Smeg, Isn't it possible for fans to wish him the best personally but to be really disappointed as his customers? That seems legit to me. Our children are not running a business that we support! (Well, most of our children anyway). We are not the customers of our children. Anyway, I feel like there are a bunch of fans like me. We wish Eddie the best, and we know how tough it can be at 21. We don't want to give up on him yet or trade him yet, but we're majorly disappointed. I really do think it's legit to expect him to at least use a phone and say "i'm having trouble. I won't make the flight/game/practice/whatever." Unless his hands have been chewed off by the family dog, that is fairly straightforward. So, why is it so harsh to separate our personal feelings for the guy from our desires for the success of the team?
Hey because a 20 year old street thug can't handle his sh** you don't have to be as stupid as him. Well I guess you do get your head out of your a** I thought this was a badketball site, but then you remind me why sports fans are thought of as stupid. Why don't you go root for the jazz We don't want or need you
Regardless of last year's ROY voting, I don't think any team you name has taken a step to improve themselves any bigger than the one we took by signing Yao. Nobody expected him to result in a huge improvement on the team his first season -- he was a rookie making the largest cultural transition of any rookie ever to enter the NBA and he missed the entire preseason, joining a team with a guard-oriented offense with no significant inside presence, and offensive and defensive schemes predicated on that lack of an inside presence. You mention the improvement of the Mavericks over the last 3 years. Dirk's first season was pathetic (both individually and as a team) by comparison to Yao's. If the Rockets' improvement by Yao's 3rd season is CLOSE to as dramatic as the Mavericks' improvement by Dirk's 3rd season, nobody on this board will be complaining. About ANYTHING. This season we have a new coach, implementing a new defensive scheme and implementing a new offense with Yao and Steve as its focal points. I don't thinks this is a franchise which is "spinning its wheels". Yes, if the Rockets are in the lottery again this season, I will be very disappointed. But barring a major injury to Steve or Yao, that would require more problems than the absence of Eddie Griffin -- even if he is gone for the entire season. B-Bob and vinoj: I agree with both things. But let's keep this in perspective. If Eddie Griffin has been as useless a player as so many members of this board think he has been, then his absence wouldn't hurt the team very much, would it? If on the other hand, he has the potential to be a significant factor on this team, we can use this season to continue the improvement from building around Yao and Steve, then worry about incorporating Eddie's capabilities when and if he works through these problems. If there was EVER a team which could afford to be patient with a young player like Eddie, this is it. Most teams who gave up 3 1st rounders for a project like Eddie would require that player to be THE MAN for the franchise. If we can get Eddie to be an average NBA starter (PF or SF) in the next couple of years, we have what we need from him. But let me make one thing clear: by patience, I mean patience in terms of allowing him to work through his problems -- WHILE KEEPING THE TEAM INFORMED -- and in terms of taking another year or two to fulfill his expectations. I think the team has to take a firm stand on his needing to relate to the team in a professional manner. It appears to me JVG and the Rockets are doing that, and I applaud them for it. Just remember how long it has taken for any other 19-year-old before Amare to make an impact in this league. It's usually in their 3rd to 5th season. B-bob & vinoj: I agree.
You could mention Moses Malone too, but overall I agree with the 3-5 year observation. I can be patient, but I also applaud the "tough love" business-like approach.
Can we please stop the O'Neal comparisons? Even comparing him to Horry would be in insult to Horry. I said it way earlier. If you have a Daewoo, you trade it while the miles are low. Now the warrenty is expired, it mis-fires and now it won't start. What's the dealer going to give you now?
If he can't handle his multi-million dollar responsibilties, he should quit. It's not like he's having family problems and taking to his employer to see if he can work out some arrangements...he's not even contacting them...he's AWOL. Therefore, he's SOL too. It's not just that he's paid millions, he's screwing over his teammates and fans also.
This reminds me of the Cato bashing not so long ago--and even when he played hard last year, showing signs that he turned himself around (on?) the bashing still kept on, though less strong. Now he's one the hardest working and productive players. As people have said, JVG is still saying Eddie's valuable--probably the time off is exactly what Griffin needs for his depression or whatever it may be. When you're ready to tear into someone, it's good to remember that everyone has problems, many you can't imagine. BRR
Wow and you say I'm the one with a half-baked education? You better tuck that tail and run if that is the best you can do little boy.
My biggest concern: If Eddie's reason for missing a game last year is the same reason that he's missed two this year, and if a summer off hasn't given him enough time to resolve this problem, he may not be able to resolve it in a timely fasion if he can resolve it at all. -- droxford
You are correct about Dirk. In fact, there were more than a few people here in Dallas who thought that Dirk was a colossal bust and it's just about impossible to find any of them nowadays. But you are wrong about the Rockets showing concrete improvement. With the Mavs, everyone could see that the entire organization players, coaches, ownership) was committed to turning things around. Sure, they made their share of personnel blunders (Shawn Bradley, Rafe LaFrenz) but they never had to deal with the type of player distractions as have the Rockets. Because of this, the Mavs have been able to focus their time and energy on improving their team. The same can be said of San Antonio. These teams did not get where they are by having to deal with a lot of unnecessary bs. My point is that all teams make personnel mistakes. It's the bad teams who refuse to learn from those mistakes while continuing to suffer from the consequences of those mistakes that are doomed to being losers. Which leads me to my next point: OK, I must have missed something here because I simply don't see any of this so-called potential that everyone keeps referring to when discussing EG. But setting that aside for the moment, let's discuss the concept of patience. This is not about being patient with a player as he adjusts to the demands of the league as was the case in Dallas with Dirk or will be the case here with Yao. The situation with EG is well past that point in time. This is now an exercise in faith and hope. Hope that one day, someday, ANYDAY the clouds in EG's head will part and the sunshine will come shining through and BING! EG will suddenly start playing (and behaving) like a legitimate 1st round draft pick. Faith in that it will happen someday... I contend that a SMART team does not blow 3 1st round picks on an "average" player - one who will need years before he starts producing results. In today's NBA, with the rookie contracts set the way they are, your no. 1 pick has to produce in a hurry else, he'll place you into the kind of bind that EG has placed the Rockets. The NBA is about production and results. At season's end, the only thing that will matter to folks on this BBS is the team's record and whether or not this team is in the playoffs or is a lottery team for the 5th straight year. With EG, the facts basically speak for themselves and this latest episode in the EG saga only serves to underscore the fact that the Rockets made a dumb move expending so much to get this guy only to receive so little in return and now must somehow deal with the mess in which they find themselves.
uh.... JVG told him to stay away and finish working out the problem before coming back IIRC. If i do remember correctly, what that says to me is, he will be back after he clears up whatever is keeping him away and JVG tells him he can come back.. It's late and I dont have time to go look it up, so if my memory of VG's response is wrong...please correct me. I'd hate to be spreading wrong information.
I think your right. same goes for me, I think I might have heard it wrong, if so, just disregard my post.
I would watch what you are saying (Iluveddie - what a joke) There was a good amount of people that thought this was a stupid trade and now we have been proven right. So I think it is time for you to shut the FCK up!
