The NBA : There's Touch of Magic to Houston Controversy

By Gordon Edes

March 29, 1988 12 AM PT

There are echoes of the Magic Johnson-Paul Westhead affair in Houston, where All-Star center Akeem Olajuwon last week blasted Rocket Coach Bill Fitch.

Like Magic, Olajuwon took it upon himself to stand up and voice criticism of the coach--thus becoming a lightning rod for public reaction. His complaints were shared by many of Olajuwon’s Rocket teammates privately, as was the case with the Lakers and Westhead.

“I don’t know my role. Nobody knows their role,” Olajuwon said in the wake of last week’s blowout loss to the Lakers in the Forum, the fourth time this season the Rockets had been trashed by the Lakers.

At first, Fitch passed off Olajuwon’s remarks as the product of frustration. But Olajuwon was having none of that.

“It wasn’t frustration,” he said. “It’s the truth.

“(Fitch) is always right. He’s never wrong. That’s a big problem right there. I think he ought to listen to the players more.”

Olajuwon also went off on guard Eric (Sleepy) Floyd, the key man in the Ralph Sampson-to-Golden State deal, and said Floyd wasn’t getting the job done as playmaker.

Fitch has not confronted Olajuwon, who took his grievances to General Manager Ray Patterson after first airing them in the papers.

“I wish Akeem had gone through channels,” Fitch said. “You never get anywhere by publicly embarrassing a coach or teammate.”

If Floyd was embarrassed, he wasn’t blushing in public.

“If that’s the way Akeem feels, then I’ve got to change, because he’s the man,” Floyd said.

Olajuwon said he wasn’t trying to get Fitch fired, but speculation is rampant that if the Rockets don’t make the Western Conference finals--they were bounced out in the first round of the playoffs last season--Fitch is history. Last week, Laker broadcaster Chick Hearn went on the air with a rumor that Larry Brown, the University of Kansas coach, will succeed Fitch in Houston.

And how have the Rockets fared since Olajuwon’s outburst? They’ve won twice, thanks mostly to Olajuwon, who averaged 27.5 points and 18 rebounds for the two games.

Fitch, of course, has been a target before--in Boston, where Kevin McHale of the Celtics took him on, and in Houston, where Sampson was a frequent critic, which helped get him traded. If it comes down to Olajuwon or Fitch, though, it’s no contest.

There’s a heavier fog cover than usual in the Bay Area, where they are still trying to sort out the abrupt resignation of Coach George Karl last week.

With Don Nelson in the wings as general manager, it was generally assumed that Karl was not long for the Warriors, but Golden State owner Jim Fitzgerald--whose ties with Nelson date back to when both were in Milwaukee--insisted that wasn’t the case.

“I know it looks like it was pre-ordained,” Fitzgerald said at a press conference. “I can assure you that it’s not.”

Karl apparently was insecure enough about his standing, however, that he went to Nelson--who, incidentally, recommended Karl for the Golden State job--to get a reading on his future. The men talked about Karl getting a vote of confidence in the form of a contract extension, and Nelson reportedly told Karl he’d go to bat for him.

A meeting was arranged last Wednesday at a hotel with Fitzgerald and team president Daniel Finnane. Nelson said he brought up the subject of an extension--and an evergreen clause, by which a contract is automatically extended two years after every year coached. Nelson then left the meeting, and Karl came in.

Two hours later, Karl left without a job, and Nelson had an offer to take over the team next season, an offer he is still contemplating but is expected to accept.

Karl said he never asked for an extension. The brass said he did.

“I told him I couldn’t do that and I wouldn’t do that,” Fitzgerald said.

Other topics came up--the Warriors’ disastrous season, Karl’s frustration and exhaustion, the fact that he was in the worst physical shape of his life.

Maybe I ought to resign, Karl is said to have suggested.

The owners didn’t argue.

Asked about Karl’s stability, Fitzgerald said: “Some guys can’t take a loss, and George is one of them.”

The Warriors said they will honor the remaining two years of Karl’s contract.