The plight of the tall kid; I know it all too well. But my situation was different/worse than your friend's: I in fact did play basketball all of my young life, so when asked "why aren't you on the school team" my answer was "I tried out but didn't make it."
I have an issue with flakes, no matter how projectionist it looks on my part. Its about trust in the end. He signed a CONTRACT for services. Life happens and people cant always follow through on terms, but if he knew in advance he wasnt into it and was gonna waste EVERYONE AROUND him's time, he should do the right thing and give that money back. Flakes have a way of portraying themselves as victims of circumstance, though they dont want to HANDLE circumstances and when they get in over their head they flee. Whether its 2,000 or 20 mil dont waste people's time and money. (I understand there's societal external pressure on "tall kids" but Sanders went mighty far with his ambition)
Thank you. <------ Lawyer who is GOOD at being a lawyer, yet recently took a much different (muuuuch less lucrative) legal career path because eight years of waking up and immediately thinking how much I effing hate my job were enough. I salute Larry's bravery and hope he finds what really makes him happy. Money and "respect" from faceless people are not worth your peace and sanity.
Doesn't it make anyone wonder if Larry reallyyyy had serious depression and anxiety problems why he would immediately come out and expose himself and try to justify? People with such problems usually avoid exposure and the "truth" comes out after a long while when they are back healthy and have found their inner peace. But here is Larry with his millions happy in sunny Florida trying to save his public face. This is a guy who only one and a half year ago embraced his role as the face of a small- market franchise and said a million empty words to fans who cheered his name and supported him. Now trying to excuse how he prefers to get the checks without doing anything while his team suddendly have found itself in the playoffs. And why didn't he retire ? Make at least THAT favour to his old team and delete the whole cap hit? He would still take the money. But no...he plans to fool another team in the future maybe a team that is in a warmer place with less snow and with less demanding coach than Kidd.
The NBAPA would never agree to that. And just because guaranteed contracts are the law of the land doesn't mean the Bucks weren't unduly hurt by this and deserve no sympathy. No sympathy for the Rockets over the Royce White situation either? Is the solution for NBA teams to blacklist any player with any signs of mental illness or checkered past? Trades are a well-known part of the NBA as well, but if you read Patrick Patterson's account of his trade from the Rockets you'd know it's not all business. It's even worse when young players are cut. I remember the Rockets recently releasing someone, but waiting until after Christmas as to not ruin the holidays for his family. Why even bother with that sympathetic gesture if roster cuts are just the law of the land? I'm not going to cry and wail over it, but if I knew one of those players personally I'd definitely say "Sorry, that sucks. Better luck next time."
Actually a well written piece by Royce White. For once he actually cites some solutions rather than vague generalized approaches of "People Need To Care More" Will not respect his approach to basketball and authority. Royce White wanted coddling for his condition instead of exposing himself to in-depth removal of his conditions, though he wont admit it. It will forever tarnish his image Though no doubt he's passionate and thinks deep on the mental health agenda.
At a certain point though, forcing someone to fulfill an obligation they obviously hate becomes detrimental to both parties. It's a two-way street. I'm guessing there weren't performance clauses in his contract that required him to hit certain metrics in order to earn his paycheck, therefore nothing was stopping him from simply showing up everyday, going through the motions, and earning the entirety of his contract. If anything, in a sense, didn't he do right by the Bucks by allowing them to pay him a portion of his salary, and freeing themselves of someone who doesn't want to play anymore? I guess the only other way that Sanders might have done Milwaukee a favor is by playing out the rest of this season, and then retiring.
Actually there were. The perfomance clause of : don't be high. He couldn't abide to that clause and he was caught 4 times. For mar1juana the CBA says that the contract can't be voided but he has to go to rehabe and stay away form games without pay. He already had lost 1 million this year and the next time he got caught (only a matter of time) it would be 1.5 million. Also he was refusing to go to rehab both this summer and in christmas and that's why the NBA made it 12 games instead of 10 without pay until he abided.
I have no sympathy for the Rockets in the Royce White situation in the sense that they KNEW he was a risk when drafting him. However, I don't think it's quite the same because I think White was actively and intentionally creating a stink about the way he felt he was being treated because it served his selfish purposes. I honestly believe that Sanders simply wants to get away from the game with as little drama as possible. Of course there's a human element to it, and if anything, that's what I'm arguing for. My initial response came to the poster who said, "Oh boo ****ing hoo, get over it because you're rich!" To me, THAT'S taking away the human element. Not what I said.
I wont judge what a mentally ill person's public image is supposed to look like. People can be really good at concealing deeper issues, appearing grounded and level headed though tormented underneath. I wont say that he is trying to con people either. I dont know his level of interest for basketball Though I do think like most humans he sought security financially, he got it and now its embolded him to seek his other options and personal pursuits. Meaning no matter the mental issue, people have enough focus and awareness to know how to fill their pockets with cash lol JuanValdez talked about flakes. Correlated that with Sanders. I talked about the TOPIC of flakes in general. But didnt firmly label Sanders as a flake If Sanders IS a flake by usual negative defintion, then yes everything you said applies. I honestly havent looked at Sanders enough to label him anything, so I'll look deeper in the story
My job requires me to be damn good at what I do and if I decide I'd rather smoke pot than do my job I wouldn't get paid.
I salute people who make the tough decision to sacrifice. You walked away for less money to be happy, I dig that. He isn't doing that. He waited until after he got his big contract and then he pulled it.
I understand Rockets' fans are skeptical of mental illness as a reason for underperforming in pro basketball after the White episode. That said, I'm glad Sanders is promoting the kinds of values he does in the video; he's pretty insightful in stating that his happiness isn't defined by external things like fame or wealth, but values he's determined for himself. He's a kid who's still finding himself, and he's not shying away from that. I find him surprisingly articulate and thoughtful, given his reputation as a pub brawler and puppy abuser. (I can't think of many other issues people would be less sympathetic about). What I read about that incident wasn't good, but that just goes to show an individual's complexity can't be adequately captured in tweets and news snippets. Young people with anxiety issues and new-found wealth and attention are liable to make bad decisions, but that doesn't necessarily have to define them forever.
I agree with the following, in sum: * If someone doesn't want to play b-ball anymore (or any other job), that's fine. Make room for someone who does. I agree with the poster saying it's better for the org and the employee to part ways. I've seen tenured professors do this, even at a young age, and it's a cool, brave thing when handled well. * If you sign a contract in bad faith or when you had major doubts, you should give some of that money back or go back to a good faith buy-out / retirement. That's my sense of the ethics there, but by no means a legal requirement, clearly. * If you sign an employee to a new contract when you saw trouble or rules violations, you better have some back-room insurance deal in place (and they Bucks might, for all we know, with a third party provider). * If in a capitalist system, a certain person's skills or talents land them a contract condition I could never hope to attain, well, so be it. If the person's skills land them a signing bonus or a huge pile of cash, that's the name of the game.
You do know that isn't a performance clause right? A morals clause and a performance clause aren't the same thing sir.
You make it seem like it was some sinister plot Larry and his agent devised. "He waited until after he got his big contract and then he pulled it". Perhaps the desire to walk away was tugging at him slightly in the years prior to signing the contract and it became worse the last few months? Perhaps he thought he could kick the itch in time and so he went ahead and committed his playing future to the Bucks but he ended up being wrong about kicking the itch to walk away. Is he the first player to walk away from a big contract whether recently signed or signed some years previously? The Bucks will get over it and maybe be more cautious next time when committing hefty sums of money to a player who might be giving signs that he isn't deserving of the hefty contract.
I'm not a lawyer or american so no. However he couldn't be ON THE COURT because he was banned for smoking pot. How is that for perfomance? How is it for perfomance him not following the team in trips, sitting on the bench or coming to practices? How is it for perfomance refusing to follow the coach instructions and fighting with other players/personell? There are people who have serious mental issues but this one is a con man using it as an excuse to justify his lazyness and greed. I am following Larry's career since he was drafted and his hipocricy and lies are infuriating. He should just go away but he HAD to come out and spew this rubbing on the fans faces. I really hope he goes broke. I can't lie. Karma b!tch.
I'm not gonna hate on the guy for finding things more important than basketball, that's all well and good, but I'll never respect anyone who signs a big contract and "suddenly" undergoes an attitude change like that, leaving his team holding the bag. If he took a buyout of notably small size, I might relax, but "I'll agree to reduce my salary for doing nothing from $14 million a year to $7 million" is unacceptable.
And if you do a good job, you could attempt to get a raise without waiting 4 years. NBA players are locked into their salary, good or bad, by voluntarily agreement of parties. He actually did walk away from $20MM by taking the buyout. He could have stayed around and moped around a basketball court for the next 3 years and collected all of that money if that was his primary motivation. Or just be a problem child ala Josh Smith to the point where they just cut him and then he could retire and collect all of his money. This is a good article about some of his struggles and NBA experience: http://www.si.com/nba/2014/12/19/larry-sanders-milwaukee-bucks
He found a loop hole in the system and took complete advantage of it. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L83b7zzEbFA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
