If there is any consolation regarding the Heat's salary structure, it is that the Heat is not alone.
Many of the decisions made during the 2000 free-agent free-for-all have led to second-guessing.
In South Florida, of course, the ongoing debate, amid the Heat's ongoing struggles, has been those seven-year, $86 million deals extended to Eddie Jones and Brian Grant.
In Indiana, Jalen Rose's minutes are down, way down in recent games, amid questions about questionable defense. That has to at least have the Pacers giving second thoughts to their seven-year, $93 million deal.
In Milwaukee, Tim Thomas has yet to provide an equitable return on the six-year, $60 million deal he signed with the Bucks.
Glen Rice, at $40 million over four years, Tariq Abdul-Wahad, at $43 million over seven years, and Austin Croshere, at $51 million over seven years, also certainly have taken the luster off the summer of 2000.
Which brings us to the matter of Orlando forward Grant Hill.
For the first $20.4 million of its seven-year, $93 million investment in 2000, the Magic has received 18 total games from the forward. After a third ankle surgery in 20 months last week, the question becomes whether that's all there is.
So far, Hill has earned $1.14 million per appearance, a figure that could rise to $5.2 million per game, if there is no comeback.
"We haven't heard a single doctor say this is a dead-end street, not even a whisper that this is career-ending," Magic General Manager John Gabriel, ever the optimist, said last week.
Fine. But Gabriel added, "We all still believe he will be back, and as the player he once was."
Just like Alonzo Mourning is the same player? Call it apples and oranges if you must, but great players are great because they are 100 percent fit, at the top of their game. Peel any of that away and the greatness proves muted.
Recall the Magic, just a year ago, said it was 95 percent confident Hill would make a complete recovery from his second ankle surgery.
Then, last week, there was Magic team doctor Joe Billings, saying, "He'll be better once it's fixed."
Huh? No, Hill will never be better than during his best days with the Pistons. Assuming Hill heals from the latest surgery, he will, in effect, make his Magic debut two years from when he was signed. The last time we checked, two years older rarely is two years better, especially when one turns 30.
That said, the Magic is tuning out the critics, and rightfully so. If Orlando balked at paying what it paid, or if it insisted on some type of out clause while Hill was recovering from his first ankle surgery, several other teams, including the Heat, would have opened the checkbook, without restrictions or reservations.
Unlike some of the aforementioned free agents from the Class of 2000, Hill has not been a bust. He just never was able to get started.
"There are going to be a lot of people out there shooting down Grant Hill now, shooting down the Magic, saying they wasted all this money," Orlando guard Darrell Armstrong said. "I've heard it already. The only guy who should really be feeling sorry is Grant."
At least with Hill, hope remains. With some of the other signees during the summer of 2000, regret is not only warranted, it is justified.
MR. SMITH ARRIVES
In what seems like a continuing glimpse into what the Heat could have (and has not) accomplished through the draft, consider the play this season of Spurs guard Charles Smith.
That's Charles Smith as in Heat 1997 first-round pick Charles Smith.
Cast aside as a throw-in in the ill-fated 1998 trade of Ike Austin to the Clippers for Brent Barry, Smith has returned from tours in Europe and the CBA to flourish with the Spurs.
Limited to 17 minutes in San Antonio's first 15 games, Smith has provided several double-figure scoring boosts off the bench, paced by his accurate 3-point shooting.
"He's worked himself now into the mix," coach Gregg Popovich said. "So far he's definitely taken advantage of his opportunity."
With a long-armed build, Smith also has emerged as a defensive complement to Bruce Bowen on the perimeter, helping San Antonio overcome Steve Smith's defensive deficiencies.
ARTEST AVAILABLE?
Never on the best of terms with coach Tim Floyd, Bulls forward Ron Artest is bracing for a trade.
"I'll play for any team, whether it's Chicago or New York or Memphis," he said.
How about the Heat? Artest earns $1.2 million this season, which would fit into the $3.3 million trade exception the Heat acquired when it moved Tim Hardaway to Dallas.
While we're at it, wasn't Jerry Krause the man who so coveted Eddie Jones a year ago? And doesn't the Bulls' general manager currently possess an abundance of youthful big men that Floyd would just as soon replace with win-now talent?
Mind you, just last week, Krause lamented to Bloomberg News about the loss of Jones during 2000 free agency.
"At the last second he called me and he was in tears, saying he was going to Miami," Krause said. "Obviously, that derailed us some."
THE EYES HAVE IT
Having viewed Pat Riley's struggles, and having noticed Riley's beaten-down look, Sonics coach Nate McMillan said he can relate. "I know the feeling," he said. "I had so many bags up under my eyes last season that now I'm aware of that. I'm pressing them -- with heat -- in the morning. I heard that will remove the bags." ...
Two weeks ago, after beating the Heat, Michael Jordan was effusive in his praise for long-time foil Riley. Last week, Jordan spoke up for departed Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy, who once had the audacity and candor to call Jordan a "con artist" (which is exactly what he is if you ever saw him work the referees or impressionable young opponents). "Even though we had our little run-ins, his success really indicated that he's a pretty good coach," Jordan said. ...
Give Jordan credit -- he set a goal in his two-year comeback and appears to be meeting it. "I'm going to go back upstairs," said Jordan, who stepped aside in the interim as team president. "These guys are going to have to know how to win amongst themselves. What I wanted to do by coming down here was kick-start the whole process."
WEAK FOOTING
With some in Orlando concerned the Magic may have pushed Hill too hard in his comeback, an issue is brewing in New York over the playing time of center Marcus Camby. Limited by a sore foot, Camby is questioning his 40-minute outings. Limited by the injury absence of forward Clarence Weatherspoon, it is not as if New York has many other options. "When I play less, I feel more fresh," Camby said. Said coach Don Chaney, "I don't know if minutes necessarily create injuries." ...
Four of the Knicks' first nine games in December were decided by whether opponents' 3-pointers went down at the buzzer. Long balls by Detroit's Chucky Atkins and Boston's Antoine Walker fell, while similar attempts were off by Indiana's Reggie Miller and Charlotte's Baron Davis. ...
Center Adonal Foyle, once believed to be a prime trade target of the Knicks, has fallen off the radar in Golden State under interim coach Brian Winters. "The coach told me, barring injuries, I won't be playing for about 15 games," Foyle said. "It's horrible -- certainly a vote of no confidence in me as a player. If they don't have any confidence in me, which is clear, they should do what's right for them as well as for me."
YOUTH SERVED
In contrast to the Heat's no-youth movement, credit Milwaukee with at least trying to get something out of 2000 first-round pick Joel Przybilla. "If you've got a second-year player who is going to play 15-20 minutes on a team that's going to win 50-odd games, that's good," coach George Karl said. In fairness, the Heat at one point had that with Anthony Carter -- before that project basically went nowhere. ...
Karl continues to preach patience when it comes to Anthony Mason's adjustment to the Bucks' system. He said he does not expect the team and Mason to truly mesh until February. "I don't think anybody thinks this is a mistake," he said. "I think everybody is excited about what we're going to become." ...
Juwan Howard's struggles have reached the point where Eduardo Najera has quietly been usurping minutes at power forward in Dallas. "He's just been struggling on the offensive end, for whatever reason," coach Don Nelson said of Howard. ...
Opponents have begun to seize on Detroit's weakness, overwhelming the limited ballhandling of its point guards with bigger defenders in a trapping game. ...
His play just short of awful this season, Jazz center John Amaechi vows he eventually will turn around his fortunes. "The question is, will people get tired of waiting?" he admitted. The bigger question is whether Amaechi was just a one-season wonder in Orlando.
GETTING IT DONE
Say this about the Nets, they're resilient. After blowing 24 points of a 25-point lead in a victory against Boston two weeks ago, New Jersey blew a 19-point fourth-quarter lead last week against Minnesota before winning in overtime. "We have experience in games like these," said guard Jason Kidd, not explaining whether that is a good thing. ...
With Kidd fifth at guard in the Eastern Conference All-Star balloting behind Allen Iverson, Jordan, Tracy McGrady and Ray Allen, Nets coach Byron Scott couldn't help himself. "People are crazy," he said. "I don't want to say people are stupid, but crazy. They're not watching. You have to be damn near blind to have him fifth." ...
The latest sign of Shaquille O'Neal's relative indifference to the regular season: He decided Staples Center was too cold for a game last week, so he concentrated on his passing.
A 3-FOR-ALL
Yes, Antoine Walker's nifty 0 for 11 on 3-pointers in Monday's loss to the 76ers was an NBA record. The previous mark for wayward 3-point shooting was 0 for 10 by George McCloud, then with Dallas, against Toronto in 1996.
Teammates used to be aghast at the frequency of 3-point launches by the Celtics' power forward. Now they tolerate Walker's approach.
"We want him to keep shooting," forward Paul Pierce said. "He opens up so much. He initiates our offense."
Walker is on pace to break McCloud's record for 3-point attempts in a season and Dennis Scott's record for conversions. For most of the season, Walker has been running neck-and-neck with the team totals for 3-point attempts by the Wizards, Bulls, 76ers and Heat.