http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1082537799240220.xml Mashburn lashes out at worst possible time for all parties Wednesday, April 21, 2004 John DeShazier MIAMI -- In case any doubt remained, the Hornets and forward Jamal Mashburn unquestionably passed the point of no return Tuesday. A day before Game 2 of the best-of-seven series against the Miami Heat, Mashburn was kicked out of the house after making negative comments about the Hornets organization, the most recent flare-up in a marriage that clearly has gone bad. He has been identified as a cancer and sent away from the team, banished from the bench for however long the Hornets remain in the playoffs. After spouting off about his injuries and alleged mistreatment, if Mashburn had remained, every other question would be about his relationship with the Hornets instead of the Hornets in the playoffs. But the ugliness likely isn't over. This latest bit of it came with the team staring at an 0-1 deficit and needing every ounce of focus to be on the Heat instead of on in-house squabbling that, again, has spilled out of the locker room. "We're in a playoff situation here and we need the team to be totally focused on the playoffs," said Hornets executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager Bob Bass. "Jamal Mashburn's article in The Miami Herald today was at an inopportune time for us. It was somewhat of a distraction to us. "So he won't be with the team on the bench -- he's not on the playoff roster anyway -- so he won't be on the bench or with the team the rest of the playoffs. . . . This came at a bad time. A real bad time." An awful time, in which neither the organization nor the player will emerge spotless. On Monday, a Miami columnist opined that the Hornets consider Mashburn more wimp than warrior. Mashburn, hobbled all year with a knee injury, has played 19 of the team's 83 games this season. Best guess: Mashburn assumed the accusation came from someone within the organization. In an interview published Tuesday in The Herald, Mashburn lashed out and made accusations that could stain the Hornets for some time, in the minds of free agents and players on the roster -- that is, if there's a shred of truth to them. Mashburn said the organization has misdiagnosed his injuries, said he'd had to seek second opinions and look out for himself because the team wouldn't. And then he said that, after 11 seasons, retirement is a possibility. Venomous words from a selfish player? Maybe. Defensive words from a player sick of whispers about his character, coming from some of the same people who last year applauded his toughness for playing with a broken finger in the playoffs? Maybe. Ill-timed words for the team and player, when the former needs no distractions and the latter needs to project a better image so some other team may want him? You bet. It also was an about-face from Mashburn, who just a few months back praised Bass for how he handled his star forward's injury. "I give Bob Bass a lot of credit," Mashburn said in November. "He's dealt with me before on a lot of different issues. He wants me healthy, and obviously he wants me out there. I want to be out there, but he's agreed on who I feel comfortable with doing the surgery and what setting I'm going to feel most comfortable during rehab. I've got to give Bob a lot of credit for that." So imagine Bass' reaction when he reads in a Miami newspaper that Mashburn believes the Hornets care more about Mashburn playing than whether he's healthy. "It was a surprise to me, but it happened," Bass said. The timing might have been a surprise. But the showdown seemed inevitable. The Hornets and Mashburn have had enough of one another, and neither should bother lying about it. The foolishness began when teammates questioned why Mashburn -- who rehabilitated his knee in Miami -- didn't bother to come to the game when the Hornets were in town playing the Heat. Mashburn said he didn't want to be a cheerleader, and that it's hard to watch if he can't play. But the problems continued when he entered the lineup 45 games into the season, with questions about how he'd be received by teammates and how he'd fit into the new offense, or if he'd even try to fit into the new offense. The trouble didn't cease when he left the lineup after re-injuring his knee, despite the fact that he remained in New Orleans to rehab, sat on the bench during games and stayed quiet when the theory caught fire that the Hornets -- 8-11 with him -- would be better off without him. Then there also was talk that he was a malingerer who should've been back earlier from the injury and that he wasn't as dedicated to returning as other injured teammates had been. Names were never attached to the in-house criticism, at least not for public consumption. And the team kept denying their was anything to the dust-up. The standard answers continued Tuesday. "Mash is not playing, so what's the distraction?" David Wesley replied. "It's no distraction," P.J. Brown said. "The guys have been dealing with it pretty much the whole year. Mash hasn't been here pretty much the whole season . . . so I don't think it's a distraction at all. I think guys are focused and we're going to try to win Game 2 and try to do the things necessary to be ready for (tonight). So nobody is thinking about that. "It's not really none of my business. That's between management and Mash." "I haven't said anything to the team," Coach Tim Floyd said. "I haven't said one word to the team. What I'm worried about is this basketball game. You can't worry about things that you can't control, and here we are. We're in the middle of the playoffs and I think our entire focus right now should be on this game." Should be, but isn't. Because every answer about Mashburn is time taken away from mental preparation for the Heat. For that, the Hornets can thank Mashburn, whose latest gift to the organization is likely his last. . . . . . . . John DeShazier can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3410. --

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