Jefferson disses Griffin & Rockets...

Yeah the east is weak. Francis was out of the lineup and NJ is suppose to be the beast of the East and they struggled to win tonight. Philly the defending Eastern Champs needed 100pts from Iverson to beat us and we just toyed with Boston the other night on their home court and many are picking them to come out the East.

 

I'm glad we traded for Griffin. He'll become a superstar.

But, NJ would have more to brag about if they had drafted Jefferson, Tinsley, and Haywood, instead of Collins and Armstrong.

 

<I>Net result

Richard Jefferson said he doesn't spend much time thinking what it would have been like to be playing for the Rockets instead of the Nets.

Jefferson, who was drafted by the Rockets and then traded to New Jersey along with two more first-round picks for Eddie Griffin, said he believes the Rockets would be better off if they had kept him and not made the trade.

"I got the best of the deal," said Jefferson, who is averaging 8.2 points off the bench. "I'm playing with Jason Kidd -- the best point guard in the NBA. I'm playing in a great basketball city with a great team. Our team is first in the Eastern Conference. I never think what it would be like to be in Houston.

"I'm glad they traded me. I wish them the best. I wish Eddie Griffin the best. But let's get serious. Only a fool would be remorseful to be in the situation I'm in."

Asked if he wanted to show the Rockets the type of player they could have had, Jefferson said: "I think they already know. They've seen that throughout the whole year. Eddie Griffin has been playing well lately. But then again, their team has been struggling throughout the whole year.

"I think they definitely know if they were to have a couple of rookies who are very capable and have proven that, they would be in a different situation right now."

But Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said he would not have done anything differently.

"Oh, no way," Tomjanovich said. "I think it worked for both. We really didn't have roster spots on our team. To get Eddie was just great."
</I>

This is from the Chronicle...

I don't see what the big deal is. I agree with Jefferson -- given his lack of ties to Houston, he'd be crazy to prefer to be on the Rockets right now over the East-leading Nets. He gets to play on a winning team with maybe the best get-people-involved guard in the NBA. And of course he's going to think he could have made a difference for Houston. It's called confidence in yourself, and what did you expect him to say? "The team is so bad that I couldn't have helped things"?

Like Rudy said, it worked out for everyone. Would the Nets be better with EG? Maybe, maybe not. However, they are leading the East, so they're doing OK for themselves. Would we be better with the collection of rookies? Maybe, maybe not, but we have a budding superstar. Everyone's happy.

I think people are obsessed with creating bad guys out of other players for being happy with their teams.

 

Major,

You don't see what the big deal is b/c you're citing a different source. People here are talking about comments he made earlier this evening on a TV interview, and more specifically, the manner in which he made them.

 

Jefferson sure does talk big for a guy averaging 8 ppg. Before you Eddie haters say "well Eddie is only averaging....," remember that Jefferson is 4 years older.

Check back with me four years from now to see if Eddie is as good as Richard is right now.

 

Before the trade was announced and it had seemed the Rockets had drafted Jefferson,Collins and Armstrong, I was pissed because I thought Randolph,Haywood,and Morris would be the 3 picks. Once I saw the trade for Griffin , I got excited. I remember Barkley telling Van Horn to pack his bags. Had they kept Griffin, Van Horn would have been traded. I imagine Griffin would be a double double player for them, but I 'm glad we got him. Jefferson should be happy he's playing with a modern day Magic-Stocton. All he has to do is get open and run the court and he'll get the ball. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else if I'm a atheletic player.

 

He does have a point though. HE did get the best of the deal. He's on the winningest team in the east now(will probably change).

Jefferson = no upside. That's why the Rocks didn't want him.

 

Not only did we get Griffin, but we were also able to get Torres and Morris with the extra roster spots that opened up for us.

That is the way I look at it.

So far the trade has been 3 for 2 great players not 3 for 1, and we'll see what happens with Morris.

So advantage Rockets again.

 

<B>Major,

You don't see what the big deal is b/c you're citing a different source. People here are talking about comments he made earlier this evening on a TV interview, and more specifically, the manner in which he made them.</B>

No, I agree with his original comments as well. EG is just another rookie on a bad team, although he has a great deal of potential. And I'm sure Jefferson does think that Houston would rather have had the three rookies instead of one.

Unlike us, he's not a Rockets fan. He just knows that the Rockets were decent last year and suck this year, and EG hasn't done much over the course of the season. He probably doesn't know the injury situation, and he probably doesn't know how much EG has improved.

The reason I posted is that people here make every single ex-Rocket/non-Rocket look to be a punk. We went through this with comments by Cassell, Horry, Pippen, Elie, Webber, Anderson, etc. Not every player that says something negative about Houston is a punk, in my opinion.

 

Also Major, that is pretty stupid to say he's "just another rookie." It's not like he's in Memphis where he can build his stats because of the lack of a go to player. Gasol's doing great, but he's the first option on his team. Griffin's doing just as good and he's the third if not fourth option with limited minutes.

Just another rook.

 

Now Jefferson may have said that on Fox Sports NJ, or when he was interviewed by Bill and Calvin but he did not say that when he was interviewed on League pass by the Nets announcers as was stated in the orginal post.

Major I totally agree with you, Jefferson has no idea of anything about the Rockets other then they have the 5th worst record in the NBA and he is on the team leading the East.

Speaking of a Rocket talking about someone on a bad team, there are only 4 teams that they could talk about. I have heard Barkley more then once talk about a team just being a bad team.

Because a 20 year old can be trapped into saying something by an experenced announcer and then the fans have nothing better to do then make it an issue, I guess shows how bad our team is really doing.

I prefer to look at the talented youth that are getting experence because of injuries, the team we will have for years to come with the players we have now instead of finding someone that I can totally dislike on another team that has nothing to do with the Rockets now, or in the future.

One final question for Wakko67, you speak of Griffin just good in limited minutes. I have seen him starting, haven't I? You have him as the third or fouth option, with Francis out and Walt out and Rice out, and Mo out. I am really wondering who the 3 options in front of him are when he is starting. Thanks.

 

moochie mobley and kenny are all options before eddie. throw steve in there and eddie is our 5th option.

 

If the Nets win the championship, there's not much we can say. Jefferson would have played a big role in their success. If not, then pheewwwwy on them. Griffin is a god.

 

There is no way in hell the Nets would win the championship, maybe if they're lucky they'll get past the Bucks for Eastern Conference Champs. Jefferson's just really confident like most rookies. Everyone knows that Eddie is hands down one of the top 3 rookies and has more potential than Tinsley and Gasol who aren't going to get MUCH better.

 

Ha! The Nets don't stand a chance in hell of beating the Lakers or Kings. Honestly, I think the Sixers or Bucks (if Allen goes crazy) could knock them out first. What has Kidd proven in the playoffs? Getting to, what, the second round?

Jefferson isn't a punk, he's what Horseteeth Malosky calls an "articulate young man," but he's got nerve, especially to say the stuff about Griffin. I think, since he doesn't know anything about the Rockets and their injury-plagued cursed season, he should keep his big Arizona mouth shut.

 

E. J. Tucker - I wasn't counting Steve out of the line-up so that's one. Cuttino's two. Kenny rounds out three.

 

I think that EG has more potential than Richard Jefferson, but to say that Jefferson has "no upside" or has already reached his peak is kind of ridiculous.

He's only 21 years old and getting solid minutes for a playoff-bound team, playing alongside the game's best passing point guard. You can already see improvement in his game from the beginning of the year. He has good court awareness and great elevation on his shot.

I think Griffin will be a better player, but no need to tear down Jefferson in the process. He's just got a little chip on his shoulder.