Phl. Inquirer: Griffin too lucky to throw in towel

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/7049758.htm


Posted on Sun, Oct. 19, 2003

Stephen A. Smith | Griffin too lucky to throw in towel
By Stephen A. Smith
Inquirer Columnist

You could feel the exasperation more than a thousand miles away, which is easier to do when roars and cheers are replaced with silence. Two years removed from being a star at Seton Hall, Eddie Griffin was supposed to be a star in the NBA now, not looking to throw it all away at the tender age of 21.

Griffin, the 6-foot-10 product of Roman Catholic High School, was in the news last week. As has been the case with more players than NBA commissioner David Stern would prefer, it was for all the wrong reasons.

"Eddie missed a flight to go to Sacramento," Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said Friday. "Once we got back, he missed the next workout, after talking it over with coach Jeff Van Gundy. Obviously, we couldn't tolerate this. We had to suspend him. That's all we're willing to say."

Considering the murmurs, who can blame him?

Because Griffin was a first-time offender of the league's drug policy last season after being charged with possession in April, there have been questions about mar1juana use. Back in Philadelphia, even more rumors are swirling.

There's the complicated relationship with a girlfriend and the recent birth of their child. There are the hangers-on who are as prevalent as flies in the humid Houston weather.

Yet no one knows what specifically is the problem.

"All anyone cares about right now is that Eddie is all right so he can play," a Griffin confidant said. "He wants to quit playing basketball. He doesn't want to play anymore. He's just drained by all the responsibilities in his life and he can't take it anymore. Some, you just know he'll get past. There's too much to lose. But that doesn't mean he isn't going through some tough times right now."

Considering his basketball credentials over the last two seasons, Griffin has been going through a little more than that.

After averaging 17.8 points and 10.8 rebounds his freshman year at Seton Hall, Griffin was the No. 7 pick of the New Jersey Nets in the 2001 NBA draft, then was traded to the Rockets for Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong. And if he's done a thing worth mentioning since, somebody's hiding the records.

In two seasons, he has career averages of 8.7 points and 5.8 rebounds. Averaging nearly 26 minutes per night his rookie year, then 24.5 minutes per night last season, Griffin simply has not lived up to expectations.

He's gotten older, bigger and seemingly slower. His jump shot has been off, evidenced by his career 38.3 percent shooting. He has no post-up game worth mentioning. No fluidity to his repertoire.

Worse, his work habits have been nothing to be proud of. After telling the Rockets he would be in Philadelphia for workouts this summer, Griffin skipped out on those workouts, then lied about it, infuriating Van Gundy just weeks after he came into the job.

It would be easy to dismiss it as an isolated incident. Something that comes with youth, immaturity and pressure. Except it serves as a reminder of Griffin's college days - when he was suspended after a fight with a teammate - and of the troubles of numerous players in the NBA today.

The Blazers are still disgusted over Damon Stoudamire's three mar1juana charges in the last 18 months. Glenn Robinson arrived in Philadelphia with a domestic dispute on the books. We've heard too much, already, about Kobe Bryant's sexual assault case. And Griffin's personal issues fall right in line with every concern we have about today's athletes.

The pressure is not just the job, but the money that comes with it and the contagious effect it has.

More money brings out those who present themselves as friends, when they should be recognized as vultures. Once the realization of it all hits you, it's no wonder the NBA is pursuing a minimum-age rule for players.

You can't be alone in a room for five minutes with Stern without hearing his line: "The NBA is the greatest game in the world. Our athletes are committed to excellence, to being the greatest basketball players in the world."

Now he's hoping we all recognize as much.

"We are all so lucky to be in this game," Rockets GM Dawson said, "and I'm not just talking about the players. Myself. Reporters. All of us. We make a living being involved in a game."

He didn't add, "Who'd want to walk away from that?"

The answer should be, "No one!"

Any soul with sense shouldn't want to shove aside a $2,312,000 salary like Griffin is making, with more guaranteed in the near future, just for the sake of omitting tension and responsibility from his life.

Then again, when you're 21, it happens.

In Griffin's case, it's happening much more than any of us would prefer.


Scary!!!!