WASHINGTON - If there's anyone who knows the delicate dance that Washington Wizards coach Doug Collins is doing with the new reduced role that Michael Jordan is performing this season, it's his close friend, Utah coach Jerry Sloan.

But while Collins is in the first few games of his hokeypokey using Jordan in a more complementary role, Sloan has been doing the bump with Karl Malone and John Stockton for a few years now.

"We've been answering that question for 10 years," Sloan said Thursday before the Jazz lost to the Wizards here. "In a lot of people's minds, we should have gotten rid of those guys 10 years ago and started building for the future. We made a commitment to them and they've certainly made one to us, as I see it, to try to stay there and play it out. And you still work to get the best players you can and go from there. That's the way, to me, it should be."

There is something to be said for the loyalty that the Jazz organization has shown to Stockton, 40, and Malone, 37, in keeping them both on the roster and as vital parts of the rotation. They led the Jazz in minutes last year and missed a combined two games - both by Malone.

So far this season, Malone has played in all but one of Utah's games, and leads the team in minutes, while Stockton is third on the Jazz in minutes and has played in every game.

But, as Utah has chosen to keep the aging duo as its nucleus and re-tune around them, its winning percentage has slid in each of the past seven years, from .780 in the 1996-97 season, when the Jazz made the first of two consecutive Finals appearances, to last year's .537. Utah is currently just ahead of the Denver Nuggets in fifth place in the Midwest Division.

For Sloan, who has been with Utah for 14 years, keeping Malone and Stockton in positions of prominence is the right thing to do for them and for all concerned.

"Meanwhile, for Collins, the trick has been to keep Jordan, who hired him, a viable part of the attack while limiting his minutes, so as not to wear him down, as happened last season. To date, the plan is working.

"Offensively, what I've tried to do now is, I want him to be a guy [who] in the fourth quarter is not necessarily the guy we're looking to score the points, but you get the ball in his hands and you sort of let him be your creator, your facilitator, but not have to fight guys off the dribble," Collins said.

"The big thing is you want your best players to get the ball in the right areas and then let everybody play off them. At the same time, you don't want it where somebody's catching it, and everybody's standing and watching him. So, you try to mix getting in the right spot and movement. That's what we're trying to do."

Quiz

When Hubie Brown, 69, took over as Memphis Grizzlies coach, he became the second-oldest man to coach in the NBA, following then 71-year-old Bill Bertka, who ran the Los Angeles Lakers for a game in 1999. Brown's 16 years between coaching the New York Knicks in 1986-87 and now is the second-longest hiatus in NBA history. Name the coach who wandered longer in the hinterlands between gigs.

Here's a hint: The coach in question was named one of the league's 50 greatest players and coached the team he spent the bulk of his playing career with.

Golden Arm update

Last week's winner for most shots attempted in a game was New York Knicks' Allan Houston, who chucked up 30 shots in an overtime loss to New Orleans.

But Houston surrendered the seasonal lead for most shots taken per game to last year's champ, Philadelphia's Allen Iverson, who is averaging 25.1 shots a game.

Charlotte vs. Baltimore

What do Charlotte's efforts to get an expansion team to replace the Hornets have in common with a plan for a new convention-sized hotel near Camden Yards?

Both involve Black Entertainment Television founder Robert Johnson. Johnson, who announced plans last week to build a 750-room hotel near Baltimore's Convention Center, heads one of two groups looking to bring the NBA back to Charlotte, which just approved plans for a new arena to open in 2005.

Johnson, who would be the first member of a minority to own an NBA team, appears to be on the outside in Charlotte, where investor Steve Belkin seems to have the inside track for the franchise.

Johnson might be better served abandoning his Charlotte bid and gathering a group of investors, including, say, Radio One founder Cathy Hughes, to build a first-class arena and lure a team here.

The Wizards would certainly object, claiming infringement on their territory, but the team doesn't play any games here and doesn't actively market here.

Baltimore is a larger city than Charlotte, New Orleans (where the Hornets moved), Salt Lake City and Portland, and has been out of the NBA for more than 25 years, longer than Charlotte or New Orleans combined. Johnson could be the person to bring the game back here.

Quiz answer

Dave Cowens, who coached the Boston Celtics in the 1979-80 season, after playing center there for years, returned to coaching in 1996-97 in Charlotte, a 17-year gap.

Quote

"Wow, we were really pathetic out there." - Lakers coach Phil Jackson on the team's fourth straight loss, a 95-83 home defeat against Atlanta on Tuesday.

Compiled from interviews, wire services and reports from other newspapers.