Ira looks at dozen of free agent possibilities....
[Sun-Sentinel] [sports]
[Ira Winderman]
Free agent signing pace to be furious
January 16, 1999
To those who consider this the NBA's
most frenzied free-agency period, it's not
even close. Nothing will compare to those
two weeks in July 1996 when $100 million
contracts became the norm, when Shaquille
O'Neal became a Laker, Dikembe Mutombo a
Hawk, Allan Houston a Knick and,
regrettably, Jim McIlvaine a Sonic.
The numbers were staggering. A $17.3
million average salary for Shaq. A $15
million average for Alonzo Mourning and
Juwan Howard. A $12.5 million average for
Gary Payton. More than $10 million on
average for Mutombo and Horace Grant.
Yet in terms of volume, little will
compare to this week. NBA telexes will be
stocked with extra ink for the projected
midweek start of the transaction period.
Knicks General Manager Ernie Grunfeld
said the signing flurry will start with the
decisions of free agents Scottie Pippen,
Antonio McDyess and Tom Gugliotta (with the
early line putting Pippen in Houston,
McDyess in Denver, Gugliotta in Phoenix).
"After those three are all done, it
will start snowballing," Grunfeld said.
"But there's so much B.S. going on right
now. People are more confused than ever,
and agents are shopping things around."
The pace will be furious. In fact, it
already is:
X -- The Rockets are considering some
trickery to land Pippen and still retain
Charles Barkley. One possibility would be
to renounce their rights to Barkley, which
clears $4.5 million from the cap, sign
Pippen, and then bring back Barkley for the
remaining $1 million in cap space, with an
under-the-table agreement to make up the
difference to Barkley the following season.
X -- The Sonics still hold out hope
of luring Barkley for the $1 million
10-year veteran minimum, if only because of
the strong relationship new Sonics coach
Paul Westphal had with Barkley in Phoenix.
X -- Bulls free-agent center Luc
Longley is all but signed in Phoenix. Bulls
backup center Bill Wennington, also a free
agent, has been contacted by Toronto but
said he likely would remain with Chicago.
X -- The agent for Bulls free-agent
guard Steve Kerr has been contacted by the
Spurs, as has the agent for Sonics
free-agent forward Jerome Kersey. Kerr,
though, appears headed to Detroit.
X -- Lakers players are pushing for a
sign-and-trade deal to acquire Gugliotta
from the Timberwolves. While there has been
talk of shipping out Elden Campbell and
Eddie Jones for Gugliotta, salary-cap rules
would make such a deal difficult.
X -- The Raptors' interest in
unloading point guard Chauncey Billups to
the Nuggets for little more than draft
choices apparently is an attempt to free
enough salary-cap space to bid for a free
agent such as forward Rick Fox (a
Canadian), center Michael Stewart or even
point guard Charlie Ward. If Denver doesn't
land Billups, its fall-back position could
involve free-agent guard Cory Alexander.
X -- Toronto's interest in dealing
Billups comes from the confidence that free
agent Alvin Williams will emerge as the
preferred option at starting point guard.
Also, if the Raptors become convinced
first-round draft pick Vince Carter is the
future at shooting guard, incumbent Doug
Christie could be shipped to San Antonio
for center Will Perdue.
X -- Blazers free-agent point guard
Damon Stoudamire has shot down the notion
of being part of Chicago's restructuring.
"It's cold as hell there, and they're
rebuilding," he said. "Without Jordan,
without Pippen, they're a lottery team.
That doesn't have much appeal to me."
X -- Despite a torn Achilles' tendon
that likely will have him out for the
season, Hawks free-agent forward Christian
Laettner remains near the top of Detroit's
wish list. The belief is when Laettner is
able to return next season, he will give
Detroit more than it could have received
from even the No. 1 pick in the '99 draft.
X -- If Sacramento is able to lure
free-agent center Vlade Divac from the
Hornets, the Kings may have to renounce
their rights to free-agent forward Corliss
Williamson to create the necessary cap
space.
X -- While Milwaukee has expressed
interest in Charlotte's Anthony Mason, the
Hornets have told the Bucks they have
little interest in acquiring Tyrone Hill in
return.
X -- Popeye Jones likely never will
suit up for the Celtics. The power forward
tore his left anterior cruciate ligament
last November before he was dealt from
Toronto to Boston and is not expected to be
retained as a free agent. A return to
Dallas could be his most promising option.
X -- An agreement in principle has
been reached between the Sonics and
free-agent swingman Dale Ellis. "I prefer
to finish here in Seattle," Ellis, 38,
said.
Where's the money?
Teams with the most salary-cap space,
based on the renouncing of all current
unsigned players and a $300,000 hold placed
on each vacant roster spot, according to an
Eastern Conference general manager:
Chicago has $14 million to $15
million. Denver is next at $11.5 million.
Phoenix could reach $11 million. Houston
would stand at $9 million. Detroit could
reach $8.5 million. Sacramento would top
out at $7.5 million. Philadelphia could get
to $7 million. And Orlando could create
$5.5 million in space.
Such projections, however, would
include requirements such as the Bulls
renouncing Pippen, the Nuggets giving up on
LaPhonso Ellis, the Suns losing McDyess,
the Rockets renouncing Barkley, and so on.
Kemp's extra kilos
The player to experience the most
dramatic growth spurt during the lockout --
around this waistline -- is Cleveland's
Shawn Kemp, who showed up for last week's
workouts around 290 pounds, well above his
prime playing weight of 268 to 272. Asked
about his ideal weight, Kemp retorted, "My
optimum weight is 20 points and 10
rebounds." Cavaliers trainer Gary Briggs
pointed out, "He's not the first player to
show up needing some work. Remember Mel
Turpin?" Yes, we well remember Dinner Bell
Mel. . . .
With Kemp not alone in his battle of
the bulge, Magic forward Horace Grant said
of the beginning of the season, "You've
heard of Abbott and Costello? Well, that
might be what it looks like at the start."
. . .
Only two teams failed to have a
single player show up at their own camps
last Monday when training facilities were
re-opened: Milwaukee and Toronto. And you
wonder why the Bucks have missed the
playoffs seven years in a row and the
Raptors never have made them? . . .
New York coach Jeff Van Gundy pulled
no punches when only three Knicks showed
for the first such session. "It's really a
referendum of the professionalism of their
team," he said.
What really matters
There is real life and there is NBA
life. No sooner had Timberwolves owner Glen
Taylor undergone successful triple-bypass
heart surgery Tuesday, than team vice
president Roger Griffith noted, "This does
not impact our ability to sign players." .
. .
Former Florida State standout Bob
Sura will be less than 100 percent for the
start of the season. The Cavaliers guard
had surgery on his left ankle during the
offseason and said it "still is 30 to 35
percent weaker than the other ankle." . . .
So much for the optimism following
November ankle surgery. It now appears
Celtics center Pervis Ellison will miss the
season. . . .
Having missed all of last season, 7-7
Wizards center Gheorghe Muresan might not
be back from his foot problems until March,
if at all. . . .
Although retired because of a bad
back, Sonics assistant Nate McMillan plans
to fill a practice slot for Seattle until a
full complement of players can be signed. .
. .
To Joe Dumars, the possibility of
three games in as many nights in the
upcoming abbreviated schedule is as
daunting as any challenge in his 14-year
career. "I can't even imagine what my body
will feel like trying to get back out there
on the third night," the Pistons guard
said. "I might have tennis elbow or
something that day."
Your Michael moments
Rex Chapman's final Michael Jordan
moment came during a reading lesson last
week with his 6-year-old son. The former
Heat guard handed the morning paper to Zeke
and asked him to read the headline. "Jordan
Returns," Zeke said. Not quite. "Oh,
`Jordan Retires,' " Zeke corrected. The
reading lesson was over. "He was a little
upset about it," Chapman said. . . .
To Sam Mitchell, payback will be
pleasurable. Of playing the suddenly
Jordan-less Bulls, the Timberwolves forward
said, "For all the years that they've
freakin' destroyed people, it's payback
time. And people are not going to care that
Michael and Scottie are not there. All
they're going to see is that Chicago Bulls
jersey and if you can beat 'em by 50, by
God, beat 'em by 60. They're gonna get
drilled." . . .
Similarly, there's this from Nets
coach John Calipari, on coaches who
suddenly see the opportunity for a
championship, "There are probably three or
four guys whose secretaries are going,
`I've never seen you do cartwheels before.'
" . . .
Pacers guard Reggie Miller might have
summed up the Jordan experience best.
"People didn't want to believe a man could
actually fly," he said. "He gave everyone
that belief that, for a little bit, maybe
they could." . . .
But has Jordan flown the coup for
good?
"You watch these boxers retire once a
year, so you never know," Pacers guard Mark
Jackson said. "There's a side of you that
wishes he would come back. But there's a
side that says, `Get on out of here and let
somebody else win it.' "
More payback
This is when the Knicks begin to pay
for the six-year, $23.4 million free-agent
deal extended to Chris Childs two seasons
ago. Of Ward's free-agent demands to stay
in New York, agent Craig McKenzie said of
Childs' deal, "I think that's an obvious
(starting point)." Of getting a deal done,
Van Gundy said, "There are no point guards
who can replace Charlie." . . .
Free-agent hopefuls Thurl Bailey and
Tony Farmer, the former Heat forward, have
been working out with the Jazz. . . .
Understatement of the century? Bill
Fitch on Chris Ford succeeding him as
Clippers coach, "It's a tough job."
More Ira Winderman columns
are available in the paid archive
Copyright 1999, Sun-Sentinel Co. and South Florida
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