SWISH 1

SWISH Letter from the Editor MAGAZINE PUBLISHER & EDITOR IN CHIEF Steve Kyler skyler@swishmagazine.com EXECUTIVE EDITORS Bill Ingram bingram@swishmagazine.com Darren Andrade dandrade@swishmagazine.com EDITORIAL STAFF Jason Fleming, Darren Andrade, Bill Ingram, Steve Kyler CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Sean King, Phil Maymin, Eric Pincus, Greg White, James Buell, Tom House, Jason Fleming, Darren Andrade, Bill Ingram, Steve Kyler DESIGN & LAYOUT Impact Graphic Design production@swishmagazine.com PHOTOS Donnie Arnick www.donniesport.com Amanda Mohammed PROMOTION AND MARKETING Phil Maymin pmaymin@swishmagazine.com 866.430.3640 ADVERTISING & SALES adsales@swishmagazine.com 866.430.3640 CIRCULATION & SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscriber Relations subscribers@swishmagazine.com SWISH Magazine c\o Basketball News Services 12157 W. Linebaugh Ave Suite 329 Tampa FL 33626

SWISH MAGZINE is a quarterly basketball news publication, produced by Basketball News Services. With more than 50 basketball writers and contributors in almost every major basketball city, Basketball News Services offers year round coverage of basketball and the NBA. For more information please visit http://www.swishmagazine.com 4

Welcome to the inaugural issue of Swish Magazine. While many of you may have been with us online since our founding back in 1997, this is our first print endeavor.

We have put countless hours of research, planning, writing and interviewing into making this issue possible – and we thank all of you that have assisted in helping us to realize this vision.

While there are dozens upon dozens of “lifestyle” sports magazines out there, we have made a conscious effort to make Swish Magazine, more newsworthy, and less flash and pomp. We are “substance over style” and plan to stay that way.

Throughout the course of Swish, we will be looking to bring you interview based insight into the professional basketball world, and specifically the NBA. Our aim is to showcase the business, the personalities and professionals that surround the game and the business of professional basketball.

Along the way we hope to entertain you, enlighten you and expose you to the NBA as we experience it, not only as professional journalists, but also as serious basketball fans.

Swish Magazine will start out as a quarterly magazine and as we grow, so will the frequency of our publication.

We are not trying to be as big as some of the other sports magazines, but we do feel that with our focus and our passion we are likely to become more relevant.

We hope you enjoy Swish #1 – and we hope you’ll be excited to see Swish #2 in April of 2005.

As always – we’d love to hear from you.

Drop us some feedback at feedback@swishmagazine.com EnjoySteve Kyler Editor & Publisher Swish Magazine

01.05

January 2005 Volume 1 Issue 1

Table of Contents

Features

8

Back to the Lab The Raptors have totally retooled their front office and coaching staff and it is clear the roster is next, as the Raptors retool and reload.

16

Changes in Latitude

21

Risk & Reward: Life in the 2nd Round

This year’s Olympic Bronze medal was the proving point that USA Basketball is no longer elite, international players and their team first attitude are coming into the NBA in droves.

The 2nd round of the NBA draft isn’t what it used to be as more and more talent slides in the draft.

SWISH MAGAZINE

departments

5 6 12 13 14 20 24 25 26 27 28 29

Still Standing Visions of Winning The Lifestyle The Man Behind The Name Inside Arena Get The Slide Rule Society of Sports Heat and Soul Collectors Corner Underrated & Underestimated Dog With a Bone The Last Word

January22005

STILL STANDING The Once And Future King?

By Sean King Grant Hill. This was once a name synonymous with everything right in the NBA. From the professional manner in which he conducted himself on and off the floor, to his charitable contributions in the community and all-around good guy demeanor, Hill was the template for what a professional athlete should ideally be. He’s continually faced each new challenge head on and he never turns back to ponder conceivable failure.

Odds are he never thought he’d be facing a possible end to his illustrious career, much less due to something as seemingly trivial as a fractured left ankle. Several years would pass and surgery after surgery would be conducted, but nothing could make the nightmare end. Then finally, Hill decided it was time for something radical.

That’s when his doctors determined that merely fixing what was broken was not enough. This is because something always cropped up to stifle Hill’s progress.

Bone spurs, separate bones in the ankle rubbing together and an over-anxiousness to return to the court all served as stumbling blocks along the comeback trail.

This time, Hill would have his entire left leg realigned along with the usual procedure, making sure that there would be nothing to stop the ankle from properly healing. Add to that his longest recovery time to date and it seems that Hill was at long last given an honest chance at a full recovery.

So far, so good.

We’re already nearing late November and Hill has played eight pain-free games. He no longer looks for ways to work around lingering soreness, but rather ways to work around strong defenders. Just two weeks into the season Hill found himself going toeto-toe with Utah Jazz defensive ace Andrei Kirilenko. The long-armed Russian could do little to hinder Hill’s progress. The once crowned prince of the league went for 32 points against the man they call AK-47, the most he has accumulated in four years.

Hill used a variety of moves to beat Kirilenko. He drove past him more than Januaryw2005

Grant Hill

once and even displayed that lightning quick stop-and-pop jumper, a maneuver that often left Kirilenko looking like he had just learned to walk earlier in the day. Let’s just say it, this was vintage Grant Hill.

It wasn’t a mirage or an old documentary; it was real, live, an actual occurrence that many will have to see to believe this season.

Not only is Hill back, but he’s playing more than he has ever been able to since the original injury. Against the Jazz, he played 41 minutes and looked like he could have gone for another quarter or two if necessary.

“I feel good, you know, it’s fun to play,” said Hill, who is averaging 20.5 points in the team’s first eight games.

“I don’t like coming out of games, I actually get kind of ticked off. But I understand the big picture.”

The big picture is exactly what everyone in Orlando and really the sporting nation at large is wondering about.

while reloading with Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, Kelvin Cato, Tony Battie and Hedo Turkoglu- not to mention the top High School and Collegiate players from a year agoDwight Howard and Jameer Nelson.

While none of these players have faced anything like what Hill has gone through, all are hungry and have something to prove. Some are looking to prove they can make it in the league, like Howard and Nelson. While others are looking to prove they can carry a team into the postseason, such as Francis and Mobley.

It’s a dynamic formula made possible by the determination and resilience Hill has shown these four long years.

He never doubted he could return to form, even while nearly every so-called expert in the country considered him a goner or at best, a long shot.

People always ask the question, “So what’s so different about this time?” Why should we believe this guy is actually back?”

“You just knew if he ever got healthy, there was no reason why he would have lost anything.”

Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan Will Hill be able to stay healthy? Furthermore, if he can stay healthy, can he actually claw his way back to the All-NBA level he once maintained steadily? It once seemed impossible, but while watching the ol’ Blue Devil lead an early season resurgence in Orlando, you have to believe that Hill is closer than ever to his former glory. From here, it’s all a matter of shaking off the rust and keeping a positive mindset. And really, is anyone more optimistic than this man?

Optimistic, yet realistic at the same time. Hill is less ready than most to proclaim himself ‘back’ and will remain so until at least the All-Star break. It’s a long season and several four-inch screws still reside in that ankle, lest we forget.

Still, reality has been kind. Especially for an Orlando team that rebuilt itself this offseason by dealing away superstar Tracy McGrady and the rest of that rotten core, SWISH MAGAZINE

The answer is in Hill’s face, mannerisms and overall attitude. This is not a man laboring and bitterly living in the past. Hill has the swagger and stride of a man reborn.

“I never count a guy out and he was a great player to begin with,” says Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan. “You just knew if he ever got healthy, there was no reason why he would have lost anything.

“I’m happy for him,” Sloan continued.

“With all the stuff he’s had to go through he just had to stick with it and now it looks like he’s in a great situation.”

So far, Hill is at long last making good on his promise to lead the Magic back into contention. Actually, scratch that. We’ve been saying ‘so far’ for so long that it has become a tired way of saying that we still don’t believe or have faith in Grant Hill. Well folks, I’m here to tell you that you can once again believe in miracles, at least as they pertain to Hill.

5

VISIONS OF WINNING The Alchemist Philip Maymin Denver was founded almost 150 years ago as a waypoint for Gold Rushers to market their precious commodity. Perched on a high plateau with few trade routes, it was an unlikely place to prosper. All around those early settlers the majesty of the Rocky Mountains mocked their own flat desert city.

Denver’s saving grace seemed to be that unlike other short-lived towns, its houses were built with brick. These brick structures and the presence of gold soon even brought a U.S. Mint to town, one of only two facilities still producing coins today.

A few years ago, the Nuggets franchise looked as desolate as a ghost town. Most fans barely acknowledged their team’s existence. Free agents shied away. Other teams glistened with promise while the Nuggets were the butt of Simpsons jokes as late as February of last year.

The solution? Build with brick. “Our first goal,” said Nuggets General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe, “was to change the culture of the franchise.” Vandeweghe tore down old, ponderous contracts and started rebuilding from scratch. He instituted measures such as open tryouts to bridge the gap with a community that had “really felt disconnected with the Nuggets.” Denver the city had been built on a community of prospectors discussing nuggets 24/7.

Vandeweghe looked to create the same buzz around Denver the team.

Vandeweghe’s staff “set out to clear as much cap space as we could in order to field a competitive team that had cap flexibility.” Within a year, they cleared over $100 million in guaranteed contracts and got three lottery-selected players in addition to Juwan Howard and Marcus Camby and a future draft pick. That set up the major offseason immigration that will forever be known to Nuggets fans as the summer that Carmelo Anthony came to town.

“Carmelo had an outstanding season,” Vandeweghe said. “He was everything we had hoped for and more.” Carmelo turned 6

Kiki Vandeweghe

out to be the embodiment of the presentday Mint. His jersey sales were second only to LeBron James in the entire league, as fans agreed that “Carmelo is a winner and he’ll do whatever it takes to win.” The Nuggets cracked into the top 10 best-selling teams.

But Carmelo “The Mint” Anthony was far from the only reason for Denver’s record-setting turnaround season. “Obviously drafting Carmelo was a big move for us,” Vandeweghe continued, “but every free agent we brought in had an outstand-

“Our first goal was to change the culture of the franchise.”

Nuggets General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe

ing season.” From point guards Andre Miller and Earl Boykins to veteran shooting guard Voshon Lenard, everyone brought in during the Carmelo offseason had near All-Star-caliber years.

What aspect of Vandeweghe’s vision unified these players so quickly and let them play at such a high level? Quite literally, it was Denver’s high level.

Vandeweghe, a Nugget himself from 1980-1984, wanted the Nuggets to return to the frenetic fast-break pace he’d enjoyed under head coach Doug Moe two decades earlier.

T h e N u g g e t s a re u n i q u e , Va n deweghe explained, in that they play a mile above sea level. “We wanted to put together a team that would run and take advantage of the altitude.” Who better to bring in than coach Moe himself? The prodigal coach returned and the Nuggets led the league both in fast break points scored and allowed, and, SWISH MAGAZINE

because they were more accustomed to the altitude than the visiting teams, were one of just nine teams to record at least 29 home victories.

Bringing in coach Moe also helped forge a tradition with the Nuggets. “Having played here,” Vandeweghe said, “I knew what a close-knit community we have. You were a part of a family when you played for the Nuggets.” Now the family atmosphere is back, but younger. The Nuggets hadn’t won 43 games since the 1989-1990 season, coach Moe’s last. That season, the Nuggets roster held aging veterans, like old prospectors going for one last dig.

Today’s team has no key players over thirty. The nucleus has an average age of just 25; these young gold diggers aren’t leaving without that 24k vermeil Larry O’Brien trophy in their hands.

With nostalgia, up-tempo basketball, community involvement, open tryouts, and even a wildly successful training camp documentary, observers wonder, where do these ideas come from? “We try and think outside the box in everything we do,” Vandeweghe explained. His goal is simple: “We want people to feel like they are part of our team and when they leave a game, we want them to feel they were entertained.” He and his staff evaluate all ideas to see if they help them reach this goal. As two-time Nobel Prize Winner Linus Pauling famously said, “The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas and then throw the bad ones away.” Exactly like prospecting.

It’s working. “The city really got behind us,” Vandeweghe said, “and we had a lot of fun.” The fun looks to continue this season with the addition of All-Star Kenyon Martin to the frontcourt, whose presence helps solidify the Nuggets as one of the top championship contenders.

Vandeweghe is a basketball explorer. He has been an All-Star, a developmental coach, a big man skills instructor, and a financial planner. What advice would he offer rookie GMs looking to follow his successful trail?

The ultimate credo of both the explorer and the alchemist: “Don’t be afraid to try new things.”

January22005

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FEATURE

Retooling the Toronto Raptors

By Darren Andrade “Look, the relationship between Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors didn’t go bad in one day,” says Toronto Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell. “So it’s not going to be resolved in one day.”

The Air Canada Centre is a perfect example of the new-and-old culture in Toronto. Built on the site of its first postal building, some of the old structure has been incorporated into the new. In front of the arena at 40 Bay Street, gigantic rustic cones form a modern statue that shoot upward like the flood lights behind it stretching into the sky above. Upward like a young franchise player with a rising star and a franchise firmly attached to it. For six seasons Vince Carter has been that for the Toronto Raptors but it may all be coming to an end. If you are a basketball fan the ACC is the house that Vince built, mostly because he led the Raptors to their first ever playoff appearance in 2000 and to within a closebut-no-cigar jump shot of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2001. Carter hasn’t played in a playoff game since capping that meteoric rise, back when the Raptors were considered one of the most promising franchises in the league. Right around the time Carter’s knee problems surfaced and his reluctance to stake claim as the undisputed leader of the team became apparent, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Limited lost its momentum where the Raptors are concerned. It exposed the brass as vulnerable and indecisive when rattled and the knock was that there were few real basketball minds upstairs.

“I’m the businessman here,” says Richard Peddie, president of the Raptors and Leafs and CEO of MLSEL. Part of Peddie’s business last summer was to find a new general manager after firing Glen Grunwald. The club was on the verge 8

of the playoffs for the second consecutive season when the long time GM was axed, a move followed quickly by the firing of firstyear head coach Kevin O’Neill. The tension between the two men was real. Reports of former Raptors players bashing O’Neill and a lack of communication between the front office and the coaching staff led to disarray.

The Raptors folded quickly down the stretch with seven straight losses and 10 defeats in their last 13 games. Did they eliminate the common denominator in Grunwald? Some would argue that type of blame belongs to Carter.

Others would be quick to pin it on Peddie.

“The players don’t have an appreciation for what’s involved in a general manager’s job,” said Peddie during the GM search. “It’s always interesting who they might want as general manager but it’s not their call.”

It’s that type of attitude that has Carter ruffled. Has him asking for a trade. He’d be crazy to think he’d have input on the final word but as the franchise player he wants to be in the loop. Peddie admits he could have done a better job of that.

“I think you should be talking to your franchise players a lot,” says Peddie. “Communication is a two way street but you have to be reachable, too. I’ve said I could have communicated better with Vince, the rest is up to him and our organization.”

When the search for a GM began eyebrows were raised. Peddie and team consultant Jack McClosky had constructed a Christmas list of potentials, most of them first-timers. The sprawling search suggested that the club didn’t know what it was looking for. That’s when Carter re-iterated his choice for GM - Julius “Dr. J” Erving. The Hall-ofFamer would bring instant credibility to the company but they were never convinced he had the right stuff. They waived off the notion before reluctantly arranging to meet with the legend. It played like a token gesture and shortly before the club announced the hiring of their new GM, there was McClosky brushing off talk that Dr. J was being seriously considered. The back-and-forth nature of the process and the apparent lack of interest in the suggestion of their franchise player did nothSWISH MAGAZINE

ing to dim the perception that the Raptors were a club in chaos.

“That perception is inaccurate,” explains Larry Tanenbaum, minority owner and Chairman of the Board with MLSEL. “We have to realize that it’s also a perception that is directed toward a lot of teams - none more so than the Los Angeles Lakers. Those same things are being said about most teams in the league.”

On June 7, 2004 the Raptors hired Rob Babcock as the third GM in club history.

Babcock had spent the last 12 years with the Minnesota Timberwolves as director of player personnel and vice-president of player personnel and came highly recommended by McClosky, himself a former Timberwolves GM. But like his predecessors Grunwald and Isiah Thomas, Babcock has never played GM before. It’s hard to ignore the role inexperience has played in the stop and go progress of the organization. With the exception of Lenny Wilkens, five out of the six head coaches in the Raptors’ ten-year history have been rookies too. There have been three head coaches in as many years and now a new management team in year-one of a yet another philosophy. That type of revolving door makes new beginnings a hard sell.

“It’s not easy,” said Babcock on implementing his plan. “Players who have been here the last two years will be very skeptical. But we’ve got multi-year contracts, the coaches and myself, and a commitment from the organization that they believe in my philosophy.”

Grunwald earned respect as a straight-up guy who liked to keep things in house. He accommodated players, even when they whined to be traded. That nice guy skin may have contributed to his demise in the noholds-barred world of professional sports. It doesn’t send a good message when you slight players, but what does it say when you cave in? Antonio Davis, Tracy McGrady and the Raptors’ first franchise player Damon Stoudamire all wanted out under Grunwald.

He sent them to Chicago, Orlando and Portland respectively – exactly where they asked to go. That coddling seems to be out the door January22005

under this new regime.

“That’s something that was missing here before,” says Tanenbaum of the veteran management crew. “I don’t think you can have too much expertise on your staff, providing that everyone shares the same philosophy, which is true of the staff we now have in place.”

Babcock’s supporting cast reads like a dream team. Hall-of-Famer Wayne Embry, the NBA’s first African-American general manager (Milwaukee Bucks, 1972) and president (Cleveland Cavaliers, 1994) is on board as senior advisor. Alex English, another Hallof-Famer and 11th all-time NBA scoring leader, was added as both Director of Player Development and assistant coach. Babcock also hired his brother Pete, a 30-year front office veteran of six other NBA teams, as Director of Player Personnel.

“It’s unbelievable how valuable it is to have all these people around,” says Babcock.

“During the draft preparation time, which was of course very short because I just got the job June 7, to be able to go into a room with Wayne and Jack McClosky and Pete - who combined between the three of them have more than 50 years of experience as a GM in this league - to run things by them and get their take taken on it? Man, that was just unbelievably valuable.”

It’s the type of freedom to hire Grunwald never had.

“I think we erred in hindsight not having an assistant general manager around to work with Glen,” says Peddie.

At the very least these steps have lead them away from a lingering expansion team mentality, though the continual hire of untested - and therefore cheaper – personnel to fill top roles in the club isn’t all good Babcock’s first step in making it happen was to hire Mitchell who had been sharpening his teeth as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks after he retired from the game in 2002. If the fans were annoyed by Wilkens’ casual approach or tired of O’Neill’s flaming, Mitchell threatens to be somewhere in between. He was in the running for the gig last year but lost out to O’Neill.

“I didn’t get overly excited about it,” says Mitchell about the second chance. At the time he was an assistant coach with the expansion Charlotte Bobcats. “Not that last year left a bad taste in my mouth but there was just some things that happened last year during the process that I thought were very positive and that put me in a position to actually get the job.

“I wanted the job really bad last year. I think this year I didn’t really care if I got the job.

Not to say ‘I didn’t care’ but I had just taken Januaryw2005

the job in Charlotte. I was happy in Charlotte.”

“He doesn’t have the experience of a lot of the people we interviewed,” explains Babcock, “but we realize his potential and what he can be. He’s someone who has the same philosophy as I do and there is a great trust and loyalty between us.”

“Experience doesn’t automatically lead to winning,” agrees Tanenbaum. “What you need is someone with an understanding of the game, an understanding of today’s player, an ability to communicate with players, officials and front office personnel, and someone who will set an example with a strong work ethic. Those qualities can be found in individuals of any age, and the current cast of head coaches in the NBA bears that out.”

untouched from last year’s brood that finished 33-49. Babcock also inherited a nightmare of a salary cap situation that leaves little room to maneuver on the market. He started his legacy by drafting BYU center Rafael “Hoffa” Araujo with the eighth overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft. Risky. He followed that up on the free agent front by agreeing with point guard Rafer Alston on a six-year, $30M contract.

With resident starter Alvin Williams ailing (he is due to miss the entire season after late November knee surgery) Babcock anticipated the need for a younger, healthier point guard.

Another surprise, with Alston having proved himself to be little more than a good second stringer on three different teams in four seasons in the NBA, including a previous half-

“I know people are concerned that I’ve only been coaching two years .

That’s fine. People were concerned that I played at a small school. I’ve been successful because I look at that as a challenge and I don’t take it in a negative way. It’s just another step for me to prove myself and to prove other people wrong.”

Raptors Head Coach Sam Mitchell

Even before his playing days were over Mitchell was being pegged as a head coach.

His ascension came quickly.

“I have a military background, I had a second lieutenant commission,” says Mitchell.

“I played in Europe, I played in the CBA, I played in a small school and I always had to prove myself. When you come from a small school and you’re trying to make it to the NBA, if you have a feeling of being overwhelmed you’ll never make it.

“I know people are concerned that I’ve only been coaching two years. That’s fine. People were concerned that I played at a small school.

I’ve been successful because I look at that as a challenge and I don’t take it in a negative way. It’s just another step for me to prove myself and to prove other people wrong.”

The challenge is steep with a roster almost SWISH MAGAZINE

season stint with Toronto in 2003. That summer Grunwald let him walk. Swing man Morris Peterson was also signed to a threeyear $15M deal.

Then there is the Carter situation. He feels the club hasn’t done enough to acquire free agent star power and he’s right. The Raptors have been fine at re-signing their own but often they’ve had to overpay to do so. The biggest outside free agent signing in team history was guard Mark Jackson who was traded away in the first year of his ridiculous $14M pact. It is also hard for a player to grow when he faces a new coach and philosophy each year and for Carter it will be his fourth in seven seasons. He might feel like he is owed more input but how much weight should he be pushing?

“It depends on what you told him,” says 9

Mitchell. “I wasn’t here but if you tell a guy that you’re going to consult with him on “X” amount of things and you don’t (then) that’s a mistake that you make.”

“I talk to players about players they played with, played against in college, alumni and that sort of thing,” adds Babcock. “But that’s as far as it goes. In my philosophy you never have a player be involved in the actual decisionmaking process on who you hire in any capacity.”

One trade rumor had principles Carter and guard Jalen Rose being shipped to the Portland Trail Blazers for power forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim and guards Derek Anderson or Nick Van Exel. Cap-wise it made sense because of AbdurRahim’s expensive ending contract would allow the Raptors to make a run at a star free agent while removing the enormous (and longer) contracts of Carter and Rose. The risk? If the acquired players walk at the end of the season and the team craps out on the free agent market, they would have essentially traded away their marquee player for nothing. The club never had much luck attracting free agents with Carter around so it’s hard to believe they will fair better without him.

Even with Carter still in the fold and even with the NHL on strike in this hockey-first city, attendance at the ACC has been below average. They registered a franchise low 13, 863 for the Raptors’ third game of the season against the Trail Blazers. During the 200102 campaign they sold out 40 of their 41 home games and were a top road draw as well. This year the only sellout was their home opener.

Fans in Toronto may be finally getting over the past; the great 2001 playoffs and the injury plagued seasons since mingle like a pretzel, frustratingly twisted into hope and despair. Like the old Canada Post building these things remain embedded in the walls of the ACC. They float around on game-days for a veteran Raptor like Carter, who made his demand for a trade public by telling The Toronto Star “It’s time to move on.”

“I want to coach Vince Carter,” says Mitchell. “That was one of the appealing things about this job.

10

“There is no issue that can’t be resolved.”

It would seem the resolution might be to trade Vinsanity. Has Mitchell been covertly preparing his team for the inevitable blockbuster deal that will send Carter packing?

Mitchell has benched him for long stretches and twice for the fourth quarter during rallies in close games against the Utah Jazz and San Antonio Spurs. The win against the Spurs was a 19-point comeback victory, a franchise record. Taking him out of crunch-time would have been unthinkable at any other time in Raptors history.

“My frustration comes from the fact that we have not been able to create an equation to win ball games,” Carter wrote on his web site last summer. “I am at the point in my career where I do not have time to wait two to four years for a team to mature.”

Carter averaged 16.1 points and 3.6 rebounds in 30.9 minutes in November, all career lows. Don’t sleep though; he remains a deadly scorer that defends well when motivated. Carter will have to play his way out of town if Babcock stays true to his word and holds out for something more sweet than sour. For his part Carter has picked it up after a slow start but the Raptors lost 9 of SWISH MAGAZINE

12 after starting the season 4-1.

That combo is part of the writing on the wall.

“I’ll be honest with you,” says Mitchell with a chuckle.

“It’s amazing. Your path kind of chooses you, you don’t choose your path, you understand what I’m saying?

Coaching chose me. It’s just something that came natural for me. Like the military.

“I do believe God was telling me ‘Hey, if you just listen to this little voice, if you follow the path I set forth for you then you’re going to be successful’. It’s like going to Milwaukee, I told my wife and it’s funny. When I took the job in Milwaukee I knew I would only be there for two years. I just knew it.”

How long Mitchell will last in Toronto? No head coach has lasted more than three full seasons in Hogtown, but that was when the coach’s corner was a trap door and Carter was an untouchable. Those days are gone. There has already been some locker room moaning about his willingness to sit his starters, (Alston threatened to retire after one benching, Rose expects to be traded) but Mitchell’s plan is to run and go deep into his bench. It’s all about adjustment and Babcock has Mitchell’s back in the grand scheme.

There is a hard-line approach to retooling the team and now play for pay is the word on the street. Carter? Like the old postal building he is part of the foundation, but not essential to the future. At the time of this printing he was still a Raptor but it could be just a matter of time. Or not. He hasn’t backed off of his demand but maintains he is happy.

Good soldier or convert? Then again, his face no longer fronts the club’s marketing efforts and his trade request has separated him from fans that once embraced him tightly. Now he gets booed inside the ACC, on his own turf in the house that Vince built. Not exactly the way they wanted to be celebrating their ten-year anniversary but just as they were in 1995, the Raptors are preparing for a new beginning. If happiness comes from pain then this year of change should bode well for the future. Armed with an all-star brain trust and a decade worth of education, the Toronto Raptors have finally grown up.

That was just a matter of time too.

January22005

THE LIFESTYLE Life in Phoenix is Nice…

By Greg White Making the jump to the NBA is a pretty monumental task for most, if not all NBA players. It isn’t just playing the game against bigger, stronger, and faster players but also the life off the court that is just as big of an adjustment. Some players can handle it and some can’t. Interviews and other aspects of the media are where some players get caught up. Sometimes you really want to know what your favorite basketball player likes, what he’s into off the court, and how he handles the fame.

Although Charles Barkley uttered the famous words, “I am not a role model,” most fans still look at athletes as being bigger than life and therefore consequential in our lives. Since the proliferation of the internet, fans have wanted to get deeper and deeper into players’ lives. In a sense, it normalizes them to us - it allows us to see them as ourselves.

Quentin Richardson

R&B sensation Brandy, with whom he became engaged to over the summer.

Q: What is your favorite music/artist?

A: (Laughs) Man you know it is Brandy.

I like R&B and Hip Hop but man you know, without question it is Brandy.

Q: Speaking of your fiancé Brandy how is the move for both you and her to Phoenix?

A: It’s real cool man, more laid back and chill here in Phoenix. Brandy, man she likes it, she likes it a lot. She likes the scenery, and plus I think she just needed a change of pace from LA. Q: When did you know you were famous? What happened that let you know that you had arrived as a famous person?

A: I would have to say in college when I was on the cover of a (national sports) magazine. You know Chicago is a big city, MJ had retired, and the baseball teams weren’t really good so we (at DePaul) were the biggest thing in town. We were good too so we couldn’t really go anywhere because everybody knew who we were. That was cool because Chicago is my home city too.

“We were good too so we couldn’t really go anywhere because everybody knew who we were. That was cool because Chicago is my home city too.”

Quentin Richardson Quentin Richardson of the Phoenix Suns is one who doesn’t mind giving a little bit of himself in an interview, and he’s the subject of our study today. Q hit the scene in 2000 with the Los Angeles Clippers and was part of an exciting group of players including his childhood friend Darius Miles.

Q and Darius became famous for their double fisted head tap after made threepointers or exciting dunks. After four upand-down losing seasons in LA, Q made the move to the Phoenix Suns this past offseason along with his famous fiancé, 12

Q: What was the first thing you went out and bought once you made it to the league?

A: Man you know, I don’t really remember. I didn’t really do anything really big like that, just small things: electronics, house, car - things like that, nothing crazy.

I took it slow; I had really good financial advisors, so they helped me keep it cool.

Q: With everybody blinging right now, what kind of rides do you have?

A: I got a Range Rover, two Benzes, an Infiniti truck, and my girl has a Chrysler 300. And yes, they are all pimped out.

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Q: How do you prepare for the game, is there any pre-game ritual that you do before every game?

A: Nah man nothing special, just regular stuff to get myself ready.

Q: What about on off days, what do you get into? Do you hit the movies, mall, video games, etc?

A: Yeah we play a lot of video games.

Madden, stuff like that.

Q: Besides the video games, what else do you get into especially on road trips?

A: I just really hang out, go to dinner. I watch a lot of movies, man all kinds of movies. Sometimes my fiancé meets me, we go to dinner, and just chill.

Q: You know I have to ask, who is the best at Madden?

A: Oh that would be me! Some people would probably disagree with that, but I would have to say that would be me!

Q: What do you like to do in the offseason? Any vacation spots you like to hit up to free your mind for the next season?

A: Um, just be with my family hanging out. This summer I am going to try to do a vacation, but I have never really done too much vacationing. I have been to Atlantis (Bahamas), but other than that I haven’t really experienced any other vacations. I usually use the offseason to dedicate myself to working. I am still going to do the same things, but I am definitely going to get a few trips in here and there. I may use my honeymoon to just get away.

Q: Do you have any pets?

A: No not right now. We may get a dog, but with our traveling, we haven’t really gotten any pets yet.

Q: Do you follow any other sports? Favorite teams?

A: Yeah I am a big football fan. You know I am a Bears fan, but my cousin Carlos Emmons plays for the Giants so I am a big Giants fan right now. I follow the Eagles too.

With the divide we see between the everyday fan and the professional athlete, it’s times like this that we can sit back and see that players like Quentin Richardson are a lot like you and I. The only difference is that he’s on TV. January22005

THE MAN BEHIND THE NAME From The Bottom To The Top

By Eric Pincus The Los Angeles Clippers had their second best November in franchise history.

Much of the credit can be attributed to the small forward who has turned heads with his 16.3 ppg on 55.0% shooting from the field.

Signed as a free agent in 2003, Bobby Simmons quickly became a fan favorite as the hustle player off the bench. It was this most recent summer of change that inspired Simmons to shoot 1,000 jumpers a day.

After coming up short in the pursuit of Kobe Bryant, the Clippers decided to let Quentin Richardson leave through free agency. Just who would be the third scoring option behind the steady duo of Elton Brand and Corey Maggette was unknown.

Not to Bobby.

“I worked on everything over the summer to improve. I got a lot faster and stronger. I trimmed down a bit. I put up a ton of shots every day. The hard hours are paying off for me now.”

Sensing the opportunity, he spent the entire summer in the gym preparing for what he knew would be his best NBA season to date.

Simmons’ career had already seen its shares of ups and downs. He played three seasons with the DePaul Blue Demons and stands as the only player in team history to notch 1,000 points, 700 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 three-point field goals.

After getting drafted by the Seattle Supersonics (42nd pick), Bobby was traded to the Washington Wizards.

“Going into my second year I was signed with the Wizards but I was in a trade with Rip Hamilton which sent me to Detroit. The Pistons didn’t have a roster spot so they waived me. The Wizards picked me back up from waivers but I had to fight to make the team in training camp.”

So after one season in the NBA, Bobby had already been traded twice. It got even Januaryw2005

Bobby Simmons

worse the day before the 2002-3 season began . . . the Wizards waived him.

Bobby found himself without a job so he signed with the Mobile Revelers of the NBDL. He played 14 games for the team and averaged 17.1 ppg.

“The transition between the NBDL and the NBA, back and forth . . . just that one time was enough for me. The travel, accommodations, lifestyle in general, is totally different in the NBDL.” Re-signed later that season with Washington, playing alongside Michael Jordan certainly was an NBA education in itself.

“Watching him everyday, how he maintained himself throughout the season, I learned that every time you step on the floor, every basket, and every ball you bounce you have to give it your all.”

Bobby joined the Clippers as a free agent because he liked what he saw when Brand and Maggette signed long-term contracts. He especially liked the idea of playing steady minutes. After averaging 11 mpg with Washington, Bobby got a steady 25 mpg in his first season with LA. Maggette describes Simmons as a “great teammate” who is “rugged and gets down and dirty. He does the little things and the big things to help the team win.”

Broadcaster Ralph Lawler has seen just about everything Clipper in his twenty-five years with the team. He marvels at what Simmons brings to the table.

“His versatility is one of the great things.

If he misses a game, it’s like missing two or three guys because he can play three different positions. He can guard pretty much anybody on the court. He’s the team’s best man-on-man defender.”

Bobby is well liked in the locker room.

His teammates appreciate his work ethic and pride in playing defense. With his much improved shooting touch, now they’ve come to rely on him as an integral part of their offense.

Simmons has already gained insight that a coddled first round draft pick may never attain. His experience in the NBDL only made him hungrier. Unwilling to let his dreams die, Bobby has emerged as a Most Improved Player of the Year candidate.

SWISH MAGAZINE

“I’d like to be a ten year or more veteran,” Bobby confesses. “I’d like to be an All-Star player in this league.”

A free agent after this season, you can bet every GM in the league knows exactly who Bobby Simmons is.

“When I’m all done I want people to be able to say ‘Bobby Simmons? Now that was a great player.’”

Flashback: February 27, 2004.

The New York Knicks in town. The Los Angeles Clippers down by a point with less than 30 seconds left with possession. Point guard Marko Jaric drives the lane and finds small forward Bobby Simmons open in the corner.

The shot was never in doubt . . . swish.

Quick, get back on defense! The Clippers up 95-94, 21 seconds left.

The play is to Tim Thomas in the post. Thomas battles for position but Simmons literally smothers him. The Knicks can’t get the ball inside and they panic. The rock gets swung around to a cold and out of position Kurt Thomas who throws up a wild airball.

Clippers win.

Elton Brand raved after the game “It’s not just tonight. Bobby will take the big shot and he plays defense. I mean Tim Thomas couldn’t even touch the ball.”

“I think everyone on the ball club can hit a game winning shot.”

Bobby answers. “Tonight was just my night I guess.”

Most players in the league go their entire careers without hitting a game winning shot. There’s something about that final minute that causes a players’ muscles to tighten. It’s barely perceptible, just enough to force the ball millimeters to the side or just a touch too hard.

No. Game winners are rare . . . particularly for the Clippers who won only 28 games total last season.

13

INSIDE THE ARENA

Inside the AAC

The American Airline Center

By Tom House In each issue of SWISH we are going to look at the inner workings of a world class NBA arena. We chose to start with the home of the Dallas Mavericks, the AmericanAirlines Center because its opening in July of 2001 set the standard for the newest generation of NBA arenas which have opened since: Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston, Memphis, and soon Charlotte and Brooklyn, as well.

“The biggest difference in our operation and the ‘average’ arena is we are not an average arena,” we were told when interviewing Mr. Bob Jordan, who served as Director of Operations for the AAC from its conception and planning phase until his recent resignation.

“Once we opened up here everyone since then is coming in to get the right starting point and then going back to adapt their concepts. Past that point they are still moving the line up because of how much we accomplished between the Ross Perot ownership group under which the AAC project was born and the point at which the Mark Cuban team took over.

The standard from the beginning was ‘No we’re not going to look back and no we’re not going to have people bellowing later on that we could have done it better than that. No, we were out to set the new standard.”

From its wide concourses, easy to navigate even in a sold-out venue like any Mavericks game, to the retractable seating system in the lower bowl that bestows versatility in its seating, the AAC was imagined first and foremost to be fan friendly and no one can challenge the success evident after those initial dreams were translated into reality.

Amenities including Terrazzo floors, elegant crown moldings, and millions of dollars in public art were included to esthetically please the most discriminating eyes among its more than three million visitors each year. One among its many plaudits came in 2002 when the AAC was given the Engineering Excellence Award by the American Council of Engineering Companies.

No one can understand the complications involved in running an operation like a modern state of the art sports arena until you begin talking in depth with someone who runs one on a day-to-day basis and to do that we returned to Bob Jordan.

“From the wall, floor, and seat finishes, the wood work in the facility, all the way through to the back of the house providing the ice control for NHL games, the telecommunications, the AAC is unique in many ways. The AAC was future proofed as much as possible throughout the design and construction phases in order to stay a state-of-the-art facility for as long as possible.”

In broadcasting, for example, they were on the cutting edge of everything when fiber was being considered and in looking ahead it was determined that they had to go optic. Other innovations were incorporated, including when TV signals are sent around the building they are converted first to digital to be sent through the building on fiber and then converted back to analog on a digital level. Those saved literally miles and miles of copper and they provide no signal deprivation over the fiber.

With every detail as they went through the design process the question was asked... What’s standard today, what’s going to be standard tomorrow and still be the standard in the next decade? Using this as a guideline they were able to look ahead constantly to make sure they weren’t going to be curtailed from doing anything feasible in the foreseeable future.

The AAC is a 24/7 operation in many ways resembling a small city.

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SWISH MAGAZINE

They have their own welding shop as well as their own seat shop to make repairs on call as needed. A full staff is on duty at any point in time.

If a pipe breaks, a piece of cable gets cut, or any contingency at all they have to be prepared to make sure it gets fixed immediately and the event then go on as scheduled.

They have six complete operating kitchens, more than 40 concession stands, and even their own phone company.

They occupy nearly a million square feet and can accommodate over 600 people at any one time in the restrooms.

There are more than 800 phone lines in the building plus they’ve recently added wireless technology indoors.

“Our goal is always operational transparency,” added Mr. Jordan. “If we are doing everything right nobody ever knows we are here. One of the things we did to make it different was when we designed the building our intent was to be able to provide the best possible seating bowl for basketball and the best possible seating bowl for hockey. We took on a new task of moving seats that no building has ever done before. We actually move 5,000 seats for basketball to hockey and no building had ever done half that number before.”

The sight lines for either sport are amazing from any part of the bowl because the slope of the bowl actually varies in the AAC and increases as you go up. This layout is what a lot of other buildings now copy.

It’s quite possible that there may never be another arena built that makes such a gigantic leap from the run of the mill.

“This is a great place to come to work in,” was a common theme to questions we asked players and coaches about the AAC as they were uniformly complimentary but that came as no surprise given the well-documented points of Mark Cuban providing his players with any amenity imaginable. The Mavericks even have their own separate full size practice court adjacent to their locker room, which also includes a state of the art weight facility and any aid to training you could imagine.

Is the AAC perfect? No, there have been improvements made in the arenas opened since it but they are not major and keep in mind that this was where much of their inspiration originated.

January22005

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FEATURE

The Changing Face(s) of the NBA

By Bill Ingram Heads hung low after finishing sixth in the 2002 World Championships, the United States men’s basketball team had to look on as Yugoslavia, Argentina, and Germany stood on American soil and claimed the medals that seemed to rightfully belong to the home team. They had beaten us at our own game, and the pain of that beating would not quickly abate. This summer’s bronze medal finish did not exactly ease the sting of that disappointment, and it seems that Americans are finally realizing that the road to the gold may not be the same kind of journey that other “Dream Teams” faced. Recently it has been the opposition embracing the “dream,” while Team USA is left to ponder a “back to basics” approach.

International players are bringing the overall level of worldwide play up to a level that can challenge NBA-laden teams from the United States. Teams within the NBA are finding that players from those international programs are actually better, in many instances, than those kids coming up in American high schools and colleges. The reason behind that growing phenomenon has to do with the differences in the way the youth of America and their international counterparts are prepared for life in professional basketball. American kids start out playing in middle school and high school, then go on to play college ball, and the best of the best then proceed to the NBA. Some, like LeBron James, don’t even go to college. When they aren’t playing competitively with their scholastic teams, many young Americans take part in AAU leagues.

The AAU is a summer league for amateur athletes. High school basketball play16

ers join AAU teams so that they can hone their games against the best high school players in the nation. Teams are sponsored by corporate America, many of them by shoe companies. It sounds good on the surface, but the AAU teams may actually be part of the reason young American athletes fail to develop the fundamental skills they need to compete against the internationally trained athletes. Tony Mauldin is the

head basketball coach for the varsity team at Lakeview Centennial High School in Garland, Texas. Mauldin has been coaching for 29 years, 17 of those at the high school level, nine at the collegiate level, and three at the international level. In his many years of coaching, Mauldin has become intimately familiar with what AAU programs have to offer.

“AAU teams lack the kind of coaching SWISH MAGAZINE

that young players need,” reveals Coach Mauldin. “The guys who coach the teams are really just promoters, who do AAU teams as a kind of side job. They go into cities, find the best players, and put together teams based on talent. But they don’t work with them on fundamentals, like shooting form or how to run particular plays. They just put them out there and let them play.” While there is something to be said for allowing high school players to go out and play against some of the best high school players in the country, allowing them to do so without injecting fundamental development is a big part of why young American athletes are falling behind their international counterparts. While American kids are playing street ball and focusing on their individual skills, international players are immersed in team-oriented instruction from a very young age.

NBA Coach of the Year Hubie Brown is not the least bit surprised that international players are overtaking the AAU-spawned American youths. “If you go across FIBA, FIBA is entrenched,” explains Brown. “Instead of players going to high school and then to college, players with talent are enrolled immediately into their basketball programs. They start in the junior teams and then, if they’re talented enough, they go to the senior teams. They are schooled 12 months out of the year. They do all of the fundamentals; they do them correctly. They are not involved in the kinds of things we have going on in the U.S. In the United States, with all this AAU basketball, we get young players together, they run up and down, they play a ton of games, but there is very little teaching and very little forced discipline in the five-man game.”

This is not to say that American players do not have any advantages over players who grow up and develop their skills in foreign countries. “If a player is born here and he plays for a good high school coach, a January22005

good college coach,” continues Brown, “he comes into the pros fully developed from the weight program. That is something which is majorly lacking in the players that come from Europe: body strength and explosion. The weight trainers that we have now, who we did not have in the 70’s and 80’s, but just came in in the 90’s, their job is to build upper body and that explosion - also adding the pounds, but not football pounds. What we’re talking about now is that the player in the United States now is coming with an advantage to play in this game. Also, if the foreign players coming in don’t understand English it’s a big drawback. They have to understand the jive and the basketball talk. Basketball talk is not normal English conversation, so when that European player comes, he sits in front of you, he’s listening to you, he thinks he understands, but he doesn’t. There are a lot of things that are going right by him. So, not only do you have the weight training part of the game, there’s the communication part of the game, and then the fact that this game is played a foot over the rim. They’re not ready for that when they first come.”

American athletes, then, tend to have an advantage when it comes to physical training and natural athletic talent. Where the foreign players excel is in the areas of team concept and work ethic. Sacramento Kings assistant coach Elston Turner feels work ethic, above all else, is what sets the foreign player apart from today’s average American player. “They believe in working extra,” explains Turner. “Peja (Stojakovic), even after long practices, is still going to get up a hundred, two hundred regular shots, another hundred three-pointers. That work ethic was driven into them when they were coming up in Yugoslavia or the countries they were in. Hedo Turkoglu was the same way when I had him. As a result of that, they become specialists at the things they do well. Hedo and Peja are pure shooters and they work at their crafts. Another overall trend from overseas players has been the bigger guy playing out on the floor more, bringing a different type of game which is fun to watch. You have taller guys like Toni Kukoc, Dirk Nowitzki, and Vlade Januaryw2005

Divac who can handle the ball and it’s tough to match up against that from a coaching standpoint. Foreign players are skilled, specifically skilled, and they have a great attitude. Vlade has been great in the locker room, he’s a great passer, he’s good to have.”

Peja Stojakovic agrees that the intense training foreign players receive gives them an advantage, and sees their success as part of the reason that basketball is becoming more of a global sport. “It seems that over the last couple of years teams are having more confidence in international players,” says Peja. “Look at the careers of some of us here in the NBA and you start to see why. I think we gain something from playing professionally over there from a young age, especially when players here aren’t even finishing college. You can see that in the West some of the best teams are the ones that have major players from overseas. I’m not sure about our influence, but we have certainly made the NBA more global and closer to the fans worldwide.”

Peja is not alone in that assessment. Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash concurred, saying: “I just think the international players are good. They are tremendously skilled and they’re becoming All-Stars in this league, not just fillers. The game has grown. The NBA’s exposure throughout the world has inspired kids in many different places to become basketball players and we’re seeing some good ones.”

Foreign players like Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, and Eddie Najera have made a believer out of Mavericks head coach Don Nelson. “I think everybody in basketball now knows that there’s another basketball world and that’s called Europe, maybe even the whole world,” says Nelson. “We don’t necessarily have all the best players, they’re all over the place. As a result, every team has some, some more than others. Foreign players are doing extremely well and will continue to.” Nellie sites the Utah Jazz as an example of how a team full of international players can achieve at a higher level than they are given credit for.

“You just never know where their scoring is coming from,” explains the long-time NBA coach. “Kirilenko’s not a bad place SWISH MAGAZINE

“If a player is born here and he plays for a good high school coach, a good college coach he comes into the pros fully developed from the weight program. That is something which is majorly lacking in the players that come from Europe: body strength and explosion.”

Former Memphis Grizzlies Head Coach Hubie Brown

to start, he’s a pretty special player, but mostly on the defensive end. But you have to prepare against Utah as a team, not individually.”

Jazz All-Star forward Andre Kirilenko hails from Russia, yet he was taught the same selfless, team-centered game that his foreign brethren were taught. “Russian players are more universal, fundamental players. My coach, growing up, always tried to help me with basic skills, starting with defense and then offense. For example, I don’t have a consistent shot, but I can improve that. All around game is more important, though. You will see next season, a couple of guys are going to come in from Russia and they’re pretty much all-around fundamentally, as well. You see that with most European guys. Dirk (Nowitzki) is allaround. He’s maybe not a great defensive player, but he’s OK, and he’s improving.

Look at Peja (Stojakovic). He has improved his defense a lot. Vlade Divac - great postup defender and offensive player, as well.

He does the little things. Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, there are a lot of example of guys who show the international style. Here, I think sometimes in university and college, guys are just taught to shoot the ball very well. They don’t think about anything else.

17

Then they come to the NBA and they find they have a problem and they have to start working. Some guys come to the NBA and improve their defense to fit the particular teams. They come from college without defense and they start playing defense in the NBA. The key to our success this season is that we play like a team and we help each other and we don’t get greedy. We just try to get an open guy and get a shot.

We don’t force anything. That’s our game.”

Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan accredits his foreign players’ attitudes as the key to their unexpected success this season,” explains Sloan. “The guys we have have tried to do what we’ve asked them to do. They’ve been very coachable. If anything, sometimes they don’t understand what we’re trying to do and that gets them in a little bit of trouble. I think deep down there is a problem (with the language barrier) because they say “yes,” but I don’t think they really understand. That’s happened to us in some

focused on teamwork, as opposed to the American style of isolation and taking opponents off the dribble. “It’s very hard to play one-on-one all game,” says Giricek.

“You can maybe beat your guy once, twice, but when you have help defense it’s really hard. It’s much better to pass to one of your open guys. Maybe somebody has a shot a little bit closer or maybe I can move myself a little bit further away and create space for a post up. Dribbling the ball a lot is not good basketball. Maybe some guys are good enough to just try to take someone off the dribble all the time, but in my country we were taught to rely on our teammates.”

Things were not so different in Spain, where Raul Lopez took his first steps on the basketball hardwood. “Growing up in Spain I always played on teams where people like to pass the ball,” reveals the Jazz guard. “I don’t know how it works in the United States, but we have a coach

“I think everybody in basketball now knows that there’s another basketball world and that’s called Europe, maybe even the whole world.”

Dallas Mavericks Coach Don Nelson games. <joking> I don’t really speak very good English, so I’m not sure they understand what in the hell I’m talking about anyway. But it’s up to them to adjust to me and we’ll go from there.”

Gordan Giricek, who was one of the key additions to the Jazz roster last season, emphasizes his training when asked about his success in the NBA. “When I was a kid we practiced a lot of fundamental stuff.

Shooting, passing, back door cuts, giveand-go game, and stuff like that. Because maybe we didn’t have the ability to dunks and crossovers and stuff like that. We always had the emphasis on moving the ball, moving away from the ball and stuff like that.” As in so many countries, the Croatian teams that Giricek grew up on 18

and our coach likes to play like this. I think it’s very important for any team to play like a team because basketball is five-on-five plus the bench. I think when you have a team that plays like a team it makes them hard to beat. We have a system. Everyone can shoot the ball. On this team it’s not one scorer, the one biggest one to take over the game. Everybody can play and when we play well it’s so fun.”

In China you find very much the same story, though Houston center Yao Ming says the American culture of glorifying and identifying with one player is sneaking into the Chinese culture. “I think China is a little more unique,” says Yao. “It’s constantly changing right now. When I was playing there it was always about the team, but SWISH MAGAZINE

now, you can’t say it’s about individual players, but there is the realization that one or two really good players are necessary to be successful. Of course the team is the most important thing, but you still have to have something to build a team around. It’s trying to find the balance between the two.”

Yao Ming, Dirk Nowitzki, Peja Stojakovic, Tony Parker . . .as more and more of the top players in the NBA come from foreign soil, the challenge for Team USA to return to international dominance grows exponentially. No longer can the United States afford to send second tier players – even second tier NBA players - to meet their opposing countries in the field of battle.

NBA commissioner David Stern has expressed some concern that Team USA may not be the best team in the world for much longer. Is that time now? “I don’t know if I’d go that far,” says Elston Turner, “but they will get more resistance, for sure. When we put our best players – our best players don’t always go on these teams – if we put our best players out there I still think we’re further along as far as the Olympics, but there’s no cake walk any more. They’re ready for us, they’re further along in basketball fundamentals, and if we go over there and we’re not ready to play we can get beat.”

Tim Duncan, Shawn Marion, Allen Iverson, and LeBron James are among the latest NBA members of Team USA who can attest to that fact. Duncan is a consummate professional and team player, but when you surround him with guys who are more about their one-onone games, the result is still only a bronze medal. There is a lot of talk about what Team USA will do differently next time.

It seems likely that at the very least there will be a two or three week long training camp for the players to get to know each other, work on some plays, and prepare to play together as a team. Simply showing up and trying to blow away foreign teams is no longer an effective way to approach the Olympics. Foreign teams are better prepared than their NBA counterparts, and the only way to combat that fact is to make sure Team USA is better prepared. The theme of the next Team USA has to be “Back to Basics.” As we saw in the 2004 Summer Olympics, foreign teams have made up for their lack of flash with outstanding fundamental play. Time for American players to get over themselves, check their egos at the door, and get ready for battle when the rest of the world comes calling.

January22005

THE SLIDE RULE Drafting Efficiently

By Eric Pincus The NBA Draft is an event like none other. Teams spend countless hours searching for that one special player; that needle in a haystack that can turn the franchise around overnight (LeBron James). Those with late picks look for the final piece of the puzzle that could propel them to a championship (Tayshaun Prince). Ultimately, no one wants to make a mistake similar to the Portland Trailblazers choosing Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan back in 1984.

It’s too early to tell how successful the 2004 draft picks will be, but there are statistics that can be used to analyze previous drafts. Over the last four years (2000-2003), 114 players have been chosen in the first round.

Comparing and contrasting players can be difficult proposition. Looking at the statistics, you can at least catch a glimpse of an individual’s contribution on the court. NBA.com uses an “Efficiency Formula” in an effort to do so: (Points + Rebounds + Assists + Steals + Blocks) - (Missed Field Goals + Missed Free Throws + Turnovers) The result is then divided by an 82 to reflect a full season.

The official NBA formula takes the result and divides it by the number of games played. The adjustment here to 82 is used to get a player’s contribution over the course of an entire season. Durability is a crucial factor when analyzing a player. Amare Stoudemire would have been ranked higher but since he only played in 55 games last season his average efficiency dropped significantly.

20

Stats and Statistics

The Top Twenty Draft Picks (2000-2004) Based on Performance in the 2003-4 Season.

Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Player Zach Randolph Yao Ming Richard Jefferson Paul Gasol LeBron James Jamaal Magloire Carmelo Anthony Kenyon Martin Jason Richardson Joe Johnson Jamal Crawford Nene Samuel Dalembert Amare Stoudemire Chris Bosh Desmond Mason Kirk Hinrich Kwame Brown Tony Parker Tayshaun Prince

Drafting Team Portland Houston New Jersey Memphis Cleveland New Orleans Denver New Jersey Golden State Boston (*Phoenix) Chicago Denver Philadelphia Phoenix Toronto Seattle (*Milwaukee) Chicago Washington San Antonio Detroit

Year 2001 2002 2001 2001 2003 2000 2003 2000 2001 2001 2000 2002 2001 2002 2003 2000 2003 2001 2001 2002

Pick 19 1 13 3 1 19 3 1 5 10 8 7 26 9 4 17 7 1 28 23

Eff. 20.5 20.4 18.7 17.9 17.9 17.3 16.9 16.0 15.6 15.1 14.0 13.8 13.7 13.1 12.9 12.7 12.7 12.7 12.5 12.4

* Team traded to.

The drafting team as listed is post any trades before the player joined their respective team. For example, Nene was drafted by the New York Knicks but immediately traded to the Denver Nuggets in a multi-player deal.

The Results Success in the NBA Draft is a relative proposition. The best teams in the league get the lowest picks and are less likely to select an impact player. Bucking the trend the San Antonio Spurs have somehow experienced the most success. They’ve picked just once over the last four years, but made it count by stealing eventual NBA Champion Tony Parker at 28.

The Cleveland Cavaliers (eighth overall) had not been successful with low picks in the first round. Eventually the team play was bad enough to get LeBron James at number one in 2003. Even failure in the long run can be a positive.

Some teams aren’t patient enough and their prospects flourish on other teams like Joe Johnson (tenth) after getting traded by the Celtics (21ST) to the Suns (14th).

By the way, those boos heard each year as the Knicks (28th) drafted... the fans were right!

This analysis doesn’t take into account the second round. Finds like Carlos Boozer and Michael Redd have efficiencies ranked among the top ten overall picks (although Boozer didn’t do the Cavs any favors this summer). Other great finds include Gilbert Arenas, Brian Cardinal, Mehmet Okur and Flip Murray.

Unfortunately for the drafting teams, there is no concrete statistic like the efficiency formula to guide them in the War Room.

Hindsight is 20-20 but Darko Milicic ahead of Carmelo Anthony? Looks like that may be another Bowie over Jordan.

Perhaps the 2003-4 NBA Title has gotten Detroit Pistons’ (26th) boss Joe Dumars off the hook . . . for now. © Copyright 2004 by Swish Magazine, a Basketball News Services Exclusive SWISH MAGAZINE

January22005

FEATURE

Life In the NBA’s 2nd Round

By Steve Kyler Every year more and more talented and gifted players find themselves valued less and less by a league looking for megastars and willing to go deeper and deeper into the talent pool to find them. Long gone are the days where heralded college players find themselves the most coveted in the land, as more and more attention is focused on the raw and underdeveloped who posses massive upside potential.

With so much focus on promise and potential, real players find themselves ranked lower and lower each year.

The National Basketball Association selects a few dozen chosen athletes to be part of its league each year, these coveted and hyped stars get a guaranteed lifestyle, and a chance to embrace their NBA dream with the security of a multi-year contract.

At the same time dozens upon dozens of NBA hopefuls watch as their dreams slide into the non-guaranteed world that is the NBA’s 2nd Round Draft.

This year’s NBA poster child for second round success is Carlos Boozer, who signed a mega-deal with the Utah Jazz in the summer of 2004. Carlos explained his second round selection wasn’t a slap in the face as one might expect for a player with his collegiate hype. “It gave me a sense of motivation to prove to everybody that I can play at this level,” said Boozer.

Boozer is not alone in saying his second round selection served as motivation.

“It made me hungry.” Minnesota Januaryw2005

Timberwolves stud Trenton Hassell who also signed a large contract in the summer of 2004 says “It made me continue to play and work on my game, cause my contract wasn’t guaranteed.”

Eduardo Najera, selected in the 2nd round by the Dallas Mavericks and traded this past off-season to the Golden State Warriors explained the second round selection pushed him “I think it had a positive impact. I wanted to work harder to prove myself.”

“The risk is if you go in the 2nd round and your not good enough, you might be out of the league in two years.

It’s basketball.”

Lakers forward Luke Walton According to Lakers forward Luke Walton, who logged minutes in the NBA Finals as a 2nd round rookie last season, says “I got to come to LA, to a winning organization - so far my NBA experience has been nothing but positive.”

“It was good for me,” said Marko Jaric of the LA Clippers “I was very disappointed to be in the second round but I realized that life was not going to be that easy. I figured out that it was going to be tough for me to get my career where I wanted it. I felt I was better than a lot of SWISH MAGAZINE

the placers who were picked before me and it gave me a lot of anger to come over here and prove myself in the NBA.” NBA All-Star Michael Redd with the Milwaukee Bucks believes his second round selection was a gift. “I think it blessed my career” said Redd “That just gave me added motivation to go out and prove that I can play in this league, and that I can stay, that I can make a mark on this league.

Even though I did get drafted in the 2nd round, I never lost my confidence. I just gained more and more as began to practice with the guys and perform well in practice and Coach Karl gave me an opportunity the next year.”

When the National Basketball Association began in 1949 it began populating its 17 team rosters from the collegiate ranks based on a collegiate players proximity to a team, wherein star players from nearby colleges became the property of the professional team closest to them. This concept was dubbed “The Draft,” as teams were able to claim the rights to a player, regardless of whether the player wanted to play for that team.

The draft in its early days was not the pomp and spectacle it is today with pickby-pick global coverage. In the beginning the draft was nothing more than a conference call in which teams announced which players they wanted in a multi-round format. At its highest point the NBA draft consisted of 21 rounds, and in 1968 Willie Horton became the 21st round selection of the Chicago Bulls.

Teams were often publicly “accused” of losing games on purpose to obtain the better players via the draft. It was commonplace for teams to sell off players or 21

bench players to insure higher draft positioning, and in a series of rule changes the NBA and its owners agreed to a “lottery” system, which replaced the coin-toss system adopted in 1966.

Under the coin-toss system the worst two teams flipped a coin to determine which team selected with the first pick.

The NBA Lottery was designed as a system in which teams drew “lots,” or numbers, for the chance to obtain the higher draft picks. It was this “lottery” that started in 1985, which landed the New York Knicks the right to draft Patrick Ewing.

In 1985 there were seven rounds in the 1985 NBA Draft.

With the arrival of two new expansion teams in 1989 the NBA Draft was reduced to just two rounds, each team in the league having just two selections from the talent pool. This made the draft much more important for rising players, adding more and more emphasis on being drafted as a means to making it to a professional team.

In the years from 1949 to present day team roster space has become a premium, as teams are only permitted to carry 15 player contracts so the odds of making the regular season roster of a NBA team has become even harder.

Then, in 1994, a forward from Purdue named Glenn Robinson forever changed the landscape of the NBA draft, when he demanded a ten year $100 million contract from the Milwaukee Bucks, who had selected him as the #1 overall draft pick in 1994.

Robinson did not make the NBA go to a “scaled” system, but he was clearly the straw that broke the NBA’s back.

In the modern NBA draft, players selected in the first round are given pre-determined contracts, guaranteed for at least three years, and pre-calculated based on where that player was taken, with more money and emphasis on the player taken with the first thirteen picks. The remaining twenty seven picks of the first round receive guarantees that have made more and more teams “invest” in players rather than selecting players that could potentially help win games today.

In today’s NBA, more teams are drafting for reasons other than athletic ability.

Teams must manage their roster, their salary cap and their rotations and often times teams will draft players knowing full well they may not be used for some time to come. Many General Managers will say this stockpiling of talent, is a buy product of the guaranteed contract that is so prevalent in the NBA. Its this stockpiling of guarantees that has made the NBA draft more about potential and where a player fits in the long term plans, rather than putting winning teams on the floor. In some cases, teams in the past few years have drafted players they had no intention of signing or playing – prime examples would be Detroit’s choice to select Darko Milicic in with the #2 overall pick in 2003. Milicic was identified as player that could develop and the Pistons had no room or use for him in their active roster and found themselves with

“Over the last few years they have been looking for younger and taller prospects. They’re raw, but that’s what scouts like because teams want to groom them their own way.”

Warriors forward Eduardo Najera.

Up until that point the NBA allowed teams to sign players without much in terms of restrictions, prompting more and players to demand and ultimately receive contracts increasing both in dollar amount and length. It was Glenn Robinson’s leverage in the situation that forced the NBA’s hand and made the NBA draft what it is today. Glenn 22

the #2 pick, as a result of a very old trade with the now Memphis Grizzlies. They selected him with every intention of letting him sit out his rookie year.

The Minnesota Timberwolves made a similar decision in drafting Ndudi Ebi, a promising high school prospect from Westbury Christian with the 22nd pick in the 2003 NBA draft; who has yet to log SWISH MAGAZINE

any meaningful minutes as a professional.

Most executives in the NBA will tell you that the guarantees a players receives in the 1 st round is giving way to more and more focus on potential – rather than actual ability causing more and more proven players to slide into the NBA’s second round.

In the last four years dozens of proven collegiate players have drifted in to the second round being passed over for unproven or over hyped high schoolers.

“Scouts are funny” says Warriors forward Eduardo Najera “Over the last few years they have been looking for younger and taller prospects. They’re raw, but that’s what scouts like because teams want to groom them their own way. They don’t want a grown man who already knows how to play the game a certain way… teams can do pretty much whatever they want with them.”

Stereotypes haven’t helped collegiate players either, as more teams expect a point guard to be between 6’0 and 6’4, while a two guard should be no shorter than 6’5, and a power forward need to be 6’10 or bigger, leaving gaps for talented guys that may be an inch shorter than the prototype, despite how well they play.

In trying to explain why so many teams passed on him Utah’s Carlos Boozer suggested it was his height “I am only 6’9” said Boozer “You know a lot of people in my position are 6’11 or seven foot.”

“I went to a small school.” explained the Timberwolves Trenton Hassell “I came out with a lot of players that had bigger names, even though I feel my stats were just as good... I am not the type of person who has good workouts... That’s how they judge people, on workouts and individual work and I am not one of them type of players... I just like to play” “Back then, when I was picked in the second round, they didn’t respect European guards like they do now.” offers The Clippers Marko Jaric “They didn’t know about me and Ginobili and the guys like us. We were winning championships over there.”

In the modern NBA, the first round really has become about potential and star power, where the second round becomes the round of flexibility and experimentation, mainly because second round draft picks do not get guaranteed contracts.

“I think the way personnel people are” offers Bucks GM Larry Harris “I think they take more risks in the second round and because they take those risks sometimes January22005

the rewards can be much greater. There is not as much pressure for a second round pick to make it, so your able to reach out a little more and maybe take a gamble and some times those gambles work out.”

Not everything in the second round is horrible, as Carlos Boozer proved in the summer of 2004 signing a 6-year $68 million contract with the Utah Jazz, a year after second rounder Gilbert Arenas signed a six-year, $64 million contract with the Washington Wizards. The long-term career and long-term paydays are there for players that can play, and there is a certain amount of freedom.

Warriors forward Eduardo Najera explained “You do have a little more freedom with your contract, but there aren’t very many players in the second round who really make it. There are a few surprises, but obviously in the first round you have more time to develop and teams have more confidence in you and give you more playing time to prove yourself.”

Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard Michael Redd was selected to the NBA All-Star team in 2004 says it is part of the package “It’s a reward... It’s a reward...” said Redd looking at a potential free agency payday in the summer of 2005 “I was a guy that averaged 20 my whole career in college, and still go in the second round because of guys with “potential” - and quite frankly some of the guys in my draft that went in the first round - I don’t know where they are today.”

“If you go in the first round, and your playing as good as people like Gilbert Arenas and Carlos Boozer played, they would both have been locked in for four years before they could have made a move.” According to Lakers forward Luke Walton “Now they are both getting paid a ton of money.”

“I think there is an advantage to having a guarantee.” said Wolves guard Trenton Hassell “But an advantage to being a second rounder – you’re not in a long-term deal and you could have a good year and go and get contract - so it has its good and bad points.”

“It’s a reward, after two years - you sign a two year deal as a second round pick” Bucks star Michael Redd said “It rewards guys, if you can play it’s gonna show and you’re gonna be blessed for what you do.”

While the paydays in the second round in recent years make headlines, for every Januaryw2005

Carlos Boozer, there are a dozen players that do not make the cut, and the lack of a guaranteed contract makes them have to work their way back into the league through the NBA’s minor league system the NBDL or the Continental Basketball Association.

“You pick out Boozer and Michael Redd and certain players, but really it’s ironic the number of players that get drafted and stick in the second round.”

Bucks General Manager Larry Harris said, “They become fewer and fewer the more years that go by.”

cases its two years. But the time to get back into free agency is usually a little bit earlier - so you can take advantage of that,” says Bucks GM Larry Harris “It’s strictly circumstance.” according to Utah’s Carlos Boozer “It depends on what situation you’re in, I think that obviously guys like Gilbert Arenas, Rashard Lewis and myself - we’re on the brighter side of things, there are guys on the other end of thing that it didn’t work out for them.”

“Of course it helps if you play well, but you know if you play well, but not really that well, different people and different

“I think they take more risks in the second round and because they take those risks sometimes the rewards can be much greater. There is not as much pressure for a second round pick to make it, so your able to reach out a little more and maybe take a gamble and some times those gambles work out.”

Larry Harris, General Manager of The Milwaukee Bucks It’s very much a “Risk Versus Reward” proposition.

“The way I look at it is if you’re playing in the NBA, you’re pretty much living the good life, the risk really isn’t that bad, to get drafted in the first round and get stuck for four years playing in the NBA.” says the Lakers Luke Walton “The risk is you go in the 2nd round if your not good enough, you might be out of the league in two years. It’s basketball.”

And while players like Carlos Boozer and Gilbert Arenas have made huge amounts of money as standouts in the second round, the teams that drafted those players still hold a tremendous amount of influence over their futures according to Phoenix’s Jake Voskuhl “You can’t be an unrestricted free agent until after 4 years in the NBA” explains Voskuhl, who has seen first hand how challenging the second round can be. “Teams basically will sit around and wait to see if you get another offer from another team, and then they’re like, ‘OK, we’ll match that.’”

“It puts no pressure on the team you’re with to really step up and make an offer... they don’t...” offers a very blunt Voskuhl.

“Teams wait, and then they’ll just match it if you get another offer.”

“In the second round you got a situation where generally its one year, in some SWISH MAGAZINE

clubs look at that and look in the books and say well he got drafted there and the other kid got drafted there” Maciej Lampe offers. “It helps down the road to be drafted as high as possible for future deals.

People are not always looking at you and how you play and stuff.”

“You have some guys that have proven they can play and slip down for ‘potential’ players, but that’s the trend of the draft right now,” according to Lakers forward Luke Walton. “Luckily for me, I was able to go to a winning team so that helped me a lot, as far as playing - because I was always on winning teams. I wouldn’t know how to handle being on a losing team.

It’s hard to just categorize first versus second round players like that because it’s different for every single person who gets drafted.”

But what isn’t hard to categorize, is that real talent can now be found in the second round, and that talent often can see bigger paydays and bigger economic success than even those players taken 20 to 25 picks before them, and while there is tremendous risk of a nothing career in the 2 nd round, the chance for greatness isn’t lost because a players doesn’t shake David Stern’s hand on draft night.

23

SONOFAGUN Hardcore Logo or No-Go Logo

By Darren Andrade Think of the National Basketball Association and you think of Jerry West.

After all, it’s his image – a player with the rock in action – that is the white silhouette over the blue and red of the association’s emblem. Those colors represent the United States of America but they no longer represent the players that make up the world’s greatest basketball league.

This isn’t about whether or not West deserves to be Mr. Logo. It’s the bigger picture. Then now, the league is a different place than the one West left as a player – an era in which the doctors of the game believed it was necessary to have white stars to sell their game to ticket-buyers. 30 years later that segment is still mostly white, the best players are mostly black and JW is still Mr. Logo. Thing is he is no longer, and hasn’t been for some time, the first name in basketball. That would be Michael Jordan, the NBA’s money-in-the-bank megastar that restructured the game in almost every aspect, from play to pay and from the show to the biz.

Over 80 percent of the players in the NBA are black. As a result the league has relied heavily on marketing its product through hip-hop culture, which has come to greatly define the American culture that most of its players embrace. It is a part of black culture that America at large has taken in. Rap music, clothing gear and celebrity associations are used by the league and its advertising partners to push the product to the masses. It was a marriage that the figure of West could never have arranged on its own.

Indirectly his mug is part of that culture now, fused moronically like an unwilling invasion.

Last June retired basketball legend Larry Bird told ESPN , “I think it’s good for a fan base because as we all know 24

The Society of Sports the majority of the fans are white America. And if you just had a couple of white guys in there, you might get them a little excited. But it is a black man’s game, and it will be forever.”

For that reason the league remains quick to jump on white-potential but the bottom line is usually green, not black or white. Commissioner David Stern says that NBA income will approach $3B in 2005. A huge chunk of that is in merchandising sales, all of which are adorned with West’s image.

It stares back at you. The NBA logo like a flag on the moon, one of the few logos in big business sports that clearly identifies race. The NFL has the shield, as does the NHL. The thinking there is that nobody is above the league - brothers behind the badge. Major League Baseball depicts a batter on their logo but stops short of assigning race.

The NBA has reached this level of success “as is”, logo intact. Stern r efuted Bird’s asser tion that they need more white stars, that while it may have once been true it is the case no longer. If that is the belief of the league’s top officials then why not a move to reflect this new understanding?

Bringing society to grips isn’t the NBA’s role but, it is their fault that a logo shines from a time when they say Bird’s words had merit. If the image of the league has changed as much as Stern says it has then shouldn’t the only race-conscious emblem in major North American professional sports have been considered for a facelift some time ago? No offense Mr. West, but if no one player is bigger than the league then what gives?

Bird had it right. You might not like the blunt delivery but why are there so many mouths left agape in the wake of his comments? Why does society not elicit the same jaw dropping response when it comes to the proof of their claims?

When the NBA started getting rich it was Jordan, the NBA’s greatest player, that was the big face fronting SWISH MAGAZINE

their marketing push. It’s hard to argue against West, a great all-star and Hall-of-Fame player who has done just as much for the game as an executive retiring in 1974. The championships as a player and an executive total nine, all with the Los Angeles Lakers. A solid Ambassador of the sport, he has never done anything “offcourt” to tarnish the logo. Jordan is the sport’s most celebrated and accomplished champion, maybe the biggest single reason why the league enjoys the success it does. However, the media-blitzed era of entertainment Jordan came up in has also picked him apart at times with lingering hits to his character. Still, he represents the game internationally as the sport’s most recognizable athlete.

The WNBA selected their “Logo Woman” from 50 different designs and the final choice was one that combined the poses of several different players to produce their own silhouetted version. Can the same logic not be applied here? Does the league still n e e d t h e c r u t c h ? H a r d l y. A l l e n Iverson, the embodiment of the NBA’s cross-culture of hoops and hip consistently ranks among the top jerseys sold. LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony now top that list, new-generation players of the same breed.

Does anybody even care or is this the drivel of a maddened scribe with a skewered look at a world not so bad? Maybe it doesn’t matter if we are content to eat up the rest of the show. Those bright lights and brighter stars cast their shadow over a logo that sits comfortably in our subconscious. The NBA has survived with it there and done well without the evolution of its signature, so why the hell start now?

Too easy . It’s time for a change and Jordan is the front-runner. True, the NBA prides itself on pushing the new while preserving the old; but like parquet floors, peach basket hoops and Chuck Taylors for ballin’, the current logo belongs in a museum as a reminder of a less… accurate time.

January22005

HEART & SOUL Putting the “Role” Back in Role Model

By Bill Ingram On December 30, 2003 Mike Wilks reached what has, to date, been the pinnacle of his NBA career. The Rockets traded Moochie Norris to the New York Knicks, which meant that Wilks was suddenly thrust into the role of full-time back-up to an All-Star. As the team prepared to host the Philadelphia 76ers on the following night, Mike suddenly found himself at the center of attention in a locker room that had Yao Ming sitting on one side and Steve Francis sitting on the other. Mike turned to head out for a few practice shots and was suddenly confronted by a host of microphones, spotlights, and television cameras. Everyone wanted to know how Mike felt about his new role, but few were prepared to hear what he had to say.

Sure, Mike gave the obligatory initial response. He was looking forward to helping the team and doing whatever coach Jeff Van Gundy asked him to do. Mike then gave credit to God, but not in the way that most athletes do. Mike didn’t just want to thank God for giving him the opportunity to play, he wanted to express how important his faith had been as he made the long journey from the minor leagues to the NBA. You see, at 5’11" and 180 pounds, Mike was always told that he was not tall enough or not quick enough to make it in the NBA, but he kept the faith and never lost sight of his dream. It was his rock solid faith that enabled him to endure the doubters and continue to work to make his dream a reality. “My faith is huge, it’s everything, it’s what keeps me stable,” said Mike at the time.

“My life is a living testimony for what God can do in your life, not just because I’m a great basketball player, but by the grace of God He has chosen to place me here at this time.”

The cameras clicked off, the spotlights began searching the room for Yao Ming, and the reporters began to roll their eyes and mumble. Yeah, he’s one of those Christians. No story there, right? Wrong!

Mike Wilks was not spewing the usual garbage about it being God’s will that he get more playing time. It seems unlikely that God concerns Himself with boxscores. Instead, Mike was conveying a much bigger Januaryw2005

Mike Wilks

message, one that more players should embrace. How many multi-millionaire athletes take time out of their busy schedules to really get involved with charitable causes?

How many give those causes their time, which is at least as valuable as their money?

Actually, there are more of them out there than the average fan is probably aware of.

Mike Wilks is one of those who truly shines a light where darkness has long had lease.

“I have found, as an NBA player, that kids look up to professional athletes,” says Mike. “Whether you have a belief or faith or not, kids need positive role models. I firmly believe that from those who are given, much is required, and I not only want to be a good basketball player, I want to be a man of God. He has called me to be everything that He wants me to be, and the main thing is to be a light - not only for kids, but to the world overall.” Note the reference to Luke 12:48, which reads, “Much will be required from everyone to whom much has been given. But even more will be demanded from the one to whom much has been entrusted.” Much has been given to Mike, and he is working hard to live up to that responsibility. What could be more important that being entrusted with the future of the youth of the community?

Mike explains: “Right now I’m working with a friend of mine, Cyril White, who started an organization back in 1997 called ‘To God Be The Glory.’ He started it as a small business, putting together camps out in the community, SWISH MAGAZINE

putting together AAU teams, traveling overseas, trying new and different ventures. I was fortunate enough to get together with him this year and we’re collaborating to turn ‘To God Be The Glory’ into a non-profit organization and take it to the next level. This summer we worked to establish that, do some fund raising, get some grants from the government, and now we want to build a facility that we can operate out of. For me this is about giving back, giving back to our youth, and allowing the Lord to use us in whatever way He sees fit. That’s where my focus is right now and I’m very excited about the opportunity.” It may sound a little bit preachy, but rest assured that Mike is as honest and forthright as they come. Mike speaks from the heart, and anyone who has ever taken a few moments to talk to him knows his faith is the most important thing in this young man’s life.

If you live in the Houston area and are interested in information about the youth basketball camps Mike refers to, you can find them on the web at http://www.TGBTG.COM. “The camps are put together for different age groups and the purpose of the camps is to teach kids about the fundamentals of basketball and work on their games,” explains Mike, “but also to use that as an avenue to bring kids to Christ. We encourage them to have a relationship with God. There are devotionals that go on and it’s basically about The Lord.

We use basketball as a tool to reach out. The camps we do now usually last a couple of days, like over a weekend, and he does them around significant times of the year. He does one around Thanksgiving, one around Christmas, Spring Break, and bases them on a Godly principle. He talks about the reason for the season (at Christmas) or making sure kids understand what they have to be thankful for (at Thanksgiving). I’m really looking forward to working with him in that venture.”

Mike Wilks is just one of many NBA players who take a true and inspiring interest in the lives of the youth of their communities.

SWISH! Magazine is dedicated to bringing some much-deserved attention to these athletes who are working to shine a light in a world that is often tainted by those who do not take their responsibilities as role models as seriously as Mike Wilks does. We wish him the best as he begins his new career backing up Tony Parker as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.

25

COLLECTORS CORNER Younger Generation Getting Left Behind Jason Fleming Ten to fifteen years ago the younger generation made up a large part of the sportscard collecting market. A kid could get his or her allowance or mow a couple lawns and then go out and buy a box of sportscards for less than $20.

Those days are long gone now. Instead the younger set has been priced completely out of the market due to spiraling costs of packs and boxes - kids can simply no longer afford to participate because their lawn mowing money will only get them a pack or two of cards or maybe a relatively inexpensive rookie card of their favorite player.

It’s tough for the card producers because they are losing money – well, relatively anyway. During the peak of this niche industry in the mid-nineties sports cards were generating almost a billion dollars annually. The major card companies (Topps, Fleer and Upper Deck) were forced into signing guaranteed contracts with each sports’ players’ unions and those deals didn’t take into account any shrinkage of the industry. Now that the market is smaller and companies are making less money, many of them have had to cut back on products and raise the costs to the consumer. Higher costs equal fewer kids in the market.

That’s not the only issue. Another big piece is how many different products are vying for kids’ entertainment dollars. There didn’t used to be much internet use and music downloading, S o n y h a d n ’t c o m e o u t w i t h t h e PlayStation and the collectibles market has yet to figure out a way to effectively compete.

“Products are too expensive and you have way too many,” said Ed Wells, former proprietor of Sportsabilia in Portland, Oregon. “I’m even confused so I 26

Remember When...

can imagine how the person who doesn’t see the product every day is beyond confused. It’s just stupid - the hobby has just gotten out of control.”

How is it confusing? Consider that in its heyday there were only a few different sets of cards: Topps, Fleer, SkyBox, and Upper Deck. Today Topps, Fleer, and Upper Deck are still around but each one of the companies will produce a multitude of products in one season.

F o r e x a m p l e To p p s h a s F i n e s t , Chrome and Pristine. Fleer and Upper Deck are the same way. Head spinning yet? It’s just too confusing for someone to make a decision on what they want, so a lot of times they end up not buying anything.

Topps says they try to keep kids in the market by creating affordable products. They do; but the problem is the younger set doesn’t understand the reasoning. They want the game-used cards and the autographs that have to come in the more expensive sets. If they can’t get that in the cheap sets those prodSWISH MAGAZINE

ucts lose much of their luster. By creating more exclusive sets the card companies have made it glaringly obvious what is missing from the lower end.

According to Krause Publications it’s difficult to pin down how much money this industry generates because only Topps is publicly held and all the numbers they can get are based on the price of the selling from the manufacturer to the wholesaler. After that the numbers are tough to follow. The entire market for 2004 is roughly $300-$315 million, about 17-20% of that which is basketball. Even with that number it’s expected to go down for the 2004-05 season because last year had the hype that surrounded rookies like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwyane Wade.

“During the last year we started to see a resurgence into the market with some new collectors and with many older collectors returning,” says KC Kings Sportscards owner Bob Brill, who also writes a column for Beckett – the hobby’s recognized pricing authority.

“That was good and maybe it was because of Lebron James and some others but it was happening. Then sticker shock kicked in and continued with more higher-priced products. That surge seems to have stopped now and I don’t know if it will come back soon.”

As far as the costs of cards and what they are doing to the younger set in the market, both Brill and Wells agree: High costs are slowly killing the industry. Unfortunately both also feel there isn’t a whole lot they can do about it.

“I hope there is a ceiling (on the costs of cards),” Brill said. “Too much greed and short-sightedness is a real problem in our industry and while I feel $100 and up packs are killing us, there is a large portion of the industry which just wants to take the instant money and run.”

“It’s not collecting anymore, it’s almost like Willy Wonka and the Golden Ticket,” Wells reasons. “People hit a big card and then they turn around and sell it. Is that collecting or is that...gambling?”

Good question. It’s no wonder that kids and adults alike are finding different places to spend their money.

January22005

UNDERESTIMATED & UNDERRATED Mobley Doesn’t Need the Spotlight

By James Buell To hear Cuttino Mobley say it, anonymity is both a blessing and a curse.

“You’ve got the guys that you can see and you’ve got the guys that you don’t see,” Mobley said. “I’m one of those dudes and I can accept it” The oversight of the viewing public isn’t foreign to Mobley. It dates back to his college days at the University of Rhode Island, where – as a 5th year senior – he garnered little to no attention on the national scene and was passed over in most NBA Mock Drafts.

“Probably will end up a free agent camp signing, CBA, or overseas.” – Usenet Mock Draft This after guiding the Rams to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament. This after averaging 17.2 points per game (ppg) and shooting over 40% from the field and three point line. This after taking home the Atlantic 10’s MVP award.

As it turns out, Cuttino was drafted. He was the 41st pick of the 1998 NBA Draft.

The Houston Rockets took a chance on him after selecting Michael Dickerson, Bryce Drew and Mirsad Turckan with the 14th, 16th and 18th picks of the first round.

None of three are in the NBA today.

Dickerson and Drew played the same position as Mobley and had guaranteed rookie contracts – something he did not.

He came to a team that featured future Hall of Famers Hakeen Olajuwon and Charles Barkley who would likely see the bulk of the shots. On top of that, the 9899 season was cut short by a lockout.

It didn’t matter. Mobley started 37 of 49 games and averaged nearly 10 ppg. He was named to the All-Rookie 2nd team and finally – it seemed – had arrived.

“I really liked him,” former coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “We were trying to trade up higher because I didn’t think he was going to be there.”

Mobley was there. He had been looked over again. Just like he was coming out of high school in Philadelphia. Passed over by every Januaryw2005

Cuttino Mobley

team in the NBA at least once. The Rockets had gaffed three times, but Tomjanovich made sure they didn’t do it a fourth.

“I just liked the skills that I saw,” he said, “but then there was something in him at our meeting that I saw. He’s just a competitor. He’s going to be there. There’s certain guys that if you put them in a group… they’re going to be in the heart of the scuffle.”

The “scuffle” continued for Mobley.

Following his impressive rookie campaign, the Rockets made a blockbuster

ies Dwight Howard and Jameer Nelson, and the domineering direction set forth by GM John Weisbrod.

“I don’t really care,” Mobley said. “I’m who I am. I know I’m one of the top players in the league.”

Out of his 1998 Draft class, Mobley ranks 5th is career scoring average behind only Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce. Not bad for being the 41st pick in the draft.

“Cuttino is really kind of special with his one on one ability,” Tomjanovich said. “He

“We were trying to trade up higher because I didn’t think he was going to be there.” former Rockets Coach Rudy Tomjanovich

trade for rookie Steve Francis. The move pushed Mobley out of the starting rotation and back in the shadows of someone else’s spotlight.

“You have to have faith in yourself,” Mobley said. “I have faith in myself. I feel as though I can play with anybody. With the help of the Lord and my teammates, I’ve succeeded so far.”

Mobley’s averages went up that season. He posted 15.8 ppg coming off the bench and helped form one of the most dynamic backcourts in the NBA. Still, when it came time for accolades he was passed over for the NBA’s Sixth Man award in favor of the Orlando Magic’s Darrell Armstrong.

Flash-forward to present day and Mobley goes seemingly unnoticed again. When this summer’s blockbuster trades began, everyone was talking about the ramifications of a Tracy McGrady-Steve Francis swap. The inclusion of the versatile Mobley seemed to be an afterthought.

During training camp and the exhibition season, all the talk centered on the reemergence of Grant Hill, the play of rookSWISH MAGAZINE

can make outside shots. He can drive. He made a lot of what we call ‘turnaround plays’. If there’s a fastbreak going one way, he goes back and blocks a shot.”

Another former coach agrees.

“He’s an excellent defender,” Jeff Van Gundy said, “a very good rebounder. Not a mistake player, he doesn’t turn it over.

And he brings an intensity that you need, plus he’s a very good jump shooter.”

Still, after a summer that featured trade requests from so-called stars of the same ilk as Mobley, one has to wonder how long he’s willing to sit in someone else’s shadow. He can opt out of his contract after this season if he wishes and test the waters of a free agent pool that features only two other prominent players (Michael Redd and Ray Allen) at his position. Denver, New Jersey and Sacramento all could be in the market for Mobley’s services.

“You never know,” Mobley said. “It might happen. I’m just playing right now and if I feel as though I’m treated bad or anything like that than maybe the situation might change. Right now, I’m cool.”

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A DOG WITH A BONE NBA Champion Rasheed Wallace Doesn’t Do Interviews

By Eric Pincus The Pistons are in Los Angeles to visit the Clippers. The prospect of getting a few minutes one-on-one with Rasheed Wallace is too tempting to pass up.

As a warm-up I hit defensive monster in the middle, Ben Wallace.

How do the Pistons avoid complacency?

“That’s where the love for the game comes from.” Ben answers stoically. “You have to respect the game and go out and play it the way you know how to play it.”

Later I find out Ben Wallace had just lost his brother, Sam Jr. Already in LA, Ben decided to play the game before heading home to grieve with his family.

I head over to Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, but he tells me after the game.

Often times that means the player is blowing you off. Although slightly concerned that the success has gone to Chauncey’s head, I figure he’s good for his word.

Finally, my prized quarry... Rasheed Wallace.

He’s wearing headphones and staring into space. We make first contact, and thus my first actual Wallace quote: - “My man, can you move over a little?” he asks.

Well it’s not quite the scoop I was looking for, but at least he was actually staring at something... game tape of the Clippers.

“Do you mind answering a few questions?” I ask hopefully.

He looks at me for the first time square in the eyes and responds with what can only be described as a snarl.

I move on, hopeful that it’s simply his pre-game ritual.

The game itself turns out to be dynamite with the Pistons winning in double overtime. LA had every chance to win but Detroit’s defense prevailed.

After the game, true to his word, Billups gives me a nice interview. My fears of pompousness after hoisting two trophies last June were unfounded.

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Rasheed Wallace

“I had big dreams . . . I never dreamt that big, brother man. That’s heaven sent,” said Chauncey about his success.

I must act quickly as Rasheed is already dressed and headed for the exit.

“Can I ask you a few questions?” I ask.

“I’m out the door, man” he replies as he walks past me into the hallway.

It looks like my quest is a lost cause. I dejectedly watch him walk off.

Wait... he’s stopping. It’s Penny Marshall, noted NBA aficionado and former “Laverne”.

He gives her a big hug and a yet unseen vivacious personality emerges as they catch up.

Seems the man’s bark may be much worse than his bite. That’s it, I’m going back in.

As he heads to the team charter, I doggedly pursue.

He’s walking with big long strides; I’m doing my best to keep up.

The Q&A session awkwardly begins: So after winning a championship do you feel like you’ve achieved your goal in the NBA? - No, because there’s always more to get.

What would be the ultimate achievement then?

- To get as many as I can before my time is up with this [expletive]. That’s the ultimate goal.

After some difficult years in Portland, do you feel like the Pistons are the perfect fit for you?

- Yup, because I’m here. It worked for us last year. It’s all gravy.

Did winning the championship heal any of the wounds from losses in years past?

- No, because everybody lose. You can’t win them all.

What do you take out of a loss?

- You just have to go out there and play hard the next night.

What makes Larry Brown a unique coach?

- Cause he’s a gym rat. Whassup Blue? Where you at?

[Apparently, Rasheed has decided to avoid my questions by calling a friend on his cell. Karma swings my way as the concrete pillars supporting Staples Center blocks his reception.]

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Do you think that . . . ?

- Hello? Blue? Hello?

The team’s expectations are a lot higher after wining the championship, would anything less than a ring be a disappointment?

- Yeah. [Dejectedly accepting that I’m just not going away.]

Are the Pistons a better team than they were last year?

- Yeah.

How do the Pistons stay at the same championship level?

- [Silence] Do you have any comments or words for your fans?

- [Silence] I guess that’s that. We’re just about at the bus anyway. I wish him luck and thank him for answering my questions as he walks away without another word.

I had bagged my prize. It wasn’t much of a sit down as it was a jog. I would have liked to know why he switched jersey number from 30 to 36 . . . but that will have to be answered elsewhere.

Rasheed Wallace is certainly a character.

He’s no longer the craziest in the NBA; Ron Artest has long since taken over that role.

He has mellowed from an anger-management case on the Trail Blazers to a contributing part of the NBA Champion Pistons.

Still, I wonder if Wallace was always this way. When he was drafted by the Wizards back in 1995, did he give David Stern the snarl at the podium? Perhaps that game seven collapse by the Blazers in 2000 that led to the Laker three-peat still burns?

Most telling on the night was how forthcoming Ben Wallace was despite his grief.

All he had to do was tell me “not today.”

I would have learned as I did of his loss and understood.

Watching Rasheed turn his personality on for Penny Marshall and then returning to the “crazy-man” persona for my benefit was amusing, but with Ben Wallace’s personal tragedy as the backdrop . . . now it just kind of makes me sad.

January22005

THE LAST WORD THE TRADE DEMAND… I have a differing view on the recent outbreak of star players asking to be traded… Most pundits and purists believe that the guaranteed contract should bind a player to a team for better or worse. I agree there should be some truth to that, considering teams cannot jump ship when a player plays badly or gets hurt.

However… I would challenge that if you were working for a company that made bad decision after bad decision and was clearly headed for bankruptcy – would you stick around?

If work conditions at your job continued to degrade to the point of massive depression in your life would you show up everyday with the same passion as when you first got the job?

I think you’ll find that the guarantees a professional athlete is given financially are not as valuable as the environment or manner in which they are paid. At the end of the day guys want to win – more often than they want to get paid.

Most players choose long-term contracts for security, but they also agree to long-term contracts based on promises made about being competitive and making decisions geared towards winning a title.

I f t h e O r l a n d o M a g i c t o l d Tr a c y McGrady that they were signing Grant Hill to one-third of the salary cap, but he wouldn’t play – Tracy would not have signed his contract. If the Toronto Raptors had told Vince Carter that the team would run through four coaches in four years, he might not have had second thoughts, as well.

It’s incredibly unfair to expect players to live to different standards than we would hold ourselves to, and while players should be loyal to their team, everyone is often reminded that the NBA is a business, especially after a player is traded.

GOTTA BE A BETTER WAY… For years the NBA has scraped the barrel that is college basketball for the last remnants of talent. Now that college Januaryw2005

Steve Kyler

basketball is empty, the NBA has turned to Europe and High School to fill its e v e r- g r o w i n g n e e d f o r y o u t h a n d athleticism. Which begs the question, how young is too young?

NBA Commissioner David Stern often makes a valid point when he says the NBA is sending the wrong message to developing players. Middle schoolers are no longer concerned with good grades, rather the focus is on good nutrition and weight training so that student athlete can be a star as a freshman in high school to get enough attention to be a first rounder as a senior.

The NBA seems to want an age limit, but at the same time they continue to reward the ‘exceptions’ with high draft s t a t u s . I t ’s h a r d t o a rg u e t h a t Cleveland’s LeBron James was not ready for the NBA; equally, it would be hard to say that 2004’s top pick Dwight Howard is not ready.

But for every LeBron or Dwight, there is an Ndudi Ebi or DeSagna Diop, sitting on the bench of a NBA team, waiting to be cut.

The NBA may have found the right answer, but the Players Association may never let the “Better Way” see the light of day – The Call Up System.

The NBA will find that an age limit is an uphill battle, but imposing a rule that allows players under 20 to be assigned for a maximum of one year to a NBDL team might be the middle ground.

Those players would still receive their NBA compensation; the only difference would be playing every night versus watching every night, and after the Players come to their senses it means more young guys might stick in the NBA. There will also likely be a handful of roster spaces currently being wasted that could be used on veteran players, meaning more NBA jobs.

There is little doubt the NBA needs some kind of age control, not because players are not ready physically, more because players are not ready mentally. Riding the minor league bus might be just what the doctor ordered for many of these pampered “wannabe” superstars.

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THE FIGHT...

The NBA really did reach its lowest point after the Indiana Pacers Detroit Pistons brawl in late November - but as they often tell recovering alcoholics, sometimes you have to hit bottom to see that you have a problem.

The NBA has a maturity problem…

They have a separation problem and a clear disconnection with their lifeblood: The Fan. For years star players have shunned the media, have waved off the autograph request, and have skipped the PR events designed to humanize them.

NBA players are viewed as overpriced, over-hyped and over-egoed by the common fan, those same fans that buy jerseys, attend games, and watch televised matchups.

Somewhere, someone forgot to tell the players that without the fans, there would be no mega-money contracts and that life as they know it is a direct result of the fans. Respect for the fans has been gone from the NBA game for some time.

I am not saying that what the fans did in Detroit was anywhere close to justifiable, but it’s a product of the fan culture – players are not human because they do not allow themselves to connect with fans.

F r o m m y c h a i r, I h a v e w a t c h e d players walk by with their eyes fixed forward, bypassing the out stretched hands of fans, looking only for a second of that player’s attention. It is not possible for a player to meet and greet the 17,000 that attend a NBA game, but it is possible for them to try.

Until players understand their obligations to the fans, it’s going to be an uphill battle for the NBA to expect fans to uphold their obligations to the players.

It’s time for players to remember who they are and how they got here, and be a little respectful of those that provide for them: The league, its owners, the general managers and the fans.

And that’s The Last Word!

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