Reggie Miller might have retired too soon -- he still was hitting big shots in big games for the Indiana Pacers last season -- but it didn't take him very long to get back to work.

Miller sounded like a kid on Christmas last week when he was talking about his new job as an NBA analyst for TNT, ready to unleash some of the opinions he kept to himself as a player.

"One thing that will be a perk with this [job]. . . . I'm going to call a spade a spade," he said during a conference call last week with reporters. "I can say all the things I've always wanted to say. I'll be shooting from the hip. This is perfect for me."

Miller spent 18 seasons with the Indiana Pacers. The five-time all-star carved his niche as one of the best pure shooters in basketball history. He finished 12th on the league's all-time scoring list with 25,279 points. He never won a championship but was held in high regard by players and coaches around the NBA for his work ethic and reputation as a true professional, also a rarity in that he started and finished his career with the same team.

Although he is a California native, and he still keeps a home there, he never demanded or tried to force a trade from Indiana. And he never acted so poorly that the team ever wanted to trade him.

He didn't think much last season of players such as Alonzo Mourning, Jimmy Jackson and Doug Christie, guys under contract who were traded and either refused to report, or reported and then pouted until they got what they wanted.

"I've never liked guys making demands like that. I've never been a big advocate of guys holding out for something better," he said. "If you're traded, or drafted by a team, you go there, do what you got to do, and let the chips fall where they may."

Miller last week also was critical of Miami President Pat Riley, who dramatically changed the Heat's chemistry by adding high-profile players such as Jason Williams and Antoine Walker to a team that missed the Finals this season only because of late-season injuries.

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Miller said. "Personally, I would have kept the team the same. You won 59-60 games with that team. Now you're adding two more guys that are going to need the ball. If they don't make the playoffs, it's a disaster."