By Staff
Being the second-leading scorer of all-time in the NBA and a guaranteed hall-of-famer apparently is not enough for Karl Malone.
The Mailman joined Gary Payton this week as free agent signees with the Los Angeles Lakers in what both are hoping is a shot at winning an NBA title.
Malone has been to the Olympics, as has Payton. Both have been on great teams that have come close to winning the NBA title. And both have now taken cuts in pay to play with a team they feel can get them to the top of the basketball world.
Malone will make just $1.5 million next year and Payton will earn $4.917 next season.
Yes, those figures are substantially lower than what the two superstar veterans normally make during an NBA season.
For that, they are commended by almost everybody for making such a huge sacrifice.
Please!
These guys have more money than they know what to do with. They could play five NBA season without making a penny and still be wealthier than most of the world.
So, taking a pay cut is not exactly a huge sacrifice.
In fact, jumping ship to join a team already loaded with talent makes Malone more of a sellout than anything else.
Is it really commendable for him to want to win a team championship after so many years of racking up individual awards?
Is it really commendable to take less money just so he can win the one thing he wasn't able to win with the Jazz?
Malone, who will soon be 40 years old, could have gone down in history as one of the best basketball players of all time.
But, that wasn't enough for him. He needed just one more thing.
Malone is still a great player, and he's still a great guy. He's one of the players in the NBA who doesn't get in trouble with the law and sets a good example for young children. He's still respectable.
But, Malone is essentially buying his way into a championship by joining the Lakers.
He could have stuck with the Jazz, the only NBA team he's played with, and given them one more season as a show of gratitude. But, he left them high and dry and needing to rebuild, all in an effort to win the one thing he couldn't while in Salt Lake City.
Payton's decision is more understandable. After several years with the Seattle Sonics and, more recently, with the Milwaukee Bucks, Payton went looking for a team he could win with and stay with for a long time. It makes sense for him, much more than it does for Malone.
Winning isn't everything, but that seems to be the only thing on Malone's mind these days.
That's a shame.
Dan Weiss is sports editor of the Niles Daily Star. He can be reached at dan.weiss@leaderpub.com