MIAMI — You could have called him the Minus Six Million Dollar Man.
When point guard Mike Bibby sought his release from woeful Washington last February in order to join the Miami Heat, he was willing to give up all his 2011-12 salary, the final year of his contract. That was a cool $6.2 million.
As it turns out, Bibby lost $3.9 million for this season when salaries are prorated due to the lockout and that he was able to sign a minimum $1.35 million deal with the New York Knicks. But he has no regrets.
"Not at all," Bibby said before Friday's game against the Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena. "I'm glad I made the decision. I just think that Miami was a better place for me than Washington… Everything isn't about money. The money is always good but everything isn't about money."
But the quest by Bibby, 33, to win his first championship did not work out as he had hoped. The Heat lost to Dallas in the NBA Finals in six games with Bibby having lost his starting job in Game 6 to Mario Chambers.
"It's upsetting," Bibby said about the Finals defeat. "But everything happens for a reason. It was good while I was there, and life goes on."
It didn't go on with the Heat, who showed little interest in bringing Bibby back this season as a free agent. Bibby said his agent, David Falk, talked "here and there" about a possible return but he didn't want to elaborate much.
Now it's in doubt how much Bibby has left in his NBA career. The 14-year veteran entered Friday averaging 3.6 points and 1.8 assists, dropping his career averages to 15.0 and 5.6.
Bibby admits he's "struggling a little bit." But he knows he's no longer the player who averaged a career-high 21.1 points with Sacramento in 2005-06.
"I know my role," said Bibby, who was traded by the Kings to Atlanta in February 2008 before being shipped to Washington last February, a place he didn't want to be. "I'm not the guy I was once was in Sacramento and a little bit part of Atlanta trying to score 20 points a game. I just come in there and try to open the floor for the guys and try to bring leadership and coaching out there on the court.
"I want to play as long as I can. I think I still got stuff left, and we'll just have to see. I can't play 35 minutes a game anymore, but I still got a lot left."
Bibby is averaging 14.8 minutes this season. But his time really could be cut when point guard Baron Davis soon takes the floor after having yet to play this season due to a herniated disc. Bibby would become no better than the team's third-string point guard.
"I'm not worried about that," Bibby said of Davis' impending Knicks debut. "We're all in this together… I'm not the type of person that, if I'm not playing, I want them to lose. I'm not like that. Whatever my role consists of, even if it consists of clapping over there and cheering the team and waving a towel, that's what it consists of. I'm here to help the team win."
The Knicks haven't been doing much of that lately, entering Friday at 7-11. So it remains to be seen if Bibby ever will get his long-awaited championship ring.
Bibby, who has made more than $100 million in his career, gave up his big money in a Wizards buyout to join the Heat last season even though he said his mother, Virginia, "didn't think I should do it." Bibby had an uneven stint in Miami, averaging 7.3 points in 22 regular-season games and just 3.7 in the playoffs, but he earned the admiration of teammates.
"I'm sure there are plenty of guys in situations that, if they had the opportunity they would value winning and doing something that lasting over dollars, but not the extreme (Bibby did)," said Heat guard James Jones. "He's a guy that's been in the league a long time. He's played a lot of basketball, a lot of meaningful basketball, but evidently it was more meaningful for him to pursue a championship than just sit and collect a check (with the rebuilding Wizards).
"When you play as many games as a guy like Mike, at some point it's tough to just play the game just to play. You play to win and to have a realistic chance to win."
To have that chance, Bibby gave up plenty. So what if he's more like the Minus Four Million Dollar Man.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson
