Earl Boykins received a call from his agent late last Sunday telling him there was a 10-day contract waiting for him in Houston if he could be there early the next morning and pass conditioning and stress tests.
The 35-year-old Cleveland native arrived at the Rockets' training facility Monday ready to run 40 length-of-the-court sprints. One minor problem: Boykins was wearing Nike cross-training shoes, not exactly ideal footwear for timed drills on hardwood. But the 5-5 guard knew better than to ask the Rockets for basketball shoes.
The NBA doesn't do size 9 1/2.
It was just another obstacle for Boykins to overcome. He is the kid at the amusement park forever being told he's too small to ride the coasters, but who always finds his way into the front car.
Boykins entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 1998. Of the 58 players chosen that year, just 16 have appeared in more games than Boykins.
The Cleveland Central Catholic product had a shot at appearing in his 645th game after successfully completing his conditioning test. But he still needed to drive to a Houston hospital to walk on an inclined treadmill to gauge his heart rate before earning a jersey for that night's game against Sacramento.
The second-shortest player in league history has a long list of past teams: New Jersey, Cleveland, Orlando, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State, Denver, Milwaukee, Charlotte. The NBA keeps getting larger, stronger, swifter, yet Boykins keeps finding work. He appeared in 57 games last season with the Bucks.
When he's out of the league he's still playing pick-up games in Cleveland and Denver, coaching his son's AAU teams and checking his cellphone for calls from agent Mark Termini. There's always been another club willing to take a flier on the cagey guard who has averaged 8.9 points and 3.2 assists in his career.
The last word
- "Of course, I love everything about being in Cleveland and growing with this organization and these teammates." -- Alonzo Gee, Cavs forward, after being asked if he would like to be back with the Cavaliers next season. (He is a restricted free agent at season's end.)
Inside the numbers
7 Cavs home losses by 15 points or more, tying them with Detroit and Charlotte for most in the NBA this season, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Boykins sailed through the stress test, but tipoff was less than two hours away as he sat in traffic -- still with no basketball shoes. He spotted an off ramp that led to a mall. Boykins was sprinting again, this time to FootLocker.
"I grabbed a pair of old-school Nike Huarache, you know, the kind the Fab Five at Michigan made famous," Boykins said.
He signed his 10-day contract about 45 minutes before tipoff, introduced himself to his new teammates and did some minor alterations to his ill-fitting No. 6 Rockets jersey.
"I can't tell you what kind of alterations or the NBA fashion police might fine me," he said.
The Rockets, already without guards Kyle Lowry and Kevin Martin, lost Goran Dragic to a sprained ankle. Coach Kevin McHale, planning to use Boykins sparingly, played him 20-plus minutes that first night.
The guard didn't know the plays that first game with Houston. There were times coach Kevin McHale had to tell him where to run. Boykins just kept putting one Huarache in front of the other and ending up at the foul line. He sank four critical free throws in overtime, finished with 10 points and five assists and helped the Rockets win, 113-106, to keep their playoff hopes buoyant.
"What a day," Boykins said.
He understands there are no promises beyond Tuesday, when his deal expires. In basketball, as in life, nothing is guaranteed. Michael Olowokandi, the top overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, played just 500 games. Robert "Tractor" Traylor, the No. 6 overall pick, is dead.
Earl Boykins, the undrafted free agent from the streets of Cleveland, is still hoopin,' still showing the league there's a little bit of tread left in those size 9 1/2 feet.
-- Tom Reed
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