They’re still three amigos, friends, Dallas guard Michael Finley says. But they’re not “The Three Amigos” anymore.
“The relationship is a good relationship,” Finley insists. “They are always rooting for me and calling me after games when I’ve had good games and encouraging me. I’m encouraging them as well to keep working hard and not get frustrated, because one day we’ll all be in the NBA.”
That was the dream for west suburban Proviso East High School basketball stars Finley, Sherell Ford and Donnie Boyce. They used to discuss it at their Maywood high school while playing endless pickup games and after they went their separate ways as three of the top high school prospects in the nation.
They all got to the NBA, Finley as a low first-round pick of the Phoenix Suns, Ford as a low first-round pick of the Seattle SuperSonics and Boyce as a second-round pick of the Atlanta Hawks.
But the dreams of Ford and Boyce evaporated quickly.
Boyce never fully recovered from the broken foot he suffered in his last season at Colorado and is on the injured list in the CBA this season. Ford, an offensive-minded player who went to Illinois-Chicago, never could develop defensively enough to satisfy coach George Karl. He’s playing for the Yakima Sun Kings in the CBA, for whom he was CBA player of the week recently.
Whether either gets another opportunity in the NBA now is questionable. This spring’s draft means teams will look at 58 new players before examining previously discarded talent such as Ford and Boyce.
So their road back is difficult, though Finley roots for his friends. But Ford and Boyce now know they aren’t likely to match Finley’s accomplishments, or his bank account. He’s considered a future All-Star–along with Grant Hill, Tim Hardaway and Mitch Richmond he leads his team in scoring, assists, steals and minutes–and starts a five-year, $42 million contract extension next season.
“I’m living a dream right now,” Finley acknowledges. “My dream was to make it to the NBA. I just wanted to be the best player I can be.”
Ford and Boyce, no doubt, curse circumstance. Finley was no more highly regarded in 1995 than they were. Once considered a possible top 10 pick while at Wisconsin, his poor shooting and his team’s indifferent performance led scouts to rate his game limited.
But Finley went to a rebuilding Phoenix team, where he had a chance to play regularly. Then he was traded to Dallas in the Jason Kidd deal. Dallas management considered him the key to the trade, so it was in management’s interest for Finley to succeed.
Now Finley is force-fed the ball as the center of the offense, a regular tactic of coach Don Nelson, who did the same in Golden State for a low first-round pick named Latrell Sprewell. Since Nelson took over for Jim Cleamons as coach, Finley is averaging 22.3 points (up from 17.8) in more than 42 minutes per game. He had 32 points Thursday night as the Mavericks came from 19 points behind to stun the Bulls 104-97 in overtime.
Finley’s weakness is that he’s not a natural team leader. He’s a quiet, sometimes remote youngster who often shuns reporters. Even teammate Kurt Thomas, now helping the coaching staff while injured, says, “For this team to be better, he has to talk up more. He’s not speaking up enough. I think you have to start cursing guys out sometimes, but he’s not that type of guy.”
Finley is bold mostly with his game. He’s an aggressive, athletic slasher who has improved his shooting and is second only to Richmond among scoring guards in the Western Conference. He is the leading scorer among players in the 1995 draft class that included Kevin Garnett, Damon Stoudamire, Joe Smith and Antonio McDyess.
The Bulls strongly considered Finley, but with Michael Jordan back and Horace Grant gone, they decided they would need a power forward. They selected Jason Caffey, since dealt to Golden State for, effectively, draft picks.
Could Finley have emerged in Chicago, playing near home with childhood idol Jordan, against whom Finley once played one-on-one after winning a Chicago TV station contest? Would Finley be in the CBA now?
It’s not something he considers as he approaches NBA stardom.
“If you make a list of the top five or 10 guys who are underrated, I think I would be toward the top of that list,” he says. “But I’m not going to let that affect me. We’re not one of the top teams in the West. But I can’t get frustrated. When your team wins, you bring attention to the team. They wonder, `Oooh, this team is winning. What’s going on?’ I’ll continue to do what I’m doing, and when the team as a whole starts winning some ballgames, I think the exposure will come.
“I’m getting a lot of opportunities to showcase my talent offensively, and I’m making the most of those opportunities.”
While Ford and Boyce can only dream.
