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Some surprised by Carter’s firing
Posted: Monday June 19, 2000 02:04 PM
Believe it or not, Butch Carter's firing actually came as a shock. Apparently, Carter, in the outs with forward Charles Oakley, Antonio Davis and other Raptors' veterans, was supposed to play golf with Oakley on Wednesday to hash things out. Carter also had a meeting scheduled with GM Glen Grunwald for the same day. "There were a lot of problems, sure," Toronto forward Antonio Davis said. "But I was looking forward to them being resolved. I was shocked when they called and told me what they had done." Sources tell me that Carter's fate was actually sealed when he refused to follow Grunwald's orders and make changes within his staff.
Mile-high draft choicesIt's nearly a sure-fire bet that Parade high school All-America Darius Miles will land in the top 5 of this month's NBA draft. He may even go No. 1. And, by several indications, that appears to be exactly what new Nets' president Rod Thorn is thinking about doing. With Jayson Williams' career considered over, the Nets have their sights set on big men Kenyon Martin, Stromile Swift and Chris Mihm . But, like everyone else, they're drooling over Miles. Wizards president Michael Jordan flat-out told confidantes he'd take Miles No. 1 if he had the top pick.
Indiana has cap room, tooWe've heard about all the salary-cap room Orlando and Chicago will have to pursue marquee free agents Grant Hill, Tim Duncan, Tracy McGrady and Eddie Jones . But what about the Indiana Pacers? As soon as these NBA Finals end, Travis Best , Dale Davis, Derrick McKey and Chris Mullin will be the only notable names in Indianapolis taking up significant cap space, leaving the Pacers with approximately $10 million to play with in the free-agent market this summer. They've been to three consecutive Eastern Conference finals. They're presently battling for the NBA title and they can exceed the cap to retain players like Jalen Rose, Reggie Miller, Austin Croshere and Rik Smits . "We've got decisions to make, but we're in a pretty good spot right now," Walsh told me. "I'd say we're at least in position to compete for years to come." Tell me about it! Stephen A. Smith covers the NBA for The Philadelphia Inquirer and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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