This is somewhat of a repeat of one of my replies in another thread, but I seriously need to vent. Know what Eddie needs? How about entrance into a 12-step program of some sorts... like "DEADBEATS ANONYMOUS". Huh??? I know I'm being mean but this kid needs to grow up. He's 21--full age to vote, serve in the army, gamble, drink, and do anything but rent a car in this country--he has 2 years of NBA experience, and he's getting paid millions of dollars to play f**king basketball. And what does he do? He's high all the time, he skips games and practices without telling anyone, and he doesn't improve. I'd be fine if the guy was not improving but at least trying and following JVG, but give me a break. He went AWOL last year and he does it twice again this year in a time when they're looking to extend his contract. Not smart.
exactly. i'm not supporting or condemning eddie here, but people need to realize the chemicals in your brain don't really care how much money you have. if you're messed up, you're messed up, whether you're worth ten thousand or ten million.
Very well put. We all have problems regardless of how much money we make, what kind of jobs we have, how old we are, etc.
you got problems, you got problems,but like any other job, you dont no call no show,once ok, but twice come on now,wish we had jefferson instead
This, I believe. Eggie will be back soon enough, but we are now more than likely stuck with him, at least for a long while.
You are allowed to have a problem as a person, regardless of how much money you have. But you are not allowed to have problem as a professional, regardless of how much money you make, or you'll lose your job. It's that simple.
If Griffin is suffering any kind of mental health problem, then I hope he gets help. If he is having problems with illicit substances, then I hope he get help. If he is having any kind of problem that is beyond his coping capabilities, then I hope he gets help. That said, there's no excuse for him not notifying the team about his absences. At any job, if you fail to call in, you lose your job. Plain and simple. The real lesson here is not that Eddie turned out to be a worse player than Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins, Brandon Armstrong, Zach Randolph, etc and thus the Rockets should have predicted this. The draft is essentially one big gamble (with a few exceptions) and you can't always predict who will be a stud and who will be a flop. Rather, the lesson is that you never draft a player whom you have not interviewed and worked out. My understanding is that Griffin never met with the Rockets staff prior to the draft. To give up 3 draft picks on a player whom you have not thoroughly scoped is a stupid move. Game tapes can show alot about a player's skills, but it can't always show a player's psyche. The Rockets will suffer for their impulsive decision in 2001.
Withholding judgment until further info is available. For now, I support Eddie and hope he works out whatever problems he's having. As many others have said, trading him now would be really stupid.
I am amazed at all of the posts here trying to figure out what's "wrong" with EG. What a colossal waste of effort and emotion! Now I understand that EG is a person and people have problems but this is not the place for getting your head straight or growing up or getting treatment for a substance abuse problem. THIS IS THE NBA. It's about playing PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL, period. Does anyone here actually believe that other teams will give the Rockets a "break" because their starting PF is emotionally fragile or has personal problems? Does anyone here feel that other teams actually care? Hell no! They will simply go out and happily kick the Rockets' asses all the more. Why? Because they realize that this is the NBA where the name of the game is wins and losses. PERIOD. At season's end, just how many of you here will be so understanding and concerned if the EG saga causes the Rockets to miss the playoffs for a 5th straight year? From what I've seen, the majority of you will be ready to send his ass out of town. JVG understands this when he said [paraphrase] that you can have all the talent in the world but your success is ultimately judged on wins and losses. The Rockets have a team chocked full of guys who talk a good game and say they WANT to win but who don't have the will or the desire to put in the work and do what it takes to win. EG is the poster boy for this group. To date he's done nothing to justify their investment of 3 1st round picks in him. When you do something like that, you have a right to expect more - a hell of a lot more - than what he's delivered thus far. But it's wrong for folks to direct their anger at or blame EG for being the bust that he is. No, that blame rests squarely on those who selected him in the 1st place - guys like CD who, when I last looked, was rewarded for his dynamite performance as GM over the past 4 years with a new contract extension this week. And that should tell all of us what this franchise's commitment to winning is really all about.
NOT a good time to trade EG. His stock can't get much lower (you would hope). On the other side, we all have major problems in life at some point, but PICK UP THE PHONE AND CALL! No excuse. As I didn't get to see EG during his brief college career, it's always been a mystery to me that he was drawing Garnett-level comparisons before the draft. I was really pumped when we made the deal, but have yet to figure out why he was deemed such a special player. If a forward lacks a tough physical inside game, doesn't do that well putting the ball on the floor and isn't a real sharpshooter, WHAT'S THE HYPE ABOUT. Again, I'm willing to concede my own ignorance here until someone can enlighten me. And please, no more Jermaine O'Neal references. The fact that he took time to develop in no way means that EG, or any other underachiever, is on their way to a productive career. With the commitment that Houston has made to fund a new arena, fans have made to high prices, Les has made to fat contracts, with a new coach, with a developing phenom at center who will one day come up for a new contract, and on and on . . . This ain't first grade. Pick up the damn phone.
I'm sick of young players like this who complain about playing time, and then don't earn it. Screw him, I say trade for a solid starting PF, something they should have done to begin with, and put Griffin on reserve. Lets see if he misses any team buses or planes after that.
when has griffin complained about playing time??? b**** about the drug charge. b**** about griffin's no call/no show. but don't make stuff up, please.
