TWENTY-NINE guys will be inducted into the NBA millionaires' club today. What a country! Make way for
the new millionairesDraft day is always great theater. I get a kick out of seeing all those young, tall guys, wearing brand new suits and baseball hats, walk up to NBA commissioner David Stern. The first few guys are usually about 6-foot-10 and Stern is what, 4-foot-3 in wing tips?
Stern always looks like he's thinking, "You're gonna make me a lot of money, kid."
Then the kid goes over to the TV interviewers and mutters a few lines from the Crash Davis Book of Cliches: "I just want to help the team. The good Lord willing, things will work out all right."
All this while trying to contain himself and not yell, "Let's party, y'all. I'm buyin'!"
Today, I wish one of those tall guys would walk up to Stern and ask, "So, Dave, we gonna be workin' next season?"
The owners and players can't decide how to divide the billion or so dollars the league generates. So it's likely the owners will lock the players out a week from today.
The good news is that owners and players are all smart enough to realize that revenue lost by games not being played will never be remade. Greed is sometimes wise, sometimes not, but the NBA is not Major League Baseball, so expect the season to start on time.
Former University of Hawaii guard Anthony Carter said he expects to get a phone call from his agent, Bill Duffy, today with some more good news.
Carter has seen his stock rise and fall like the Dow Jones average in recent weeks. A month ago, Duffy said he expected Carter to be drafted somewhere in the mid-20s of the first round.
Carter aggravated a shoulder injury at a draft camp in Chicago, however, so that could scare some teams away. He had surgery on the shoulder last Friday and has gotten a positive prognosis from Dr. James Andrews. That has renewed interest for others.
Carter said last night that he has talked with several teams, including Atlanta, Orlando, Miami, Denver, Sacramento and Golden State.
"It doesn't really matter what team I get drafted by," he said. "Whatever happens, happens. I just want to get drafted, be ready and have some fun."
Carter's mentor, Llew Hayden, said yesterday that the Miami Heat have shown considerable interest, but are afraid Carter won't be around when they pick 51st, in the second round.
HAYDEN said he doesn't believe Carter has risen back into the first round. "It's unlikely that somebody in the first round would take a risk like that," Hayden said, referring to Carter's shoulder.
"What I learned from this experience," Hayden said, "came from ol' Pete Babcock of the Atlanta Hawks. He told me, 'In spite of what people tell you, you draft the best athlete that's available at the time and then trade for position.' "
If teams are willing to look past Carter's injury, he has a great chance to be drafted. He's a fine athlete with a good work ethic.
NBA scouting director Marty Blake has called Carter, "an exceptional athlete."
Orlando has three picks in the first round and could afford to gamble with one of them. Rumor has it that Penny Hardaway might be moved to small forward, so that leaves old dogs with older tricks in the Magic backcourt.
Unlikely, yes, but strange things happen all the time in the NBA. Who would have thought the Golden State Warriors would draft Hardaway and trade him to Orlando for Chris Webber, who they basically traded to Washington for Tom Gugliotta, who they traded to Minnesota for Donyell Marshall?
So, you never know.
More likely, though, Carter will go in the second round.
Who knows, the Lakers have a couple picks there. They might take Carter, knowing that they're coming here for a couple exhibition games next fall.
He'd sure sell some tickets and as we already know, cash is the name of the game in the NBA.