Monday, July 16, 2007 Sayson: Apparently not the heir to MJ’s shoes By Homer Sayson Second Overtime
CHICAGO—The moment he officially arrived in the NBA, as the No.5 overall pick in the 1998 draft, Vince Carter was immediately met by insanely high expectations.
He was anointed as the next Michael Jordan. The Chosen One. The Heir Apparent.
Vince Carter had the same built as the immortal Bull, 6-foot-6, 220 pounds.
Carter also had an endless repertoire of acrobatic shots. And thanks to a 40-inch vertical leap, Vince can also fly. And he had a pearly white smile that could attract fans by the flock.
Nine years later, however, it is implicitly clear that Vince Carter is no M.J.
The ex-Raptor has not been chosen by the basketball gods to carry the NBA’s torch the way Jordan did.
And the only thing apparent about Carter is the lack of hair, and championships.
But don’t expect Vince to fret over unmet expectations. He’s too busy counting his money.
When his modest contract neared expiration in 2001, Vince signed a six-year extension in 2002 worth $79.3 million. And when Carter opted out of the final year of that contract last week, the New Jersey Nets gave him a mega deal, a five-year package valued at $80 million.
Someone like Carter, who disdains playing defense, doesn’t necessarily deserve an annual average pay of $16 million. But it’s easy to understand why the Nets were extremely generous on him.
You see, Vince was the only Net to play all 82 regular season games last season. And his output—25.2 points, 6 rebounds and 4.8 assists—helped propel the Nets to the playoffs after staggering to a disappointing 41-41 finish.
But being in the playoffs is a small feat. In the final analysis, Carter’s NBA career isn’t whole. And it will never be until he earns a championship ring and cradles the Larry O’Brien trophy in mid-June.
Although Vince is now 30, I think he still has some two or three All-Star elections to go with his previous eight. But unless he moves to the West, he’ll never step on an NBA Finals stage, let alone win it all.
The truth will be heartbreaking for Vince. And as he deals with the pain, I hope the money will help.
MONEY MATTERS. From Jim Christian Akiatan (jcatruman@yahoo.com): “How much is the salary cap right now? Who are the highest-paid players and how much is Tim Duncan receiving in pay every year?”
The NBA set the salary cap for the 2007-08 season at $55.6 million.
Based on last season’s salaries, Kevin Garnett was the highest-paid NBA cog. The Timberwolf got $21 million, while Shaq was at close second with $20 million. Duncan, who led the Spurs to their fourth title in eight years, received $17.4 million.
SMALL BUT TERRIBLE. Richard Lanoy (richardlanoy@yahoo.com) asked if Earl Boykins “is still playing in the NBA.’
Yes. Boykins, the tiniest player in the league at 5-foot-3, 133-pounds is alive and well. He averaged 14.6 points and 4.4 assists per game for the Bucks last season. He opted out of his contract to pursue a more lucrative extension.
P.S. I will attend two huge boxing events in the next few weeks, beginning with the World Cup in Sacramento, California, featuring Rey Boom-Boom Bautista's challenge to Juan Ponce de Leon's WBO superbantamweight belt on Aug. 11
Next up is the Manny Pacquiao rematch with Marco Antonio Barrera . One that I figure to be quite a mismatch. But it would still be fun to watch and see if Pacquiao hasn’t lost his sting after the May polls debacle.
