Mike Kahn
CBS SportsLine Executive Editor
Oct. 6, 1998

While Wayman Tisdale plays bass guitar, the NBA burns.

"Twelve

Wayman Tisdale is glad he isn't involved in the current labor dispute. (Allsport)

years was enough pro basketball for me man," Tisdale said. "Now it's time to go on to my other love -- jazz."

Tisdale, a 6-9 power forward and consensus All-American at Oklahoma, played for the Indiana Pacers, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns before retiring in June of 1997 to pursue a career as a jazz producer, performer and writer. He has just released his third CD -- Decisions, following Power Forward and In the Zone -- and is admittedly distraught over the NBA lockout that is threatening to close down the 1998-99 NBA season.

He began picking up players and formed his first jazz band in 1991 and performed at the 1993 NBA All-Star game. Initially, Motown picked up on his music and produced his first two albums, but the new one is being promoted by Atlantic Records, which "makes me feel like I just got picked up by the Chicago Bulls," Tisdale said. "But I will be playing."

AND IT'S NOT AS IF he's far enough removed from the NBA not to have some perspective on the lockout that has already canceled the exhibition season and very likely will prevent the regular season from starting on time.

Like most other players, Tisdale, 34, says this was inevitable. He's all for the players earning what the market delivers, but the system is broken and everybody knows it.

"I don't want to pick on any particular players," Tisdale said. "But you can't have (Alonzo) Mourning with a contract for more than $100 million, then other good veteran players making minimum. That's happening and it's not fair. There are plenty of good players -- not superstars -- who deserve to make market value but can't because the so-called superstars are making all the money. The salaries just (go) sky-high overnight.

"We thought this was going to happen, but not this fast and this strong. They just need to get together in a room and work this out. It's not good for either side to prolong this thing. They don't want to draw it out, or it will be a real problem like baseball had and we don't want to ruin the level of fans we've earned. We need a system that suits everybody, without the other side getting too greedy. It's been successful for too long for egos to ruin everything."

Easier said than done.

FINISHING UP HIS NBA CAREER IN PHOENIX, Tisdale moved back to his hometown of Tulsa to gather his old buddies for some serious work. He recalled how his mother used to stand over the record player and keep moving the needle back to certain riffs Wayman wanted to perfect from his heroes Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller. He also got into Weather Report for some perspective.

"I like funk, too, but jazz is my passion," Tisdale said. "I learned from all of them, but I knew the key would be to develop my own sound. To have longevity in the music industry, you've got to have your own thing going. People must know it's you. The key is, I've produced all my own music and written most of it."

On stage, it's tough to miss him. There aren't many 6-9 bass players around. One of the difficult aspects of his new career is keeping the band together, but just like sports, there are journeymen traveling from band to band who can fill a position. Along with his bass, there is a lead guitar, two keyboards, drums and sax.

The six-man band has three members from Tulsa and three from Dallas. Their travel schedule to promote Decisions begins with the Catalina Jazz Festival, followed by dates in L.A., New York and Atlanta. He got used to the travel and notoriety after the fine career that followed being the No. 2 pick in the 1985 draft by the Pacers. Still, this is an entirely different gig, and he just knew the time was right to make the change.

"I'd had enough of basketball and this gives me the same opportunity to perform," Tisdale said. "People come expecting to see this big guy just standing there looking at his bass. If they think that, they don't know me. I've always been an entertainer in my heart -- whether it's playing basketball or playing bass -- I'm at home performing."

At least he has a little bit more creative control over this second career. Moving back to Tulsa grounded him. His love of family and music has allowed him to begin anew. And yet, it still troubles him to see the NBA at odds with the players.

"Hopefully, that will get worked out soon," Tisdale said. "There's got to be a balance so the games can go on. Money motivates just about everything, but you have to have a sense about the future. That's what I've done with my career. That's how you grow in life . . . taking it to the next level."

'Taking it to the next level . . . ' sounds like the title of his next CD, doesn't it?