KoriEllis
08-22-2003, 07:09 PM
www.indystar.com/print/ar...7-036.html (http://www.indystar.com/print/articles/7/067545-5007-036.html)
Bob Kravitz
If Reggie stayed for title, he'll be disappointed
August 22, 2003
I would love to think that Reggie Miller could be one of the few sports megastars to remain in the same place his entire career, then get rewarded with that much-deserved run at a title. He has given body and soul for this city and this franchise, and nothing would be more heartening than the sight of Uncle Reggie showing off his gaudy new diamond ring as the parade winds down Meridian Street.
I fear, however, that he will be John Stockton. Or Ernie Banks. Maybe Dan Marino.
Because the Indiana Pacers won't be winning a title -- even contending for a title -- any time in the next two seasons.
Put it this way: If Miller's primary motivation for returning to the Pacers was the desire to win a championship here -- and there's no reason to doubt that it was -- he made a huge mistake.
He can take all the not-so-veiled shots he wants at Karl Malone and Gary Payton, suggesting they're nothing more than title-chasing mercenaries who chose to take the easiest path to a championship. Bottom line is, Malone and Payton have a great chance at a ring. Miller does not.
What have the Pacers done so far to give anybody, Reggie included, the idea they're going to be appreciably better?
Right now, this team looks a whole lot like last year's team -- minus an Eastern Conference All-Star center. Last I checked, they still have Jamaal Tinsley as their starter at point guard. They still have a rotation nightmare of 20 guys who think they should be starting at the two or three spot. They still have the same basic chemistry that existed when the team flopped in the second half.
Granted, there's still plenty of time before next season to change the roster, but the Pacers have limited resources.
Free-agent bucks? They might have enough for some new shower curtains. The Pacers signed draft choice James Jones on Thursday for the rookie minimum of $366,931. If you assume that Miller took a monster pay cut and signed for between $4 million and $5 million each of the next two seasons -- and it's a pretty fair assumption -- the Pacers will have just enough left under the expected luxury-tax threshold to sign a low-salary bench player.
(For those who think Miller somehow hamstrung the Pacers with the contract, think again. The Pacers were going to balk at paying Brad Miller regardless of Reggie's salary; the price, in their minds, was too high over the long term. As for Jon Barry, for the Pacers to meet the Nuggets' exorbitant price, Reggie would have had to sign for next to nothing. When the Pacers couldn't unload much of their cap load earlier this summer, they doomed themselves to this fate.)
The only way Miller can hope to compete for a title is if the Pacers can make the kinds of seismic deals Donnie Walsh talked about at his season-ending news conference. But they weren't able to do it before the free-agency period. It's hard to imagine how they're going to do it now -- unless Austin Croshere's value increased when we weren't watching.
For all the marvelous things Walsh did over the years -- and the Walsh Era quietly and unofficially ended with the Miller signing -- he's left his successor, Larry Bird, with frightfully few options.
Even if the Pacers find a way to get better, they now find themselves competing in a brave new NBA world where everybody, it seems, has found a way to improve.
New Jersey is better. Detroit is better. Even the East's bad teams have a chance to become competitive. The Western Conference gets better every 10 minutes and figures to dominate the NBA Finals for years to come.
Now I hear the cynical chorus: Reggie came back because the money was here. The Pacers could pay the most, and nobody else would pay anything close.
I don't doubt the latter is true. But I'm not convinced Miller's decision was motivated by much more than a fervent desire to spend his whole career here and win a title here. He's a different breed. He values loyalty and all those other old-school notions. Even after all he's done in his career, I get the sense he still feels like he has something to prove -- especially after an injury-filled season that ended with a miserable playoff performance.
Sometimes, though, the best stories never get written. I'm glad Uncle Reggie is going to be here until the end. I'd be happier if I could somehow envision him at the front of a Meridian Street motorcade.
Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Contact him at 1-317-444-6643 or via e-mail at [email protected]
Bob Kravitz
If Reggie stayed for title, he'll be disappointed
August 22, 2003
I would love to think that Reggie Miller could be one of the few sports megastars to remain in the same place his entire career, then get rewarded with that much-deserved run at a title. He has given body and soul for this city and this franchise, and nothing would be more heartening than the sight of Uncle Reggie showing off his gaudy new diamond ring as the parade winds down Meridian Street.
I fear, however, that he will be John Stockton. Or Ernie Banks. Maybe Dan Marino.
Because the Indiana Pacers won't be winning a title -- even contending for a title -- any time in the next two seasons.
Put it this way: If Miller's primary motivation for returning to the Pacers was the desire to win a championship here -- and there's no reason to doubt that it was -- he made a huge mistake.
He can take all the not-so-veiled shots he wants at Karl Malone and Gary Payton, suggesting they're nothing more than title-chasing mercenaries who chose to take the easiest path to a championship. Bottom line is, Malone and Payton have a great chance at a ring. Miller does not.
What have the Pacers done so far to give anybody, Reggie included, the idea they're going to be appreciably better?
Right now, this team looks a whole lot like last year's team -- minus an Eastern Conference All-Star center. Last I checked, they still have Jamaal Tinsley as their starter at point guard. They still have a rotation nightmare of 20 guys who think they should be starting at the two or three spot. They still have the same basic chemistry that existed when the team flopped in the second half.
Granted, there's still plenty of time before next season to change the roster, but the Pacers have limited resources.
Free-agent bucks? They might have enough for some new shower curtains. The Pacers signed draft choice James Jones on Thursday for the rookie minimum of $366,931. If you assume that Miller took a monster pay cut and signed for between $4 million and $5 million each of the next two seasons -- and it's a pretty fair assumption -- the Pacers will have just enough left under the expected luxury-tax threshold to sign a low-salary bench player.
(For those who think Miller somehow hamstrung the Pacers with the contract, think again. The Pacers were going to balk at paying Brad Miller regardless of Reggie's salary; the price, in their minds, was too high over the long term. As for Jon Barry, for the Pacers to meet the Nuggets' exorbitant price, Reggie would have had to sign for next to nothing. When the Pacers couldn't unload much of their cap load earlier this summer, they doomed themselves to this fate.)
The only way Miller can hope to compete for a title is if the Pacers can make the kinds of seismic deals Donnie Walsh talked about at his season-ending news conference. But they weren't able to do it before the free-agency period. It's hard to imagine how they're going to do it now -- unless Austin Croshere's value increased when we weren't watching.
For all the marvelous things Walsh did over the years -- and the Walsh Era quietly and unofficially ended with the Miller signing -- he's left his successor, Larry Bird, with frightfully few options.
Even if the Pacers find a way to get better, they now find themselves competing in a brave new NBA world where everybody, it seems, has found a way to improve.
New Jersey is better. Detroit is better. Even the East's bad teams have a chance to become competitive. The Western Conference gets better every 10 minutes and figures to dominate the NBA Finals for years to come.
Now I hear the cynical chorus: Reggie came back because the money was here. The Pacers could pay the most, and nobody else would pay anything close.
I don't doubt the latter is true. But I'm not convinced Miller's decision was motivated by much more than a fervent desire to spend his whole career here and win a title here. He's a different breed. He values loyalty and all those other old-school notions. Even after all he's done in his career, I get the sense he still feels like he has something to prove -- especially after an injury-filled season that ended with a miserable playoff performance.
Sometimes, though, the best stories never get written. I'm glad Uncle Reggie is going to be here until the end. I'd be happier if I could somehow envision him at the front of a Meridian Street motorcade.
Bob Kravitz is a columnist for The Indianapolis Star. Contact him at 1-317-444-6643 or via e-mail at [email protected]