KoriEllis
09-17-2004, 01:43 PM
sports.espn.go.com/nba/co...id=1883501 (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=may_peter&id=1883501)
By Peter May
Special to ESPN.com
With training camp opening in a little more than two weeks, most of the Boston Celtics already are in town, working out, getting ready for the 2004-05 season. Re-signed center Mark Blount is one of two notable absentees, but he is due in shortly.
Gary Payton is the other. When he arrives is anyone's guess.
The Celtics remain convinced that Payton, who so far has failed to report for a physical and has not made a single trip to Boston since the August trade, will indeed report on Oct. 4. Payton's agent, Aaron Goodwin, would only say, "We should have a solution in a week or so.'' But, Goodwin added, "Gary knows the opportunities in front of him.''
Leaving aside the question of whether he'll report -- and there are approximately 5.4 million reasons why he will -- the more probing query, it seems to me, is whether it's a good idea from the Celtics' standpoint if he does report.
Danny Ainge has made his share of head-scratchers since taking over the Celtics -- and the Antoine Walker deal was not one of them -- but the Payton trade may top them all. Outside of perhaps Charlotte, I cannot think of a worse situation or place for (a) a 36-year-old point guard who has lost a step and is in the final year of his contract; (b) a player whose sole mission now, other than collecting a check, is to improve his numbers and image; and (c) a player who wants the ball and could end up being the gray eminence on a team of impressionable kids, one of them being the Payton Lite himself, Ricky Davis.
Instead of joining his prospective new teammates, Payton is working out on his own, in Las Vegas, in preparation for the upcoming season. He has been in contact with Celtics coach Doc Rivers. Since the trade with Boston, he has maintained strict radio (and television/newspaper) silence, the only blip coming when he managed to get himself arrested last month in LA. That unfortunate development prompted his handlers to issue a release through the Celtics, saying Payton was not impaired (there was a suspicion of DUI according to the California Highway Patrol), and that the evidence will show Payton was "under the legal limit at the time he was driving.'' There's a court date on Oct. 15.
But the court date that concerns Celtics fans is Nov. 3, the season opener, and the 81 dates that follow. There are two lines of thought regarding Payton's first visit to an Eastern Conference team since his underwhelming, two-month stint in Milwaukee. There's the aforementioned scenario, in which an unhappy Payton, realizing he's not going to get a ring, becomes a potential distraction. The flip side of that is the "Bent on Revenge" Payton, the one who wants everyone to know that last season was a fluke and that there's still plenty of you-know-what and vinegar in his veins.
The Celtics are saying that we didn't see the real Gary last season because he was trapped in the triangle with no way out. There's an element of truth to that; the triangle was not the best offense for Payton, who wants the ball, likes to post-up his man, and, generally, be "The Man." But he had to know that when he signed, didn't he? Payton had his moments last season, but they were overshadowed by his awful play in the postseason and the sight of Phil Jackson turning to Derek Fisher in the fourth quarter of most of the contested playoff games.
Those who question the deal, yours truly included, can't get that Payton out of their minds. They wonder how Rivers can do what Phil Jackson was unable to do -- and do it without a veteran-dominated team. Those who support the deal insist that Payton will fit in Boston and that an ultra-determined Payton will make the Lakers and everyone else pay.
But how good is Payton at this point? Only those in Payton's inner circle believe he is still capable of what he used to do on a regular basis. He is not the All-Star player he used to be -- and he knows it. He could have opted out of his contract at the end of last season, become a free agent, and then fight off all the pursuers. Instead, even though he knew Shaq was going, and the Mailman might be going as well, and that Kobe was likely to remain, he stayed put, knowing there wasn't a team in the league that would have ponied up $5.4 million for him. At least, not based on what he did last season.
I had a chat recently with a well-respected NBA executive who shall remain nameless. When asked for my opinion of the Payton deal, I said I thought that Ainge had lost his marbles. For all of the reasons stated above.
The executive smiled. He likes Ainge, especially Ainge's tendency to think outside the box and act unconventionally.
"Sometimes,'' the executive said, "what one person may construe as 'losing one's marbles' may, in reality, be acting in an unconventional manner.''
Then, the executive stopped.
"But I don't mean Payton,'' he said.
Maybe Payton will rejuvenate in Boston and lead the Celtics to the promised land. Maybe he'll be 30, not 36, and dominate the position like he once did. Maybe he'll be "The Glove" again, making a re-appearance on the All-Defensive Team, where he once was a fixture. Maybe he'll see this year as a challenge and make the necessary adjustments.
But he's been in the league a long time and he is set in his ways. The last time the Celtics tried something like this, it was with an over-the-hill Dominique Wilkins in 1994. Everyone but 'Nique knew he wasn't the 'Nique of Old, and it led to an awkward and difficult season for a guy who could well end up in Springfield next September.
Wilkins ended up going to Greece the following season -- and the Celtics were more than happy to see him go. Chances are Ainge won't wait that long. If Payton works out, a lot of us will be eating our words. (Although, as Winston Churchill said, "Eating words has never given me indigestion.'') If not, Payton goes from being just a player to that most attractive asset -- a player with an expiring contract. And another new address by February.
Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.
By Peter May
Special to ESPN.com
With training camp opening in a little more than two weeks, most of the Boston Celtics already are in town, working out, getting ready for the 2004-05 season. Re-signed center Mark Blount is one of two notable absentees, but he is due in shortly.
Gary Payton is the other. When he arrives is anyone's guess.
The Celtics remain convinced that Payton, who so far has failed to report for a physical and has not made a single trip to Boston since the August trade, will indeed report on Oct. 4. Payton's agent, Aaron Goodwin, would only say, "We should have a solution in a week or so.'' But, Goodwin added, "Gary knows the opportunities in front of him.''
Leaving aside the question of whether he'll report -- and there are approximately 5.4 million reasons why he will -- the more probing query, it seems to me, is whether it's a good idea from the Celtics' standpoint if he does report.
Danny Ainge has made his share of head-scratchers since taking over the Celtics -- and the Antoine Walker deal was not one of them -- but the Payton trade may top them all. Outside of perhaps Charlotte, I cannot think of a worse situation or place for (a) a 36-year-old point guard who has lost a step and is in the final year of his contract; (b) a player whose sole mission now, other than collecting a check, is to improve his numbers and image; and (c) a player who wants the ball and could end up being the gray eminence on a team of impressionable kids, one of them being the Payton Lite himself, Ricky Davis.
Instead of joining his prospective new teammates, Payton is working out on his own, in Las Vegas, in preparation for the upcoming season. He has been in contact with Celtics coach Doc Rivers. Since the trade with Boston, he has maintained strict radio (and television/newspaper) silence, the only blip coming when he managed to get himself arrested last month in LA. That unfortunate development prompted his handlers to issue a release through the Celtics, saying Payton was not impaired (there was a suspicion of DUI according to the California Highway Patrol), and that the evidence will show Payton was "under the legal limit at the time he was driving.'' There's a court date on Oct. 15.
But the court date that concerns Celtics fans is Nov. 3, the season opener, and the 81 dates that follow. There are two lines of thought regarding Payton's first visit to an Eastern Conference team since his underwhelming, two-month stint in Milwaukee. There's the aforementioned scenario, in which an unhappy Payton, realizing he's not going to get a ring, becomes a potential distraction. The flip side of that is the "Bent on Revenge" Payton, the one who wants everyone to know that last season was a fluke and that there's still plenty of you-know-what and vinegar in his veins.
The Celtics are saying that we didn't see the real Gary last season because he was trapped in the triangle with no way out. There's an element of truth to that; the triangle was not the best offense for Payton, who wants the ball, likes to post-up his man, and, generally, be "The Man." But he had to know that when he signed, didn't he? Payton had his moments last season, but they were overshadowed by his awful play in the postseason and the sight of Phil Jackson turning to Derek Fisher in the fourth quarter of most of the contested playoff games.
Those who question the deal, yours truly included, can't get that Payton out of their minds. They wonder how Rivers can do what Phil Jackson was unable to do -- and do it without a veteran-dominated team. Those who support the deal insist that Payton will fit in Boston and that an ultra-determined Payton will make the Lakers and everyone else pay.
But how good is Payton at this point? Only those in Payton's inner circle believe he is still capable of what he used to do on a regular basis. He is not the All-Star player he used to be -- and he knows it. He could have opted out of his contract at the end of last season, become a free agent, and then fight off all the pursuers. Instead, even though he knew Shaq was going, and the Mailman might be going as well, and that Kobe was likely to remain, he stayed put, knowing there wasn't a team in the league that would have ponied up $5.4 million for him. At least, not based on what he did last season.
I had a chat recently with a well-respected NBA executive who shall remain nameless. When asked for my opinion of the Payton deal, I said I thought that Ainge had lost his marbles. For all of the reasons stated above.
The executive smiled. He likes Ainge, especially Ainge's tendency to think outside the box and act unconventionally.
"Sometimes,'' the executive said, "what one person may construe as 'losing one's marbles' may, in reality, be acting in an unconventional manner.''
Then, the executive stopped.
"But I don't mean Payton,'' he said.
Maybe Payton will rejuvenate in Boston and lead the Celtics to the promised land. Maybe he'll be 30, not 36, and dominate the position like he once did. Maybe he'll be "The Glove" again, making a re-appearance on the All-Defensive Team, where he once was a fixture. Maybe he'll see this year as a challenge and make the necessary adjustments.
But he's been in the league a long time and he is set in his ways. The last time the Celtics tried something like this, it was with an over-the-hill Dominique Wilkins in 1994. Everyone but 'Nique knew he wasn't the 'Nique of Old, and it led to an awkward and difficult season for a guy who could well end up in Springfield next September.
Wilkins ended up going to Greece the following season -- and the Celtics were more than happy to see him go. Chances are Ainge won't wait that long. If Payton works out, a lot of us will be eating our words. (Although, as Winston Churchill said, "Eating words has never given me indigestion.'') If not, Payton goes from being just a player to that most attractive asset -- a player with an expiring contract. And another new address by February.
Peter May, who covers the NBA for the Boston Globe, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.