Did Anybody see this strange mention of Griffin by Ralph Wiley?

In an article about Jordan that was posted yesterday I believe, he writes from the perspective of his alter ego, Road Dog, a hardcore baller. Dog actually interacts with Wiley, who he calls Dub, in the article, even though Wiley of course is the writer. In the midst of the Jordan worship (and an interesting article) there is a toss-off mention of the Rockets and Eddie Griffin, which I thought was kind of bizarre.
"Dub ran off with his sportswriter dudes; Dupree, Wilbon, Scoey Nance, Aldridge and them, picking their brains without paying 'em for it, stealing free consultations; Dub, he be good for that. Dub said he could catch up on the whole league in 10 minutes just by asking them dudes certain questions; said he was happy and proud to talk to them, said something about expertise, subtleties, whatever that is; then came back up in my face talking about how J-Kidd and Parker could play together in the same backcourt easy, as if I didn't already know that, or how Eddie Griffin was hanging out with scumbags down in Houston, which, okay, I didn't know, how Stevie Franchise may not be the answer at point but 2, how Yao was Wow, if he wanted it, how DuPree shocked him by saying he still liked the Lakers over the Sacto Kings, even with all them live bodies the Kings got, how DuPree said yeah, but they could only play five at a time, and if two of the five on the same team was Shaq and Kob -- it was still ball game."
Did anybody else see this? I didn't know what to make of it. If it's true, and it very well may be, could this be some explanation for Eddie's development?

 

He does let his anger fly loose sometimes, like the scathing article he wrote about Tony Cole's role in the Georgia scandal earlier this week. However, he's a well-respected sportswriter, and I usually enjoy his articles. I don't think he hates Eddie Griffin, and from earlier articles it's obvious he loves Yao. I think he's sending a little signal that Griffin is in a bad crowd and it's hurting him basketball-wise. I've seen improvements in Griffin's game this season, but it's not showing up in the stats. Maybe Wiley thinks there's an outside non-basketball reason for this. I think he's being serious when he writes that.

 

And as for Keyshawn, Wiley's not the only writer who hates him. Not even the only one on ESPN, nor the only one of Page 2. That Jason Whitlock guy is the one who really took it to him around SuperBowl week.