Boston & L.A. are centers of NBA once again

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It's just like old times in the NBA. Heading into training camp, the biggest stories are the Los Angeles Lakers and Celtics. It's just too bad this isn't 1984, where we could actually have a Boston-L.A. showdown in June featuring Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.

Those days are long gone, but there is plenty of intrigue centering on Kevin Garnett's new team and Kobe Bryant's old club. After his summer of discontent, Kobe Bryant is expected to report tomorrow to media day in El Segundo, Calif., and then head with the team to training camp in Hawaii. He gave his word this past week to GM Mitch Kupchak and Phil Jackson that he is ready and willing to go.

For now, anyway.

It doesn't mean that Kobe has re-committed long-term or is thrilled to be back after demanding a trade and spending most of the offseason privately smoldering over the Los Angeles Lakers' lack of moves. He was hoping for Garnett or Jermaine O'Neal, at least, but their only key offseason addition was ex-Laker guard Derek Fisher. You think Tim Duncan and the Spurs are shaking in their sneakers over that one?

Minnesota VP Kevin McHale, an old Laker enemy, is still getting cursed out in the Los Angeles Lakers' front offices for giving up Garnett for next to nothing.

"We lost out on the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes," Jackson said during his Hall of Fame enshrinement earlier this month. "Red Auerbach came out of the grave and told Kevin to give him to the Celtics so the Celtics can get back in the running. That was a blessing, that connection. We just didn't have the connection to make that happen for us."

They also didn't get O'Neal, even with the Pacers open to trading their top player. Indiana president Larry Bird isn't budging on his demand for Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, while the Los Angeles Lakers have dug their heels in on Andrew Bynum, the third-year center whom Kupchak, Los Angeles Lakers exec Jim Buss and others in their front office are opposed to moving.

As a result, this could be the final year in L.A. for Kobe Bryant and Jackson. At best, the Los Angeles Lakers look like they're no better than their teams that were KO'd from the first round in each of the last two seasons. That will hardly sit well with Kobe Bryant, who can opt out of his contract at season's end. Anything less than a playoff finish and he is liable to throw a tantrum to force a deal.

Meanwhile, Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers have decided to put plans for an extension on hold. Owner Jerry Buss doesn't want to re-sign a coach at $10 million per season who can only get his team as far as the first round. And Jackson isn't that desperate to continue coaching a team that easily could finish in ninth place in the West.

"I think I have an outstanding offer to sign up again, but I have held that back because of my recovery," Jackson said, referring to his second hip replacement this past June. "Then there's the basis of how well the team does. If this team doesn't move forward quickly, and that's - I think - the second round of the playoffs, then I think we have to reconsider."

The only sure-fire way the Los Angeles Lakers will make the second round is if they play in the East, where a mediocre Cleveland team was not much better than the Los Angeles Lakers and still went all the way to the Finals. The Celtics could be this season's Cavaliers, but even with a rejuvenated Garnett and Ray Allen joining up with Paul Pierce, they're still short a front-line point guard. They made a few half-hearted attempts to trade for Toronto backup Jose Calderon, but as it stands, their best point guard is their coach, Doc Rivers.

"We don't need one," Celtics VP Danny Ainge told associates recently. "When I played with D.J. (Dennis Johnson), neither of us were true point guards."

He's right, but the Celtics of the 80s had the best point-forward ever in Larry Bird. With Bird averaging 6.5 assists from 1981-88, they didn't need a playmaker. But this team does, judging from critical comments Pierce has made during recent workouts about Rajon Rondo, a backup last season who is projected to get major minutes this season. Allen has also been wondering why the team didn't import a proven floor general and is looking to Tony Allen, a swingman, to also run the point.

"That would be a mistake," said one Eastern Conference executive. "Tony Allen isn't a basketball player; he's an athlete."

Even with that gaping hole, it isn't turning off Celtics fans. Already, 26 of Boston's 41 home dates are virtual sellouts. They sold out only nine times last season, a far cry from the mid-80s when their wait-list for season tickets totaled 6,000 names, and when June almost always meant a date with the Los Angeles Lakers in the Finals.

Barring a radical change in how David Stern deals with his owners, Jim Dolan probably isn't going to face any suspension or other penalties for his role in the MSG-Isiah Thomas sexual harassment case. As much embarrassment as Dolan's Garden has brought to the NBA in its own backyard, Stern normally only goes after owners who take him on publicly. Dolan has never done that while he's run the Garden and turned the Knicks into a laughingstock.

Dont miss the chance to get Cheap Mavs tickets as Mavs' owner Mark Cuban has found out, whether he's been blasting Stern over officials or critiquing the way the league is marketed, you don't mess with the commissioner. If Stern has a change of heart and punishes Dolan, then he'll also have to penalize one of his favorite owners. The Los Angeles Lakers' Jerry Buss was sentenced earlier this month to five years' probation and fined $1,900 after pleading guilty to drunken driving. Buss has escaped a league sanction and given his close ties to the commissioner, that is not expected to change.

Slam Dunks

* Since Jerry West left Memphis, the Grizzlies are doing things on the cheap. Now in the Chris Wallace era, they've resorted to having free-agent prospects stay at the homes of team personnel, rather than putting them up in hotels … Shawn Marion is only going to land with the Los Angeles Lakers if new Suns GM Steve Kerr is willing to take back Kwame Brown and Vlade Radmanovic. That's not happening, and the Suns aren't getting Lamar Odom for Marion, either.

* Kevin Durant is walking into a mess in Seattle. The city is suing the team to stay in antiquated Key Arena, while owner Clay Bennett can't wait to move the Sonics to his home base of Oklahoma City. With Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis (Orlando) gone, defenses can focus solely on stopping Durant, all 200 pounds of him. Durant better get used to losing, even if the Sonics boast a payroll of non-scorers that runs close to $65 million … Quietly, the Bucks have hired Jarinn Akana as an assistant coach. Akana worked the last two years in China with Yi Jianlian, the Bucks' No. 1 pick. After spending close to $95 million this past off-season to re-sign Mo Williams and Charlie Bell and invest in other talent, lame-duck GM Larry Harris needs to make the playoffs to get an extension.

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