90s. Suddenly, predictions of another slip -- wishful thinking by some, pointed analysis by others - - were becoming fashionable. Those predictions became loud enough that Krzyzewski stood up at a team banquet and declared things were under control. It helped that Jason Williams was about to arrive, but at the time, the proclamation seemed a bold attempt to restore faith and confidence. But the beginning of Duke's recent dominance can be traced to the most difficult time in Krzyzewski's 21 seasons. His official record for the 1995 season is listed as 9-3, with a 0-1 Atlantic Coast Conference record. The numbers do not describe the need for back surgery, the necessity of stepping away, and the free fall from national runner-up to a team that did not make the tournament. "That year was a defining year for me," Krzyzewski said over the weekend. "One, it made me understand how much I love coaching, because it was taken away from me. And then why I loved it. And I've gotten much more back to doing it for that. The second thing is that I was going to enjoy every year as a single entity and not allow other people to define that year for me. "And so I think when we went to all those Final Fours and we won two national championships, you get into the thing of, 'You have to do that in order to be happy.' And that's wrong. I mean, I'm going to be really sad if we lose for that night, but I won't be really sad. I guess that's what I'm saying. I'm going to put everything into each team, get away from it, come back and give everything again to each team and not pay attention too much about what other . . . " Krzyzewski interrupted himself. This was not a vow to ignore the opinions of others. But in the weeks, months and years following his enforced absence from the game, he decided to impose strict limitations on the opinions that mattered to him. "If we're going something stupid, in other words, (if) I'm saying some crazy things or our team is acting in a way that's not reflective of our university and people write about it, I'll take notice about that," Krzyzewski said. "I think that's good. "But as far as saying whether you're a winner or a loser, I don't need to have anybody tell me whether I'm that. It has made for a much happier life for me. I mean, I love what I do, and I'm not nervous about it. Whether I don't win a national championship again or I win four more, I'll be the same. That's my goal." 'As tough as any' His perspective may have changed, but the target never did. The retooling in the fall of 1999 led to a remarkable run to an NCAA tournament regional semifinal. Duke's growth continued this season, reinforced by Krzyzewski's comparisons to championship performances he had molded in the past. Their molding was completed in the same building where Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill won a second consecutive championship in 1992. A season, and the passing of a torch, ended Monday. This title had the same feel as the '92 victory over Michigan, a tough, close game that Duke's efficiency and resolve controlled at the end. When the night was nearly over, Krzyzewski was asked if this was the toughest of his 21 Duke teams. "I think we're as tough as any," Krzyzewski said. "Being so young, we showed that toughness. . . . Mike Dunleavy hits those three threes in a row. Shane wasn't hitting his jump shot, but he comes up with two amazing offensive rebounds. We just did tough things, and I think we're deserving of it."
WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 22 -- The Washington Wizards President of Basketball Operations Michael Jordan announced today that they have acquired Dallas Mavericks Christian Laettner, Courtney Alexander, Loy Vaught, Hubert Davis and Etan Thomas and other considerations in exchange for Juwan Howard, Calvin Booth and Obinna Ekezie. The Wizards also announced that they have placed Felipe Lopez, Gerard King and rookie Mike Smith on waivers. They placed Rod Strickland on the injured list with sore hamstrings and activated Laron Profit.
"This trade is beneficial for both teams involved. This puts us in a good situation for the future," said Jordan. "We have obtained talented players, two of which were drafter in the first round of the 2000 Draft. Juwan has played well enough to obtain interest for himself, and he has played well consistently and has always been the hardest worker on the team."
Laettner, a 6-11 forward/center, is averaging 7.5 point and 4.0 rebounds per game this season. He tallied a season-high 17 points twice this season, the last time at Chicago on December 8, 2000. Overall in his 10-year career, Laettner has averaged 15.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He was named to the 1997 NBA All-Star team as a reserve, and posted seven points and pulled down 11 boards on the night.
Alexander was the 13th pick overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2000 NBA Draft, before having his draft rights traded to the Mavericks for a future first-round draft choice and cash. The 6-5 guard is averaging 4.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. He has started in six contests and posted a career-high 20 points at Portland on November 30, 2000. The Durham, North Carolina native played two seasons at the University of Virginia before transferring to Fresno State for his final two years of eligibility.
Vaught has played in 37 games for the Mavericks this season, averaging 3.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He has a season-high 10 points twice, last on January 18 vs. Orlando. Overall, in his career, he has averaged 10.3 points and 7.2 rebounds in 11 years in the NBA.
Davis is in his ninth season in the NBA, his fourth with the Dallas Mavericks. He has averaged 8.9 points and 1.6 rebounds per game. This season, the 6-5 guard is averaging 7.3 points and 2.1 rebounds in 51 games.
Thomas, the 6-10 forward, was selected 12th overall by the Mavericks in the first round of the 2000 NBA Draft. He played at Syracuse University and has not played in Dallas this season.
Juwan Howard is in his seventh season with the Wizards, averaging 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds thus far this season and 18.4 points and 7.4 rebounds overall in his career. He posted a career-high 42 points at the Toronto Raptors on April 19, 1996. He was named to the 1996 NBA All-Star team as a reserve.
Booth was in his second season with the Wizards, averaging 4.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks this season. He has appeared in 40 games, making 22 starts before injuring his elbow. He had a career-high 18 points at Orlando on January 31.
Ekezie has averaged 3.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 29 games. He was acquired from the Vancouver Grizzlies with Dennis Scott and Felipe Lopez on August 22, 2000 in exchange for Isaac Austin.
Lopez was acquired from Vancouver with Dennis Scott and Obinna Ekezie, and has played in 47 games for the Wizards, starting in 38. He has averaged 8.1 points and 3.4 rebounds this season.
Kings has averaged 4.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 45 games. He played two seasons with the Wizards after playing a season with the San Antonio Spurs.
The newly acquired players from the Mavericks will not be in uniform tonight vs. the Sacramento Kings.
1) Wizards can't cut down Nets
3) Laettner Emerging from NBA Obscurity
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