http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=6161438 Close if it is a repost. Apparently, Rip was the only one that left the team hanging out of defiance. The other, T-mac included, had legitimate reason for missing practice. Having said that, it needs to mentioned that T-mac still has negative feelings towards coach Kuester.
Their excuses excuse them from missing shootaround/practice, but then why were they benched two straight games? You don't bench players even one game for that. They don't start or play limited minutes, but the punishment doesn't fit the crime, if it was just missing shootaround. Wallace seems to have the only legit excuse here.
I think this is just PR spin. Of course there is more going on when so many guys miss the shootaround at the same time "coincidentally".
If the report is true, Hamilton should apologize to the coach, in front of the team. That, of course, will not happen. The league should demand a contract clause that will allow teams to void contracts for conduct demtrimental to team chemistry and ban the player for one or multiple years from the league.
It's called damage control. There's no way that many guys 'coincidentally' miss the same shoot around. More realistically, they all realized the negative publicity surrounding their moves...they were probably stupid enough to think that everyone would turn on Kuester instead of them, and that Pistons management would fire Kuester immediately following the staged protest. Instead, media outlets jumped all over the five, calling them out for the joke they are, and now they're trying to back pedal. Another view: Link
yeah this will end well. If an employer is trying to get rid of someone they can by using technicalities and ways to single someone out. Telling him the team bus is at 6pm instead of 5pm. That kind of thing. It could be abused by management. They took a risk that hamilton was a hothead and that's what they get. We took a risk that yao might be able to play.
Like others are saying, it's all PR spin. It happened. All of the players that protested were held out of the game - ball don't lie.
So how will Dumars and the Detroit ownership discipline Hamilton, in particular, and the other no-shows? Ideally, the coach should have the authority to discipline Hamilton. Will Detroit / league fans cheer or boo Hamilton the next time he sees time on the court?
yea well if players miss shootaround because they overslept r because they showed up late than yea they should be disciplined. But i dont think mcgrady Tay and wallace were out because of that reason
I understand where you're coming from, but I dont think you can just excuse player misconduct as a measurable risk that teams have to swallow. I read recently that the NFL was negotiating stricter discipline for bad behavior, including clauses that would allow them to opt out of player contracts under certain circumstances (e.g. player getting thrown in jail for a major crime, etc.). The NBA would do well to take a similar approach when assessing how to regulate the league and player misconduct during upcoming labor talks...
Even detroite beat writers are saying who were going beserk at first are now saying there was no mutiny and Tmac was very ill the night before and his excus was legit. So the haters here are now not looking so bright after all
If a player is very ill are they normally dressed in their warmups sitting on the bench? I would think if he was very sick he wouldn't even be on the bench
The guaranteed contract for multiple years and insane dollars is the worst thing about NBA basketball ... for me anyway. Way too much power given to the player. If they go in the tank or shred your coach in front of players, there is no real out. I think it hurts the product on the floor too. Players are financially motivated... we all know that. There should always be motivation to help your team and stay employed.
I would say the only real recourse the rest of the league has against players who "go off the reservation" would be a consensus-driven blackballing, right?? All the GMs could band together, and not give Player X (or Latrell Sprewell ) a job. Of course, I'd assume that the NBAPA would be all over this, and probably sue for collusion, but it's still enough to drive fear into a player, right?
David Aldridge is saying that tmac was sick as well.So now that the dust is settling the truth is emerging