Well Rudy Gay doesn't get as many jokes as I originally expected... ...though this may be due to the fact that we're not in elementary school anymore.
(Obligatory) Shoulda (huh huh) suspended the OTHER Patrick in the Rockets organization for tampering with WINS
This is appalling and an absolute disgrace! For this I believe Sperm should punish us by taking away our wins and add 15 losses to our record. Meaning that it'll give us a record of 19-47 (.288), which makes us the second worst team in the league this season. Yeah, I think that'll teach the Rockets management!
I don't really see the big deal here. Being suspended means he can't get paid, has to stay from the facility, has to stay away from NBA organized events, probably has to have no contact with the front office. So what. Scouting is watching players play. With the video equipment and breakdown you can get today, he can still scout, still collect gobs of data on his own. His suspension ends before the next draft. He comes back, team pays him for his data, and they use whatever he gives them in much the same way as if he had never been gone. The only limitation he may have is the ability to travel and get up close and personal to these players to get a feel for their personality, temperment, and work ethic. But I suspect there's ways around that too. I just don't see the big deal here. But I would like to know what player contact he had. Anybody know? I'm wondering if this was the source of the alleged tampering charge Orlando was going to go after us with.
I think the only flaw in your plan is that scouts don't get paid superstar wages, and the guy has rent to pay in the coming year. Does he have the time and the funds to spend the next year watching and analyzing basketball when no one is paying him a salary? He'll need to go do something else with his time that will pay him the money he needs. Or should he take out a big loan from the bank on the promise that the team will make it right a year from now?
Does this mean Patrick will forever have a criminal record everywhere he goes in the basketball business?
Pretty sure he gets his scout credentials taken away from him, which means he won't be permitted to watch games as a scout anymore. Which means he has to pay for the tickets and won't be able to watch college teams' practices -- which believe it or not -- is a big part of scouting. His access to the coaches may also be limited, though I'm not 100% on that. Sure, he can watch games on League Pass, DVR them, maybe he still has access to Synergy and gets tape sent to him from the Rockets. I don't know. But make no mistake about it, without question it's disadvantage to work without pay and credentials.
He'll still be able to call up the college coaches and talk to them. He's still got all his connections in the college ranks to get his reports from. As soon as their phone rings and caller ids, they'll pick it up and talk. And the vast majority of them won't even know he is suspended from the NBA. Those guys are too busy coaching and recruiting. Yeah, he won't see as many games in person and as many players and coaches in person. A perceived disadvantage. But a lot of what these scouts get on a player is by talking to the coaching staff, they listen to their opinions of the player's strengths and weaknesses and they all have their connections in the coaching ranks to give them the training room skinny. He's still going to be able to find out all about a kid's background, family, and character. I just don't think it's that big a deal.
