It's starting to look like Detroit's Grant Hill actually may avoid the disease of selfishness that seems to plague many young players these days.
Hill recently said he has no plans to lobby Pistons management to restructure his contract, even though that's typical these days. Heck, Milwaukee's Vin Baker is a third-year player and already working on his THIRD renegotiation.The fact that Hill is underpaid will become even more apparent this summer, as free agents with less-impressive credentials sign for more than he makes.
"I'm making a lot of money now, and when the time comes (to negotiate a new contract) I'll look at what's going on," Hill said. "But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
Hill already makes an average of $5.6 million a year.
"I'm going to honor my contract," Hill said. "I made my commitment to them and they made theirs to me. And I think it was more than fair. Guys will be making so much money, but once you get to a certain level, it's all the same."
MA RIDER: Minnesota's J.R. Rider didn't offer any comment on his mom's stroll onto the court during last Sunday's game against the Jazz until two days later. Seems he took the day after that game off, to attend to a "personal matter."
One might suspect he was suffering from near-terminal embarrassment, but he says that was not the case. "I wasn't embarrassed by that," Rider said. "She's just a mother who was concerned about her son. It wasn't like she was coming in to save the day or something."
NBA official Rod Thorn had a different view: "Sometimes that can make a situation escalate . . . From a safety standpoint for the fans and players, we really don't like to see that. In some cases, players might not know who the person is that's coming out of the stands."
GARBO GARNETT: Minnesota rookie Kevin Garnett went from high school to the Timberwolves, where he immediately became attached to Mr. Rider, to everyone's alarm. But the kid handled the media attention pretty well until the other day, when he marked off an area on the floor in front of his locker stall with athletic tape, forming a barrier that reporters are not to cross while talking to him.
(Personal note: I went into the Minnesota locker room after last Sunday's Jazz game in Minneapolis, and someone else was already interviewing Garnett. With his head down, his eyes on the floor, the youngster answered a half-dozen questions with a barely audible "yes" or "no." As far as I'm concerned, he can put a tape box around whatever state he's in.)
RAUF LEFTOVERS: The Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf national anthem flap is over, thank goodness, but there were a couple of quotes that were too good to pass up.
From Mark West of the Pistons: "The league is walking a tight line if they start getting into politics or religion. You know, the league isn't doing anything about Atlanta for flying that Rebel flag over their building."
The other comes from Charlotte, where owner George Shinn requires players not only to stand but to place their right hand over their hearts. Said Shinn: "I talk to all the players before each season and I tell them I have one request, that they salute the flag and show the proper respect during the national anthem. I tell them, `Look guys, I'm not making you do this, but I'm going to be up there in the stands watching, and if you're down there picking your nose or something and not standing at attention, then you're telling me you don't like it here and you want to be traded.' So far, I haven't had anybody who's had any problem with it."
QUOTEBOOK: Minnesota GM Kevin McHale, in the Minnesota Star Tribune, on Rider's behavior turnaround this season, the morning before Rider was ejected: "Look, every person in the world is salvageable. You're not talking about Charles Manson. You're talking about a young, very talented athlete who, in the scheme of things, has probably been coddled and pampered."
Seattle coach George Karl, on guard Gary Payton's head-butt of Joe Wolf: "There was no intention of harm or aggressiveness. It was kind of like the thing to do when Joe Wolf is sticking his face right there . . . Joe Wolf was trying to get Gary to do something."
Minnesota promotion types reworked the song "What I Like About You" into "What I Like About Googs," in honor of Tom Gugliotta, then told their forward to start quickly the next game because they wanted to play the song in the first quarter. Naturally, Googs made one of his first nine shots.