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Believing the hype NBA owners buy into players' potential
By Jennifer A. Cooper, CNNSI.com Are you better off now than you were four years ago? If you're a sixth man in the NBA, chances are good the answer is yes. In the summer of 1996, Dikembe Mutombo had made three All-Star appearances and twice led the Nuggets to the postseason, including Denver's historic victory over top-seeded Seattle in 1995. He was rewarded with a five-year, $50 million contract offer from the Atlanta Hawks. In the summer of 2000, Tim Thomas had played three years in the NBA -- starting 78 of those 220 games. The biggest honor he could claim was being selected to the 1997-98 All-Rookie Second Team. He was rewarded with a contract offer reportedly worth $66 million over six years from the Milwaukee Bucks. It isn't as if team owner Herb Kohl and head coach George Karl were alone in their generosity. The Chicago Bulls were ready and willing to open the vault for the Bucks' sixth man, who averaged 10.2 points per game last season.
The rapid development of Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant has made every NBA team so eager to sign the next "money" player that management has been trying to reverse the process, hoping young players will grow into their enormous salaries. A close look at the resumes of a few of these new bonus babies shows they have a way to go: But the outpouring of big bucks isn't the extent of it. Desperate to hold on to their sixth man, the Minnesota Timberwolves committed "the most serious salary-cap offense," promising Joe Smith a huge payoff next summer if he signed for the league minimum this season. And they put it in writing. In their zeal to wrap up a guy who started nine games for them last year, the T'wolves have jeopardized their future -- they stand to lose not only Smith but also draft picks and lots of cash.
As these teams have emptied the bank and are waiting to find out if their big gambles pay off, the veteran Mutombo soon will be offering his services to the folks who can afford him. He'll be a free agent after this season, and you can be sure the 7-2 center who's proved he can play also will command a hefty payday, even if he's already lived up to his potential.
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