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The Way I See It
COULD Pat Riley be thinking of parting ways with Tim Hardaway and going with Anthony Carter for next season? Heat hold key to
AC’s NBA futureCarter might be the best option available.
The Miami Heat are way over the NBA salary cap and it's unlikely they will offer Hardaway more than a one-year deal.
He was the best point guard in the game.
But now he's getting up there. His knees, defense and offense have become unreliable.
He missed 30 games, much to Carter's benefit.
It's clear that free agent Hardaway will not be happy if the Heat offer him no more than one year.
As reported in the Star-Bulletin on May 4, Carter's agent, Bill Duffy, will accept nothing less than the Heat's mid-level exception of $2.25 million.
If, as some observers suggest, Miami offers the $1 million exception, Carter will test the market.
Now you've got to remember how Riley has done off-season maintenance on the Heat by signing discount free agents. He wouldn't budge when two former Miami backup point guards, Eric Murdock and Terry Porter, wanted the exception.
Maybe he'll try to find an unspectacular but seasoned point guard through a trade. Boston's Kenny Anderson, Detroit's Lindsey Hunter and Golden State's Mookie Blaylock are out there.
But Carter, who made $385,000 this season, has youth on his side. That's something that Murdock, who is now 32 and Porter, now 37, didn't have.
The ex-Rainbow has a solid year under his belt of performing well when thrown into the fire, and recognizable potential to be a full-time starter in the NBA.
He needs to improve his jump shot, something Duffy insists can be done. Carter shot 39 percent from the floor, and that sure didn't help Miami's anemic offense.
But there's also criticism that he can't create his own shot, and that's essential for an NBA point guard.
MIAMI is not a team of creative players. But Carter has to become one. He must be a recognized threat on the perimeter every time he steps out there.
Carter had a team-leading 93 steals before the playoffs and was second on the Heat in assists.
During the playoffs, he played 10 games, starting three, and he set a Miami playoff record with 13 assists in one game against Detroit.
He sure didn't hurt the Heat very much in the Knicks series.
After making the miracle shot that beat the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Carter had only three turnovers in his last 65 minutes.
Duffy believes that if Riley refuses to budge this time, Carter will go to the highest bidder. And one of those bidders just might be looking for a starter.
Instead of caving in to demands by an aging, starting point guard who shot 29 percent from the floor in the playoffs, Riley might be wise to bank on Carter's development.
He has the Spartan work ethic Riley loves. Not everyone can handle Riley's demands the way Carter can.
Carter has joked that Hawaii coach Riley Wallace yelled louder than Pat Riley, so he's conditioned.
Make no mistake about it, Riley must do something decisive after being eliminated by the Knicks a third year in a row. There will be shakeups and all we can wonder now is how Carter will fit into those shakeups.
If the Heat doesn't stick with Carter, it will be interesting to see who they're willing to part with to get someone better.
Pat Bigold has covered sports for daily newspapers
in Hawaii and Massachusetts since 1978.