NBA BASKETBALL
The Best and Worst of the Amico Report
<January 8, 2002>

By Sam Amico

As promised, here are some selected editorials from previous editions of The Amico Report, just in case you missed them. The regular edition will be out soon. Like I've said -- and meant -- so many times before, thanks for reading. And yes, you can comment on these old thoughts for the next newsletter. - S.A.

HIGH SCHOOLERS LEAD GMs TO MAKE AMATEURISH DECISIONS
(From July 16, 2000)

It's bad for basketball.

That's my reply to your e-mails, all of which asked for my thoughts on high school kids entering the NBA.

It's bad for basketball -- and I don't think I can say it enough.

How so? Well, for one, who wants to watch a kid they've never heard of suit up for their favorite NBA team?

Secondly, these kids aren't ready. Not one of them.

Oh sure, maybe Darius Miles will score 17 points one game -- but he'll score four the next.

Maybe Eddy Curry will have a double-double -- but his team is going to get hammered, and it's going to get hammered a lot.

Or how about this?

Let's say you're a fan of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Your team stinks, but you believe it's only a player or two away from contending next season.

Well, instead of drafting a good young player with some real experience -- a Troy Murphy or a Joe Johnson -- the Cavs take a high school player (DeSagana Diop).

The Cavs are saying, even if you are buying tickets to our games, we don't care what you think. There's no chance we're going to be any good for three years. And maybe not even then if this kid with a screw in his foot turns out to be more like Yinka Dare than Hakeem Olajuwon.

Even new Cavs coach John Lucas said, "We are hoping (Diop) will develop into a force within the next three years. Of course, my contract is up in three years ..."

Lucas will only have himself to blame if this experiment fails, as Cavs general manager Jim Paxson reportedly wanted to draft Johnson. It was Lucas who insisted on Diop.

So what we have here is a bunch of guys who aren't ready for pro basketball ... well, playing pro basketball.

Maybe it's just me, but this makes for BAD basketball.

I'm not faulting the high schoolers. They're 18 years old and they've been hearing everyone tell them that the world should perform cartwheels upon hearing their names.

Besides, who wouldn't cash in on a winning lottery ticket?

I'm not faulting the agents or other money-grubbing crooks who probably don't have "the best interests of the kids" in mind.

Heck, I may even agree with the NBA players' association on this one. It says the kids have every right to earn a living. I am not one to contend such an entitlement. We all need to eat, right? Or in the case of most NBA players, we all need seven cars, three houses and a couple of endorsements.

But I do not necessarily agree with union head Billy Hunter, whose best defense is that high schoolers in other sports -- tennis, hockey, and baseball -- get drafted and perform professionally all the time. This is true, but tennis players are in their prime in their early and late teens. And hockey and baseball players are sent to minor leagues where they are given time to develop. Plus, who cares about those drafts anyway?

Basketball is unique in that one player can turn a team around all by himself. Just ask the Boston Celtics before Larry Bird, or San Antonio Spurs before David Robinson. Anyway, we all know Hunter has said dumber things.

So, who is to blame?

The general managers. That's right, it's the so-called geniuses' fault for drafting the kids in the first place. Again, if I'm a GM, I'm not taking a chance on a young man who may not be ready for two to three years.

Why? Because if I'm a GM, I'm smart enough to know that I may not be around in two or three years. If the team is lousy -- and even if the kid is good -- most owners will fire me. So I want to win now.

That leads me to this conclusion: If the NBA doesn't want kids to enter the draft, then stop drafting them.

It's really that simple.

WEBBER DESERVING OF NEW CROWN
(From July 22, 2000)

Chris Webber did the right thing by re-signing with the Sacramento Kings.

I know what you're thinking. "Of course he did the right thing, you idiot! He got paid something like a billion dollars for a million years!"

But that's not what I meant.

I meant that the all-star forward did the right thing because in Sacramento, he is loved.

Think about it.

Before he became a King, Webber was looked at as nothing more than a pro basketball peasant. He couldn't get along with the coaches. He got into food fights on the team plane. He whined and sulked and was just generally disliked by everyone from management to coaches to fans.

But in Sacramento, all that stuff was forgotten. Webber was embraced. He was treated like a favorite son -- not an outlaw or a crybaby. Heck, the good folks of Sacramento even liked Jason Williams. They also turned the other cheek when Webber talked about how much he despised their city, complaining about its nonexistent night life and lack of a good restaurant.

They stood up and cheered when Webber finally signed with the team two days ago, ending speculation that he would end up in Indiana or in his hometown of Detroit. That's why Sacramento really is the perfect place for Webber.

He is Sacramento's Michael Jordan. Would he be treated the same in Indianapolis, where Reggie Miller will always own the title of pro basketball majesty? Or how about in Detroit, where Webber would have to tangle with Jerry Stackhouse over who gets to take the most shots?

Sacramento has been called a lot of things, most of them bad. But for Webber, it was a place that offered him refuge when he needed it most. It gave him a chance to rebuild his career. And now, with Williams having been traded for the much-more-reliable Mike Bibby, Webber has a legitimate shot at a title.

And that is why from now on, he shouldn't call Sacramento anything but home.

OLAJUWON TAKING BIG CHANCE
(From Aug. 7, 2000)

When you've spent the past 23 years living in Houston, Toronto might seem a lot more like Nome, Alaska than The Great Canadian City. Hopefully, this is something Hakeem Olajuwon has considered as he makes his move from the Rockets to the Raptors.

I come to you as someone who has a great deal of respect for Hakeem. And that is why I am scared. The man has scrambled eggs for knees. There's also the blood clots, the asthma, the irregular heartbeat. Yes, Hakeem is 38 and has experienced problems with the ticker.

Something else to consider -- these type of end-of-career migrations rarely work. Just look at Patrick Ewing last year in Seattle. And who can remember that Dave Cowens ended his Hall of Fame career in Milwaukee? Certainly not most of us, as Cowens played in just 40 games for the Bucks and averaged a measly eight points.

To me, Olajuwon was the best of the post-Kareem Abdul-Jabbar centers. More mobile than Ewing, more aggressive than Robinson, more fluid than Shaq. Olajuwon has also been to the NBA Finals three times, winning back-to-back titles in the mid-1990s. What, pray tell, is left to prove?

Look, it's not for me to say how Hakeem Olajuwon should be conducting his life. But I have experienced the ugly side of athletics. We all have. At some point, someone tells us that we are no longer needed or wanted. They tell us we're not good enough. Sometimes, it's our bodies doing the talking. Other times, it's the people who used to say that we were oh-so-great.

The first thing that comes to mind? Revenge. We want to prove our skeptics WRONG. No less than Michael Jordan may currently be going through the same thing, although it is my belief that he simply misses being on the court.

Anyway, it seems as if the Rockets have said, "Thanks for 17 years of wonderful service, Hakeem. Thanks for the championships. Now can we please both get on with our lives?" These are the type of hints that people in any profession have a hard time dealing with -- especially professional athletes, who are coddled from the moment they step on the playing field. To be told they need to make room for the more talented -- and maybe the more beloved -- is devastating.

There are plenty of other things that could make Olajuwon happy. Become a coach. Buy a team. Go to the beach and drink iced tea for the next 55 years.

Heck, start your own NBA e-mail newsletter.

Having said all of that, I hope it works out for Olajuwon, the Raptors, the Rockets, for everyone involved. I hope Olajuwon can stay healthy and bring a much-needed presence-in-the-middle to the Eastern Conference. I even hope that Olajuwon is able to fulfill his new contract by playing two more seasons, and that he proves to be an awesome bargain. Really, I do.

But I also hope he's not playing for the wrong reasons. I hope he's not playing just because no one has the guts to tell him it's time to quit.

JORDAN WILL WORK MAGIC WITH WIZARDS
(From Aug. 15, 2000)

My wife says 35 games. I insist it will be more than that. The subject is how many times the Washington Wizards will win if Michael Jordan makes a comeback to join the team next season.

Yes, I say the Wizards will win at least half of the 82 games on the schedule -- and yes, I realize that they won just 19 last year. But I say they will finish no worse than third in the Atlantic Division and make the playoffs. Hey, why not? This is Michael Jordan we're talking about. Oh, I've read all the reasons why Jordan should not return to the NBA. There seems to be a new list every day, with sportswriters citing everything from his age (38) to his time off (three years) to the Wizards' roster (not real good).

Some experts have also reminded us that other comeback attempts, such as those by Magic Johnson and Babe Ruth, have failed miserably. And they did.

But those guys ain't Michael Jordan. There really is no other way to explain it. Truth is, if Jordan does come back, you can bet he'll be at least 90 percent of the player he was when he left. In today's NBA, that's good enough to be the best.

OK. Before you have me fitted for a straightjacket, allow me to make a few more points.

-- With Jordan on the roster, Richard Hamilton could become the next Scottie Pippen. That's not a complete stretch, as Hamilton has the quickness, the toughness, the skills, and the desire. All he needs is a little help. If you double- and triple-team Jordan, Hamilton will tear you apart -- just as Pippen once did as Jordan's No. 2 guy in Chicago.

-- Even without Jordan, the Wizards will be improved. They added some nice young talent (Kwame Brown, Tyronn Lue, Brendan Haywood) and have a few returning veterans who appear ready to soar (Hamilton, Courtney Alexander). They also have an experienced and energetic new coach in Doug Collins. So even without Jordan, the Wizards will improve themselves by 10-15 games.

-- A lot of critics like to say that Jordan will never be accused of making his teammates better. Really? Didn't Horace Grant have his best years in Chicago? How about Luc Longley, B.J. Armstrong, John Paxson, Stacey King, Steve Kerr ... the list goes on and on. Those guys were unproductive before and after Jordan. So you could expect to see dramatic improvement in Wizards like Hubert Davis, Chris Whitney and Popeye Jones. Heck, maybe Christian Laettner will finally become the player whom everyone expected him to be back in 1992.

-- Finally, let's consider the current state of the NBA. It stinks.

Talent-wise, the league is worse than it was in the late 1970s, when the Finals were broadcast tape-delayed following the nightly news. Of course, that's when the league didn't have David Stern in charge or his brilliant marketing schemes in action. Don't misunderstand, Stern is the biggest reason anyone pays attention to the league. The NBA is a business first, a basketball league second, and without Stern it would be in serious financial trouble. But I am here to tell you the truth, and if Antonio Davis is an all-star and Mike Miller is Rookie of the Year, then I'm Edgar Allan Poe.

These guys just aren't any good. Not when you compare them to stars of even six years ago. I do believe the league will eventually get better, that professional basketball will once again consist of some real jump shooters and ballhandlers and clutch players ... but as it stands, Jordan could be 60 percent of his old self and still dominate.

And that's just the thing. We all know he'll be better than that. He's not going to come back if he thinks he'll only average 11 points, or if he'll have to take 30 shots to score 35. Or, most of all, if he thinks the Wizards have no chance to do something special.

That is why I am about to make my next prediction. It's why I am really going to make you sick and write that if Jordan comes back, the Wizards will be in the Finals before he turns 41. They will even win.

Go ahead. Gag. Say the only reason I'm pulling for Jordan is because we're both on the other side of 30, or that I'm old enough to have purchased a pair of the original Air Jordans, or that he and I have similar vanishing hairlines. You would be right on all accounts.

But most of all, I have seen the man play when everyone doubted him. And it got kinda ugly for the doubters. So while it may be more popular to say the Wizards will fail and Jordan will flop -- it's not necessarily very smart.

HOTTEST OF THE QUESTION & ANSWER SEGMENTS
(From Aug. 22, 2000 -- and with no intentions of picking on Justin)

FROM JUSTIN McCANN
Q: Are you employed by the NBA? It seems as if you are outright promoting the players, most of whom come across as nothing more than overpaid, tattooed, gangsta-wannabe thugs who have little idea how the game should actually be played. These guys are always in the police blotter, something you seem to constantly and purposefully overlook. How much does the league pay you? Can I get in on it?

A: Dear Justin, don't really know what you're talking about, don't really care. I sure as heck had no idea that NBA players wanted to be gangstas, or that they're always in the police blotter. Probably because I am not the least bit concerned with how the players conduct their personal lives. All I care about is what I see on the court, period. Or maybe it's because I am not frightened by tattoos, cornrows, or even Scot Pollard.

I have become a firm believer that too many reporters make up for their lack of knowledge about the actual game by writing/talking about the players' backgrounds and current lifestyles. The "Allen Iverson is Married in Secrecy" stories in recent weeks were some of the most embarrassing things I have ever read. I have a lot more respect for so-called gangsta Allen Iverson than I do for the middle-aged, non-athletic types who wrote those articles. Leave the poor guy alone already. Better yet, just stop judging people.

And are the athletes really overpaid? You don't think the owners are fairly certain that they will get every last dollar back -- or at least something close -- from their investments? The guys who run NBA teams are longtime and extremely successful businessmen. If they pay someone $120 million, it's because they think that individual will bring a $240-million return to their company.

I'm not trying to ignore the fact that there are some on-the-court issues involving a FEW of the players. I don't enjoy watching Rasheed Wallace compile four technicals every game. I don't think the league has a true superstar -- but that's just a phase. And I definitely don't enjoy watching players who should be starring in college wilt at the end of NBA benches.

But there are plenty of things to like about the league. Most of the players, despite all the labels placed on them, are good guys. Most of them really want to win and aren't worried about their contract when they're on the court. So if you want the NBA version of Behind The Music, go somewhere else. I am not going to sit here and trash people. It's gutless and cheap.

CONTACT ME

E-mail questions and comments to me at amicoreport@hotmail.com. I will try to answer all questions in the newsletter, but you must include your full name.