Shareef wants out...... should the Rocks take a look.....

A couple of responses:
a. SAR is considered a tip tier powerfoward. There is not a GM in the league who whould not just at the chance to sign him.
b. SAR is not perceived as a top tier powerfoward by the general public because he has always played on losing teams. TEAM is the operative word hear. TEAM.
c. Kurt Thomas has always received props from the media as a superstar in the making. People love hearing that kind of crap. But, "in the making" means that he hasn't done crap yet. Thomas is a great example of a player who is overvalued because of the teams he plays on and the press he receives. We have no way of determining this... but I have a very hard time imagining a team (that is staring from scratch with no powerforward) picking Thomas over SAR.

Not anyone can average 20 and 8 over an eight year career. Yes... he has done it on losing teams. But, no... he has not done that at the expense of his team. He is not about stats. If you ever watch him play... he is a team player, good defender and rebounder.

 

Gucci Versace Dolce Gabana,

You didn't use the wrong term. People earn popularity.
NBA players earn popularity by winning and being spectacular.

You may think that SAR is better than Robert Horry but who's more popular? Why?

Do you remember any SAR playoff 3 pointers? You hear the women scream for SAR? You hear Bill Walton saying "Shareef is in the top 5 playoff performers of all time?"

Nope.

Look at Linsay Lohan. She's popular. She has back and 2 larry obrien trophies.

 

Tinman,
I bet you think that David Hassellhof is the greatest actor of all time. I mean he is more popular that Dirk in germany.

 

a. Apparently all the GMs wanted this guy. Thats why Kenyon Martin, Meme Okur, Rasheed Wallace, and Carlos Boozer signed massive contracts this year. That's why he was considered being traded for a scrub like Kerry Kittles, a top tier 2guard.

b. TEAM is the word. if your TEAM loses all the time, then you are a BAD team player.

c.What crackhead thinks Kurt Thomas is a superstar? Thats why I see him on Sportscenter all the time right? I'd rather have Kurt Thomas than SAR. Kurt Thomas is physical and gets lots of boards.

d. I agree, average 20pts and 8 is great. That's why he wants to leave Portland, cause if Zach gets the rock, this dude isn't going to average 20/8. He wants to go to a team where he can keep his average up. He likes stats.

 

Boozer is better than him and he'll show it next season, last season he was better than Rahim, I can't use a whole career since Boozer's is only a couple of season's long.

Vancouver you could make a case for, but ATL did NOT suck, at least not his second season there. They were talented enough to do something with Rahim and they were supposed to do something with him after they added the BIG DOG, they only improved by a couple games, pathetic! That team right there had WAY more talent than the Cavs last season yet they still won about as much or more than the Hawks with Rahim.

Put Rasheed on that second Hawks team and they make the playoffs, same with Martin, probably not Boozer but I bet they don't get worse. Come on now, a front court of Rasheed or Martin with Theo Ratliff would be almost as good as a front court of Rasheed and Big Ben.

 

David Hassellhoff introduced Baywatch which introduced the world to Pamela Anderson, Carmen Electra, and countless other babes. He deserves his popularity.

Back to Basketball. Why is your boy Shareef not popular?
If he's so good, he has to be popular. Why aren't kids doing the Shareef sky hook or Shareef-shake? Why doesn't Thirst offer Shareef a Sprite? Why doesnt Shareef endorse chocolate bars?
Why isn't Shareef on an American Express commercial saying 'Yao Yao"? Where is the Air Shareef shoe?



He's UNPOPULAR!

1. Doesn't help his team win - not popular with fans
2. Wants to play in the position of the best player - not popular with Zach Randolf
3. Threatens to not play - not popular with fans and team
4. makes 14million dollars -not popular with other GMs

 

I guess my hangup is I don't know why you and Tin and other's on here are so down on the man. His comments in Portland were the first he has made in his career about being unhappy. He doesn't view himself as a roleplayer at this stage... especially for a self destructive team like Portland.

20 and 8. 20 and 8! Yes... on losing teams. But that doesn't mean a whole lot to me. There is a good chance that Kobe is going to be on a losing team this year. Does that make him less of a ball player?

 

Are you talking about anyone of the NY Knicks? There are dozens of players that you could be talking about.

Regardless... Mays was not popular. Who likes Bonds? I could come up with hundreds of examples in each sport of good to great athletes who are not popular.

People buy what the media sells them.

I bet you think that invading Iraq was the best thing to do because it was so popular at the time?

 

I'm down on him because he's WAY talented and sucks at the same time, as a fan of the NBA it sucks to see that from a guy. He should view himself as a role player, maybe then he'll start winning!

If Bryant stays out of jail and off the IL the Lakers will be a winning team, lead the league in scoring and win 50, book mark this if you want.

 

The Lakers are not going to be a losing team. They will be above .500. As much as I hate the Lakers, Kobe is awesome and Rudy is a great coach.

The reason for his 20 and 8 is back in the day people considered him the main option on the team. Now they realize that he should not be. Therefore he's leaving.

Why do you think they paid him 14million? To be the second best player on the team? Nope.

We don't need a 20 and 8 guy if we have the best scorer in the game and NOW the best center in the West. We need a really good defensive player and rebounder that doesnt cost 14mill.
We need a person who doesnt have a big ego like Sheriff.

You must be a Shareef fan, I mean I can't stand to watch a team lose but if you are happy that he gets 20pts a game then you dont care about his team.

 

What does Sadaam Hussein do with Shareef being an overrated player?

Bonds is popular. How many people will show up to see the Giants if he wasn't playing? Why is this guy voted to the All Star game if he's not popular.

Any person with any logic and math would understand that SAR doesnt fit our team and is not worth his cash.

I think you think if Tmac averages 28 and Shareef averages 20 that they will combine for 48 pts a game..

Maybe you need to call up Ricky Williams and join him in his search for the truth

 

I am withdrawing myself from this discussion as none of us are going to concede. The only thing I would say is check out the section of Chad Ford's column today about SAR:

http://proxy.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&id=1848376

Portland started this mess. If your issue is SAR wanting out... can you blame him.

Enjoyed it fellas.

See you at the next Celine Dion concert or David Hassellhof movie.

David

 

dude dont put words in his mouth.. we all know he knows better than to compare SAR to those great players.

 

Captain Eyehab,

I didn't put words in his mouth.
He was talking about SAR being on losing teams and then mention (INCORRECT STATS) about other players like Jordan, Shaq, etc)

There's one thing to say well SAR was on losing teams like Juwan Howard or Jerry Stackhouse. There's another thing to say SAR and MJ. Well look even MJ has losing seasons.. Well SAR had 8 losing seasons and MJ had one in 85 where he was hurt most of theyear.

I didn't put words in his mouth, just trying to remove the long john silvers fried catfish from it.

 

Don't be an ass.
I only eat the chicken planks from LJS.

I was not comparing SAR to Jordan and you know that. I was just saying that even great players can be on losing teams.

 

Dude but I disproved your bad stats. Shaq wasn't even on a losing team and Jordan had a fluke losing season cause he was hurt the whole year. I don't mind your opinions but don't put up false stats.

Also logically you are comparing them. You are rationalizing that SAR is a good/great player who had losing seasons. Then saying look at these guys who are great players and they have losing seasons (even though they didn't really have any).

UNLESS, you say SAR is not a great player and is an average player and that even great players have losing seasons. But I dont think you meant that becuase you think 20 and 8 is the Da Vinci Code for greatness.

 

oh how cute. you know how to read AND spell. congrats. what a clown. you must be like 12.

 

eyehab,

i love you.

 

To Guc, Tinman, and everyone else who hates SAR:

This is NOT about him being better than Boozer, KMart or Sheed; it is about him being better than JHoward, MoT, and Spoon...those are the guys he would be dealt for, and I don't think you can make a case that any of the incumbants on this team are better, offensively or defensively.

No, I wouldn't have SAR over Sheed, Boozer, or KMart for many of the same reasons you have mentioned. I agree that the worth of a player is not measured in stats alone, but I also think you are all unwilling to concede that SAR is a very productive player, at least on par with the three above.

Furthermore, my objective in comparing those three to SAR was to possibly change a few perceptions of SAR's game because I believe his talent, character, and dedication are not reflected in the pitiful won-lost records of those teams.

I'm not saying that he is free of blame for the miserable failures of his teams, but it's not all his fault either.

If SAR was paired with JKidd and RJeff, I'm sure they would have made those 2 finals appearances just like they did with KMart (and, what do you know, who is NJ looking to as a replacement for KMart).

If SAR signed with the Jazz this offseason, I think he would have as much an impact as Boozer will.

And as for Rasheed, well, he weaseled his way out of Atlanta to get on a contender before we got a chance to see how much he could turn around the losers surrounding SAR before the trade. But I think it's safe to say he wouldn't have helped much, just as he did almost nothing in Portland for over 5 years (except spark a bowl or two).

SAR is a very nice, respectful, hardworking, talented PF...he is still young, until now has never made waves, and despite what you all think, is MUCH better than Taylor, Howard or Spoon.

All I'm saying is he IS in this class of players (Sheed, KMart, Boozer) and NOT in this class of players (Howard, MoT, Spoon), and that is all that is relevant for the Rockets.

That is why I want him: He is an upgrade over what we have, not better than Sheed, KMart and Boozer.

 

Also, who says SAR has to come in and average 20 and 8 on the Rockets?

I never said I expected anything near that...I think he could fit in quite well scoring 12-14 PPG while pulling down 8-9 boards...what's wrong with that?

I do believe a certain other former Blazers PF who was accustomed to being THE MAN and making over $15M came to a contender and fit in well enough to help them win a championship...

Tinman, do you know who I am referring to?

Sheed didn't need to be the first option, so he adjusted, averaged a respectable 15 and 6 on a playoff team, and he made even more than SAR last year...why can't Reef do the same?

He's certainly less of a hothead than Rasheed, his ego can't possibly be bigger, so why would Rasheed be able to make this conversion while Shareef is incapable?

Remember, if he was moved for MoT and Spoon, that means a whole lot of points need to be replaced from last year's team...Steve, Cat, Cato and MoT combined for about 50 PPG last year...I know Tmac will pick up a lot of the slack, but there should still be plenty of shots out there for a guy like Shareef to get his 14-15 points a game and be perfectly happy playing his role on a contender.