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FWD: Peter May's Globe Column
[The Boston Globe Online][Boston.com]
[Boston Globe Online / Sports]
PRO BASKETBALL
A payday mayday?
This will be a checkpoint to measure players' resolve
By Peter May, Globe Staff, 11/15/98
The noose starts to tighten a little today. Despite union
chief Billy Hunter's vociferous assurances that his
players are prepared to take their hits, most had not
lost a nickel until today.
This is the day that many NBA players were to receive
their first paycheck for the 1998-99 season. But the
league-imposed lockout has stopped the checks from
coming. Players also will miss their checks on Dec. 1
and, in all probability, Dec. 15.
It's the first time in the history of the league that
players have not collected checks (excluding the Cavs in
the early 1980s, when there always was a question about
whether the checks were bounce-proof).
No fewer than seven players will lose more than $1
million on this payday, ranging from Patrick Ewing ($1.54
million) to Hakeem Olajuwon ($1.078 million). Everyone
will take a substantial hit, but bear in mind these
figures represent one-12th of what each player will earn
this season. While some players do get lump sum payments,
the method for calculating losses is one-12th of the
total, based on two payments a month for six months. At
least that was the way it was under the old system, as
explained in John Feerick's decision. And let's not
forget: The real loss now is 25 percent (three-12ths) and
may go higher.
While many agents have privately expressed frustration
with the pace of bargaining, Hunter says the players are
firm and today will pass just like any other day.
''If you think their demeanor is going to change on Nov.
15, you're going to be let down,'' Hunter said last week.
''They are prepared. But that is the antiquated thinking
of the league.''
It may be antiquated. But it also might be effective. No
one likes to lose money.
Here are the Celtic losses as of today. Bear in mind that
this would have been a yearly NBA payroll not that long
ago.
Kenny Anderson: $487,083 (He is being paid by Portland,
however. Think Blazers owner Paul Allen even knows he's
getting this break?)
Dana Barros: $291,666
Bruce Bowen: $42,250
Andrew DeClercq: $120,000
Pervis Ellison: $201,666
Dontae Jones: $74,880
Travis Knight: $200,000
Greg Minor: $210,000
Ron Mercer: $169,460
Walter McCarty: $81,250
Antoine Walker: $175,600
Malone moans
Nice to see Karl Malone in midseason form. Malone asking
to be traded ranks right up there with Michael Jordan
saying he won't play for anyone other than Phil Jackson.
The Mailman apparently is angry at the Utah media, a
puzzling target, as well as perpetual bull's-eye Larry
Miller, the Utah owner. He even went so far as to blast
Miller for not talking to him, even though the lockout
prevents such contact. In addition to his tiresome rant,
Malone also expressed a desire to play for the Lakers, a
team that embodies everything he hates. He even ripped
Kobe Bryant during the All-Star Game last year and has
never been a big fan of Shaq. The fans in Utah, judging
by what's been written, seem to have had enough of
Malone's act. Geez, it wasn't that long ago that Malone
was inviting media guests to his spacious home in the
mountains outside Salt Lake City and telling everyone how
great life was. Other than getting stripped on the most
important possession of the last game of the NBA Finals,
what else has happened? ... A trusted European spy
reports that Kinder Bologna is very interested in signing
free agent forward LaPhonso Ellis and is offering serious
lire to close the deal. Ellis would replace Zarko
Paspalj, who, the spy reports, is regarded as too old
(32) and is a chain smoker. Agent Tom McLaughlin, who
represents Ellis, confirmed he is talking with Kinder but
nothing is final. ''I can say, however, that LaPhonso
isn't too old and doesn't smoke,'' he said ... USA
Basketball officials met last week in Atlanta and still
haven't decided whether to invite NBA players to
participate in next year's zone qualifier. If the lockout
croaks the season, the organization would be in the same
pickle it was this past summer, when the USA team,
composed entirely of NBA players, decided not to
participate in the world championships. If play starts
up, then the player selection committee would meet and
decide what to do to name the US squad for the 10-team
field. There's no guarantee NBA players would be invited
at that point, either ... Here's something to think about
as the lockout drones along. There is no drop-dead date.
There will be regular-season games in May. There will be
an 82-game season. There will be ''series,'' as in
baseball. That's one scenario floating around the league
office.
A Boston broadside
(There are some interesting comments from Tim ''We Hardly
Knew Ye'' Duncan in the latest edition of ESPN Magazine.
Out of the box, Duncan is asked by Dan Patrick if there
are any teams he is glad did not draft him. Duncan's
response: ''I'm gonna get killed for this. The Clippers
and the Celtics.'' Whoa. We can all understand the
Clippers. But the Celtics? We tried to get Duncan to
elaborate, but he was not so inclined, according to his
agent, Lon Babby. Asked about the comment, Babby said,
''I'm off the hook here because I came on board after San
Antonio got the pick. But I think it might have had
something to do with their style of play.'' We also asked
Patrick if Duncan had anything further to say about the
Celtics. ''I meant to go back, but then he started
talking about Jordan,'' Patrick said. Later in the Q&A,
Duncan said he was never a fan of Jordan. Why? ''Because
everybody else is. I don't like Michael Jordan. I respect
Michael Jordan. There really isn't anyone in the world
I'm that impressed with.'' ... Ewing is taking quite a
beating for a number of faux pas in his role as president
of the NBA Players Association. Ewing is the proverbial
square peg in the round hole. He has never been
media-friendly, starting with his witness-protection days
at Georgetown and extending to New York, where he's not
exactly the go-to guy in the locker room. He has said
some pretty stupid things. But none of his slips means he
isn't doing his job well, any more than being dull would
mean that Bill Bradley is ill-suited for the presidency.
This is an age when people are judged by how glib they
are, which is unfortunate. Here's agent Keith Glass's
spin on Ewing: ''I have gotten absolutely nothing of
benefit from Patrick Ewing. I tried to recruit him for
UCLA when I was an assistant coach there. That didn't
work. I couldn't even get in the door to represent him.
But I respect Patrick Ewing big-time. He's out there, in
front, and for what? To be ridiculed? This guy has lost
more money than anyone else. He is not angling for a new
contract. Why? The guy deserves a lot of credit if you
ask me.'' Yes, Ewing has more money than God. Yes, Ewing
is represented by David Falk, which leads to all kinds of
Oliver Stone -ish scenarios. Yes, he is one of the elite
(albeit without the appropriate jewelry). And no, he's
not Mr. Sound Bite. But neither, for that matter, is Paul
Gaston. Or Paul Allen. They have David Stern to talk for
them. Ewing has no such luxury, but that's his choice.
He's living with the consequences now ... Falk,
meanwhile, said he is not concerned that Walker, his
client, is being shopped around the league. ''It doesn't
mean anything,'' he said. ''[ Scottie] Pippen was
shopped, too. So was Olajuwon. The bottom line is that
Antoine wants to stay in Boston. It's a decision that
management has to make.'' As for league claims that Falk
is trying to run the union and the negotiations, he said,
''Why would I try to undermine the union when the
president is one of my most important clients?'' He said
the entire unseemly process can be distilled to the
following: ''In what business does an employer make the
employees responsible for any downside?''
In his own words
Another Falk client, Allen Iverson, also is featured in
ESPN Magazine in a first-person ''interview.'' It's long
and self-serving, as you might expect, and it probably
won't change your feelings about the incendiary Philly
guard. In the process of emptying his soul, Iverson
reveals that he wants to be the Next Michael: ''I want to
take the baton from Michael when he's gone. I want to be
the heir ... I want the odds against me. That's the way
I've been all my life.'' Iverson also says he'd love for
the Sixers to acquire Latrell Sprewell (can you imagine
that backcourt?) and feels Mr. Warmth is the second-best
shooting guard in the league after Jordan. But Iverson
also said that if he was moved to shooting guard, he'd
lead the league in scoring. ''But that's not the big
picture for me,'' he said. And, in a statement that best
summarizes where the NBA is going, Iverson said, ''Little
kids love flashy players and that's what I try to do with
my game ... I want to be a flashy player. I want to do
all the flashy things on the court. All the things you
see on the playground, I want to do in the NBA and still
be effective.'' Bet Larry Brown loved that.
This story ran on page C06 of the Boston Globe on
11/15/98.
© Copyright 1998 Globe Newspaper Company.
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