 Pat Garrity: Earning his paycheck
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Straight Shooter| Do you get paid year-round or just during the NBA season? Do you have direct deposit or do you get a check every two weeks? | There are a number of schedules players can use to get paid, and it is all a matter of negotiating with the team. In fact, with two teams offering a player the same amount of money, one way a team can add value to their offer is to offer each year’s salary as a lump sum at the beginning of the respective year. I know of a few cases where such an arrangement tipped the negotiations in favor of the team offering a lump sum schedule. As for me, I receive a percentage of my yearly salary in the middle of August before the season and then get paid twice a month from mid- November until July 1. I, and most players I know, use direct deposit. |
| Do you compare notes with players around the League on team facilities, perks, planes, treatment of players, etc? | We definitely compare notes on the perks we get (or aren’t getting) versus those of players on other teams. As far as travel, pretty much every team owns a private plane and if not, charters one that is just as luxurious. I imagine the catering companies used by teams on the plane are equivalent; however, there are some teams who more frequently have food from popular restaurants on all of their flights and that always beats the catered meals. Believe it or not, what I hear most about are the length and intensity of practices and shootarounds, especially toward the end of the season. Everyone knows who has the 30-minute game-day shootarounds and off days between games. |
| Have you paid to attend an NBA game since you’ve been in the League? | I have never paid to see an NBA game, or any other sporting event for that matter, since I’ve been in the League. When I’m done, hopefully I’ll still be able to pull a few strings to get a comp ticket here and there. A fact that many people don’t know, however, is that all NBA players pay the federal government for their comp tickets in the form of income tax. Since the value of our comp tickets are added to our gross income for the year, I guess you could say I’ve been paying Uncle Sam for my tickets all these years. Since we are all in the highest marginal tax bracket, that means that effectively we’re paying the government 35 cents on the dollar (or a 65 percent discount from face) for the three comp tickets we get for every home game and two tickets we get on the road. |
| Do you ever find yourself being distracted by the in-arena entertainment (cheerleaders, mascot antics, performers) during breaks in the game? | If I’m not getting any time in the game, I have to admit that the entertainment during timeouts becomes more of a focal point than if I’m playing. Every team does about the same thing, so when something new comes along we all enjoy it. Everyone on our team seems to get the biggest laugh out of the video segments they show of us answering questions about our favorite movie, book or food. A couple of times our coach has exploded in huddles because guys are watching the Jumbotron (is it even called a Jumbotron anymore?) rather than paying attention to the play being drawn up. And yes, we all know who has the best dancers. |
| Do fans/friends ever get on you about having you on their fantasy team? | I only have one friend who is big into the whole fantasy team and he likes to let me know when I’m killing him. In fact, I think he traded me shortly after the season started. I’m thinking about trading him as a friend. |
| Would you beat Gilbert Arenas in a three-point shooting contest if he shot college threes one-handed? | Before I saw the YouTube segment, I would have said yes. DeShawn shot the hell out of the ball during their contest and still lost. I’d have to make sure I caught him on a day when his shoulder was sore from trying to get 60 against someone the night before. One more thing: Gilbert is one of a few guys I’d paid to see play. |
| What did you think of Dwight Howard’s showing at the Sprite Slam Dunk? | Dwight got ROBBED! Does anyone know how hard that first dunk he did was? He caught it off the side of the backboard with his right and windmilled it with the left. In a contest where no one ever does anything new, the sticker dunk was the only one with any creativity, and by the way, it was much higher than 12 feet, 6 inches. I think the only problem was that it played much better on TV in my opinion than it did live. Most people in the stands didn’t know what had just happened. The best part was his big smile on the sticker. I’m thinking about putting one on the bumper of my BMW. |
From the May/June 2007 issue
