Tuesday Insider

[Guest]

Vlade: Free Darko Milicic

by Chad Ford

Send an Email to Chad Ford

Also Below: Is the salary cap slipping away? | Swift-Miller deal back on the table? | Knicks burning the phone lines | Will the Nuggets be horri-bull for a while? | Peep Show

LeBron James is on everyone's mind these days. But for all the wrong reasons. What's he wearing? (Wes Unseld?? C'mon, LeBron.) Who's he hanging out with? (Keeping company with Allen Iverson might not be good for your career.) What's he driving today? (Hummer should just give him the car after all the free pub they've gotten lately.) Basketball? That will come later.

Darko Milicic, 17, is seven feet tall and has a full complement of skills.

If NBA commissioner David Stern had his way, basketball in the NBA would come much later for James. In Stern's world, James would have to wait another two years before entering the draft. Were it not for a collective bargaining agreement that gives high school players the right to enter the draft after their senior year, James would be traveling with Globetrotters, firing up 3-pointers for Bennetton Treviso in Italy or, even worse, playing pick-up ball with Lenny Cooke for the next couple of years.

Sure, you feel sorry for James now. But we all know his fate. He'll hang out for a few months, start negotiating with a shoe company, shoot a commercial or two, make enough benjamins to buy 50 Hummers, and then he'll stiff everyone trying to work him out before the draft, and barring some career-threatening injury while playing golf, he'll still be the first player taken when Stern strides to the podium on draft night.

Oh, to be LeBron James. But while James' NBA future is largely resolved, the future of the world's other teen phenom is in much more doubt.

Yugoslavian big man Darko Milicic, the kid Insider traveled halfway around the world to see in December, is waiting anxiously by the phone. Since Stern can't stop King James from polluting the NBA with his athleticism, well-rounded game and mature demeanor on and off the court, he's taking his wrath out on a 17-year-old with a lot less leverage.

For those of you who have missed our reports over the last few months, the NBA has determined that Milicic and another young phenom, Greek big man Sofaklis Schortsianides, are ineligible to declare for this year's draft.

At issue is an arcane section of the collective bargaining agreement that puts a limit on when international players are eligible to be drafted.

ARTICLE X, Section 6© reads, in part: "... A foreign player who is at least eighteen (18) years old and who has not exercised intercollegiate basketball eligibility in the United States shall become eligible to be selected in an NBA draft held prior to the calendar year in which he has his twenty-second (22nd) birthday if he expresses his desire to become eligible to be selected in the next NBA draft by written notice to the NBA at least forty-five (45) days prior to such draft."

Both Milicic and Schortsianides will be 18 before the June 26 draft. But the league's interpretation of that section -- that a player must be 18 when he officially declares for the draft -- has created a small firestorm.

Here's the problem: The deadline for declaring for the draft this year is May 12. Milicic turns 18 on June 20. Schortsianides turns 18 on June 22.

"Our lawyers feel that the language is very clear," NBA spokesperson Tim Frank told Insider. "You've got to be 18 years old to declare for the NBA draft if you are an international prospect."

Just about everyone else in the NBA disagrees. Insider spoke to several GMs around the league who claim they were shocked by the ruling.

"The language isn't clear," one GM told Insider. "I don't see why we are going here. These kids are professionals. They are more prepared to play than many of the college and high school kids we'll let in the draft. I think it's going overboard. I don't know of a GM out there that doesn't want to see these kids in the draft."

The agents for the two players, Marc Cornstein and Mark Fleisher, believe the section simply means you must be 18 by draft night. They've petitioned the NBA Players Association to file a collective bargaining grievance on their behalf. The union spent about a month studying the issue, then threw it to the players' executive committee for a decision.

The initial call, which took place a little over a month ago, didn't go well. While NBPA president Billy Hunter seems to be all for fighting it (it's consistent with his ongoing feud with Stern over age limits), the players weren't sure why it was such a big deal. The committee is made up of NBA veterans. Pistons small forward Michael Curry is the president, and veterans such as Ray Allen, Alonzo Mourning, Antonio Davis and Theo Ratliff serve as vice presidents. Why can't the kids wait another year, they reasoned? Why spend the union's time and resources to get jobs for kids who will quickly replace a veteran who is already in the league?

It's not a surprising response. The players, understandably, look out for themselves. The committee plans to meet formally on Saturday in Atlanta to give Cornstein and Fleisher its decision. But the situation has raised some tensions among international players already in the NBA. Several people have pointed out that there aren't any international players on the union's executive committee. There have been subtle accusations from some that the NBA's decision is xenophobic. That American players, still stung from Team USA's loss in the World Championships, aren't as willing to open the floodgates to international players. They point out that had Milicic been an American, he would've been in the same high school class as LeBron and would've been eligible for the draft.

NBA Deputy Commissioner Russ Granik told the New York Times in an interview a few weeks ago, that the league isn't discriminating. "We didn't make the rule to discriminate, we did it to approximate the best we could the high school experience in Europe. The concept of graduating high school is not universal."

Curry denies the accusation that Milicic and Schortsianides won't get a fair shake in front of an all American executive committee. "It's not about the race of the players; it's about the skill level and work ethic. I don't get caught up in the color. I think pro sports is about one color: green. It's as simple as this: If you want job security, you better find a way to help generate revenue and be a good employee."

How passionate are some international players on the issue? I got a call from Vlade Divac Monday night. Divac believes the players should fight the NBA's decision to keep Milicic and Schortsianides out of the draft.

"They should let them [Milicic and Schortsianides] play if they want to play," Divac told Insider Monday night. "He's a professional. He plays in the top league in Yugoslavia and more than holds his own. He isn't some high school kid."

Divac knows a thing or two about starting your professional career early. He signed his first pro contract in Yugoslavia when he was 16. He owns the Partizan team in Belgrade, which has players who signed contracts as early as 15 years old. "That is the way it is over there, but I don't think it makes a difference. In many ways it's better. Here, LeBron James gets suspended for getting a couple of jerseys. But it's different in Europe. We don't hold kids back if they think they're ready."

Indeed. Milicic has been playing professionally for more than two years. He already has signed a shoe deal with AND-1. He knows what it's like to play on the road, practice every day, deal with an agent and a throng of adoring fans. But is he really ready? Divac has seen Milicic play a number of times, but refused to speculate on how he'd do in the NBA.

"It's hard to tell. But that's not the point. He should have the chance. They let kids like Kobe, KG in. The league should treat international players like everyone else. If he thinks he's ready and NBA teams are willing to take him, what does that say? Who is the NBA protecting by keeping him out. Everyone thinks he'll go No. 2 in the draft. That's your answer right there."

Still, the sentiment right now is that the NBPA won't file a grievance. If it doesn't, Fleisher and Cornstein have two choices. They can drop it and wait another year before entering their clients' names in the draft. Or they can move forward without the support of the union. Based on precedent, Fleisher told Insider on Monday night that the 17-year-olds would have standing to challenge the NBA's ruling. According to bylaws, they could appeal the ruling to a system arbitrator. However, there's a catch. Right now the league doesn't have one. If there isn't an arbitrator, Fleisher and Cornstein can take their case directly to federal court.

Fleisher says he'll move forward with or without the NBPA's help. "We'd like them to support us on this, but we have other options if they don't."

You can expect the league to put up a fight if that happens, but whatever the outcome, one source inside the league office feels the NBA will have won. "We've been consistent in our stance that players are entering the league too young," he told Insider. "If an arbitrator or court feels differently, there isn't much we can do. But at least we've been consistent."

Tell that to Milicic, who remains holed up in the sleepy, ice covered town of Vrsac while King James prepares to reap untold fame and fortune in the NBA.

Is the salary cap slipping away?

If the bad economy, declining television revenues and empty arenas aren't enough to depress NBA teams, Insider learned Monday that things could get much worse this summer.

Insider talked to several league cap experts on Monday and all of them were preaching the same message. The salary cap for next season will either stay the same (it's set at $40.2 million this year) or go down. That's right folks. It might go down. How far down? No one has exact estimates, but at least a couple of scenarios have it falling to around $39 million next season.

For you optimists out there, you might as well throw out the rosy reports that the cap could creep back up to $42 million. It ain't going to happen.

"Unless you go out and buy about $20 million worth of tickets," one source said, there's no way the cap is going up next season. That forecast will potentially crush teams like the Magic and Heat, who are struggling to at least have enough cap space to outbid a team with a mid-level exception.

Believe it or not, that's the good news. The bad news is that the luxury-tax threshold may fall with the cap. Current projections have the luxury-tax threshold falling to about $52.4 million. If that is the number, 16 teams, according to Insider's calculations, will owe the tax next year.

Portland will pay the heftiest tax bill. The Blazers will owe David Stern and company $52,803,092 in taxes. The Knicks aren't far behind with a tax bill of $41,335,752. Dallas ($18,442,321), Sacramento ($17,738,952), Philadelphia ($12,841,196) and the L.A. Lakers ($10,283,011) all will have tax bills over $10 million. Currently, under that scenario, Atlanta, Indiana, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minnesota, New Jersey, Phoenix, San Antonio and Toronto also would owe luxury taxes.

However, if the threshold falls by just $1 million more, two other teams that were playing it close -- Boston and Seattle -- also will slip into luxury-tax land.

The penalty will be doubly hard for teams that owe the tax. Not only do they have to pay Stern for having an over-bloated roster, they also miss out on a cash windfall at the end of the season. The league plans to disperse the taxes paid by offenders to the teams that didn't cross the threshold. Add in lost revenues from the players' escrow rebates and some teams could be looking at losing an additional $8 to $10 million in potential revenue.

Now you know why everyone under the sun is trying to trade players with long-term deals (even good ones) in return for players whose contracts are expiring at the end of this year.

"With this tax coming, the climate has changed drastically," an Eastern Conference GM told the New York Daily News. "Now, every team in the league is looking to purge the overbearing salary from their roster. It's on everyone's minds. My owner has been chirping in my ear to cut salaries."

GMs can still add, but under one practically unattainable condition.

"The player has to be big-time, a difference-maker, along the lines of Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant or Jason Kidd," another executive told the Daily News. "Those kinds of guys are worth that kind of penalty."

Swift-Miller deal back on the table?

Stromile Swift

Forward-Center

Memphis Grizzlies

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

37 7.6 5.0 0.6 .451 .705

Is Pau Gasol or Drew Gooden really on the trading block? Will the Grizzlies just give away Lorenzen Wright or Jason Williams just to shed a salary or two? Several GMs claim that the Grizzlies are putting out the word that they're open for business. Their story is that Jerry West is willing to dangle one of his building blocks to any team willing to rid him of two of the Grizzlies' worst contracts.

West, for the record, doesn't know what they're talking about.

"I like to win more than any one," West told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. "But I'm not going to do something stupid. Sometimes, winning is a process."

Yes, West would like more cap flexibility. He'd love to recreate the Grizzlies in his own image and knows he needs the cap space to do it. On the other hand, he's not, as some reports have suggested, just going to swap Gooden for Mike Dunleavy. He wants to make a move that makes sense. That one does nothing to either clear the cap or give the Grizzlies more firepower now.

Mike Miller

Guard-Forward

Orlando Magic

Profile

2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS

GM PPG RPG APG FG% FT%

43 16.2 5.8 2.9 .417 .858

However, just because West doesn't want to make a stupid trade, it doesn't mean he isn't willing to make one at all. Two league sources told Insider Monday that the Grizzlies appear to be resurrecting talks with the Magic about a Mike Miller-for-Stromile Swift swap. The two teams have talked about this deal several times over the course of the last eight months. However, the Magic have been reluctant to pull the trigger because of the uncertainty surrounding Grant Hill.

So why are the Magic listening again when Hill's future has never been more hazy? The Magic have been trying to pry away Gooden to no avail. However, the Grizzlies are now apparently willing to include international sharp shooter Gordan Giricek to make the Magic whole. While Giricek isn't as accomplished as Miller, he, along with Pat Garrity, should be able to handle the workload at small forward in Hill's absence. Swift would give the Magic the young, athletic low-post player they've coveted for a while. While he isn't the star-caliber player they hoped to land, Swift is probably the best young talent that's actually available.

The Grizzlies, who have a log jam at power forward with Gasol, Wright, Gooden and Swift, have coveted Miller for a while. To make the deal work financially, the Magic would have to throw in center Andrew DeClercq. That's great news for the Grizzlies. DeClercq has a team option on his contract for next season. If the Grizzlies aren't interested, they could clear over $3 million in cap space next summer by letting him go.

Trading a science for West

Geoff Calkins / Memphis Commercial Appeal

Knicks burning the phone lines

Here's a news flash. Multiple New York newspapers are reporting that Scott Layden is working the phones, trying to put together a big deal before the Feb. 20th trade deadline. His trade bait? You guessed it again! Latrell Sprewell.

Rumors have been floating for a week that the Sixers (offering Keith Van Horn) and the Lakers (offering who knows what) are in the hunt for Spree. How, in the name of P.J. Carlesimo, would Spree mesh with with Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant? Terribly. But that hasn't stopped the rumor mill from churning.

Of course, if you believe what the Knicks are saying, something has to churn. You can't land a superstar for nothing. The Knicks have no real expiring contracts to offer, no young players with potential to dangle . . . they have Spree, Kurt Thomas and a bunch of overpaid role players nobody wants.

So it's got to be Spree, right? The New York Daily News reports that even in this era of fiscal responsibility, Spree and his $12 million a year salary may have some trade value. But there's a pretty big if attached. Sprewell's deal seems affordable, especially for a team thinking it is one piece away from winning a title.

"His contract isn't bad, if the Knicks are willing to take more money back in exchange," one Western Conference owner told the Daily News.

Any other year, that would be an option for Layden. But Garden CEO James Dolan has made it clear this year that he's sick of the Knicks overspending. According to the Daily News, Layden is looking for either an all-star caliber player in return, or players whose contracts would be up this year or next, in order to gain cap flexibility.

If that's the case, Layden might as well tilt at windmills. The Knicks may be better off keeping Spree anyway. With Spree in the lineup this season, the team is 19-19. With Antonio McDyess back next year, second-round pick Milos Vujanic coming aboard, and a free-agent pickup or two, what's to stop the Knicks from being competitive next season?

"It's evident how important Latrell is to our team by the record since he's been back," Layden told Newsday. "I think we're all disappointed at the record as it stands now, but we feel good about recent play with the team intact as it is now. . .We would look to make a change if we thought it would improve the team. But you look at our team now and you have to feel good about the group and the camaraderie. When you look at how well we're playing together right now, you've got to be excited about the prospects of this group being together."

Spree's behavior, salary too taxing

Mitch Lawrence / New York Daily News

Enigma With Stigma

Greg Logan / Newsday

Knicks Acknowledge Their Need for Help

Steve Popper / New York Times

Will the Nuggets be horri-bull for a while?

Say whatever you will about Nuggets GM Kiki Vandeweghe's decision to blow his team to smithereens, draft a couple of international prospects and pray that a couple of free agents flee to Denver this summer. It was bold.

Vandeweghe already has the international prospects, is in line to be a contender for LeBron James this summer and he's already cleared about $18 million in cap space to lure free agents. Now comes the hard part. Convincing someone to take his money.

More than one writer has suggested that the Nuggets may have fallen into the same trap the Bulls did in 2000, when they cleared all of that cap space and, one by one, the NBA's top free agents said no thanks. Rocky Mountain News writer Chris Tommasson quizzed Bulls GM Jerry Krause about the experience on Monday.

"It's taken a little longer than we expected," Krause told the Rocky Mountain News. "But it takes time to build a winning team."

Grant Hill, Tim Duncan, Tracy McGrady, Eddie Jones and even Tim Thomas all have shunned the Bulls at one time or another.

"We got two free agents we wanted in the last few years in Donyell Marshall (in 2002) and Eddie Robinson (in 2001), and we didn't get a couple we wanted the year before," Krause said. "But that's part of the business. We had one guy [Jones] who told me he was going to come, and then didn't."

"They didn't have all the necessary pieces to entice somebody," Memphis coach Hubie Brown said. "You may have maximum money, but your supporting cast is weak. A player might be leaving a situation where he doesn't think he can win, so he might be saying, 'Why should I go someplace else and take less money (teams can re-sign their own free agents for more) and it's just as bad a situation.' "

Should Vandeweghe be worried? Probably not. The economic realities of the NBA have changed dramatically since the summer of 2000. Teams are much more fiscally responsible and only a handful of clubs will have the cap room or the green light to be offering max contracts. Given the wealth of players out there, and the positive reputation that Vandeweghe holds among players (coaching at Pete Newell's big-man camp the past few years hasn't hurt), it's unlikely that the Nuggets will fall into the same trap.

"I think in some ways they executed their plan pretty well," Vandeweghe said. "But it's a long process to rebuild. It doesn't happen overnight. After they blew up their team, there were perhaps some hard feelings. Hopefully, we've created a positive atmosphere. I love our city. I think we have great advantages."

Nuggets don't want to copy Bulls

Chris Tomasson / Rocky Mountain News

Peep Show

Washington Wizards: Michael Jordan thinks he could average 35 points a night if he wanted to. "I'm pretty sure I could do it every night," Jordan told the Washington Post about scoring at will. "Everybody goes to the arena and expects that I'm going to score 40, I'm going to score 50. I'm at least going to get 35 and it's going to be in so many ways people probably can't determine. In that sense it's the Michael Jordan. That's old Michael Jordan -- a younger Michael Jordan. . . Now I use more of my mind and try to look for opportunities to take advantage of those opportunities so the 40 and the 30 points are far and few between. I'm still capable of doing that."

New Jersey Nets, Seattle SuperSonics: Jason Kidd may have a great relationship with Sonics owner Howard Schultz, but that doesn't mean he's bolting New Jersey for Seattle this summer. "We have a great relationship with the 76ers' GM [billy Knight]," Joumana Kidd, Jason's wife, told the Tacoma News Tribune. "In this league, it becomes a fraternity, so you can't really go by that. I don't think it makes a difference, is what I am saying. I mean, we love [Nets general manager] Rod Thorn. We have been close with Rod Thorn for a long time. If it was based on stuff that simple, then life would be a lot easier." Kidd said the relationship is overblown anyway. "I'm, like, a major Starbucks addict, I guess you could say," Joumana Kidd said. "We have a mutual friend, an accountant, and knowing how much I love Starbucks, he set that up. And we met Howard. He is a really nice person. We have seen him several times after that."

Los Angeles Clippers: Lamar Odom told the New York Daily News that if the Clippers don't show him any love this summer, he'd like to join the Knicks. "Right now I'm a Clipper and my loyalty is to them," Odom said. "But I think it's a dream of every kid who played basketball on the playgrounds in New York, took a train to the Garden even with no ticket, to play here. It would definitely be special." . . . Michael Olowokandi will miss four to five weeks after doctors removed damaged cartilage from his left knee. "It went great," Bill Duffy, Olowokandi's agent, told the L.A. Times. "There was some slight damage and they cleaned it out. It had been hurting Michael all season, but he didn't want to say anything. Hopefully, we have solved it now."

Cleveland Cavaliers: Darius Miles claimed he shot a 1,000 jump shots a day this summer. The joke around the league was there's a big difference between shooting them and making them. Miles sunk to rock bottom in December when he shot just 36 percent from the field. Suddenly, however, things are starting to change. Miles' outside shots are finally finding the mark. "I'm finally starting to shoot the ball like it's supposed to go in," Miles, who shot 44 percent in January, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "Before, I was shooting just to be shooting because I've been so used to driving to the hole all the time." Cavs coach Keith Smart said the team has been working with Miles lately. "We've worked with him at the foul line to develop the right shooting mechanics," Smart said. "Now, he's seen the ball going through the hoop, and that has helped his confidence."

Golden State Warriors: The Warriors won their 21st game of the season Monday night. It was cause for celebration. "Are balloons going to come down from the rafters?" Erick Dampier asked. "That's the most wins I've ever had," Antawn Jamison told the San Francisco Chronicle. "I'm a little more energetic about it than some of these guys who have been on other teams. If we win on Wednesday (against San Antonio), I might fly off the roof." The last time the Warriors won more than 21 games? 1996-97, when they went 30-52.

Jordan Gives His Points a View

Steve Wyche / Washington Post

Kidd's future still cloudy

Frank Hughes / Tacoma News Tribune

Odom shows Knicks love

Julian Garcia / New York Daily News

Olowokandi Out 4-6 Weeks

Elliott Teaford / Los Angeles Times

Miles' extra work shooting pays off from outside

Branson Wright / Cleveland Plain Dealer

Warriors throttle Memphis, hit on 21

Brad Weinstein / San Francisco Chronicle