http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/12935855p-13783610c.html
NBA Beat: His price tag was too high for Kings
Now with Phoenix, Jim Jackson is showing he still has plenty left at 34
by Joe Davidson - Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:14 am PDT Sunday, May 22, 2005
Of all the ex-Kings out there, the only one whose loss really stings is Jim Jackson.
In his Sacramento stint during the 2002-03 season, Jackson proved to be versatile, skilled, steady and nothing like the disruptive force that he was alleged to be early in his NBA career.But Jackson became too good with the Kings, particularly against Dallas in the seven-game Western Conference semifinals, in which he was their best performer at times. Too good meant too expensive to keep, with Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof not ready to balloon their salary cap for a reserve.
So Jackson, a free-agent hired gun then and always, signed with Houston, and now, at 34, he has admirably filled in for the injured Joe Johnson with Phoenix.
Jackson has said he dearly wanted to return to the Kings. It was mutual, but that luxury tax kept sticking the Maloofs in their backside like one of those toy sabers from the little nephew. For every dollar they went over the cap, they had to match it.
"So if we signed Jimmy to a 5 or 10 million dollar deal, it would have counted as 10 or 20 million, and we couldn't do that," Joe Maloof said.
Dec. 27, the Rockets shipped Jackson to lowly New Orleans. He refused to report, not wanting any piece of a reclamation project at this stage of his career. The malcontent image that he worked so hard to shed returned. He lost more than $300,000 in salary, and his image took a beating. But the gamble paid off because the Suns needed a veteran presence and traded for him Jan. 21.
Wednesday, his 15 fourth-quarter points spurred the Suns to a 114-108 triumph over Dallas in their Western Conference semifinal series, which they closed out Friday. Mavericks coach Avery Johnson recalled how poised and productive Jackson was when he took it to Dallas two seasons ago and how he now is even more eager to win with time no longer on his side.
"Jimmy Jackson is a hungry player," Johnson said in his postgame news conference. "I don't care how good of a coach you are, some of the things that Jimmy Jackson is doing out there on the court ... you can't coach it. There is just a will to win in those type of players. He understands that his life is on the line playing basketball."
Seattle's unsettled seas
You think the Kings have offseason questions and concerns? Hah. Check Seattle.The SuperSonics have eight free agents, including coach Nate McMillan, whose stock soared this season and in the playoffs, in which his team played inspired and tough despite being short-handed.
What does Seattle do with McMillan, a franchise favorite from his playing days who made the Sonics worth watching again? What about Jerome James, the center who put four shaky seasons behind him and produced that monster first-round playoff series against the Kings? And primary rebounding machine Reggie Evans? Everyone needs a banger on the boards who doesn't care to score.
Or Vladimir Radmanovich, who appears ready to become one of the NBA's great shooters? Oh, and Ray Allen, who devastated the Kings in the first round and refused to be bullied by perhaps the best on-ball defender in the business, San Antonio's Bruce Bowen, in the second round. Allen has the quickest release in the game, he's a mentor-type leader, and he has plenty of basketball left in him.
The Sonics' top priorities, one would assume, are Allen and McMillan.
Pugh's workout
Jameel Pugh of Grant High School and Sacramento State recently worked out for the Kings. The report was he has the body, athletic ability and upside to warrant some sort of professional contract, perhaps overseas."He's a professional-level player," Kings director of player personnel Jerry Reynolds said. "He's very athletic, and that's always one of the first things you look for. You can't teach that. You can teach fundamentals, and he needs improvement there. He knows that."
Said the 6-foot-5 Pugh, whose dunking ability has made him something of a hoops playground legend: "I liked the workout. It was a great experience. I don't want to be labeled as an athlete only, so I'll keep working on the rest of my game."
No more Uncle Reg
One of the classiest moves of the season came Thursday. With their season trickling away amid the Detroit Pistons' defensive crunch, the Indiana Pacers called a timeout to allow the home fans to salute Reggie Miller one last time.Sensing that wasn't enough, Pistons coach Larry Brown called another timeout so his own team also could applaud one of the greatest playoff performers of all time. After the nasty "Malice in the Palace" incident in November, this image proved sportsmanship can rise to the surface.
Miller responded by tapping his heart and pointing to the fans and the Pistons.
More Miller
Miller had announced earlier this season that this, his 18th season, would be his last.Craig Sager of TNT broke the story and tried to get a live comment from Miller after a game, but Miller ridiculed him, saying Sager did not know what the heck he was talking about.
Truth is, it was a poorly kept secret. Miller said at age 39 his body was pleading for retirement. His reputation didn't suffer any as he helped keep the Pacers together with inspired play this season. When he dropped 39 points on the Lakers, Los Angeles coach Frank Hamblen said no man should retire if he can still hit for his age.
But Miller insists he's finished, though he'll still run the beaches and the hills in Southern California as something of a torturous way to keep fit.
And to think Pacers fans lustily booed his first-round selection in 1987, wanting Indiana guard Steve Alford instead. Miller helped revitalize a franchise that nearly came to Sacramento in 1985.
And how good was Miller? Never mind the goofy shot, where the hands seemed to criss-cross after release. He's the No. 1 all-time three-point shooter, making 2,560. He's also the 12th all-time leading scorer with 25,279 points, sixth all-time in minutes played (47,619) and third all-time in playoff points (2,972) without winning a title, trailing some pretty fair talent - Karl Malone (4,761) and Elgin Baylor (3,623), who played in nine games early in the Lakers' 1971-72 championship season before retiring and did not receive a ring.
Duncan to the rescue
San Antonio's Tim Duncan showed flashes of greatness after a putrid first three quarters against Seattle on Thursday. He started 1 for 13, then heated up in the fourth with a bad ankle and about as much mobility as Joe Namath in his last NFL season.Duncan scored the game-winner with 0.5 seconds left, putting the Spurs in the Western Conference finals and bringing back some unpleasant memories for San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich.
A year ago in the semifinals against the Lakers, Popovich grimaced when Derek Fisher broke his heart with a wild three-pointer off an inbound pass with 0.4 seconds left. Duncan had hit the apparent game-winner a second earlier.
Popovich called Fisher's dagger the most "cruel" shot he'd absorbed, and the Lakers went on to win the West.
This time, Allen just missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, and the Spurs exhaled, knowing that Duncan likely would not have played in a Game 7 with his ankle feeling like jelly, as Popovich feared. Duncan turned his ankle in the fourth quarter of a one-point game but was down for only a moment.
"I thought about L.A., honest to God (on that last play)," Popovich said in his news conference. "I can't believe how good (Duncan) was. He'd have me assassinated if I had him out of the game any longer."
In and out
With P.J. Carlesimo, Dan Issel, Flip Saunders, John Lucas, Phil Jackson, Maurice Cheeks, Brian Hill and a fleet of others looking into NBA head-coaching gigs, the league doesn't really get rid of its own. It just moves them out on occasion, dusts them off and recycles them.
Of the lot, Jackson appears to command the steepest salary, perhaps five years for $50 million.
Saunders seems to be No. 2 on the list for half the league, and there have been reports he could make as much as $8 million a year, which seems incredibly high for a man with one good year in the playoffs, last season with Minnesota.
Issel, Carlesimo, Lucas and Hill may take chump change to return. They've been waiting that long.
About the writer: The Bee's Joe Davidson can be reached at (916) 321-1280 or jdavidson@sacbee.com.
NBA Beat: His price tag was too high for Kings
Now with Phoenix, Jim Jackson is showing he still has plenty left at 34
by Joe Davidson - Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:14 am PDT Sunday, May 22, 2005
Of all the ex-Kings out there, the only one whose loss really stings is Jim Jackson.
In his Sacramento stint during the 2002-03 season, Jackson proved to be versatile, skilled, steady and nothing like the disruptive force that he was alleged to be early in his NBA career.But Jackson became too good with the Kings, particularly against Dallas in the seven-game Western Conference semifinals, in which he was their best performer at times. Too good meant too expensive to keep, with Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof not ready to balloon their salary cap for a reserve.
So Jackson, a free-agent hired gun then and always, signed with Houston, and now, at 34, he has admirably filled in for the injured Joe Johnson with Phoenix.
Jackson has said he dearly wanted to return to the Kings. It was mutual, but that luxury tax kept sticking the Maloofs in their backside like one of those toy sabers from the little nephew. For every dollar they went over the cap, they had to match it.
"So if we signed Jimmy to a 5 or 10 million dollar deal, it would have counted as 10 or 20 million, and we couldn't do that," Joe Maloof said.
Dec. 27, the Rockets shipped Jackson to lowly New Orleans. He refused to report, not wanting any piece of a reclamation project at this stage of his career. The malcontent image that he worked so hard to shed returned. He lost more than $300,000 in salary, and his image took a beating. But the gamble paid off because the Suns needed a veteran presence and traded for him Jan. 21.
Wednesday, his 15 fourth-quarter points spurred the Suns to a 114-108 triumph over Dallas in their Western Conference semifinal series, which they closed out Friday. Mavericks coach Avery Johnson recalled how poised and productive Jackson was when he took it to Dallas two seasons ago and how he now is even more eager to win with time no longer on his side.
"Jimmy Jackson is a hungry player," Johnson said in his postgame news conference. "I don't care how good of a coach you are, some of the things that Jimmy Jackson is doing out there on the court ... you can't coach it. There is just a will to win in those type of players. He understands that his life is on the line playing basketball."
Seattle's unsettled seas
You think the Kings have offseason questions and concerns? Hah. Check Seattle.The SuperSonics have eight free agents, including coach Nate McMillan, whose stock soared this season and in the playoffs, in which his team played inspired and tough despite being short-handed.
What does Seattle do with McMillan, a franchise favorite from his playing days who made the Sonics worth watching again? What about Jerome James, the center who put four shaky seasons behind him and produced that monster first-round playoff series against the Kings? And primary rebounding machine Reggie Evans? Everyone needs a banger on the boards who doesn't care to score.
Or Vladimir Radmanovich, who appears ready to become one of the NBA's great shooters? Oh, and Ray Allen, who devastated the Kings in the first round and refused to be bullied by perhaps the best on-ball defender in the business, San Antonio's Bruce Bowen, in the second round. Allen has the quickest release in the game, he's a mentor-type leader, and he has plenty of basketball left in him.
The Sonics' top priorities, one would assume, are Allen and McMillan.
Pugh's workout
Jameel Pugh of Grant High School and Sacramento State recently worked out for the Kings. The report was he has the body, athletic ability and upside to warrant some sort of professional contract, perhaps overseas."He's a professional-level player," Kings director of player personnel Jerry Reynolds said. "He's very athletic, and that's always one of the first things you look for. You can't teach that. You can teach fundamentals, and he needs improvement there. He knows that."
Said the 6-foot-5 Pugh, whose dunking ability has made him something of a hoops playground legend: "I liked the workout. It was a great experience. I don't want to be labeled as an athlete only, so I'll keep working on the rest of my game."
No more Uncle Reg
One of the classiest moves of the season came Thursday. With their season trickling away amid the Detroit Pistons' defensive crunch, the Indiana Pacers called a timeout to allow the home fans to salute Reggie Miller one last time.Sensing that wasn't enough, Pistons coach Larry Brown called another timeout so his own team also could applaud one of the greatest playoff performers of all time. After the nasty "Malice in the Palace" incident in November, this image proved sportsmanship can rise to the surface.
Miller responded by tapping his heart and pointing to the fans and the Pistons.
More Miller
Miller had announced earlier this season that this, his 18th season, would be his last.Craig Sager of TNT broke the story and tried to get a live comment from Miller after a game, but Miller ridiculed him, saying Sager did not know what the heck he was talking about.
Truth is, it was a poorly kept secret. Miller said at age 39 his body was pleading for retirement. His reputation didn't suffer any as he helped keep the Pacers together with inspired play this season. When he dropped 39 points on the Lakers, Los Angeles coach Frank Hamblen said no man should retire if he can still hit for his age.
But Miller insists he's finished, though he'll still run the beaches and the hills in Southern California as something of a torturous way to keep fit.
And to think Pacers fans lustily booed his first-round selection in 1987, wanting Indiana guard Steve Alford instead. Miller helped revitalize a franchise that nearly came to Sacramento in 1985.
And how good was Miller? Never mind the goofy shot, where the hands seemed to criss-cross after release. He's the No. 1 all-time three-point shooter, making 2,560. He's also the 12th all-time leading scorer with 25,279 points, sixth all-time in minutes played (47,619) and third all-time in playoff points (2,972) without winning a title, trailing some pretty fair talent - Karl Malone (4,761) and Elgin Baylor (3,623), who played in nine games early in the Lakers' 1971-72 championship season before retiring and did not receive a ring.
Duncan to the rescue
San Antonio's Tim Duncan showed flashes of greatness after a putrid first three quarters against Seattle on Thursday. He started 1 for 13, then heated up in the fourth with a bad ankle and about as much mobility as Joe Namath in his last NFL season.Duncan scored the game-winner with 0.5 seconds left, putting the Spurs in the Western Conference finals and bringing back some unpleasant memories for San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich.
A year ago in the semifinals against the Lakers, Popovich grimaced when Derek Fisher broke his heart with a wild three-pointer off an inbound pass with 0.4 seconds left. Duncan had hit the apparent game-winner a second earlier.
Popovich called Fisher's dagger the most "cruel" shot he'd absorbed, and the Lakers went on to win the West.
This time, Allen just missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, and the Spurs exhaled, knowing that Duncan likely would not have played in a Game 7 with his ankle feeling like jelly, as Popovich feared. Duncan turned his ankle in the fourth quarter of a one-point game but was down for only a moment.
"I thought about L.A., honest to God (on that last play)," Popovich said in his news conference. "I can't believe how good (Duncan) was. He'd have me assassinated if I had him out of the game any longer."
In and out
With P.J. Carlesimo, Dan Issel, Flip Saunders, John Lucas, Phil Jackson, Maurice Cheeks, Brian Hill and a fleet of others looking into NBA head-coaching gigs, the league doesn't really get rid of its own. It just moves them out on occasion, dusts them off and recycles them.
Of the lot, Jackson appears to command the steepest salary, perhaps five years for $50 million.
Saunders seems to be No. 2 on the list for half the league, and there have been reports he could make as much as $8 million a year, which seems incredibly high for a man with one good year in the playoffs, last season with Minnesota.
Issel, Carlesimo, Lucas and Hill may take chump change to return. They've been waiting that long.
About the writer: The Bee's Joe Davidson can be reached at (916) 321-1280 or jdavidson@sacbee.com.