<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">MIAMI ? Gary Payton is now Heat guard Gary Payton, the newest addition to a star-studded lineup that has been assembled to bring an NBA title to South Florida. Payton, a 37-year-old future Hall of Fame selection and a starter in each of his previous 16 NBA seasons, signed a one-year contract Thursday for $1.1 million, the veteran's minimum. He'll be the backup point guard and mentor to newly acquired Jason Williams, a flamboyant player whose seven-year career has been a mix of success and frustration. "He has never had a guy like me to guide him," Payton said. "When I come into camp, I'm going to try to help him. I'm not going to try to beat him up or beat him down. It's been very hard coming from where I come from, starting all my time, but right now it's not about that. It's about what we have to accomplish to get to a championship." Payton, a nine-time all-star, eight-time all-NBA selection and former defensive player of the year, averaged 11.6 points and 6.1 assists for Boston last season. His 46.8 shooting percentage was almost identical to his 46.9 percent career average. He is known as "The Glove" because of his defensive prowess. He figures to be a good presence in the locker room, especially because of his relationship with center Shaquille O'Neal, who lobbied Payton to join him in a title pursuit with the Los Angeles Lakers two years ago. O'Neal pushed for the Heat's acquisition of Payton, too. "It's a very good signing for that team in particular," an NBA scout said Thursday, "because at the end of the day Shaq is going to run that locker room. They've been together before, they know each other, they know what to expect from each other." Payton failed to win a title with the Lakers as the team was derailed by injuries and the Shaq-Kobe Bryant feud. In the NBA Finals against Detroit, Payton was sharply outplayed by Chauncey Billups, the series MVP. But Payton bounced back last season to play productively for the Celtics. Payton joins centers O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning and Michael Doleac, guards Dwyane Wade and Williams, and forwards Udonis Haslem, Antoine Walker, James Posey and Shandon Anderson as the 10 primary players on a revamped veteran roster. Right now, it appears that the starters will be O'Neal, Haslem, Posey, Wade and Williams. The other five have been starters before, but Payton said that sharing minutes ? and shots ? would not be a problem. "We all have to buy into winning basketball games and not let ego get in the way," he said. Heat President Pat Riley said the club was "very fortunate to have been able to acquire a player of Gary Payton's stature. He is a proven veteran and will be a big addition to this team."</div> Source
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"He has never had a guy like me to guide him," Payton said. "When I come into camp, I'm going to try to help him. I'm not going to try to beat him up or beat him down. It's been very hard coming from where I come from, starting all my time, but right now it's not about that. It's about what we have to accomplish to get to a championship."</div> Hopefully Gary does guide him and make him a better player, watching J-Will evolve will be fun, Gary Payton is a great teacher last season he guided the young Celtics and they definitely learned from him. Gary said Its about what we have to accomplish to get to a championship that shows he definitely wont start trouble or start anything negative that will get in the way of the championship. Zo NEEDS this, GP NEEDS this, and Shaq wont let nothing stupid stop us from getting it, were looking pretty good right now and our players are saying that they will do anything for the team which is defnitely a good thing.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">It's been very hard coming from where I come from, starting all my time, but right now it's not about that. It's about what we have to accomplish to get to a championship."</div> Looks to me that GP is trying to convince himself. There may come a time when he will want to start then again It's possible J-will may not run the offense that SVG likes and therefore wants to go for a more experienced head at the point. Now that may cause problems with Williams.
