Bulls officials assured doubters that Elton Brand would be an All-Star when they passed on Steve Francis and Lamar Odom with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 draft. And they were right–Brand is at the NBA All-Star Game.
Of course, it’s as a Los Angeles Clipper after last June’s trade. But Brand’s draft class is shaping up as one of the NBA’s best with Brand, Francis, Baron Davis (replacing Vince Carter) and Wally Szczerbiak as All-Stars this season.
“It’s a special class,” Brand said. “And there are near All-Star guys like Andre Miller, Lamar [Odom], Jason Terry.”
Brand was beaming heading into his first All-Star Game.
“I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling yet,” he said. “I apologize for dropping that hammer on Shaq’s toe.”
Brand replaces injured Los Angeles Lakers center Shaquille O’Neal, but he deserves to be here. He is averaging 19 points and 11.2 rebounds a game and is shooting 53 percent.
“My scoring is down, but my rebounds are up and my shooting is up,” he said. “I think I’ve improved.”
Especially in the standings, with the Clippers in the playoff race. Brand had a warning for the Bulls: Don’t let your players get too accustomed to losing. It started to affect him during his two seasons in Chicago.
“It was in my head,” Brand said. “I remember being up eight with a minute left [in an early-season game] and screaming for everyone to focus because with the Bulls I lost so much. It weighed on me. Sometimes I felt myself accepting losing. And that’s not me. So this season is some vindication.”
But he has some regrets about being traded from Chicago.
“There’s a sense of failure,” Brand said. “I was brought there to turn the team around and I did not do that. So I understand where the trade came from. But it’s also a sense of relief. I’m not sure that team was going anywhere with or without me. Now I’m a part of a team that is.”
Brand said he enjoyed Chicago and envisioned raising a family there. But he concedes that if he hadn’t been traded and there hadn’t been much improvement with the Bulls, he would have left as a free agent after his fifth season.
“I couldn’t take too much more of the losing,” Brand said.
Shaq-led: O’Neal said the Lakers are considering season-ending surgery on his injured right big toe.
“I am concerned, but I try not to think about it,” he said.
Sacramento’s Chris Webber replaces O’Neal in the West starting lineup.
Layups: East coach Byron Scott said he’ll replace Carter in the starting lineup with Jason Kidd and play Michael Jordan at small forward. “To me it was obvious,” he said. “The Western Conference guys have the size, and the only way to combat that is to get out and run. And with [Kidd] pushing it, we have some guys who can do that.” . . . The NBA rules committee voted to require timekeepers from a neutral city for playoff games this season.
Saturday participants
Rookie Challenge
ROOKIE ROSTER
Shane Battier, F, Memphis
Pau Gasol, F, Memphis
Brendan Haywood, C, Washington
Joe Johnson, G, Boston
Andrei Kirilenko, F, Utah
Tony Parker, G, San Antonio
Zeljko Rebraca, C, Detroit
Jason Richardson, G, Golden State
Jamaal Tinsley, G, Indiana
SOPHOMORE ROSTER
Marcus Fizer, F, BULLS
Kenyon Martin, F, New Jersey
Desmond Mason, G, Seattle
Chris Mihm, C, Cleveland
y-Darius Miles, F, L.A. Clippers
Mike Miller, G, Orlando
Lee Nailon, F, Charlotte
Morris Peterson, G, Toronto
Quentin Richardson, G, L.A. Clippers
x-Stromile Swift, F, Memphis
Hedo Turkoglu, F, Sacramento
x-injured, will not play; y-replacement.
Three-point shootout
Ray Allen, G, Milwaukee
Mike Miller, F, Orlando
Steve Nash, G, Dallas
Wesley Person, F, Cleveland
Paul Pierce, F-G, Boston
Quentin Richardson, G, L.A. Clippers
Steve Smith, G-F, San Antonio
Peja Stojakovic, F, Sacramento
Slam-dunk contest
Steve Francis, 6-3, G, Houston
Desmond Mason, 6-7, F, Seattle
Jason Richardson, 6-6, G, Golden State
Gerald Wallace, 6-7, F, Sacramento
