Restrictive Rules Discourage Teams From Trading

It’s just a hunch. But if there were no barriers to making trades, we would’ve seen more than just Scott Brooks-for-Morlon Wiley, the only swap completed before Thursday’s trading deadline.

There are general managers who wanted to move players. There are players who wanted to be moved. And as always, there are plenty of fans who wanted their team to make changes. But because of one thing or another, some trades couldn’t be made.

The moratorium on contracts was the culprit this year. Still, there are rules that, intentionally or not, discourage trades. And that’s not good for the game.

Last year, the league revised one rule concerning trades. Previously, players with comparable salaries could be dealt one-for-one; the NBA then allowed two-forones, provided the salaries nearly matched. That helped the situation, and it enabled the Portland Trail Blazers to deal Clyde Drexler - as long as they threw in Tracy Murray - to the Houston Rockets for Otis Thorpe.

But there’s still more that needs to be done. The technique of matching salaries needs to be relaxed, if not erased. For some reason, rookies can’t be included in two-for-ones. And there’s the confusing issue of baseyear players. A player may be All-Star quality, but if he’s base-year and his salary reflects only $700,000 under the rules of the salary cap, he must be exchanged for a player whose salary is comparable.

These roadblocks don’t do anyone much good. They give some general managers a convenient alibi. They’re a nuisance to others. They don’t help the coach who wants to get rid of a player and they don’t help a player like Chris Morris of New Jersey, who wants to leave.

Jackson expects worst

Dallas Mavericks guard Jim Jackson says he expects his ankle injury to keep him out of the rest of this season, ending his consecutive start streak and cutting short his breakout year.

Jackson, the league’s highest-scoring guard and fifthbest overall at 26 points per game, severely sprained and partially dislocated his left ankle in Friday night’s loss to New Jersey.

“I’m looking at it like I’ll be out the rest of the way,” Jackson said Saturday from his hotel room in Indianapolis. “With a bright future ahead for myself and our team next year and beyond, there’s no reason to rush back this season and possibly get hurt even worse.”

Around the league

If the New York Knicks are going to catch the Magic, now’s the time. Starting Sunday against the Chicago Bulls, Orlando will play 15 of its next 17 games against teams that would make the playoffs if the playoffs started today. For a Magic team that lost to the Timberwolves and the Celtics in a four-day span, this is a fairly steep challenge. Another potential worry for Orlando is Horace Grant’s chronic back spasms… . The relationship between Kendall Gill and Sonics coach George Karl is mending, and the process started, ironically, right before the trade deadline. They’ve decided a truce would be best for their fractured relationship, which was centered around the amount of Gill’s playing time. “We both agreed it was better to communicate than to have tensions between us,” Karl said. “He and I are both stubborn people and don’t give in. But we both realized that I was going to be here for the rest of the year and he was going to be here for the rest of the year.” … The main reason the Sonics can’t handle the Lakers - they’ve lost four straight to L.A. - isn’t necessarily the Lakers’ size advantage. The reason is Gary Payton can’t handle fellow trash-talker Nick Van Exel. Van Exel dropped a career-high 40 on Payton in the latest meeting.

… Knicks forward Charles Oakley, who hasn’t played since Christmas, was activated from the injured list after missing 28 games following surgery for a dislocated toe.