Anthony Carter?

>>>>Carter seeks good fortune in next deal
May 21, 2000
      Anthony Carter's time is coming. He knows it. The Heat knows it. Agent Bill Duffy knows it. On July 1, Carter becomes a free agent. On Aug. 1, he can sign with the team of his choice.
     Carter's choice is the Heat, at least that's the sentiment Carter and Duffy are expressing. But the goal also is far more than the $385,000 Carter earned this season.
     The most the capped-out Heat can offer Carter this offseason is its $2.25 million mid-level salary-cap exception. It certainly is a reasonable asking price, considering the 1999-2000 salaries of point guards such as Dana Barros ($3.5 million), Derek Fisher ($3 million), Bimbo Coles ($2.3 million), Erick Strickland ($2.2 million), Matt Maloney ($2.1 million), Cory Alexander ($2 million) and Elliot Perry ($2 million).
     But it also is not as if the Heat does not have other pressing needs, namely at shooting guard. Short of attempting sign-and-trade deals with the likes of Mark Strickland, Voshon Lenard and Clarence Weatherspoon, the Heat may need to retain that $2.25 million exception to address its scoring deficiency
     So then what?
     Duffy is taking the hard line one would expect - to seek every possible dollar from the Heat. Good for him. That makes him a good agent.
     But it also does not necessarily make it a good decision for Carter.
     History provides a grim lesson for Carter if he decides the grass (and cash) is greener elsewhere.
     Three times in the previous three years, the Heat was faced with a similar dilemma when it came to reserve point guards. Each time, the Heat refused to allocate its largest cap exception. Each time, the player left.
     Each time the player wound up miserable.
     John Crotty, who bolted the Heat in 1997 for Blazers bucks, was so despondent in Portland last season that he asked for his release.
     Eric Murdock, who left the Heat in 1998 for a greater Nets net worth, learned plenty about loyalty when New Jersey dealt him this past offseason to the Clippers. Murdock was downcast in Los Angeles.
     And Terry Porter, who departed the Heat as a free agent in August for a superior Spurs salary, not only was bounced in the first round of the playoffs, but also has heard his name mentioned as part of a housecleaning in San Antonio.
     All got their money. All never had it as good as they did with the Heat.
     "I think that all does matter, and we have complete respect for Pat Riley and the work he's done in Anthony Carter's development," Duffy said. "This has been a perfect match. We made a good decision in placing him here."
     But Duffy said the difference between Carter and Crotty, Murdock and Porter is that Carter is young, at 24.
     He said that should warrant a significant commitment.
     The counter would be that getting caught in the wrong system would be the last thing Carter needs. If Carter truly can emerge as a starting-quality point guard, his greatest payoff will come down the road, not this coming offseason. Allow him to get lost in the morass that is the Clippers and he may never be heard from again. (Just ask Ike Austin - if you can find him.)
     "My desire is to make sure Anthony Carter has a viable career," Duffy said.
     What irks Duffy is the thought that the Heat might otherwise use its $2.25 million exception on troubled-but-talented shooting guard Isaiah Rider. Duffy's counter is Rider should be the one to settle for a lesser salary as he rehabilitates a reputation that is as soiled as Carter's is spotless.
     "Do you risk losing Anthony Carter because you don't want to spend your exception - to bring in Rider?" Duffy asked.
     No. But you also have to address a glaring scoring need at shooting guard.
     Through it all, Duffy has been remarkably levelheaded. He said he regretted making it appear at any point this season that Carter's thoughts were anywhere but with the team. He said he never wanted to come across as issuing ultimatums.
     If that is the case, then Carter needs to be informed of the fates of Crotty, Murdock and Porter. Armed with that insight, money, alone, might not prove to be such an overriding a factor.
     Making a charge
     As Magic General Manager John Gabriel watches the Eastern Conference playoffs wind down, he has a sense his team's turn is coming. Orlando has three entries in today's draft lottery, plus as much as $18 million to spend on free agents starting Aug. 1.
     "We could have a summer here that is unparalleled in sports," Gabriel said. "I really believe that's the opportunity we have now. For a personnel guy, it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
     "A lot of teams are vying for position right now in the Eastern Conference, and we have the resources to come through the pack, take the lead, and stay there. Our goal by next season is to have a nucleus in place that is unmatched in the East."
     Orlando's odds are good in today's Who Wants to Draft a Millionaire? If the process holds to form, the Magic will wind up with the Nos. 3, 9 and 13 choices.
     "With the possible exception of the Lakers, probably any team in the league would trade places with them right now," Nets General Manager John Nash said. "They have a chance now to become one of the elite teams in the league very quickly."
     With the right moves, and with a little luck today, the Magic may yet overcome the departures of former franchise mainstays Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway.
     "We started this plan with the mindset of: 'What if we could have it all?"' Gabriel said. "And we've gotten pretty close to that from an opportunity standpoint."
     Still learning
     Having previously scored most of his baskets out of set offense, Pacers guard Reggie Miller has undergone a mid-life overhaul with his game.
     "One-on-one players are getting the benefit-of-the-doubt calls," he said of the rules interpretations adopted for this season. "You kind of have to go the way the league is going."
     Miller found offseason workouts with Lakers wunderkind Kobe Bryant particularly fascinating.
     "He was asking me about running off of screens and my step-back shot, and I was asking him about his one-on-one game," Miller said. "You just try to take different moves from them and incorporate it into your game.
     "My off-the-dribble game is the best it's ever been. I'm not settling for jumpers. I feel I can take anyone at any time."
     Eisley's option
     Howard Eisley, a point guard who has intrigued the Heat before and could again because of the uncertainty regarding the health of Tim Hardaway, remains undecided about his coming free agency. "I really have no idea or no clue," the Utah veteran said. "I'll just have to wait and see how it plays out. I'm very happy here. The organization has been great to me. They gave me an opportunity to play, an opportunity to grow." It should be an interesting offseason for the Jazz rotation at point guard, with Jacque Vaughn also an impending free agent and John Stockton planning to return for a 17th season. ...
     This is who Jeff Hornacek is: After his final game in an NBA uniform, Hornacek elected to fly home - coach - with his family from Portland the next day rather than return on the Jazz's private plane. In Hornacek's Mayberry-like existence in Salt Lake City, not a lot apparently will change. "I'll see him at school this afternoon picking up the kids, so it's pretty much business as usual," Stockton said as the Jazz cleaned out its lockers.
     Money for nothing
     With ankle, wrist and appendix ailments marring his season, former Heat guard Rex Chapman is mulling retirement. "The harder I pushed this year, the more I broke down," the Suns guard said. Chapman, 32, appeared in only 53 games and was not on Phoenix's playoff roster. Chapman said he would not continue to play simply as a means of cashing a check. "I came in today and got a playoff check for nothing," he said after the Suns were eliminated by the Lakers. "That's ridiculous." ...
     Is the news that the Sonics are looking to move Vernon Maxwell really news? When was the last time a team wanted to keep the former Gators guard? You know a player has to be trouble when streak scoring and frenetic defense are not considered enough to make the relationship worthwhile. ...
     Just as David Falk gained a stranglehold over the Nets with the placement of clients Keith Van Horn, Stephon Marbury and Kerry Kittles, agent Tony Dutt may be building an empire in Denver. Having brought Antonio McDyess back to Denver, and, some say therefore earning a lucrative new contract for Nick Van Exel from the Nuggets, Dutt is hyping the Nuggets' interest of client Derek Anderson, the free-agent guard from the Clippers. ...
     Glenn Robinson has yet to lead the Bucks out of the first round in his six seasons in Milwaukee. Tim Thomas almost got Milwaukee to the second round this season, in his first full season with the Bucks. So if Milwaukee does have to come up with big bucks for Thomas as a free agent, isn't the writing on the wall regarding who stays and who goes? "We like our core," said General Manager Ernie Grunfeld, before alluding to two previous-era blockbusters involving the Bucks. "You never say never in this business. Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) got traded. Oscar Robertson got traded."
     Quick decision
     Sacramento assistant Byron Scott is in the midst of a three-week window he can field coaching offers from other teams. He has one year remaining on his contract with the Kings. That could leave the Pacers in the awkward position of having to interview Scott, a former Pacer, while outgoing coach Larry Bird is guiding Indiana through the playoffs. ...
     This could be a big week for several North Carolina alums, including one Heat assistant coach. Among the finalists who could be announced as part of the next group of inductees to the Basketball Hall of Fame are Riley aide Bob McAdoo, James Worthy and Bobby Jones. ...
     Before getting caught up in the draft hype regarding 7-foot-2, 219-pound Iakovos Tsakalidis, keep in mind the Republic of Georgia big man reportedly signed a nine-year contract with AEK Athens of the Greek League. But also keep in mind that Yugoslavia's Aleksandar Radojevic was drafted by the Raptors last year at No. 12 despite being under contract overseas, and he was able to make it to the NBA.
     Nonstop arrogance
     Scottie Pippen hardly was a gracious winner of the second-round series against Utah. Of the defense provided by Jazz forward Bryon Russell on Pippen's series-deciding 3-pointer, the Blazers forward said, "They call him their stopper, but he hasn't been doing any stopping lately." Russell, of course, also was burned by the Michael Jordan jumper that gave the Bulls (and Pippen) that dynasty's final title. ...
     Although Bryant, 21, last week announced marriage plans, O'Neal, 28, has no such pressing desire. "I'd just rather wait till I'm fat and broke, and nobody else wants me," he said. ...
     Before its Game 5 loss to Philadelphia, Indiana had been 20-0 against teams it had lost to in the previous meeting.
     Ira Winderman can be reached at iwinderman@sun-sentinel.com