Welcome back, Carter

Carter won't have to dunk over Howard anymore. Photo by Reuters.

Yesterday, the Orlando Magic NBA basketball team made the surprise announcement: Number 15, VC, Vinsanity, a.k.a. Vince Carter had been acquired from the New Jersey Nets in a three for two trade. Carter, an Allstar himself, would add to the already talented starting lineup of Allstars: center Dwight Howard, point guard Jameer Nelson, and power forward Rashard Lewis, to fill the critical position of shooting guard.

Carter, a native of Daytona Beach and resident of Orlando, is already a hometown hero in the eyes of local residents. In an effort to give back, Carter has generously donated to many organizations which have touched his life. He is highly admired and respected for his generous philanthropy. It is only fitting that Carter come home to play for the local NBA team, the Orlando Magic, where he can someday end his basketball playing career.

Carter attended Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, part of the Volusia County public school system. His team won the state championship in 1995. Carter played baritone in the marching band and the saxophone in the jazz band and graduated with honors in 1995.

In 1995, Carter was accepted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he played basketball under legendary coach, Dean Smith, before Smith retired in October of 1997. Carter was the Tarheel’s leading scorer during UNC’s NCAA final four playoff games in 1997 and 1998. Although he left college in 1998 to take his chances with the NBA draft, he later returned to school and graduated with a degree in African-American studies from UNC in 2001.

In 1998, Carter was drafted 5th in the NBA by the Golden State Warriors on behalf of the Toronto Raptors, where he would spend his next six years. He won the coveted “Rookie of the Year” award in 1999. In 2004, he was traded to the New Jersey Nets where he became the team’s leading scorer.

GIVING BACK

While earning the big NBA paychecks, Carter never forgot his roots. He created the “Embassy of Hope Foundation,” a charity to assist families and children, soon after joining the NBA in 1998. The amount of donations the foundation has awarded is phenomenal. A comprehensive list is currently posted on the Nets website.

Carter’s own website also lists updates on his current fundraisers and projects: www.vincecarter15.com

His mother, Michelle Carter-Scott, now a Palm Coast resident, has assisted and guided Carter in his philanthropic efforts.

While earning money playing for Toronto, Carter set up scholarship funds to benefit students back home in Daytona Beach. Over the next few years he would become an institution in the community, founding a summer basketball camp, donating to local schools and libraries, and even giving 2.5 million dollars to Volusia County Public schools to assist in rebuilding Mainland High School.

If you drive along International Speedway in Daytona Beach, you will see the beautiful, new Vince Carter Athletic Center at the new Mainland High School campus, named for Carter in honor to his continued dedication to education.

Carter and his mother are currently involved in a new project: a 100-bed treatment facility for substance abuse set to open on July 20 in Bunnell, FL. The facility will be named the Vince Carter Sanctuary and will be run by the Stewart-Marchman-Act Behavioral Healthcare System, a mental health group which operates 15 facilities in Volusia and Flagler Counties. The website features a personal message by Carter, where he says, “Together, we can Slam-Dunk Addiction at the Vince Carter Sanctuary.”

Race car driver, Darrell Waltrip, and his wive, Stevie, also sponsor a center run by Stewart-Marchman-Act.

To honor Carter and his mother for their contributions to the local community, Carter will serve as the honorary pace car driver at this year’s Daytona 400 sponsored by Coke Zero on Saturday, July 4.

Carter is also set to open his own restaurant, just off I-95 on LPGA. The restaurant is currently under construction.

RYAN ANDERSON JOINS THE MAGIC

Traded along with Carter comes Ryan Anderson, an up and coming rookie forward who shows real promise to someday be an Allstar himself. Anderson’s stats are nearly as good as veteran Magic player's Hedo Turkoglu, who perhaps coincidentally, also wears the number 15 jersey and has publicly announced that he would like a raise if he were to stay with the Magic, or else? One can’t help but think that Carter has been eyeing that number 15 Orlando Magic jersey for some time, now. Turkoglu might want to rethink his demand for a raise.

Although I am sad to see Magic players Courtney Lee, Rafer Alston, and Tony Battie leave the Magic and will miss them terribly (Go get ‘em, guys!), I am extremely ecstatic to welcome Carter home to Florida. Welcome back!

Go, Hedo! Go?

Playoff photo from zimbio.com.

Hedo Turkoglu’s contract is winding up.

Earning $6.8 million in his fifth year as the Orlando Magic starting small forward and set to earn $7.4 next season, Turkoglu’s agent, Lon Babby, has been rumored to have demanded a minimum annual salary of $10 million for Turkoglu, or else he’ll walk. Sacramento and Portland are rumored to be interested in picking up the Magic man.

Although Hedo’s request might be warranted, he’s been going about asking all the wrong way. A $10M salary will be a burden to the team and force the owners to pay a luxury tax for going over the salary cap. This is a bad economy and many of us are worried about making the mortgage, much less, scraping up enough extra cash for season tickets next year.

Here’s the way Hedo should ask for his raise:

This has been the best year ever! This has been the best team ever! Coach Stan Van Gundy has done a great job! I truly appreciate the team owners, the DeVos family, for all they have done. I really, really want to stay in Orlando. It’s become a home to me, second only to my homeland of Turkey. The people here are so wonderful. My contract is up, but I really hope I can stay in this beautiful city. Amway Arena’s a great venue and I’m looking forward to playing in the new arena. I don’t want to leave my friends, the fans, who have supported me and ignited an energy inside of me to win. I know the economy is bad, but I hope I can get a raise with my new contract. I know I have room for improvement, and I want to work hard for this team. My dream is to take the Magic to a championship, and someday, end my career here.

Wouldn’t that statement make you want to give him a raise?

But, would the team be better off without Hedo? Would his absence allow other forwards -- such as Mickael Pietrus, Tony Battie, and Jeremy Richardson – more room to blossom? Marcin Gortat, who’s also a free agent and shopping around for more playing time, might make a good starting forward with a little work. Perhaps even Adonal Foyle, a center set to retire this year, might work as a forward.

Throughout this winning 2008-2009 Orlando Magic NBA Basketball Season, I’ve gotten to know starter Hidayet “Hedo” Turkoglu (pronounced Hee-doh Turk-oh-lue) from my upper level season ticket seats at Amway Arena. Unlike many of the other Magic players who tend to crumple under the gun, Turkoglu plays infinitely better when he’s under extreme pressure. Fake a foul so that Turkoglu is unfairly penalized and he’ll go up for a dunk or 3-pointer next chance he gets – and nearly always make it. Commit an intentional foul against Turkoglu, and he’ll foul you back. When he does get a chance to shoot a free throw, he makes the basket 81% of the time. Make him angry and you’ve unleashed a tiger. This means war and he’ll be on your back the rest of the game, matching shot after shot.

Turkoglu also plays much better when the crowd cheers for him. The day my friends and I brought "Hedo" signs to the game was one of his highest scoring games ever. Scream “Go Hedo,” and he’ll try to make a shot for you.

However, many of us in the crowd have also been disappointed. During fast complicated plays, I’ve seen Turkoglu accidentally throw the ball to a member of the opposing team; throw the ball into empty space; selfishly attempt to make difficult shots when another player is open (which he’ll nearly always miss); lazily let someone else try to get the rebound (even when he’s the closest); sluggishly walk down the court too late to do any good; and not put out enough energy to defend opposing players. I’ve also seen jealousy in his eyes when the Dwight Howard Superman t-shirts were left on every seat on Christmas Day, and when the crowd cheered excitedly whenever J.J. Reddick entered the court.

Hedo is an emotional player. Love him and he loves you back. But, don’t give him the attention he thinks he deserves and his energy level drops.

Does Turkoglu deserve $10 million? Is it worth it for the Magic Team owners, the DeVos family, to go over the salary cap and pay the luxury tax? When I first heard the figure, I growled, “Who does Hedo think he is? Let him go!” Then I saw the rest of the player salaries and I realized that he may have a point.


Pay Based on Expectations At Time of Signing

According to Hoops Hype and Yahoo sports, here’s last year’s breakdown, plus next year’s salaries:

Position	Player	FG%	FT%	Min.	Reb	Ast.	PPG	2008/09	2009/10
Center	Dwight Howard	57.2	59.4	35.42	13.8	1.4	20.6	$13,758,000	$15,133,800
(backup)	Marcin Gortat	56.7	57.8	12:35	4.5	.2	3.8	$711,517	Match up to $5M
(backup)	Adonal Foyle	63.6	50	6:35	2.9	.1	1.9	$294,530	retiring?
Power Forward	Rashard Lewis	43.9	83.6	36:12	5.7	2.6	17.7	$17,238,000	$18,876,000
(backup)	Tony Battie	48.9	65.9	15:35	3.6	.4	4.8	$5,746,000	$6,292,000
Small Forward	Hedo Turkoglu	41.3	80.7	36:36	5.3	4.9	16.8	$6,864,200	$7,354,500
(backup)	Mickael Pietrus	41.3	70.9	24:36	3.3	1.2	9.4	$5,300,000	$5,300,000
(backup)	Jeremy Richardson	28.6	50	7:42	1.2	.3	3.1	$779,856	leaving?
Point Guard	Jameer Nelson	50.3	88.7	31:11	3.5	5.4	16.7	$5,555,555	$6,138,888
(backup)	Rafer Alston	41.3	70.7	29:30	2.9	5.1	12.0	$4,900,000	$5,250,000
(backup)	Anthony Johnson	40.4	75.3	18:30	1.8	2.5	5.3	$2,000,000	$2,160,000
(backup)	Tyronn Lue	39.5	66.7	9:11	.8	1.0	3.0	$2,250,000	leaving?
Shooting Guard	Courtney Lee	45.0	83.0	25:11	2.3	1.2	8.4	$1,176,240	$1,264,440
(backup)	J.J. Redick	39.1	87.1	17:23	1.7	1.1	6	$2,139,720	$2,839,408
TOTALS:								$68,713,618	$70,609,036+

It’s obvious that salaries really don’t match player skill or position. There’s no doubt that Allstars Rashard Lewis and Dwight Howard are two of our finest players. However, Jameer Nelson, also named an Allstar this year, only earns about a third of what Lewis and Howard earn.

How should players be paid? Here’s a few options:


Socialized Pay

Should everyone get paid the same based on position? In order to stay within the $70M average salary cap, the NBA could base pay on position, not stats. The assumption is that if a player is good enough to lead their team to the finals, they will get plenty of endorsements. Everyone knows, endorsements are where the real money is!

One possible breakdown based on a 15-man team:
Starters: $8M each ($40M total)
2nd string: $5M each ($25M total)
3rd string: $1M each ($5M total)


Performance Pay

In an attempt to place a numeric value on performance, I created the following chart. To get the following numbers, I first converted the average minutes played per game to a decimal number. Then I divided points per game into the minutes played, to determine how productive each player is during the time they actually play. (Sometimes a great ball player gets little playing time because they are not starters.)

To get the “Scoring Value,” I added the field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and points per game made per minute played.

Since a players’ worth can be based more on how they help other’s score or defend, not in how they score themselves, I also came up with a “Teamwork Value.” This is basically the sum of the rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and personal fouls per minute played, minus turnovers.

(All percentages and decimals are rounded and multiplied by 100 to get a whole number.)

Scoring Value by Player 

Listed by position. Based on Regular Season 2008-2009 statistics.

Position	Player	Min.		FG%	FT%	PPG/ Min	Scoring Value
Center	Dwight Howard	35.7		57.2	59.4	58	175
(backup)	Marcin Gortat	12.58		56.7	57.8	30	145
(backup)	Adonal Foyle	6.58		63.6	50.0	29	143
Power Forward	Rashard Lewis	36.20		43.9	83.6	49	177
(backup)	Tony Battie	15.58		48.9	65.9	31	146
Small Forward	Hedo Turkoglu	36.60		41.3	80.7	46	168
(backup)	Mickael Pietrus	24.60		41.3	70.9	38	150
(backup)	Jeremy Richardson	7.70		28.6	50.0	40	119
Point Guard	Jameer Nelson	31.18		50.3	88.7	54	193
(backup)	Rafer Alston	29.50		41.3	70.7	41	153
(backup)	Anthony Johnson	18.50		40.4	75.3	29	145
(backup)	Tyronn Lue	9.18		39.5	66.7	33	139
Shooting Guard	Courtney Lee	25.18		45.0	83.0	33	161
(backup)	J.J. Redick	17.38		39.1	87.1	35	161

Teamwork Value by Player

Listed by position. Based on Regular Season 2008-2009 statistics

Position	Player	Reb/ Min	Ast./ Min	Stl/ Min	Blk/ Min	PF/ Min	Minus TO/ Min	Teamwork Value
Center	Dwight Howard	39	4	3	8	10	-8	56
(backup)	Marcin Gortat	36	2	2	6	14	-3	57
(backup)	Adonal Foyle	44	2	0	14	6	-5	61
Power Forward	Rashard Lewis	16	7	3	2	7	-6	29
(backup)	Tony Battie	23	3	2	2	10	-4	36
Small Forward	Hedo Turkoglu	14	13	2	1	8	-7	31
(backup)	Mickael Pietrus	13	5	2	2	10	-4	28
(backup)	Jeremy Richardson	16	4	0	0	6	-4	22
Point Guard	Jameer Nelson	11	17	4	0	10	-6	36
(backup)	Rafer Alston	10	17	6	0	7	-6	34
(backup)	Anthony Johnson	10	14	3	1	8	-6	30
(backup)	Tyronn Lue	9	11	1	0	10	-1	30
Shooting Guard	Courtney Lee	10	5	4	1	8	-4	24
(backup)	J.J. Redick	10	6	2	0	6	-5	19

Scoring Value Plus Teamwork Value by Player

Listed by position. Based on Regular Season 2008-2009 statistics

Position	Player	Scoring Value plus Teamwork Value
Center	Dwight Howard	231
(backup)	Marcin Gortat	202
(backup)	Adonal Foyle	204
Power Forward	Rashard Lewis	206
(backup)	Tony Battie	182
Small Forward	Hedo Turkoglu	199
(backup)	Mickael Pietrus	178
(backup)	Jeremy Richardson	141
Point Guard	Jameer Nelson	229
(backup)	Rafer Alston	187
(backup)	Anthony Johnson	175
(backup)	Tyronn Lue	169
Shooting Guard	Courtney Lee	185
(backup)	J.J. Redick	180

Key:
Min -- Minutes played per game. This does not average in games where this player does not play at all.
FG% -- Percentage of Field Goals (regular shots) made per attempted shot.
FT% -- Percentage of Free Throws the player made per attempt.
PPG/Min – Points per game (per minute played).
Reb/Min – Rebounds, both offensive and defensive (per minute played).
Ast/Min – Assists, such as setting up the ball for other players so they can make a basket (per minute played).
Stl/Min – Steals (per minute played).
Blk/Min – Blocks, a defensive maneuver (per minute played).
PF/Min – Personal Fouls, a defensive maneuver (per minute played).
TO/Min – Turnovers, a very bad thing (per minute played).


Salary Plus Performance Pay

Often revered by employers everywhere, salary plus performance pay is one ideal way to give your employees a fair living wage plus an incentive to do well in their jobs. While Unions hate it, salespeople swear by this method, for it rewards those who truly hustle. The assumption is that not everyone will make the maximum in performance pay, so the salary cap can be maintained.

Starters: $5M base plus up to $5M performance pay each.
2nd string: $3M base plus up to $3M performance pay each.
3rd string: $1M base plus up to $1M performance pay each.