Jarrett Jack: Heat Stumbles Should Tamp Future Superteams

LOS ANGELES -- Jarrett Jack could tell this was a winning culture. And that was after a loss.

"It was great," the veteran point guard acquired by New Orleans in Saturday's five-player trade with Toronto told FanHouse after the Hornets' loss to the Clippers on Monday night. "The overall atmosphere here was different. The guys wanting to be successful is totally different. ... There are guys who have been in that (winning) situation here, established, veteran guys, All-Star guys -- Emeka Okafor, David West, of course Chris (Paul), who has been around the block before. In Toronto, we were a very young team, and had guys who were kind of going through it and seeing the experience at the same time."

Former Raptors forward Chris Bosh wasn't one of those guys, having headed for the Canadian border and taken his talents to South Beach to join LeBron James and Dwyane Wade on the supposed superteam in Miami over the summer. But after the Lukewarms, err, Heat, fell to 8-6 in a 93-77 rout at home to Indiana on Monday night, Jack used it as a chance to point out that the approach that some pegged as the wave of the future for modern-day NBA superstars might not be as foolproof as it is foolish.

And considering the speculation that Paul would be next in line to take such a tact after his infamous toast at Carmelo Anthony's wedding on July 11, his good friend wasn't shy in sharing what the Heat's failings could mean on that front.

"I don't know if (Paul) is (wanting to stay with the Hornets long-term), but you can look at the experiment out in Miami and see how that's going," said Jack, whose family has been close with Paul's since they were 13 years old and who is described by his new teammate as "like a brother."

"You've got people saying that (Paul) is going to New York for sure or whatever (because of this summertime subplot), but from what I understand I heard (the Heat) got blown out tonight, you know what I mean?

"When you have three max (contract) guys (in James, Wade and Bosh), and you're not able to sign other people those glue role players that make a championship team. Those Matt Barnes type dudes or Ron Artests or Shannon Browns (of the two-time defending champion Lakers), because all your money is devoted to three people. I think if we all find a situation where nothing else matters but winning, then we'll be good."

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