Bogues balks on taking MRI

10-3-97

Staff and wire reports

Muggsy Bogues was in the team picture. George Shinn was not.

As the Charlotte Hornets begin training camp today in Fort Mill, S.C. an air of uncertainty hangs over an otherwise upbeat mood. The Hornets will open their 10th season on Halloween.

Bogues has yet to have his injured left knee examined, and the Hornets continue to bring in point guards in an apparent decision to open the season without him. Shinn has been charged with sexual misconduct by a Charlotte woman, though no charges have been filed.

Meanwhile, Dave Cowens is putting together what appears to be a good basketball team. As the NBA opens training camps around the country today, the Hornets believe they can improve on last year's record season.

"Our goal is definitely to go deeper into the playoffs," the Hornets' coach said. "We're a lot more organized. We're more specific in what we want to do."

The uncertainty around Bogues' damaged knee convinced Cowens and the Hornets to go shopping for guards. They added free agents Bobby Phills, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard, and David Wesley, a 6-0 point guard, in the offseason, and signed free agent point guard Corey Beck on Thursday.

Bogues refused to allow the team to do an MRI on his knee Thursday, and has yet to pass the physical.

"I didn't know the MRI was part of the physical," he said. "As far as taking a physical I took that. If everybody (else) took an MRI I guess that's part of the physical. I didn't know that was part of a physical."

With or without Bogues, the Hornets open camp today with a stronger roster, one that includes returning all-star Glen Rice, center Vlade Divac and power forward Anthony Mason. The addition of Wesley and Phills gives Charlotte its best starting lineup ever.

To battle with the rest of the Eastern Conference, though, the Hornets will need depth. Since the Bulls won their fifth league title in June, a lot has changed. But one thing remains the same. The Eastern Conference is still loaded. And Michael Jordan is still in Chicago.

Jordan is back in an NBA camp with a new contract, new shoes and most of the Chicago Bulls limping behind him. Larry Bird will be back in camp, too, wearing a whistle for the first time in his life.

Also in attendance will be Rick Pitino, bringing the run-and-gun style that was successful at Kentucky to the Boston Celtics. And then there's Kevin Garnett, who will lace 'em up undoubtedly feeling like the happiest 21-year-old on the planet.

Garnett is among the so-called draft class of 95, a group of first-round picks who entered the league with three-year contracts. Teams had until midnight Wednesday to extend those deals, and Garnett was one of the few who broke the bank in getting an $123 million extension from the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Denver Nuggets were unable to do so with Antonio McDyess, so they traded the forward to the Phoenix Suns in a three-way deal that sent Wesley Person and Tony Dumas to Cleveland. It completed an almost total overhaul for the Cavs, who made more changes than any other team except Pitino's.

Pitino will be one of seven new coaches around the league, and none will be more watched than Bird. One of the greatest players to compete in the NBA, Bird will be taking over as coach of the Indiana Pacers. It will be the first time Bird has coached at any level.

"I was demanding of myself as a player, and although I know these guys aren't as talented as I am, I plan to be just as demanding of their effort," Bird said recently.

Other new coaches will be Chuck Daly in Orlando, Larry Brown in Philadelphia, Brian Hill in Vancouver, Mike Dunleavy in Portland, Bill Hanzlik in Denver and P.J. Carlesimo in Golden State.

The rookie to watch will be in San Antonio, where Tim Duncan of Wake Forest will join a frontline bolstered by the return of David Robinson from a back injury.

A close eye will be kept on injury reports out of Chicago, where Scottie Pippen will be testing his ailing foot and deciding whether to undergo surgery that could sideline him for the first couple months of the season. If Pippen has surgery and unsigned Dennis Rodman doesn't return, it will spring the Eastern Conference wide open.

The Hornets are among the teams hoping to fill the void.