The Nine-Million-Dollar Man
Former UHa hoops star Vin Baker is still making big bucks -- for staying off the court
by Nathan Conz - January 19, 2006
PHOTO COURTESY UHA SPORTS INFORMATION OFFICE
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The Hawks retired Vin Baker´s number 42 jersey. Baker still gets checks from two NBA franchises though he doesn´t play. He just opened an Old Saybrook fish house.
The fifth-highest-paid player on the Boston Celtics this season is a restaurateur living in Old Saybrook. That same individual is also the eighth-highest-paid player on the Houston Rockets.
On the last day of November 2005, Vin Baker opened Vinnie's Saybrook Fish House and told reporters he was planning to move back to the Old Saybrook area to be closer to his new business. While he's doing so, Baker will be paid over $9 million in salary from two NBA franchises, about $5.3 million from the Celtics and about $3.85 million from the Rockets, according to
www.hoopshype.com (the NBA does not release official salary information). He'll get another $5.3 million from the Celtics next season. The money will count against the league salary cap.
Despite the easy pay days, Baker's former agent, Aaron Goodwin, has recently filed a grievance for money Baker owes him, according to a report in the Boston Herald .
"It really bothers me that, with everything I had to do to get Vin back into the league, I have to file a grievance in order to get paid," Goodwin, who helped Baker separate with the Celtics and sign a new contract with the New York Knicks in 2004, told the Herald .
The article, by Steve Bulpett, also cites unnamed NBA sources who say that some teams are interested in bringing Baker back to the league, but that he is "in no condition to play at that level." Bulpett did not return phone messages left at the Herald sports desk.
Jay Nkonoki, a represenative of Baker (and the executive director of his charitable organization) tells the Advocate that the grievance was filed with the NBA Players Association and is not a court matter. He says he was not contacted for comment by the Herald, and does not believe that Baker was either.
Nkonoki would not specifically respond to the anonymous sources that claimed Baker was not close to playing shape.
"He's working out, enjoying life and really just weighing a variety of options," Nkonoki says. "A return to the NBA is one of those options, although there is no specific timetable."
The once-promising basketball career of the Old Saybrook native has taken many twists and turns, many allegedly shaped by his alcohol abuse.
Baker's path to basketball riches began at the University of Hartford where he holds school records for points (2,238) and blocks (279). He averaged 28.3 points per game in his senior season, the fourth best average in the country. His number 42 is retired.
In 1993, Baker was drafted eighth overall by the Milwaukee Bucks and led the team in rebounds and blocks his rookie year. He made his first All-Star team the following season and, over the next few years, established himself as one of the top big men in the game. After earning All-NBA Third Team honors for the 1996-97 season, Baker was traded to the Seattle SuperSonics.
It was after he moved west to Seattle that things started to go south for Baker, although not right away. In fact, he had one of his best seasons in 1997-'98. He made the All-Star team again, led the Sonics in rebounds and scoring (tied with Gary Payton) and was honored with an All-NBA Second Team selection.
His play started to drop when he showed up for the work-stoppage shortened 1998-'99 season out of shape and battling injuries. Baker's scoring average dropped more than five points per game. His conditioning in that season and those that followed was widely questioned and there were rumors that he was battling alcoholism and/or depression.
To make matters worse, Baker had signed a guaranteed, seven-year, $87 million contract. Seattle tried desperately to trade him and eventually did. They dumped an out-of-shape Baker and his behemoth contract on the Boston Celtics in July of 2002. It was thought that Baker could work out his problem closer to home.
It didn't work out in Boston. He averaged only 5.2 points per game, almost 10 points less than his career average, in 2002-2003 before being suspended from the team in February, reportedly for alcohol-related issues. In September 2003, he told the Boston Globe , "I am an alcoholic."
After a stint in rehab, Baker had a brief return to All-Star form the next season, but soon relapsed. In February 2004, the Celtics voided his contract.
Since the contract was guaranteed, Baker filed a grievance. The result: a settlement with the Celtics that would pay Baker $5.3 million for three years É to not play basketball for the team. Baker will be off the Celtics' books after next season, when he will get another $5.3 million.
Before his grievance case with the Celtics had even been settled, Baker was signed by the New York Knicks to finish up the 2003-'04 season. Last season, the Knicks traded Baker, then averaging 1.4 points and eight minutes per game, to Houston. The Rockets waived Baker in October of 2005. Nkonoki says the decision to leave Houston was a mutual one. Although he only played a total of three games with the team, Houston must pay Baker the $3.85 million he is owed for this season.
The late, great comedian Mitch Hedberg used to say in his act, "Alcoholism is a disease, but it's the only disease you can get yelled at for having: God damn it, Otto, you're an alcoholic. God damn it, Otto, you have lupus. One of those two doesn't sound right."
Vin Baker is now 34 years old, and it's easy to look at his career and be angry with him for what it's become. He was a 6-foot-11 power forward with skill and touch. He still should be.
With an extensive history of charity and foundation work, particularly in Connecticut, he was and still is a good guy. He founded his own charitable organization, the Stand Tall Foundation, and in 1999 was named to The Sporting News ' "99 Good Guys in Sports" list, according to the NBA website.
"Anyone who has ever met him and knows him will tell you absolutely that he's a great person from a great family that's anchored in the church, with a lot to look forward to. So stay tuned," Nkonoki says.
Alcoholism is a disease -- so it's hard to stay mad at a genuine, good guy like Vin Baker. Still, he's making $9 million this year to not play basketball.
