Ask Bruce Bowen what happened to his "lock down defense" when he was 34. Bell basically hasn't played in two years, will be 34 years old before camp and is coming off major surgery. I know I've said this about five times in this thread, but the expectations of this guy are silly at this point.
Nice, at least you changed some of the words in your reply this time. Recalcitrance, huh? I better get used to that one now, since i'll be reading it in your next 100 replies. Unfortunately, despite using a few different words, your reply as a whole hasnt changed from the past 100 times youve replied. You ignore any specifics in my posts and proceed to rant about pietrus, barnes, allen, and usually posey, but since he's fallen off the face of the earth i can see why he's not a good example for you to use now. All the "examples" of guys you mentioned havent been able to secure long term contracts (which is why they bounce around, DUH) or have been traded around....yet battier hasnt had that issue? Wonder why? I'll expect to see you around a lot more often now, since battier is approaching the end of his contract and is likely to be replaced as the starter by Ariza. You have a tendency to increase your posts when the board jumps on the "trade battier" bandwagon, you jump on and claim he'll be gone in X amount of time, and after that time period passes he's still here. Back you go into hibernation until the next battier, bell, posey, pietrus, or allen thread. What's sad is after all this time of being wrong in the end you'll claim to have been right. It's almost like tmac winning a ring with heat, after a playing a minor role on the team, and then claiming he had the least laugh afterall.
Same old garbage from you. I don't think you're an ignorant guy, but you act ignorant on this issue. It's probably because you're blinded by emotion due to your love (your word, not mine) for Battier. You dismiss all facts and evidence, and personalize the discussion. You won't accept that bouncing around from team to team is the norm for role players. You also won't accept the fact that they can be had easily through minor transactions and free agency. The reason Battier hasn't bounced around is that teams realize he's overrated, over-hyped, and overpaid. Again, you must've conveniently missed this: Tony Allen, 28, joined the Griz as an unrestricted free agent, signing a three-year deal valued at about $9.5 million, after spending his first six NBA seasons with the Celtics. http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jul/15/grizzlies-sold-on-allens-defense/
Kwame. I love aaron brooks. I love kevin martin. i love yao ming, i love clutch the bear. See a trend? I'm a rockets' fan, that pretty much the way it works. I call it like i see it. I've blasted everyone from tmac to battier and praised them as well. As a rockets' fan i'm always going to give them the benefit of the doubt though. Im not going to assume a player can't cut it until he's clearly showing it and under usual circumstances, not when he's playing out of their role or while injured. That goes for Ariza, tmac in the past, battier, everyone. As for "personalizing the discussion", what else can i do when you ignore any relevant points i make that are not in your favor? You're implying bell's current contract is similar to what battier should have received six years ago and that's ludicrous. Yes, their roles are similar, but you're comparing one's market value at 33 yrs of age coming off of a major injury to another's when he was like 25 yrs old and healthy. How does that make any sense? How can you even consider that battier deserved back then what bell is getting now? I've actually agreed that Battier is overpaid in other threads mutliple times. There were a lot less dependable role guys like battier back when he was signed, so his market value was higher. However, some of these guys like allen, posey, and pietrus DO NOT share the same team responsibilities are battier, so i wouldnt take his current value down to theirs either. If they're worth 3-4 mill i'd say battier's true value is closer to 5-6. Whether you choose to acknowledge and consider it or not, battier takes on leadership role that those other guys dont. It comes with the territory when you're captain. I can't see why that's so difficult to understand. If you're a salesperson somewhere, the you're likely to at least make the same as other salesreps, but if you're also training new employees and possibly putting in extra hours (closing/opening the store, holidays, etc), then it's only logical to have a higher salary. You can try to deny battier has and performs any of these extra responsibilities, but like i said it's part of being a captain. Why else would thre be such a title if there's no difference between you and the next player? You're not just paying for a basketball player in battier, but also a team leader and representative. You can believe that's just me favoring him, but you'd have to be blind and deaf not to realize that's the how teams value him, especially houston.
I've never once read anything where you've come close to blasting Battier. Please, I would love it if you prove me wrong. Making the discussion personal occurs when you have nothing else to say. Thus, you deflect attention away from the issues by engaging in this tactic. It is the last refuge of a desperate foe. I don't have anything personal against you or anybody else. I don't know you. Although I've never read this from you in other threads, I'm glad you agree with me on this issue. This is just not true. It's factually incorrect. No way Battier is worth $5-$6 mill a year. I would say $3 mill a year at most. I don't care what his supposed "extra" responsibilities are. I think you need a revolution in the way you think. If you want revolution, the only solution is to evolve: <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NAtIZafyeHI&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NAtIZafyeHI&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
It's one thing to personally insult you, as in call you names or talk about your mother, but it's another thing to talk about your behavior on this forum. Insulting you is desperate, a last resort, and i dont believe i've ever called done that. Personally, i dont see a problem with talking about your actions on this forum. What you write, how often, the topics, etc. that's all fair game as it is relevant to our discussion. Im not wrong in saying an overwhelming amount of your posts have been battier related. It's not a lie or a personal attack. However, lately I see you're starting to post more about other topics, so i applaud you for that. Once again, we'll have to agree to disagree, since we've been over this numerous times and there's no more either of us could say.
