1. Welcome! Please take a few seconds to create your free account to post threads, make some friends, remove a few ads while surfing and much more. ClutchFans has been bringing fans together to talk Houston Sports since 1996. Join us!

The life and death of Eddie Griffin

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Furious Jam, Jun 20, 2014.

  1. Furious Jam

    Furious Jam Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2002
    Messages:
    2,645
    Likes Received:
    1,195
  2. bigben69

    bigben69 Member

    Joined:
    Nov 20, 2003
    Messages:
    1,433
    Likes Received:
    123
    In high school, was in PALS and we would go to elementary schools for the Read to Achieve program. Besides Mooch, Eddie Griffin and Jason Collier seemed the most eager to hangout with these kids and spend time with them. Eddie was a super nice guy but seemed a little shy. Crazy that both of those guys aren't alive anymore.
     
  3. vator

    vator Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jun 30, 2006
    Messages:
    6,571
    Likes Received:
    13,912
    Very long, but I read the whole thing. It's a good read. Brings back a few old memories. Eddie could have been something special.
     
  4. saleem

    saleem Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jan 1, 2001
    Messages:
    29,257
    Likes Received:
    13,330
    His life was a great tragedy. I wish he had developed into a very good player for the Houston Rockets.
     
  5. tim562

    tim562 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2004
    Messages:
    4,499
    Likes Received:
    199
    Very sad and good read. RIP
     
  6. blackistan

    blackistan Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2006
    Messages:
    2,101
    Likes Received:
    706
    Amazing read but def sad as well
     
  7. mtbrays

    mtbrays Contributing Member
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2007
    Messages:
    7,619
    Likes Received:
    6,343
    Incredible piece, per Abrams' standards. An incredibly sad story and one that illustrates how demons that can haunt people inwardly and never be apparent on the outside.

    I grew up near the site of Griffin's crash and can remember riding my bike across the tracks after the accident. It was surreal to know that's where Eddie had died, with so much weight on him, and so much left unsaid.
     
  8. GotGame15

    GotGame15 Member

    Joined:
    Aug 5, 2001
    Messages:
    688
    Likes Received:
    119
    Good read, albeit long. Very sad to hear. I've had my bouts with depression and social anxiety, so I have no doubt that he struggled with that combination. May he RIP.
     
  9. mfastx

    mfastx Member
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2009
    Messages:
    10,036
    Likes Received:
    3,592
    Great piece, good read.
     
  10. BimaThug

    BimaThug Resident Capologist
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Mar 24, 1999
    Messages:
    8,339
    Likes Received:
    4,803
    I remember when the Rockets traded up to get Eddie Griffin (moving picks #13, #18 and #23 to New Jersey for Griffin, who the Nets selected with the #7 pick) and being ecstatic that my mediocre Francis-Mobley Rockets had acquired a potential superstar.

    Eddie Griffin had the raw talent to be great. I mean, GREAT.

    Sure, there were some red flags (mostly behavioral at Seton Hall) that caused him to drop from to #7 (most mock drafts had him going #1 overall or at least in the top 3-4 picks until only a few days before the draft, when Kwame Brown gained some momentum). But his talent was undeniable.

    Too bad that Griffin could never put it all together on the court. More importantly, too bad he never was able to get his LIFE together.

    Very sad story.
     
  11. Baqui99

    Baqui99 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2000
    Messages:
    11,493
    Likes Received:
    1,230
    Yeah dude, this place went nuts after we landed him on draft night.

    That was supposed to be the team of the future - Francis-Mobley-Griffin-Mo Taylor-Yao.
     
  12. Easy

    Easy Boban Only Fan
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jul 23, 2002
    Messages:
    34,966
    Likes Received:
    23,726
    From the basketball point of view, the Griffin draft/trade set the Rockets back several years.

    From the human point of view, Eddie should have had some help. Tragic.
     
  13. GoRox2013

    GoRox2013 Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2013
    Messages:
    1,981
    Likes Received:
    84
    Yea I remember that era with the Rockets. We were supposed to be something special. I was disappointed how that era turned out. Griffin seemed so shy on the court
     
  14. Angkor Wat

    Angkor Wat Member

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2007
    Messages:
    13,148
    Likes Received:
    978
    I wish we never waived him. Instead, give him time away from the team and get him some help. Who knows what all he was going through and I felt like cutting him didn't help matters.
     
  15. Mr.Scary

    Mr.Scary Member

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2001
    Messages:
    895
    Likes Received:
    58
    So sad. I remember the excitement when we got him and the disbelief when he died. He just had too many demons. RIP Eddie
     
  16. eric.81

    eric.81 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    Jan 3, 2002
    Messages:
    2,820
    Likes Received:
    1,488
    Imagining a Yao/Griffin front court gives me chills. If Griffin would've reached his potential, as a shotblocker that could stretch the floor and run the floor, they would've made beautiful music together. They truly could've been Olajuwon/Horry 2.0.

    Great article... there's never enough great sports journalism like this.
     
  17. Nook

    Nook Member

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2008
    Messages:
    53,688
    Likes Received:
    111,058
    Agree with you. He was an exceptional rebounder and shot blocker and was ahead of his time, he was going to become a very good stretch 4 and could even play some 5.
     
  18. subtomic

    subtomic Contributing Member
    Supporting Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2000
    Messages:
    4,020
    Likes Received:
    2,352
    The article sheds some new light on EG's ability to compose himself quickly after one of his (for lack of a better word) episodes. That makes the Rockets' failure to identify his mental issues a bit more forgivable. That said, I've read that they never even interviewed him prior to the draft. Given his history of altercations, that seems incredibly risky and (in hindsight) proved to be incredibly damaging to the team's depth. When you consider that the Rockets' 2000 (Collier) and 2001 picks provided NO long term value (either as players or trade assets), it's no wonder we ended up surrounding Tmac and Yao with cast offs for much of their time together. I can't help but wonder how much better the team would have been if we had unloaded EG for those Seattle picks (another trade I remember hearing was EG for Marion) or even better, traded him to another team with a top 8 pick in the 2002 draft (and take Amare - the Rockets were one of a few teams who had worked him out and they knew his potential). Heck, even if we had kept our original 2001 selections (although I'm pretty sure they would have taken Terrence Morris with the pick I the 20s - they were really high on him), we would have had so much more depth (a young Jefferson paired with Tmac and Sura would have given us a nice 1-2-3).

    Regarding EG's potential, I don't think his ceiling was quite as high as some here have suggested. He showed no improvement his 2nd year and seemed uninterested in developing an inside game. Yet his outside shot was never that good - he only shot a decent percentage for a month during his rookie year. Even if he had pulled himself together, I think he would have been a poor man's Sheed at best.

    All that being said, it's sad that he never got the help that was so obviously necessary. I'm sure ihis friends and family miss him terribly.
     
  19. Angkor Wat

    Angkor Wat Member

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2007
    Messages:
    13,148
    Likes Received:
    978
    Do you guys think he commited suicide?
     
  20. JayZ750

    JayZ750 Contributing Member

    Joined:
    May 16, 2000
    Messages:
    25,249
    Likes Received:
    12,932
    A well-written article.

    Some criticisms / thoughts... it doesn't really attempt, at the end, to get a better understanding of Eddie as a "role model". It has the one story about Quincy Miller and bunch of stories about his younger relatives. Is Eddie really someone to look up to as a role model? did he really "make anything"?

    The story is also heavy on family life until Marvin's death. Then what? The initial professional failing seems to be a lack of "people/family" with him in Houston. But I don't know.. maybe that was there.

    In any case, RIP. I hope his younger relatives do "make it", by growing into, happy, successful, responsible adults.
     

Share This Page