rednene, Doc Rocket (I think) came on the BBS and confirmed that the Rockets attempted to get Eddie some help as early as his 2nd year under Rudy. And its been confirmed by Feigen (beat writer for the Rockets) that they knew EG was hanging around a bad crowd and urged him to separate himself from those people. Aside from that, we aren't privy to whatever else the Rockets tried to do for EG. Therefore, I don't understand how so many can keep making these assumptions (that they didn't do enough) without knowing the facts. Again, I have a hard time believing they didn't do everything in their power to save EG, given their investment in him.
Maybe, maybe not. Like you said, we may never know. However, as it stands right now it appears that the turning point for Griffin was when he went into the HOSPITAL and got treated for depression. It was that depression that was causing the majority of his problems. Perhaps the Rockets wanted him to get that treatment earlier. We may never know. After he got out and got his head on straight so far he is being a model citizen. Perhaps he just needed some medication. Perhaps he needed a life altering even such as the gun incident to push him into that Hospital. I guess for me, I would have liked to have seen the Rockets just keep him on the suspended list and then see if Griffin could have come through after the Hospitalization. Codell, the one point I do agree with you on, is perhaps PART of what is making things work for Eddie right now is just a 'change of scenery' and there is nothing the Rockets could do for that other than let him go. If that's the case, then so be it.
Codell, even if the Rockets couldn't help, shouldn't they have traded him? He clearly continued to have value, even after the shooting. It looks like they just gave up. It looks like the Rockets made an emotional decision, not a business decision. They had multiple chances to lock him in and then exchange him for a more palatable player, before and after the shooting. They didn't. Other teams were willing to take his problems, as a risk-reward ratio. I found the whole saga very disheartening. It's funny how we could be patient with a complete failure like Glen Rice but had to cut bait with a guy like Griffin, when he clearly isn't done.
For what? What was he worth in the weeks after he a) Abandoned the team (twice) b) Tried to shoot someone? Another team would have been stupid to give us anything. At that point, no one knew if EG was going to jail for the next 3-5 years. Why didn't the Nets trade him if he was worth anything? Patient with Rice? He played barely one full season with us and then was traded. G
Deuce, Again, the Rockets can't make EG do anything (admitting himself into a hospital) he didn't want to do. All they can do is suspend him for his conduct to get his attention, which he did. Its sad that it took him having to try and shoot a girlfriend to realize that he was letting the Rockets down. In the end, I think the Rockets did indeed do him a favor and let him have the chance to start a new life somewhere else, because it was obvious he wasn't going to get away from his problems here. Bottom line is, you'll never convince me that the Rockets just dumped to the waiver line without doing or attempting to do everything in their power to save their investment.
BTW .....I believe EG's incident, which got him cut from the Nets, came after he got out of the hospital ...........
I would say a bag of chips. Seriously though. The time to trade Griffin was WAY before this. The Rockets knew of his (potential) problems early on and if they didnt want to be patient with him they could have moved him after his first year. Perhaps for a Rashard Lewis or someone of his ilk. But the Rockets were patient because they saw signs of a good player. What is unfortunate is that we waited so long that his value was practically negative. At that time we just dumped him like a bad stock. Now the Wolves have him and he is played decently and his value is slowly going back up. It's a GREAT pickup for the Wolves. No risk, high reward. Codell, I am not trying to convince you that the Rockets didnt do everything they could have. I am just asking myself whether they did or not. Basically, should they have not cut him when they did and waited out the hospital stay. That's the question I have in my mind. As a fan, it's tough. Because the type of game that Griffin has is exactly the type of player I feel we need at the PF spot.
I won't necessarily disagree with this, but rather, just point out that teams walk a fine line in deciding whether to trade away a young player early before they reach their potential. I don't think the Rockets thought, that after only one year, EG was incouragable and didn't want to make a deal in haste, and see EG become the player they thought he could be with another team. I really think, that prior to EG's missing the game in Seattle, EG still had good stock AND good potential (remember everyone saying that 2003-2004 was going to be his breakout year). Damn, his stock dropped faster than Enron's in a matter of days (within a few days he had missed a game, a practice and then shot at someone). His stock feel so far, so fast, did the Rockets have time to stop the bleeding? We'll just never know, true. Lets remember that CD has experience in dealing with players like EG (Lucas, Wiggins, Lloyd, etc.). I trust that CD saw the signs and did everything that he could do as a GM to make things right. I think CD saw that EG was not going to be able to contribute the rest of the season and didn't feel the need to keep ties with him any longer. I agree. I'd love to have someone like EG at the PF spot. But I think the Rockets hand was forced and they did what they had to do. And lets keep a couple of other things in mind. The Rockets had decided not to pick up Griffin's option prior to his crash landing, and therefore EG would have been a FA after the season. After the shooting, it was somewhat clear that EG probably wouldn't play again this season. So based on that, EG's value in a trade before the end of the season was ZERO. If EG couldn't help a team last season, than they weren't going to give up anything for him, when they could pick him up for free during the summer.
Sometimes you have to show a little "tough love" to get a players attention. Cutting him I was ok with, I still think they should have had a chaparone for him 24/7 as part of his original deal, but whatever. My problem is that EG said he still wanted to play in Houston, and JVG did not even give him a sniff this offseason. The guy has talent, and would have been a great story...we signed crap players like Ward etc, but can not take a low risk flyer on a talent like EG? I wonder what Leon Smith is up to these days? DD
I just don't think you are right. I think many people have a lack of appreciation for the problems he was having. He was indeed an alcoholic. You can indeed be an alcoholic at 19. He definitely was. He described himself as such; he checked himself in to the Betty Ford clinic for an addiction to alcohol. And, yes, he was and is unstable. He was diagnosed with severe depression. An article in the Chron described how at times he could not bring himself to get out of bed to even feed his dogs. Incidentally, drug and alcohol abuse is more common among people with severe clinical depression. EG was prescribed psychotic drugs to control his depression. Judging from his recent performance, I'd say he was fairly good about taking them. Things like depression do often first crop up in the teenage years, but it is a problem that goes beyond simple hormone problems. I'm with you on the solution, I think the Rockets should have handled him differently. But, EG was a bit of a special case. He had problems beyond his own control. I wish more people would realize that.
Let me reconsider my statement. I think people have widely differing views on what constitutes a person as an alcoholic. I don’t think it’s as simple as you are or you’re not. The defining lines of alcoholism are constantly changing and negotiated by health officials, society, individuals, etc…. That being said, I am oftentimes upset that people on this board rashly dismiss him as an alcoholic. Discussions cannot end here. The discussion on depression, for example, has been quite helpful in our understanding of the eddie griffin dilemma. I think it would be even more useful if we could find the causes of eddie’s depression. Again, this should have been addressed in a more professional way by both the NBA and the rockets organization. I suspect that the EG situation will multiply as the NBA opens its door to younger and more “special” players.
Do you have a proof of that? Why would he choose to play for Flip rather than Rudy? Minny rather than LA? If RudyT wanted badlyto sing EG he would have. Until you disprove my claim, I still stand and say that Rudy did not want Eddie that badly either in LA - why whould he have done any differently in Houston? After he was the one who traded 3 for 1 with NJ. More so EG told a fellow BBSer that he was going to LA or Miami - at least that shows intent if that account of events that BBSer gave us is accurate. Looking forward to hearing from your your retort.
I have to concur with TheFreak. Eddie had a number of choices and he choose Minnesota over Lakers/Heat etc. I think he choose the Wolves as he saw it as a place for more playing time and a chance to learn from Kevin McHale and Kevin Garnett. Garnett has taken a great interest in Eddie, asked to have Eddie right next to his locker. In LA he would have been competing with Odom, Grant, Slava, Divac, Mihm and Cook. Just not enough minutes there.
Well, I don't know if you were really meaning to be talking to me about it in the first place. I agree with you that can't just stop at "he's an alcoholic." I think he is, or was, an alcoholic, but that's a first step in dealing with a problem, not a last step in writing someone off. I don't think the Rockets did that, anyway, they didn't just write him off; but they also didn't seem to handle it right, anyway. It is mostly the fans that write him off. As for Rudy T, I'd also have to agree with TheFreak. I remember there being talk about him going to LA, so I think Rudy was entertaining the idea. At least a couple of teams were courting him, and he chose Minn. It is not as if Minn was the only team willing to give him a chance.
