The Nba

First among Seconds
"One of the best players in the league," says Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich of his shooting guard, Cuttino Mobley (left)—high praise for the 41st pick in the 1998 draft. Since becoming a full-time starter on Jan. 6, the 6'4" Mobley had scored 22.2 points per game through Sunday, raising his season average to 19.7. That's fops in the league among players not picked in the first round. —David Sabino
	DRAFTED (ROUND, OVERALL)	POINTS PER GAME	NBA RANK
Cuttino Mobley, Rockets	1998 (2,41)	19.7	27
Cliff Robinson, Suns	1989 (2,36)	18.3	33
Nick Van Exel, Nuggets	1993 (2,37)	17.9	35
David Wesley, Hornets	Undrafted	17.8	36
Darrell Armstrong, Magic	Undrafted	16.5	42

Indecent Behavior
The Suns are facing up to a series of recent incidents that have tarred their reputation

Suns chairman Jerry Colangelo likens it to watching three bullets being pumped into the body of his franchise. In a three-month span, a complaint was filed against former All-Star guard Penny Hardaway for using a gun to intimidate the mother of his eight-year-old daughter; Dream Team point guard Jason Kidd was charged with hitting his wife; and Cliff Robinson, the team's leading scorer, was arrested for driving under the influence and possessing less than a gram of marijuana. "I'm getting mail insinuating that I'm responsible for it," says coach Scott Skiles, "like I'm a college coach running a dirty program."

Colangelo spent the last decade rehabilitating the team's image after its involvement in the biggest drug scandal in pro sports history. Five active and former Phoenix players were indicted near the end of the 1986-87 season on marijuana or cocaine charges based on the grand-jury testimony of teammate Walter Davis. Though all charges were either dropped or reduced, the stain left Colangelo no option but to dismantle the team. Over a two-year period he unloaded every player but Jeff Hornacek (who was not implicated in the scandal), rebuilt the Suns around point guard Kevin Johnson and followed up a 24-58 season in 1987-88 with a 55-27 record in '88-89, the fifth-biggest turnaround in NBA history.

Colangelo would like to provide another happy ending—without having to trade his best players. To help improve the team's standing in the community he announced last week that season-ticket prices on 6,322 seats will be dropped by 2.5% next year, the first decrease since the 1992 opening of America West Arena (now known by some fans as America Arrest Arena). "What we have are random, individual incidents," he says. "When my players have a problem, I have a problem. When I have a problem, I try to fix it."

Rather than whitewash the incidents, Colangelo has insisted his players accept responsibility for them. The most upsetting occurred the evening of Jan. 18, when Kidd—the team's leader and best player—was arrested for hitting his wife, Joumana, a popular local TV reporter. According to police, they were arguing about feeding their two-year-old son, T.J., when Kidd spit a french fry in his wife's face then struck her, giving her a swollen lip and a bloody mouth. Joumana retreated to the bathroom after Jason kicked open her bedroom door.

The couple have said they intend to stay together and to work out Kidd's anger problems. Kidd, who pleaded innocent, missed the Suns' next four games before he rejoined the team—along with Joumana and their son—for a game in Boston, where he was booed every time he touched the ball. At Colangelo's behest, Kidd apologized to fans after the next home game. Crowds at America West have been supportive since then.

When Robinson was arrested in his yellow Porsche on Feb. 5 for driving under the influence-police say that he admitted smoking marijuana earlier in the evening, and that his blood-alcohol level was 0.146, .046 over the legal limit—Colangelo appeared at a press conference with him, promising that Robinson would be held accountable. (His court date and Kidd's were scheduled for Thursday.) "I was extremely disappointed in myself because Jerry has shown a lot of belief in me," says Robinson, 34, who is in the second season of a four-year, $29 million free-agent contract. "He let me know I'd let him down."

Colangelo says he will make sure Kidd and Robinson become involved in charities against domestic violence and drunk driving, respectively. "I definitely want to see these players step up in the community with their pocketbooks and tell others not to make the same mistakes they've made," Colangelo says. "The fans are offended. When something like this happens, you have to do something to earn back their trust."

Prosecutors have dismissed the misdemeanor intimidation charge against Hardaway, who in November had confronted Latarsha McCray with a gun outside his suburban Paradise Valley home. (She did not accuse him of pointing the weapon at her.) The Suns' concerns about Hardaway have since turned to the microfracture of his left knee, which has failed to heal properly despite two operations since last May. Hardaway played four games in January before returning to his rehab regimen. "Next year there is a great possibility he will come back," Colangelo says. "But if he can't, if he has worked his tail off and he can't get it done, he may quit"

If so, his salary could come off Phoenix's cap at the end of next season. (Insurance is currently covering 80% of Hardaway's salary.) The team's options are limited by commitments to Hardaway ($10.1 million this season, signed through 2005-06); forward Tom Gugliotta, who at week's end was averaging 4.9 points while recovering from last year's reconstructive surgery on his left knee ($9-4 million, signed through 2003-04); rarely used center Chris Dudley ($6.2 million, signed through 2001-02); and guard Rex Chapman ($3.5 million), who retired in November. "It's not over till I say so," Hardaway says. "There's been so much negative speculation, but nobody can say I'm giving up except me."