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Juwan Howard is now officially a Washington Bullet. The community-wide depression (okay, it really wasn't that bad) of the past month can end. The deal he signed last Monday is officially recognized by the league as the final deal in Juwan's free agent year.
A deal was finalized on August 11 between the NBA, the NBA Players Union, and the Miami Heat. The deals for three Heat players (P.J. Brown, Tim Hardaway, and Alonzo Mourning) were finalized and met with league approval. All of Brown's $1.5M in bonuses will be guaranteed; most of Hardaway's $1M in bonuses will be guaranteed under the agreement. Lastly, the league dropped its charge that the Heat circumvented the salary cap in trying to re-sign Mourning and sign Howard.
The Heat now have around $5M to $6M in cap room left to work in the market. However, Riley chose not to re-obtain negotiating rights for Rex Chapman and Walt Williams, who were renounced when Howard was signed. So, Riley will rebuild the rest of the team from scratch. I anticipate a trade happening, because there isn't much left in the FA market.
Now, the Bullets are practically set. Expect two other players to be signed, plus some training camp fodder. One of those players may be cut when Legler returns from his knee injury. And this lineup, if the chemistry works out, could be scary. You know what--that's the reason I'm a Bullets fan. All doubts have been erased from my mind. Now I just need to find the pocket cash to pay for those season tickets.
wtf 11 August 1996
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Derek Smith was 34 and had a wife and two children. And everyone who ran into him loved him. There are tons of stories about Smith, some of which I'll put together in a column I write in his memory. Because the more I think about it, this loss could be very bad for the Bullets.
Smith was a member of the 1980 Louisville national championship tea and was always known as a hard worker. He was drafted in the 2nd round by Golden State in 1982, but was on the verge of becoming a star. In his third season, he averaged 22 ppg playing for the Los Angeles Clippers under Coach Jimmy Lynam, then averaged 23.5 ppg in 11 games before a knee injury cut his season short.
Despite he lost much of his physical scoring prowess, it didn't stop his NBA career. He turned himself into a defender and grew accustomed to the role of playing limited minutes. His hard working habits continued into his role as a coach, and he followed Lynam as an assistant coach from Philadelphia to Washington.
What's more, the players loved him. Juwan speaks highly of him. One of the reasons Chris Whitney re-signed was Smith. In his playing days (post-knee injury), Charles Barkley and Larry Bird loved what he brought. Smith worked with every player on the team, and was responsible for the development of many of the young players on this team.
Smith would often get to the arena before a game with trainer Kevin Johnson. Smith would be there, ready to teach a player in some of the finer points of their offensive or defensive game. The couple of times I actually arrived very early to a game, there was Smith helping a player. Often, it would be Juwan practicing his outside shot or some other move repeatedly (Juwan didn't improve on his own). But Smith also worked with the other players.
He worked a lot with Jim McIlvaine on his offensive game, which actually got less hesitant over his two years of tutelage. Two seasons ago, Anthony Tucker actually developed some offensive skill under Smith's guidance. We know what he did with Howard. Legler developed some shots on the move working with Smith. The young players will definitely miss Smith's presence.
And I will too. At first, I didn't understand why Smith was on the bench. But over the past season, I understood the true role that Smith had on that bench. He wasn't outspoken or flashy, but helped this team improve in the ways that don't always catch the glare of the media. We should offer our prayers to Smith's widow and his two children; his father was always strong in his convictions and his strength will live on through them.
wtf 11 August 1996
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Lynam was convinced that Juwan and Derek Smith were very similar types of people--very special people:
Wes went on to summarize what happened when Juwan went back on the free agent market. "It was just an opportunity. We had a second look at it. When this scenario was put before us, I gave Curtis [Polk, who represented Juwan in the latest negotiations] a call. I gave [Bullets legal counsel] David Osnos a call. I said, 'Let's get this done.' That was it. [Bullets owner Abe] Pollin gave me the authority to do it. I didn't get it done the first time. The second time we came back, I was determined to get it done as quickly as possible." I'm glad he realized his mistake the first time, and he very quickly resolved it the second time.
Polk's take on the situation was also positive, despite the braying from Miami from their fans and Pat Riley: "A lot of people in the Miami press are trying to say [Howard] cut and run because of the money. That's a really short-sighted way to look at it. Here's a guy that's worked very hard to get where he is. It's not like the consequence would hve been, instead of playing for $101 [million], could have played for $95 million in Miami or another team. He could have lost $30 to $50 million based on our estimates if he had played this thing out over a few weeks. We had to look at what options there were and make a quick decision with Juwan."
Some more quotes from Juwan:
Now, we can get excited about the upcoming season. The pieces for a very successful season are in place. That depressing feeling is temporarily gone. A successful season will help get rid of that feeling--hopefully permanently. Welcome back, Juwan.
wtf 31 August 1996
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Riley said all of the personnel moves he has made with the Heat were geared toward signing both Alonzo Mourning and Howard. "The day Juwan Howard signed the contract with the Washington Bullets was the day I hit a new low in my 30 years in the NBA. I knew at that time, once he signed that contract we wouldn't get him back even if we won it in the Supreme Court," said Riley.
Riley wasn't done with Howard. "I knew basically there was too much risk to fight this war for somebody who didn't want to be here." Hmm, tell us what's on your mind, Pat. Though I think the "winner within," in this case (Riley published a book titled "The Winner Within" earlier this decade), chose not to try to win. That's the weakest excuse I've ever seen, especially from Riley, who always makes sure he gets his way.
Riley also claimed the league initially approved all four contracts (Howard, Mourning, P.J. Brown, Tim Hardaway). Probably true--but not a formal approval. That comes after they comb through the fine print, no doubt. (Remember, executives know how to pick their words so that they stretch the truth but not lying either.) Then came a terse telephone call putting things on hold. Said Riley: "Obviously, they [executives in the league office] didn't want to try to talk it out."
Yet more Rileyisms:
wtf 31 August 1996
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The list of attendees included a who's who of college and professional basketball. Charles Barkley, Rick Mahorn and former NBA guard Johnny Dawkins played with Smith in Philadelphia, and Mitchell Butler, Rex Chapman, Calbert Cheaney, Juwan Howard, Tim Legler, Jim McIlvaine, and Gheorghe Muresan all played for Smith at some time during his two-year stint as a Bullets assistant. Bullets owner Abe Pollin, Bullets coach Jim Lynam, Bullets team president Susan O'Malley and Bullets general manager Wes Unseld also attended. Pervis Ellison of the Boston Celtics, Tyrone Hill of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Danny Manning of the Phoenix Suns, and John Starks of the New York Knicks were there, as were Atlanta Hawks general manager Pete Babcock and former Bullets general manager/current New Jersey Nets general manager John Nash.
Many of Smith's former Louisville teammates were on hand, including Wiley Brown, Jerry Eaves, Rodney and Scooter McCray, Darrell Griffith and Roger Burkman. Louisville coach Denny Crum and Louisville athletics director Bill Olsen were also in attendance. Other former Louisville players at the service (who didn't necessarily play with Smith) included Junior Bridgeman, Lancaster Gordon, Charles Jones, Greg Minor, Kenny Payne, Tick Rogers and Dwayne Morton. Scooter McCray, Eaves and Brown served as pallbearers, along with Gordon, Griffith, Jones, Minor and Payne.
Smith's friends had many kind words to say about Derek. Said Scooter McCray: "Anybody who needed a helping hand, Derek was there. He didn't have to be a superstar. He opened a lot of doors, not just for himself. He inspired and cared about a lot of people."
McCray also was quoted as saying: "He used basketball as a vehicle to attain a lot of success. He used it to open up a lot of doors for others. Anybody that needed a helping hand, Derek was there to help out."
Barkley said: "Usually when you go to funerals, people say a lot of great things about people who weren't really great people. [wtf note: typical Charles!] But any time somebody says something about Derek Smith, you know he was a great person. We lost a great person and the world is not as good as it was a week ago."
Preliminary reports on the cause of Smith's death indicate that he suffered respiratory arrest brought on by a combination of motion-sickness medications. The final report on the cause of Smith's death will be released at a later date, pending completed test results.
wtf 25 August 1996
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