Move Has Chambers Jazzed -- Utah Now Ex-Sonic's Place In Sun

SALT LAKE CITY - For much of the Western Conference finals, Tom Chambers, the once-proud, once-undeniable scoring machine for the Clippers, SuperSonics and Suns, looked overmatched. The ball got stolen, his inside attempts vaporized. His familiar, stand-still perimeter shots couldn't even find the iron.

It was a sad, almost pitiful sight.

"I looked awful," Chambers said, honest and self-abusive as ever. "At times, I looked awful."

Chambers, 34, looked old. Washed up. Out of whack with a team on the rise, he appeared in decline.

But not so fast. Fast-forward to now. Chambers has a new team, a new wife, a new house and a new lease on his career. And all in an old place. The newest member of the Utah Jazz has gone from prodigal to native son.

But washed up?

"The funny thing about it, I can still run and jump and shoot and do all the things I've always done," said Chambers, a longtime resident of nearby Ogden and former University of Utah star. "My body feels good. I still don't tape. I feel healthy and I feel like I want to do it more than ever.

"Or maybe I'll just have to accept the fact that I'm not as good as I was. Right now, I just don't feel that way. I feel like I can still play at a real high level."

Jazz can use his moves

If he's correct, that's going to change the perception of more than Tom Chambers. Like him, the Jazz has been deemed over the hill. A team so close, yet so far away, they've never had the front-line depth or offensive spontaneity Chambers can provide.

Now John Stockton has another weapon to choose. Karl Malone has a proven scorer to draw the double-teams away. And, instead of his Jurassic Park collection of lumbering centers, Coach Jerry Sloan can occasionally plug mobility into the middle.

So far, so good. Heading into tonight's encounter against the Sonics, Chambers is averaging 22.5 points and shooting 53.6 percent. Utah, by no coincidence, is 2-0.

"You look at the history of him, and him scoring," Malone said. "The thing you have to realize about Tom is that, before Charles Barkley went to Phoenix, he was scoring 22 to 24 points a game. You take a guy like that, and you have to use his strengths, run some isolations for him. You can get anybody you want in this league, but if you don't use their strengths, they're not going to help."

Westphal's mistake?

In some ways, it's a mistake Chambers believes the Suns made. The Suns under Paul Westphal, that is. Cotton Fitzsimmons played Chambers plenty at center.

"Paul is a real creative coach and will do a lot of different things," Chambers said. "But he just wasn't comfortable with me. I think that's one of the reasons why I didn't play as well. I was always second-guessing myself. I'm not good at that. When a coach is confident in me, I usually perform pretty well. When there are doubts, I don't do a great job."

Last season, just three years after he'd averaged 27.7 points and made the All-NBA second team, Chambers' average fell to 12.2 points. His minutes dropped to the lowest level (1,723) in his career. In the playoffs, he mustered 7.3 points a game and shot a dismal 38.8 percent.

So, with their fans still basking in the afterglow of an NBA finals appearance, the Suns sent Chambers packing.

They chose not to exercise an option year in his contract. The option year existed only because he'd added it, along with deferring $600,000 of salary, to help the Suns sign free-agent Danny Ainge.

A slap from the Suns

It was quite a slap in the face of one who, five years earlier, helped Phoenix rise out of the ashes of a drug scandal.

By becoming the first unrestricted free agent in NBA history to leave his team (Seattle), Chambers also conferred upon the Suns a new beginning. And, in the end, that meant almost nothing.

"That was a little bit disappointing," Chambers said. "But it was probably a good time for both the Suns and myself to move on. We were in a position to win a championship last year, and that's what I went there for."

Chambers believes he will get a similar opportunity in Utah. Ironically, the Jazz was the team he meant to sign with five years ago. He'd already set up an appointment with Jazz President Frank Layden when Phoenix's Jerry Colangelo called.

Just seconds after Chambers earned his freedom under a new collective bargaining agreement, Colangelo sprang. He offered about $10 million for five years, locked the door and said Chambers had an hour to take it or leave it.

Chambers took the money and ran - three times to the NBA All-Game, three times to the Western Conference finals and once, last year, to the NBA finals.

There wasn't much to regret, except the way it all ended.

Then again, that led to a rebirth for Chambers. After signing for two years with the Jazz, he was married this summer to Nicole Hymas, whom he met in Phoenix while he was playing for Seattle. They built a house near his horse ranch in Ogden, where his three children - Erica, 13; Skylar, 10, and Megan, 7 - live with his ex-wife, Erin.

Another shot at a title

Best of all, he gets to make one last run at a ring.

"I wouldn't have gone to Phoenix if I thought they weren't going to be any good," Chambers said. "And I certainly wouldn't be here today. Even though things are a natural for me here, if I felt this team couldn't win, I wouldn't have come. I wouldn't have put myself through it. I don't need to play basketball anymore.

"I wouldn't be playing today if I were on team that didn't have a chance. It's just too hard on me. Mentally, it's just something I can't deal with."

Chambers smiles, thinking of something he can deal with.

"I feel like I've kind of gone in a full circle," he said. ". . . I feel like everything is going real well. I'm happy to be here. I'm happy with the way things have gone. It's a good time for me." ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sonic preview SONICS VS. JAZZ

When, where: Tonight, 6, Delta Center, Salt Lake City.

Broadcasts: KSTW-TV (Channel 11); KJR radio (950 AM).

Probable starters: For Seattle, center Sam Perkins, forwards Shawn Kemp and Detlef Schrempf, guards Gary Payton and Kendall Gill. For Utah, center Luther Wright, forwards Karl Malone and David Benoit, guards John Stockton and Jeff Malone.

Injury report: For Seattle, G Ricky Pierce (ankle) is probable. For Utah, C Felton Spencer (shoulder) is questionable.

Keys: As usual, the Sonics will try to unleash the most punishing brand of their pressure defense on Stockton. At the other end, look for Seattle to go at the Schrempf-Benoit and Perkins-on-whomever matchups. When the benches are cleared, the Jazz will be hard-pressed to answer Pierce, who is expected to play. - Glenn Nelson