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Insider Mailbag: Did the Pacers overpay?

by Chad Ford

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Also Below: Crawford , Krause clear the air | Iverson may break the Sixers' heart | Random Game Notes | Peep Show

It's been awhile since we dug into the mailbag. With thousands of e-mails piling up, I thought it was time to clean out the inbox and get a few things off your chests . . .

Q: Thirty million for Jeff Foster? Am I missing something here? I understand nice, long-term deals for guys like Harrington, Bender, and Artest -- young players with potential...but Foster? Does he have the talent to be anything more than a nice guy to have on your bench? -- Brad O'Dell, Chicago, Ill.

FORD: You weren't the only one who fell out of his chair when details of Foster's contract came out. Foster, who has career averages of 4.3 ppg and 5.6 rpg, is a tough defender and a tenacious rebounder, but five million a year? C'mon. It gets worse Pacers fans. Owner Herb Simon has told Pacer brass that the team cannot exceed the luxury-tax threshold next season. When you add the first-year salaires of Jonathan Bender, Ron Artest and Foster to the Pacers' existing contracts next summer, Indiana's payroll comes in at around $38.5 million. We have no idea exactly what the luxury-tax threshold will be, but assuming it stays around $52.5 million, the Pacers will have just $14 million to re-sign free agents Jermaine O'Neal, Reggie Miller and Brad Miller. The Pacers think Reggie will take a paycut from the $12 million he's making this season, but it will have to be a huge one for the Pacers to fit all three of those salaries (plus a No. 1 pick) under the threshold. The Pacers have one of the best front offices in the NBA, but they'll really have to work some magic to bring everyone back next season. Is Foster really worth it?

Foster's deal resurrected the age-old "Who's the most overpaid player in the NBA?" debate here at the office. With some economic belt tightening hitting the NBA this season, there weren't many outrageous deals this summer -- which makes Foster's deal that more stunning. Nothing probably tops the six-year, $18 million contract the Sixers gave Greg Buckner. Had they passed on him, he'd be playing for the one-year minimum somewhere else. There's just no plausible explanation for it. None.

Malik Rose's seven-year, $42 million deal is equally unbelievalbe, but there's a caveat here. Rose's agent, Lon Babby, also happens to represent a guy named Tim Duncan. Rose and Duncan are best friends. You connect the dots. If that's the price of keeping Duncan in San Antonio, it's worth every penny. Speaking of Babby, he also pulled off a six-year, $18.5 million deal for Pat Garrity that essentially ended the Magic's hopes of being a major player in the free-agent market.

Eduardo Najera's six-year, $24 million contract and Larry Hughes' three-year, $15 million deal will also come back to haunt someone down the road.

But that was this year. I still maintain that Allan Houston's six-year, $100 million contract with the Knicks was the worst contract in the history of the NBA. No one would have offered Houston half of that. No one. The entire New York payroll actually fits in the category, but Houston's deal was the death blow.

Vin Baker's $80 million deal, Juwan Howard's $120 million contract, Antawn Jamison's max extension, Damon Stoudamire's $12 million-a-year salary and Jason Williams' six-year, $42 million deal have all wreaked serious havoc on the teams that offered those deals, but nothing has done more permanent damage to a franchise than the Houston contract. Because of it, the Knicks won't have any actual cap space until the 2006-07 season.

Q: While Malik Rose is having an impact on his team thus far, how could you say that he is the "front-runner for the Sixth Man Award"? I'm assuming you said this because you forgot that Donyell Marshall has yet to start a game for the Bulls. -- Chad Leonard, Chicago

FORD: It's only a matter of time before Marshall is starting, and his 35 minutes a night don't really scream Sixth Man. Both Tyson Chandler and Eddie Robinson are struggling and coach Bill Cartwright seems deterimined to play his best players -- development be damned. But Marshall was the free-agent bargain of the summer. He took a big pay cut to come to the Bulls and his 17.5 ppg and 10 rpg on 59 percent shooting are the big reason Chicago stole two early wins.

Q: OK, I know that Danny Fortson is a prototypical good-player-on-a-bad-team fraud, but that's because I see 20 Warriors games a year and catch another 30 on TV. No non-Golden State NBA exec would subject himself to that sort of torture -- witness the Marc Jackson and Larry Hughes contracts, which no one who actually watched them play regularly would have offered. So why is the market for Danny colder than a polar ice cap? -- Daniel Weaver, Redwood City, Calif.

FORD: The Warriors are trying to move him, but no one really wants the five years, $30 million left on his contract. Forston is a tough rebounder (he ranked fourth in the NBA last season), but he's a liability just about everywhere else. He's too small to defend big power forwards and his shooting percentage was atrocious last season. The Warriors offered Fortson and Chris Mills to the Knicks this summer for point guard Charlie Ward and backup center Travis Knight, but Knicks president Scott Layden rejected the deal.

Several league sources told Insider recently that the Warriors may get involved in ongoing dialogue between the Blazers and Knicks concerning Latrell Sprewell. At issue? The Blazers are attempting to pawn point guard Damon Stoudamire off on the Knicks. The Knicks have been trying to get some combination of Derek Anderson and Dale Davis. They are not very high (no pun intended) on Stoudamire, but understand they aren't going to get an angel in return for Spree.

Can a compromise be worked out? The Knicks own a $4.5 million disabled player exception that may allow the teams to work out a multi-player deal that fits the needs of both teams.

A three-way deal with Golden State that would send Spree, Fortson and Mills to the Blazers. The Knicks would get Stoudamire, Davis and Antonio Daniels. The Warriors would get Ward and Knight.

The deal isn't perfect for either team, but it does address needs.

The Warriors, by making the move, would free up $1.5 million in cap room this season (keeping them away from the luxury tax), another $5.6 million next season (Ward has only $2 million in salary protection next season) and $24.25 million over the life of Fortson's deal. That's priority one in Golden State.

The Knicks would get a legitimate point guard, a big man capable of playing center in the Eastern Conference and rid of the massive migraine that Spree has caused this offseason. While the move will be unpopular with fans, it fits into GM Scott Layden's "win now" plan. If Antonio McDyess returns healthy next season, a starting five of Stoudamire, Houston, Shandon Anderson/Lee Nailon, McDyess and Davis is better team than the one they planned on fielding this season. Whether that crew could actually get them into the playoffs is a different story.

The Blazers' motives are tougher to figure out. They have been trying to move Stoudamire and Davis for the last few years and Spree has always been on their wish list. While the trade does create a logjam at the shooting guard, Anderson has the ability to play the point and could spell Jeff McInnis for 15 minutes a game and Spree for another 15. The big question in Portland is whether the Blazers are willing to gamble on Arvydas Sabonis staying healthy. Davis gets the bulk of the minutes in the middle for the Blazers right now. Rasheed Wallace is capable of playing center, but he can't do it alone. League sources told Insider that the Blazers are Fortson fans and believe he'll add toughness up front.

Q: Re: your article on cheap rookies edging out comparatively expensive veterans. I think Voshon Lenard is fast becoming the poster child for these deposed vets. Until the last few days of training camp, he was unemployed. He became an injury fill-in when Toronto basically decided to throw in the towel on the luxury tax (or at least the team escrow rebates). It's hard to comprehend, even with luxury-tax issues, that there wasn't room on 28 other rosters for a guy who will make $830,000 and who has a career scoring average of 10 ppg. -- David Gersovitz, Toronto

FORD: Lenard is the team's leading scorer, averaging 15.2 ppg. There isn't a second-round pick or undrafted rookie out there who can match that type of production. . . especially for the price. Still, teams like the Celtics and Warriors, who desperately need help, are refusing to sign players like Lenard, opting instead on younger, cheaper projects. The Celtics have tightened the purse strings so tight they don't even have 12 active players on their roster right now. You wonder why veterans like Jim Jackson, Danny Manning, George McCloud, Greg Anthony, Dell Curry, Rafer Alston, Tony Massenburg, Bryant Stith, Grant Long, Greg Foster and Tim Hardaway can't get work given the sucess of Lenard in Toronto.

Q: What is going on with Rodney White in Denver? I have seen him play both in college and the NBA and there is talent there. Is defense holding him back? -- Richard Abernathy, Denver

FORD: New Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik, like Rick Carlisle, is stressing defense and White just hasn't stepped up. I don't think anyone doubts his talents and versatility on the offensive end . . . but he the truth is he gives up more points than he 's capable of scoring at the moment. There's still plenty of time for White to come around. His eight-point performance versus the Hawks Tuesday night was a good start.

Q: I was just curious as to what the collective field goal percentage for the league has been this season because it seems to be pretty horrendous when I look in the paper and online. Everyone is shooting like 35 percent or so. I know it's just the first few games and everyone needs to find their shot, but is this not ridicuously low? -- Adam Evang, Eugene, Ore.

FORD: The league field goal percentage right now is 42.5 percent. Last year the league percentage was 44.5 percent. So on average, teams are shooting about two percent worse from the field. Last season, the Celtics and Nuggets tied for the worst field goal percentage in the league at 42.4 percent. This year there are five teams: the Raptors, Sixers, Lakers, Celtics and Warriors shooting under 40 percent from the field as a team.

Crawford , Krause clear the air

Jay Williams is floundering, but still starting. Jamal Crawford is struggling, both in the game and with his role on the bench. That dilemma led to a 70-minute meeting after practice Tuesday between Crawford and Bulls operations chief Jerry Krause.

Krause said he wanted to "clear the air" and reinforce how important it is for Crawford to remain in Chicago next summer and get physically stronger.

"He understands now because I gave him a very clear understanding of what he needs to do to be great," Krause said. "We came away with a better appreciation of each other. Jamal's a good kid and he's got that much ability," Krause said. "On a lesser guy, you don't set the bar that high."

Krause has been bent out of shape for two years over Crawford's refusal to work out with the Bulls in the Berto Center during the summer. Instead, Crawford has chosen to work out at Hoops Gym with Michael Jordan's trainer, Tim Grover. An ACL injury to Crawford at Hoops two summers ago got Krause stewing and this summer, after Roger Mason re-injured his shoulder, Krause banned Bulls players from working out there.

Ironically, Grover has been credited with getting and keeping players such as Jordan, Antoine Walker, Michael Finley and Darius Miles in peak physical shape. No one is sure why Krause feels that he couldn't do the same for Crawford.

Several Bulls sources have told Insider over the last few months that the situation has festered, and blame an ongoing feud between Krause and Jordan for the rift. Crawford, apparently, is caught in the middle.

The meeting does seem to put a damper on the trade rumors that have been swirling around Crawford the past year. If Krause is already talking to Crawford about his summer conditioning plan -- there's a good chance he believes that Crawford is sticking around.

Krause also denied that he's meddling with the Bulls' rotation. Over the last few games, coach Bill Cartwright has pulled young players like Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler in favor of veterans like Donyell Marshall. Krause and former Bulls coach Tim Floyd reportedly had several run-ins about Floyd's refusal to play Krause's lottery picks.

"We don't even discuss that. Bill and I will talk about a lot of things, but when it comes to coaching, I don't think I've asked him a question all year," Krause told the Sun Times. "Sometimes I'll ask a coach why are you doing this or that just so I know what's going on. But I have so much faith in him that I understand what he's doing. We set a principle out, that when guys are going to defend early on and not get in foul trouble, they're going to play more minutes."

Crawford happy for conversation with Krause

K.C. Johnson / Chicago Tribune

Kids see late action as Bulls bow to Celtics

Roman Modrowski / Chicago Sun Times

Iverson may break the Sixers' heart

Here we go again. Just when things start looking up for the Sixers, their fearless leader, Allen Iverson, breaks their heart.

Iverson, who was magnificent in the Sixers' overtime victory over the Clippers Wednesday night, may have broken his right thumb at the end of regulation.

"You don't want to play with injuries, but I guess that's something I'm accustomed to," Iverson told the Philadelphia Daily News. "I don't have a problem fighting through injuries. It's kind of frustrating, [because] I've been feeling real good lately, especially the first couple games. I haven't had any nicks or anything like that. I was feeling fine. Now, this is another injury added to my body. Hopefully, God will make everything happen the right way.

"I thought it was broke when it happened. I know when something's broke. I know by now. I saw the little chart in the paper the other day. With that many injuries, you should know when something's broke or not."

The Sixers took X-rays after the game, and said Iverson would be re-evaluated this morning.

"It's like there's a black cloud over us," the Sixers' Aaron McKie said. "But to be 3-1 under that cloud is a good sign. The way we're pulling games out is a good sign."

Iverson's injury could thumb up the works

Phil Jasner / Philadelphia Daily News

Random Game Notes

The Clippers lost in overtime to the Sixers Wednesday night, but you had to be impressed with the effort. The Clipps struggled with two things last season: road games and keeping their composure in the fourth quarter. Wednesday night's gutty performance should serve notice that the team won't roll over and die on the road this season. The steady hand of Andre Miller (who always looks in complete control) helps as does the wide body of Elton Brand. Both had big games in the fourth quarter. The shot Brand missed at the buzzer was a good shot, it just didn't go in. Michael Olowokandi looks . . . consistent. How many times over the last four years have you been able to say that? Keyon Dooling is making his presence felt and Corey Maggette finally seems to be breaking out. He scored 17 points in the third quarter, despite playing on a damaged right knee. In other words, don't panic when you see the 1-3 record. This team will be good in another two weeks. Once Lamar Odom returns in December, you can upgrade it to downright scary.

The Cavs' bandwagon lasted for all of one game. The team, coming off an emotional win over the Lakers, played flat all game versus the Wizards Wednesday. The key, again, was Zydrunas Ilgauskas. As he goes, the Cavs will go. Wednesday night he was a shocking 3-of-14 from the floor. "My shot was off tonight," Ilgauskas told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "The guys need me to step up every night and deliver and tonight I didn't. Those were shots I usually make. I just couldn't seem to get it together." Coach John Lucas said after the game that his team just ran out of gas after playing back-to-back games. "We can't score consistently enough yet to come back like that. It forced me to go into a different style of play to try to get back into the game and that costs a lot of energy. We got close but we were dead tired."

The Wizards are 2-0 when Jerry Stackhouse gets to the line more than 10 times. Wednesday night he took 17 free throws and made 15. "He's fearless," coach Doug Collins said of Stackhouse after the game.

Knicks forward Lee Nailon is quickly becoming an MSG favorite. With nothing else to cheer for, the crowd quickly got behind Nailon as he proceeded to torch the Kings for 20 points on 9 of 15 shooting. A few more strong performances from Nailon and Scott Layden may have the ammunition he needs to send Latrell Sprewell packing. But before Knicks fans go crazy, consider this. Nailon scored those points against Peja Stojakovic. Peja improved his defense dramatically last season, but this year he's getting torched on a nightly basis. Grant Hill, Gordan Giricek and Caron Butler have all had good nights matching up against Peja, who seems to be a step slow on defense early on. Vlade Divac was shocked that Nailon was the one who sent the Kings to their first three-game losing streak in two years. "He's a role player."

It may be too early to make a big deal out of it, but not only did Suns guard Joe Johnson get benched Wednesday night, coach Frank Johnson played him only seven minutes. In his place? Our old friend Penny Hardaway. Apparently, his time spent meditating at the end of the Suns bench has done him some good. Hardaway was as aggressive as I've seen him in some time. His 20 points, 7 boards and 6 assists represented his most complete performance in some time. Interestingly, it was Penny, not Stephon Marbury, running the point in the fourth quarter as the Suns overcame a 14-point deficit to beat the Hawks. Marbury was regulated to waiving a towel. When Hardaway wasn't getting the job done, rookie Casey Jacobsen was. He scored 11 points in 17 minutes, including three sweet three-pointers. If the Suns are going to be respectable this season, it will be up to Penny to give them that type of performance every night. Johnson is just too raw to put up those numbers on a nightly basis.

Karl Malone missed the sixth game of his entire career Wednesday night and Jazz fans got a good taste of what life will be like without the Mailman. Malone sat the game out with a virus and the Jazz proceeded to stink up the Delta Center. Second-year big man Jarron Collins and John Amaechi filled in for Malone. They missed 12 free throws — five in the fourth quarter — and an astonishing 17 lay-ups. "You can say what you want, but when you can't make layups at this level, it's pretty difficult to have a chance to win," coach Jerry Sloan told the Salt Lake Tribune.

Clippers Take Best Shot, Lose

Elliott Teaford / Los Angeles Times

Energy lacking in loss

Branson Wright / Cleveland Plain Dealer

Stackhouse on a Roll, Wizards Rock the Cavs

Steve Wyche / Washington Post

This Lee could damage chances for lottery pick

Shaun Powell / Newsday

Nailon big part of big surprise

Mitch Lawrence / New York Daily News

Penny: I've been there

Bob Young / Arizona Republic

Fans Get Look at What Life Will Be Like Without Karl

Michael C. Lewis / Salt Lake Tribune

Peep Show

Blazers: The Blazers lost Derek Anderson to a concussion after a scary incident just two minutes into Wednesday night's game. Anderson was knocked silly when Stromile Swift inadvertently delivered a right cross while the two went after a pass in the lane, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reported. The game was stopped for several minutes, and it took two Portland teammates to help Anderson leave the court.

T-Wolves: Barring a last-minute flare-up of the dislocated little toe on his left foot, Wally Szczerbiak will return to the Wolves' lineup tonight against the Bucks. It will be the first time he has played in a game since he limped out of an exhibition matchup Oct. 8 against the Bucks. "I'm ready to go out there and play ball," he told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. "I'm excited to get back in the lineup, and I've been working hard to keep myself in shape. I've always thought whenever you get injured, try to make a negative into a positive and try to work on some things that you need to work on. So I've been working on my ball-handling, trying to strengthen my legs. I've been able to lift a lot; I've been working on different shots. I just want to play in the flow. I just intend to come in and play my game … and hopefully help this team win."

Sonics: Kenny Anderson is still stewing about his new "reserve" role. Wednesday night he saw only six minutes of playing time. "Six minutes," he told the Seattle Times. "Whoa. Man. I really don't know if I can do this. I don't know if I can do six minutes. That's not me. That's not where I'm at in my career. Not yet, at least. . . I know Gary [Payton] is the man. But man, six minutes? I mean, I know I can get more time than that. I know there's got to be a way to get me on the court."

Warriors: It sounds like rookie Mike Dunleavy is starting to get on coach Eric Musselman's nerves. Dunleavy continues to complain about his minutes, claiming he's a "rhythm player" and saying how nice it would be to be able to "get into the flow" of a game." Dunleavy is currently shooting 12 percent from the field. "We feel everyone has been given more than enough playing time to produce," Musselman told the Contra Costa Times. "Twenty minutes is more, more, more than fair as far as enough time for someone to produce."

Pistons: With center Zeljko Rebraca struggling, coach Rick Carlisle said he won't hesitate to bench him in favor of rookie Mehmet Okur. "If Z is not looking right or not playing at full capacity, then we are going to go another way," Carlisle told the Detroit News. "It doesn't matter who it is. If you aren't playing at a high level in terms of intensity, you aren't going to be in there. That's just the way it is." Rebraca had just two points and two turnovers in 12 minutes. Carlisle started Okur in the fourth quarter Wednesday and played him 16 minutes.

Pacers: Second-year point guard Jamaal Tinsley is feeling the wrath of Isiah Thomas after his woeful start. Tinsley drew Thomas' ire in Tuesday's 83-79 win over Miami by taking an 18-footer with plenty of time on the shot clock when the score was tied at 77. Tinsley was in the midst of a 1-of-9 shooting performance. "I hated it," Thomas told the Indianapolis Star. "I wish he hadn't taken it. And I wasn't close enough to him to grab him."

Bucks: Sam Cassell on the difference in Milwaukee with Tim Thomas replacing Glenn Robinson: "In Glenn, you knew you got 20 a night," Cassell told the N.Y. Post. "He's proven. Tim, you really have to get Tim involved in the game a little bit more. But that's the mentality Glenn had and that's the mentality Tim Thomas has got to get. I mean the guy's talented. He can run, he can defend, but he's got to get that [attitude] in him. Once he gets that in him, he'll be fine."

Rockets: The team is using a rare three-day lull to try to give Yao Ming some rest and teach him the Rockets' offense. "It's not training camp for the other guys; that's the whole thing," coach Rudy Tomjanovich told the Houston Chronicle. "We've got to go where the team is right now and work on the things that the team needs. [Yao] is tired. I tried to get him to take a day off, but he didn't want to sit down."

Mavs: Center Evan Eschmeyer strained his right knee while warming up before Wednesday's game against Toronto and is listed as day-to-day. That put a strain on an already-depleted Mavericks frontline; center Raef LaFrentz (sprained right ankle) and power forward Popeye Jones (back) are also out because of injuries. "So that leaves me with one center, one power forward, a bunch of guards and [Eduardo] Najera," coach Don Nelson told the Fort Worth Star Telegram. "We're still trying to figure out what the heck he is."

Raptors: The team signed free-agent center Greg Foster Wednesday.

Nuggets: A day after he suffered a sprained left ankle against Atlanta, the swelling had significantly decreased and Chris Whitney was off crutches. He is listed as questionable for tonight's home game against Detroit. Whitney said he is a "long shot" to play. But that's a lot better than no shot. "[Wednesday] morning, I came in and got treatment and Jim [Gillen, the Nuggets' trainer] said it was a lot better than he expected," Whitney told the Rocky Mountain News. "I haven't ruled anything out. I definitely want to be out there."

Hawks: How bad have things been in Atlanta the last four years? "Me and [Jason Terry] was talking about this the other day; we haven't been above .500 since we got drafted," Dion Glover told the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Currently, the Hawks are 3-2.

Blazers thwart Griz rally

Ronald Tillery / Memphis Commercial Appeal

Szczerbiak eager to return tonight

Robbi Pickeral / St. Paul Pioneer Press

Notebook: Anderson doesn't like view from the bench

Percy Allen / Seattle Times

Warriors no triple threat

Matt Steinmetz / Contra Costa Times

Rebraca's starting spot still not secure

Chris McCosky / Detroit News

Pacers winning despite flaws

Mark Montieth / Indianapolis Star

Nets' Jefferson Takes The Plunge

Fred Kerber / New York Post

Rockets maximize much-needed break

Janny Hu / Houston Chronicle

Injuries piling up on front line

Dwain Price / Fort Worth Star-Telegram

News on Whitney's ankle not so glum

Chris Tomasson / Rocky Mountain News

Hawks finding early success

Michael Lee / Atlanta Journal-Constitution

[Diesel]

In reply to:

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Bucks: Sam Cassell on the difference in Milwaukee with Tim Thomas replacing Glenn Robinson: "In Glenn, you knew you got 20 a night," Cassell told the N.Y. Post. "He's proven. Tim, you really have to get Tim involved in the game a little bit more. But that's the mentality Glenn had and that's the mentality Tim Thomas has got to get. I mean the guy's talented. He can run, he can defend, but he's got to get that [attitude] in him. Once he gets that in him, he'll be fine."

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How do you like them apples. I like em. I think that Cassell tells us what we need to hear. Glen has the mentality that he's going to put up 20... maybe 30. That's good.

[Traceman]