A Little Q&A with ML

April 26, 1995

M.L. Carr does not feel like a prophet. Back in November, when he guaranteed his team would make the playoffs, he had something in mind other than 35 wins and a three-game losing streak to close out the regular season.



"I would have rather gone in full speed ahead," said Carr, "but the fact of the matter is we're there. And you've got to want to be there.

"The lottery is great if you get pick No. 1, 2 or 3. But the thing is weighted now, and the chances of that are very slim. And in a draft like this year, when so many great players are coming out, the difference between 14 and 20 won't be that great."

It has been a tumultuous first year for the director of basketball operations. Dominique Wilkins came to town amid much pomp and circumstance but has not lived up to his considerable billing. Chris Ford has been on the hot seat most of the season, and he walks, talks and acts like a man who is gone. Eric Montross, considered a risky pick at No. 9, represents Carr's biggest triumph to date. Greg Minor, signed as a free agent, was a savvy pickup. Pervis Ellison has been a disappointment, and Blue Edwards was here and gone before you could look up his real name (it's Theodore).

Carr sat down and answered some pointed questions yesterday afternoon after practice at Brandeis. He addressed trades he made (and ones he didn't), his free agent signings and the future of his coach.

Q. Was signing Dominique Wilkins a mistake?

A. "No, I don't think it was. 'Nique has gone through a tremendous adjustment period, both he and Chris have. The guy came to us on the verge of scoring 25,000 career points. He has been the go-to guy his entire career. I looked at the points lost out of our offense and felt he could help fill that void. I wasn't looking for him to score 25 a night. He's given us about 17. If anyone else came in here and scored 17 points a night, we'd say, 'Hey, the guy is great.' But because it was Dominique, and because there were certain expectations, nobody is saying that."

Q. What about Wilkins' attitude when he wasn't getting the minutes he thought he deserved?

A. "If you are asking me, 'Has there ever been a problem with that?' I'd tell you it was not a major problem. We had to give 'Nique an opportunity to adjust to a new situation. If we had been together three years, I might have dealt with it differently, but it's only been five months.

"The one situation that concerned me was when 'Nique started talking publicly about not knowing his role. That portrays the coach in a bad way, and it potentially puts other players in a position to try the same thing. I spoke to him about that, and we took care of it.

"Actually, 'Nique was told by the fans when they booed him against the Clippers what their reaction was."

Q. What kind of future does Wilkins have here?

A. "I'll make that final judgment when the bell ticks. I think 'Nique has straightened a lot of things out. His own expectations were to put up big numbers, but I think he understands better now what we need from him. An aging athlete has to learn to do other things to benefit his team. What I want from 'Nique is to get him on the box, and when he has a second eye on him a double-team, to create openings for Dee Brown and Dino Radja. I'm looking for between 18 and 20 points a night from him, and that's about what we got, although I was looking for a shooting percentage closer to 45 percent Wilkins shot 42 percent."

Q. What about Chris Ford? You are two people with completely contrasting approaches. How has that hurt your professional relationship?

A. "We are two different people, but there's respect there. I have tremendous respect for Chris. He's worked hard for everything he's gotten, like me. I know he finds it hard to see guys with maybe even more talent than we had not giving the extra effort. I feel the same way, but we respond in different ways to it. I'm aware it's been a trying year for Chris."

Q. Has the fact you were once teammates and good friends made the differences even more difficult to handle?

A. "No. I have no problem separating the personal side and the business side. Last summer I told Chris if I didn't think he was the right person to coach the team, even though I liked him, I wouldn't extend his contract. If my mother was the power forward on the team but she wasn't the right player, I'd have no problem replacing her. I'd still love her; she'd still be my mother. But that's business.

"At the time I gave Chris his extension, it was because I felt he was the right coach for this ball club."

Q. How about now? Is Chris Ford the right coach for this team?

A. "I won't assess that at this point. When the season is over, I'll sit down and analyze everything. I don't know of any business that doesn't sit down and have an annual report."

Q. Ford is clearly unhappy. Suppose he comes to you at the end of the season and tells you he wants out?

A. "I have to look at the complete picture, and what's best for the whole team. If Dino Radja came to me at the end of the season and told me, 'I don't want to be here, I want to be traded,' I can't just satisfy Dino Radja. I have to satisfy the Boston Celtics.

"I'm not going to do what is just best for M.L. Carr, or what is just best for Chris Ford. I've got to look at this as a total business decision, both financially and otherwise."

Q. You have been criticized for being too close to your players, particularly Wilkins. Are you?

A. "I don't really think so. I have respect for guys who go out and work hard, and I have problems with guys who don't. Can I smile with a player? Can I talk with a player? Of course. Red Auerbach did a lot of that. I'm not comparing myself to Red, but there are a lot of ways you can get from here to there, and my way might not be right for others, but it's how I do things. Even when I was a player, I'd be talking to the fans. I'd be running down on defense, and asking them, 'How's the popcorn?' That's just me. Does that mean my expectations are any lower, or my disappointments any less strong? No, not at all."

Q. Pervis Ellison was a disappointment this season. How do you feel about his future?

A. "Summer will be the telling point for Pervis. He has indicated to us he plans to spend a lot of time up here working out. I think he's made major strides with his knee, and at age 27, why not take that gamble? Should we see a better Pervis next year? Yes, and I believe we will."

Q. The knock on Ellison before he arrived was he favored his knees too much and will never be able to get past that hurdle. Ford was frustrated with the number of days he took off from practice. Can he ever get back to a comfort level where he can be a full-time contributor?

A. "When I was in college, I tore the patella tendon in my knee. I ran with a limp my whole senior year. The trainer told the coach there was nothing wrong with me - it was all in my mind. Did they really think I wanted to limp my whole senior year, in the national championship game? Certain days I could feel the knee, and that's what made me react. That summer the knee was structurally sound and I started forgetting about it. I never limped again after that.

"Maybe that's why I'm sympathetic to Pervis. He just turned 28. He's worth the gamble. If we can get that leg right, even if it is over a two-year period, we still have a young person that is extremely talented."

Q. When you traded for Blue Edwards and Derek Strong, you were very high on Edwards. Yet he was traded to Utah by February. What happened?

A. "When I took this job, I made up my mind I'd try certain things and hope they worked. If they didn't, I wasn't going to sit back and wait.

"I was very high on Blue. I thought he'd be super for us, because I felt we'd be an up-tempo team. But for whatever reasons, that didn't happen. And with Rick Fox needing minutes and Greg Minor added to the mix, I felt a trade was probably best for us."

Q. You almost traded Xavier McDaniel to Washington for Kevin Duckworth, which would have been a very unpopular move with the fans, the media and your players. What made you change your mind?

A. "It wasn't so much that Duckworth was attractive as we had a situation where X was going to be a free agent and he was looking for minutes, and although he was handling it well, if something didn't materialize, there was a concern it would go the other way. We looked at the free agent list, and if X did go, who could we move into that slot? We didn't see anyone that attractive.

"Ultimately, though, I said, 'No.' I decided not to make the trade because X is a competitor. He may not be happy every day, but he plays hard, anyway. And for all X's talk, he's a pretty reasonable guy."

Q. Will you offer McDaniel a one-year contract this summer to preserve his slot for another year?

A. "I can't answer that. There's too many variables right now."

Q. What kind of chance does your team have against Orlando, which is bigger and more talented at almost every position?

A. "I can't even think about three and out, although I know people are saying it. I think our guys like the idea of immediate gratification. No one gives us a chance. What a great opportunity! I'm telling you right now - and here are those rose-colored glasses again - I expect us to go down there Friday night and win. I'll be disappointed if we don't."