ODOM, RIDER SUSPENDED

Pro Basketball: League Mandates That Clipper Forward And Laker Guard
Each Sit Out Five Games For Violating Drug Policy.

Clipper forward Lamar Odom and Laker guard Isaiah "J.R." Rider each were
suspended five games without pay for violations of the NBA's anti-drug
program, the league announced Wednesday.

Odom, 21, and a significant player and leader for an embattled
organization, tested positive for marijuana and then failed to comply
with the league-mandated after-care program, sources said.

Rider, whose career is marred by run-ins with team and law enforcement
officials, also was punished for noncompliance.

For several years, the league has been tainted by accusations of
widespread drug use, most recently by its own, Toronto Raptor forward
Charles Oakley. But, aside from the occasional arrest for marijuana
possession, there had been little corroboration.

The suspensions announced Wednesday might be only the beginning. One
source said at least several more penalties, and probably many more,
could be handed down in the coming days. According to the Collective
Bargaining Agreement, the league is forbidden from disclosing
punishments that do not include a suspension.

Rider continues to pay for an incident from last season in Orlando,
Fla., where, as a member of the Atlanta Hawks, he was accused by hotel
security of marijuana use. The league has attempted to enroll him into
its after-care program since, and found resistance.

He was plucked out of a team meeting Wednesday morning to take a
telephone call from a league official, who notified him of the
suspension as a result of his noncompliance. Still, Rider is expected to
practice with the team and pose for the official team picture today.

Rider's violation is in his failure to comply with the NBA and players'
association after-care policy, which stems from his inability to
complete, sign and return the required paperwork to begin the program.

Rider, who according to several sources has never tested positive for
drugs, had requested that parts of the agreement be altered,
particularly in regard to where the drug tests would occur. In the
process of attempting to negotiate those changes, several deadlines over
several months were missed, the last Tuesday. Rider apparently sent the
paperwork Wednesday, too late for the league, which issued one of its
strongest penalties in an effort to have Rider simply sign and mail the
document.

"He has been attempting to comply and to get this behind him as quickly
as possible," Rider's agent, Arn Tellem, said in a statement Wednesday.
"He'd like to return to the club and make a positive contribution the
rest of the season."

The Lakers appear willing to mull Rider's fate, at least in the short
term, rather than to knee-jerk waive him.

Unlike Odom, who is a rising young player considered integral to the
Clippers' future, Rider has become an NBA nomad, possessing more
peripheral baggage than he does offensive skills, and is not essential
to the Lakers. The Lakers' relationship with him extends only as far as
the soundness of their backcourt; that is, if the Lakers do not waive
him, it is because they need insurance in the event Kobe Bryant, Ron
Harper or Derek Fisher are not physically ready for the playoffs.

Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak, reached in Nashville, where he is
attending the Southeastern Conference basketball tournament, would not
comment.

Coach Phil Jackson said he knew few of the details behind Rider's
suspension, but intended to discuss them with him today.

"It doesn't endear Isaiah to us, obviously," he said. "This is part of
his responsibility. This is what we're working with. I'm sure Isaiah's
got a reason, an excuse. He usually does have a lengthy or a reasonable
excuse. I'll have to listen to that [today] before I pass any judgment.

"I have to at least be open-minded enough to listen to what he has to
say about what's going on and hear him out."

Rider, who turns 30 on Monday, averaged 8.1 points in 58 games for the
Lakers. Kupchak admitted he was taking a risk when he signed Rider for
only $548,500 this summer, and the enigmatic Rider has lived up to his
reputation for tardiness and impulsiveness.

Asked how Rider's teammates would take the suspension, Jackson said:
"They're curious. But I don't think any of them are surprised."

Said Horace Grant: "We really don't need it right now."

Odom may return March 20 against Philadelphia. Rider is eligible to
return March 16 in Washington. In the meantime, the players may practice
and take part in team activities but are not allowed in the arena during
the games.

Like Rider, Odom is no stranger to off-court controversy. However, this
is the first time he has had to deal with such a punishment.

Odom attended the team's practice Wednesday morning but didn't get a
chance to finish before he received news of his suspension. Odom talked
briefly with Coach Alvin Gentry before leaving.

"We talked, but I'm not sure that he knows all of the details," Gentry
said. "I'm sure he's upset emotionally right now."

Before the season began, Odom said he would take responsibility for any
trouble he got into after being linked to several scandals early in his
career:

* As a New York City prep standout, Odom was questioned about his
academics, when he attended three schools in his senior year alone.

* In college, Odom sat out a year and a semester because the NCAA
questioned his qualifying test scores.

* After playing one season at Rhode Island, Odom made news when he hired
representation and made himself eligible for the NBA draft, then tried
to rescind that announcement and re-enroll at Rhode Island.

* Before being selected fourth overall by the Clippers in 1999, Odom
fired his first agent and then mystified teams holding the top picks by
declining offers to work out and blowing off scheduled appointments.

"All of the stuff that had been written about me came at the beginning
stage of my career," Odom told The Times last October. "Although it
hasn't been that long, I think I've matured the last two years.

"I went to college for a year and got a chance to get a taste of how it
is to be under the spotlight. Then I had a year playing in the NBA. Also
having a child and being a father. All of that has helped me mature over
the last couple of years. I'm a man now.

"The only way a person can write a story on me now is if I make it
happen whether it is negative or positive. A couple of years ago, the
people I was dealing with, I think I was paying for some of their
mistakes. If something happens now, it is because of me."

And it has. Although the NBA is not allowed to disclose information
about the testing or treatment of any player in the drug program, league
sources have said he tested positive for marijuana.

"The NBA's drug policy is completely supervised by the league. Lamar's
top priority right now has got to be to fulfill whatever is required of
him under this program, and then go from there," Elgin Baylor, Clipper
vice president of basketball operations, said in a statement.

"Our organization will be fully supportive of the positive choices he
makes in going forward. He will have resources to help him and there
will be many people willing to talk to him and guide him through this.
He can--if he chooses--use this as a learning experience, and come out
better as a result. We will be there for him, but it is ultimately up to
him."

Odom is averaging a team-high 17.1 points and 7.7 rebounds a game.

"Lamar has made unbelievable strides in everything he has done this
year," Gentry said. "People have to understand it was a mistake and I
know everyone in the organization is going to do everything they can to
help him. And not because he's the best player on the team but because
he is a tremendous person."

Neither Odom nor Rider can be replaced on the active roster, leaving
each team a player short.