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Miller's Needle Not Sharp to MaloneA month after Karl Malone and Gary Payton made their cut-rate deals with the Lakers, sacrificing cash for the opportunity for an NBA title, Reggie Miller re-upped with the Indiana Pacers, for whom he'd played his entire career. Miller then proclaimed a purity of purpose and organizational devotion. "I didn't want to be like some other guys," Miller said, "who jump on another team's bandwagon just to get a ring." Take that, fellas. "If I was coming in here and playing 10 minutes a night, that's riding a coattail," Malone said. "I'll tell you what, I wasn't pulling against the Lakers, but it made my decision a lot easier when they didn't win. When I heard Reggie make his decision, I like Reggie and I won't elaborate, but I'll say this: He had opportunity to do what I did and take less money. But he chose to make more money and stay where he was at. So, God bless him and God bless me." Miller, who earned $12 million with the Pacers last season, agreed to a two-year contract for about $5 million per season. It is believed the Lakers offered Miller the same deal they did Malone and Payton: Play for less, earn more. "At some point, somebody had to make some statement to say it's not all about the money all the time," Malone said. "Now, I don't want to hide the fact it wouldn't have been nice to make $10 million a year. Don't get me wrong. But how is that to the regular fan now? Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Arroyo is a celebrity in his home of Puerto RicoOn billboards, he's hawking Finlandia malt beverages. On television, he's enthusing about sandwiches made from Holsum bread. Newspapers run his photo almost daily lately, including a full-page shot of an up-and-under reverse layup on the back page of a San Juan tabloid last week. And every time Carlos Arroyo ventures out in public in his homeland, crowds of raucous fans shout his name, snap photos and ask for autographs. In Utah, the Jazz's buried-on-the-bench third-string point guard is virtually anonymous out of uniform. But here in his hometown, like virtually everywhere on this basketball-mad island of 3 million people, Arroyo's fame rivals anything his former teammates John Stockton and Karl Malone encounter on the mainland. "Yeah, but John and Karl are known all over the world," Arroyo says. "This is my home." It's a home that has sent only six players to the NBA, none with much success so far. It's a home that, virtually alone among Caribbean locales, prefers basketball above soccer, baseball or any other sport. And because of that history, it is a home that has tracked the point guard's college and professional progress in the United States in remarkable detail -- "even when I'm not playing," Arroyo says with a laugh. "He is an icon here," says Leo Arill, a San Juan journalist and acquaintance of Arroyo's. "Just the fact that he is there, in the NBA, makes him popular. People are proud when a Puerto Rican is part of sports on the [U.S.] mainland, and he was one of the most popular players already. Everywhere now, it's 'Carlos, Carlos, Carlos.' " Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Warriors, Cheaney are close to a dealAccording to published reports, the Golden State Warriors are on the verge of signing veteran free-agent swingman Calbert Cheaney to a one-year contract. Cheaney, 6-foot-7, averaged 8.6 points per game for the Utah Jazz a year ago, including shooting 40 percent from 3-point range. The former Indiana University star was Utah's starting off guard for most of last season, but is expected to replace Bob Sura and serve as a backup for the Warriors' Jason Richardson and Mike Dunleavy Jr. Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz Read the Full Story Discuss Send Feedback Buy Tickets Jazz Aug 2003 Archive
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