[Woj Tweet] Houston and Portland working teams hard to get #3 or #4 pick

The problem here is HE DOESN'T HAVE THOSE ATTITUDE PROBLEMS! You act as if he's just some lazy bum and doesn't care about anyone but himself. He's not like that at all. Why do you think he's such a bad guy? Because you hear ESPN raising "questions" about his attitude?

I think he's a very well mannered man, especially for his age. I loved how in the NCAA tourney they tried to get his "attitude" to erupt by fouling him so hard. Yeah, he shut those haters up then.

 

Normally I would say where there's smoke, there's fire -- but then I remembered douche bag McShay making it his crusade to slander Clausen's name, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

 

Didn't Akeem Olajuwon start out with a few "attitude problems" early on? I remember seeing a youtube video of him punching some guy in the face (that the ref didn't catch) only to moments later get the ball and dunk it. Also, I was too young, but I do somewhat remember there being some issue with his contract or whether he allegedly faked an injury?

I also think early in Shaq's career, the fact that he doubled as a rap artist (using term loosely) was seen by many to be a sign of an "attitude problem". Those are 2 of the top 5 big men of all time, and a valid argument could be made they had "attitude problems". You can't teach size + coordination + post skills. You take Cousins if you can.

 

You are very right. Hakeem was a fiery player when he was young. He had a few fights and definitely had his fair share of attitude problems. He was young. He grew up and become a legend.

But we have to make sure it's not pure attitude as compared to a fiery mentality. Two different things.

 

if a dude is having an attitude while being asked if he a attitude then he must have an attitude. Heres my two cents on Cousins. There is no denying his talent. But if we do trade up and draft him, we have no one in the locker room to keep him in check. Everyone's too laid back.

 

Maybe if he does become a Rocket, they can call Deke and have him give a talking to. I would think young players would respect what he tells them.

 

Didn't Vonkeaton Wafer have attitude problems too??

Wasn't Ron Artest the biggest nba knucklehead in the league?

And we are afraid some rookie will come in here and tear up the locker room???

pfffffffffffffft...

 

You have a point and I knew someone would bring those guys up but the rockets didn't really give up that much to get them. For us to get within the top 5 we would have to give up something of value, maybe Bud and one of the Knicks pick and I don't think its worth it for a guy that has too many question marks about is maturely and controlling his weight. Lets face it he ain't controlling his weight if he lands in Houston.

 

What are you even saying???

 

Hakeem?

 

Honestly, I think the coaches and probably Scola could reign a young guy in. But yeah, I don't see us moving up for a guy with attitude problems that can't be helped, although I think we'd move up for a big man.

 

Not really. Rasheed had the talent to be like KG or Tim Duncan but never really lived up to it.

 

What do you mean? The guy's been living off his talent for years. I only saw him work hard 1x in recent memory, and thanks to him the Pistons won a championship. After that he just started shooting 3's antoine style.

 

1. It took zach randolph 10 years to clean his act up. And is he a superstar?

2. Lamar Odom and Amare aren't living up to their potential. Odom could've been LBJ before LBJ came to the league (he was the youngest all star before LBJ came), but because he lacked focus and was inconsistent he never became surpassed elite-roleplayer status. Same with Amare, until he starts playing D he'll never reach his true potential. However none of those really count as attitude problems, at least not the kind that mean the difference between a bust and steal. Being goofy and refusing to play D/having a diva personality are pretty minor compared to being lazy, not having the drive or losing it on the court on a regular basis.

3. Akeem? You're stretching here IMHO. Hakeem was extremely fiery however it never really affected his play on court. In fact, he was so awesome he was awarded the NCAA player of the year even though he came from the losing team. He was the consensus number 1 overall, and considering the success he had with phi slamma jamma I don't think people thought he had attitude problems at all.

Obviously if it never affects your performance on court why will it be an issue?

 

Its not about tearing the locker room, its about wasting the lottery pick!

Also Ron artest was traded for a 2nd round pick while Von Wafer was signed for the minimum. Shows you how valuable "knuckleheads" really are.

If you have a knucklehead you better have a disciplinarian coach who'll keep that player in check. Adelman's way too lax, we get an unmotivated chump here and he'll just get fat and be out of the league in a few years.

 

Calipari on Cousins....

<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_3_Q0Mz7-cw&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/_3_Q0Mz7-cw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

--RB

 

We didn't give up any rotation players for Von Wafer or Ron Artest. Artest was already an all-star.

The problem with lazy rookies is that they are not developed and it will cost rotation players to move up. Non-developed players that don't work hard can be Eddy Curry, Darko Milicic, or Kwame Brown. Maybe he turns out like Zach Randolph and goes through a couple of different teams before maturing.

 

Bad comparison. KG, Martin and Akeem were passionate about the game. They were always in peak condition.

There is a difference between showing up in peak condition and being mad at lazy players and being a lazy player and being mad that you have to do conditioning drills.

 

Coachable.

 

Notice both of those guys didn't stick around, though. I'd sure like us to draft someone that will stick around and contribute. Not someone who occassionally pops off at the mouth or brings more antics to the team than skills. Not saying this in the case for the young guy, but your comparison isn't going to win too many people over.