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Viable veterans Gatling returning to Miami; Jackson's still waiting
Updated: Sunday October 28, 2001 9:31 PM
Who knew Chris Gatling and Jim Jackson had so many fans? This week's mailbag was heavy with missives asking where these two veteran free agents are going to be playing this season. With the news Friday that Gatling is headed back to Miami, Jackson now holds the dubious honor of being the most coveted unsigned player still on the market. The good news for Jackson is that, according to several GMs and player-personnel types, he is still a desirable commodity. In fact, he could soon be headed to the Grizzlies, provided the two sides can work out financial details. Memphis needs scoring help at the perimeter, and Jackson is said to be willing to play for the veteran's minimum there. Now onto the rest of the 'bag: Regarding your "Jackson Five" article about unknown players to watch this coming season, how about Andrei Kirilenko of the Jazz? As you know, he also wasn't in this year's draft, having been drafted earlier and left to hone his skills with his Russian team. He looks like he could make an impact this year if he continues to hustle the way he has in preseason games. -- Ryan Williams, Sandy, Utah I didn't include Kirilenko in The Jackson Five because he was a recent first-round draft pick (No. 24 in 1999), but he definitely is a guy to watch. The 6-foot-9 forward was probably Utah's best player at the Rocky Mountain Revue this past summer. He looks like he can rebound and block shots already, and as you point out, has impressed head coach Jerry Sloan with his hustle. He's got to get stronger before he can really make an impact, but it looks like he's going to be a solid NBA player.
In your Oct. 23 article about the Rod Strickland signing, you wrote: "Strickland will make only the $1 million veteran's minimum, of which the league pays a sizeable chunk anyway." How does that work? I wasn't aware that the league picked up portions of player salaries. -- Michael Mulvey, Milwaukee As part of the collective bargaining agreement, NBA teams are reimbursed for a portion of salaries paid to players with five or more years service who sign one-year minimum contracts. For the 2001-02 season, teams have to pay only the first $590,850 of such a deal. The league picks up the rest. Only the amount not reimbursed (i.e., $590,850) counts against the salary cap. It's one more reason so many teams have been holding out for the minimums when dealing with free agents this year.
I think the Clippers have been cursed by playing at the Staples Center, which they share with the Lakers. At Clippers home games, some fans even show up in Lakers jerseys. Do you think that the Clippers will get their own gym/big house if they do well with the current roster? -- Damon Davidson, Savannah, Ga. Clippers owner Donald Sterling will actually re-sign one of his own free agents before that happens. The Clippers presently don't even have their own practice facility; they hold workouts at L.A. Southwest College. Seriously, the Clippers have no reason to move from Staples. It's a spanking new facility, with lots of skyboxes and amenities -- perfect for all the beautiful people in LaLa Land. The Clips just have to keep playing exciting basketball, and it will feel like home soon enough. With NBA players coming out younger each year, many of them high school kids, how will it affect scoring records? If these kids come out at 18, won't that extra two to four years essentially be extending their careers by 25 percent or more? -- Duncan Morton, South Florida Clearly, all-time cumulative records are going to be imperiled by the dramatic increase in the number of 18- and 19-year-olds in recent years. A player like Kevin Garnett or Kobe Bryant could wind up playing 20 or more seasons. Other than centers like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, that was unthinkable for most players of the previous generation. However, many of the young guns today don't really get much playing time for the first two or three seasons anyway. Also, with all the big salaries, some players might not be as willing to hang around as long. Guys like KG or Kobe might decide to retire early and enjoy all that wealth. Whatever happened to former Knicks prospects Donnell Harvey and Pete Mickeal? Also, what model sneakers was Michael Jordan wearing against Detroit? -- Alwyn Lim, Sydney, Australia Harvey, a 6-foot-8 forward from Florida who was New York's first-round pick (No. 22 overall) in the 2000 draft, is with Dallas. The Mavs like his rebounding, but at 21 years of age and with just one year of college experience, he's still raw. Mickeal, the former Cincinnati Bearcat whom the Knicks acquired from Dallas in exchange for Harvey and Erick Strickland, was waived last year. He played in the ABA 2000, and at last report was rehabbing from an Achilles' injury. As for Jordan's shoes in his exhibition debut, he wore his latest model of Air Jordans with Wizards gold on the side. What else?
When answering a question about CBS telecasts in the 1970s, you said it would be a lot more fun to watch Rafer Alston and Steve "Franchise" Francis trade crossovers than watching the usual halftime show. Why Alston? I know he has some skills, but of all the players in the league, why single him out? -- Brendan, Toronto Alston might be a reserve point guard for the Bucks, but he's a wizard with the basketball. A former New York City playground legend, he was nicknamed "Skip to My Lou" for his breathtaking dribbling and fancy moves. He was doing that hip-hop dribble stuff long before those cats in the Nike commercial. He might not possess an all-around game yet, but in a one-on-one exhibition like those old CBS classics, he would clown a lot of guys. Marty Burns covers pro basketball for CNNSI.com. Click here to send Marty a question or comment.
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