Making Their Power Play

There are certain hazards that come with the territory. In California, it’s earthquakes. In Florida, it’s hurricanes.

In the NBA, it’s David Falk.

Despite a new generation of players and a new collective bargaining agreement, the superagent still wields considerable clout in the NBA.

That was evident when the largest trade in NBA history went through Wednesday, with two Falk clients at the center.

Although the day the sun sets on Falk’s empire might be approaching, the four-team deal that sent Patrick Ewing to Seattle, Glen Rice, Travis Knight and Luc Longley to New York, Horace Grant and Greg Foster to the Lakers and Chris Dudley to Phoenix demonstrated that he hasn’t released his hold on the NBA kingdom quite yet.

“I never questioned that we would continue to have an important role in basketball,” Falk said. “I didn’t do it to prove or to reassert anything. I did it because of a 15-year relationship with Patrick Ewing and an eight-year relationship with Glen Rice.

“Maybe as a byproduct, people will say this is the type of thing we expected the [collective bargaining agreement] rules to obviate. I guess they were wrong.”

Apparently Ewing’s feelings of unappreciation in New York and anger at always being the scapegoat for the Knicks’ failures were enough motivation for him to head to a Seattle team that still appears to lag behind Portland, the Lakers and San Antonio, among others, even by pairing the aging Ewing with all-star guard Gary Payton.

For Seattle General Manager Wally Walker, this whole saga began with a call from Falk notifying him the SuperSonics were one of the teams Ewing approved of for a trade. From there, Walker called the Knicks and started negotiating with them.

Falk also had to find a place and a big contract for Rice. Rice didn’t fit in the Lakers’ plans despite playing a role in their championship season. At 33, this represented his last chance at a big-money contract.

So Falk laid the groundwork for a trade that could satisfy both needs. He tried to sweeten the deal for Seattle, which would have sent Vin Baker to the Knicks, by assuring them that his client Maurice Taylor would sign with the SuperSonics. That deal fell apart and Taylor, the former Clipper, wound up signing with the Houston Rockets for the $2.25-million exception.

That represented a slice of humility for Falk, who had assured Taylor he could seek a contract worth $14 million per year. He once held the same high hopes for Rice (whose contracts are handled by Falk partner Jeff Wexler).

But as the summer dragged and the number of teams with salary cap flexibility to offer Rice a large contract diminished, Rice’s options appeared to dwindle. Falk went to one of those teams, the Chicago Bulls, and negotiated a one-year, $7.5-million offer.

But it turned out that was just a ploy, apparently to let the other principles in the mega-trade know that their time was running out.

The Lakers, SuperSonics and Knicks needed another team in the mix to both facilitate the salary exchanges in the trade and to assure each team of receiving desired compensation.

Somehow, they got all of the complex wrinkles in this 12-player deal worked out.

“David Falk did a lot of engineering and working and manipulation,” Laker Coach Phil Jackson said.

“He had some leverage in the transaction, given his relationship/control of some of the players,” Walker said. “He wanted certain things to happen for his clients. When things were at a low point he would check in with a suggestion. Often times those were the catalyst.”

Falk has been the one behind the scenes of numerous big deals in recent years--three involving Rice alone. In addition to this summer’s big deal, he brought about the trade that sent Rice from Charlotte to the Lakers in exchange for Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell, and he forced the Hornets to send Alonzo Mourning to the Miami Heat for Rice in 1995 when it became clear that Charlotte would not meet Mourning’s contract demands.

Many deals come with the understanding that there will be additional benefits coming from the Falk family down the road. Falk could make such exchanges happen because he had such a large roster of clients--including the crown jewel, Michael Jordan.

Jordan gave Falk immeasurable clout, and helped him to attract a large clientele. That large base allowed him to have a say on teams around the league.

He also acquired a reputation as a relentless negotiator.

“David, in a word, is assertive,” Walker said. “I’ve known him a long time, and that hasn’t changed.”

“He’s very aggressive,” said Portland General Manager Bob Whitsitt. “He’s very prepared. He’s very assured of where he wants to go. He’s very creative, he’s very smart. He’s one of those guys that you just have to make sure you have your homework done, or otherwise he’ll get a leg up on you.”

But Falk’s reach is shrinking. Jordan retired last year. Other clients such as Vin Baker and Allen Iverson have left the fold.

It’s telling that two of the best teams in the league, the Portland Trail Blazers and now the Lakers, don’t have any Falk clients.

The role of the agent has diminished in the new collective bargaining agreement that established salary scales for rookies and maximum limits for veterans.

But general managers still have to deal with agents when negotiating sign-and-trade deals, which have emerged as the best way for players to get money and teams to get compensation for free agents who would otherwise leave them with nothing in return.

And now the Lakers will have to contend with an angry Falk, based on the way he feels the Rice situation was handled.

Falk is upset that the Lakers never made so much as an offer to Rice this summer. And said there were prior commitments made to Rice by Laker management that weren’t met.

“I don’t think those things were honored,” Falk said. “I know they weren’t honored. And that was very troubling to me. How that will affect future dealings, only time will tell.”