ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher can't believe how kids these days don't take care of their money.

Having just put my first down payment on a house, taking care of my cheddar has suddenly become a priority. Which is what made my weekend visit to the Clippers particularly interesting, as I watched just-out-of-high-school rookie Darius Miles play loose and fast with his.

After Saturday's practice, Miles headed out the door of the Southwest College gym having left his personalized diamond-encrusted platinum chain on a courtside chair. "Look at this," says assistant coach Dennis Johnson, picking it up. "Thirty-five grand and he forgot all about it."

The next day, DJ sees me standing next to Miles' locker before the Clips face the Jazz. The coach pointedly asks Miles if he has something for him. Miles peels a hundred-dollar bill off his roll and forks it over. "What's it for?" DJ asks. Miles won't admit it's payoff for a one-on-one contest in which Miles owes DJ $10 every time he doesn't score. Undaunted by this fleecing, Miles jokingly asks Derek Strong if he has his back should he take a Karl Malone elbow and decide to fight back. "I'll even pay your fine for coming off the bench," Miles says.

On my way out of the locker room, I duck my head into coach Al Gentry's office. He's wearing a Mizzou T-shirt at practice, even though he bet on Duke to beat the Tigers the previous day. "If it's free, it's me," he says.

At the moment, Gentry's mind is on bigger money issues as he pores over a printout of every team's payroll. The Hawks' sheet is on top, and he notes they've had 23 guys on salary this season.

I figure Gentry's personal ledger is doing better -- thanks to the Dukies' 13-point win -- but Gentry shakes his head. "That last layup killed me," he says. "I gave Keyon 15 points." I commiserate, but then he brightens. "It could've been worse," he says. "I only gave Darius 10. He said that's all he needed."