Rodman skips the start of LA road trip according to team officals
Wacky basketball bad boy Dennis Rodman has pulled a disappearing act, blowing off his Los Angeles Laker teammates and skipping the start of a road trip, mystified team officials said yesterday. "I'm not going to freak out about it," Laker coach Kurt Rambis said. "It's just something we're going to have to deal with."
Team spokesman Tom Savage added: "He's got non-basketball personal issues he's attending to."
Savage wouldn't say which personal issues had Rodman's basketball shorts in a twist.
The strange move by the superstar rebounder comes in the wake of his marriage to TV seductress Carmen Electra in a Las Vegas wedding chapel last November.
Rodman - known for his bizarre behavior, electric hair dyes and occasional preference for women's clothing - showed up briefly at a Laker practice Saturday.
He stayed just long enough to have a brief talk with Rambis in the parking lot.
Rambis then got into an animated discussion with Rodman's two bodyguards while the temperamental star sat in his white Mercedes, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The Times said Rodman drove off after just 12 minutes.
The coach said he didn't know if Rodman would rejoin the team during the current road trip.
"I have no idea," Rambis said. "If he's there, great. If he's not, then I just have to adjust."
Rodman signed with the Lakers on Feb. 20 - sparking a 10-game winning streak for the club.
Rodman had flirted with retirement during the basketball lockout, which nearly killed the season - then abruptly shifted his stance and signed with L.A. But he was unhappy about his salary under the new contract - which allows him to make just $500,000 this year.
The pot was sweetened by his endorsement deal with Converse, which guarantees him $3 million if he plays in L.A., Chicago or New York.
Rodman's marriage to Electra, a former "Baywatch" babe, was strange from the start.
His agent, Dennis Manley, at first said the nuptials didn't count because Rodman was drunk and had been tricked into trading rings with Electra.
Days later, he filed annulment papers in a California court.
But then Rodman flip-flopped again, saying he was sticking with the electrifying Electra.
Manley did not return a call yesterday.
-- William Neuman - 3/14/99