Some observers figured Michael Jordan acquired center Brendan Haywood last summer primarily because he went to North Carolina, Jordan's alma mater. Well, it turns out that Jordan, in one of his final moves as an executive, snookered front-office types in much the same way he used to leave defenders grasping at air on the court.

Not only was Haywood bypassed 19 times in the June 27 draft, he was traded twice within five weeks of being selected. After being taken No. 20 by the Cavaliers, he was shipped to Orlando for center Michael Doleac. On Aug. 1, the Magic sent Haywood to Washington for a future first-round pick and Laron Profit, who soon was waived.

Jordan made that move when he was a Wizards executive. Now that he's returned to the court, he has a darn good center. And Magic and Cavs officials have egg fu yong on their faces.

It's no surprise that discussing Haywood is not a favorite topic for Cavs general manager Jim Paxson. The rookie center the Cavs decided to groom, No. 8 pick DeSagana Diop, drafted straight from high school, finds it a challenge just to run up the court without requiring emergency oxygen.

A Hubble telescope is needed to see the 7-foot Diop's scoring average of .5. Meanwhile, the 7-foot Haywood is averaging 8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.46 blocks, pretty impressive considering no rookie center was expected to make an immediate impact.

``We didn't draft Haywood,'' Paxson said. ``We traded the pick after the 18th pick.''

Paxson's statement has some validity. When the Cavs saw there would be nobody at No. 20 they wanted give a guaranteed three-year contract, they agreed to swap the pick for Doleac, who had one year left on his deal. The Cavs then drafted Haywood for Orlando.

But while Cavs officials might not admit it, you better believe they wouldn't have traded the pick had they known how Haywood would perform. Haywood, 22, who is just 26 months older than Diop, has had season highs of 19 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks.

The Cavs were one of many teams that missed the bus on Haywood, who likely would have been picked much higher had he come out as a junior. Haywood's statistics fell off his senior season, and some scouts felt he wasn't a hard worker.

No team blew it bigger than the Magic. Haywood was in Orlando's summer camp, but General Manager John Gabriel decided rookie center Steven Hunter, the No. 15 pick who is averaging 4.5 points, was better. Gabriel continues to stand by that assessment, but Coach Doc Rivers wouldn't mind turning back his Rolex.

``I didn't see him a lot this summer, but my coaches, they all liked (Haywood),'' Rivers told the Orlando Sentinel. ``They thought he might play before Steven because of his size. In retrospect, sometimes you wish you would have fought because if I had, we may have been able to keep him.''

The Magic didn't have much interest in keeping Doleac, who will seek big dollars next summer as a free agent. It's a good bet that Doleac, averaging 7.2 points but currently out with a broken ankle, won't return to the Cavs.

But the draft-day deal could end up being very embarrassing for the Cavs not so much because they acquired Doleac, who is functional. It could be because Haywood looks as if he'll be a much better center than Diop, which rhymes with flop.

Trivia time

In 1983, the Cavs drafted which player No. 20 who averaged nearly 20 points in his third season?

Father knows best

Gary Mihm, an Austin, Texas physician, has written in, but not to offer any pointers on whether to get a flu shot. Dr. Mihm was displeased by an article by this writer last Monday that discussed the slump of his son, Cavs center Chris Mihm. Here are some excerpts from his e-mail:

``It seems that you have some sort of vendetta against Chris Mihm. He certainly is struggling on offense lately and probably is forcing too many shots, but no mention is made of any positive contribution. In case you were brain dead and failed to notice, his defense on (Philadelphia center Dikembe Mutombo on Dec. 15) essentially took Mutombo out of the game. Chris did not have many rebounds (two) because he was blocking out Mutombo. Perhaps in your vast background in playing professional sports, you neglected to realize that defense can be important. . .

``Every year, when knowledgeable basketball people talk about the development of big men in the NBA, they emphasize that it takes at least three-to-four years for them to mature and develop. Is it any surprise that Chris may have some periods of struggle in his second year, with it really being the first year he is playing significant minutes? If you are so certain that he is `soft ' or `timid' as your nearly weekly comments indicate, stay away from him and don't bother him with your `soft' interviews. Sure, I don't expect you to blow sunshine up his butt, but your continuous criticism even of such petty things as multiple references to his `perfectly styled hair' are puzzling at best. . . . I am sure that he always treats you with courtesy and respect. I wonder if that is deserved.''

For the record, it was Cavs coach John Lucas who called Mihm ``soft'' and former Cavs coach Randy Wittman who called him ``timid.''

Lucas heckler savvy

Lucas spent the three previous seasons as an assistant under Denver head coach Dan Issel, whose four-game suspension for making a racial remark to a fan ended last night. Perhaps Lucas should have offered Issel some pointers on avoiding hecklers.

Due to the numerous drug problems he had while playing from 1976-90, Lucas gave hecklers plenty of ammunition. He'll never forget what he heard from one fan.

``He yelled, `Hey Luke, don't snort the line down there,' '' Lucas said. ``Everybody started laughing, even the referee. But it hurt. But you can't respond to those things. All the fan wants to do is get a reaction.'''

Issel was suspended after he yelled at an Hispanic fan, ``Go drink another beer, you Mexican (expletive).' '' Issel has apologized and took a leave of absence yesterday.

Lucas has yet to talk to Issel about the incident, but said he will soon. He said Issel is not a racist.

``He hired me,'' Lucas said. ``I'm baldheaded and black.''

Trivia answer

In 1983, the Cavs took forward Roy Hinson No. 20. He was traded in 1986 to Philadelphia for the No. 1 pick, which got the Cavs a center from North Carolina: Brad Daugherty.