Thomas Fined for Comments

[P-O-Z]

February 6, 2007 – Chicago Bulls Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson has levied a $10,000 fine on Bulls rookie forward Tyrus Thomas for his comments after being selected to participate in the 2007 Sprite Slam Dunk competition to be held on NBA All-Star Saturday Night presented by EA Sports on Feb. 17 in Las Vegas.
“This fine is an appropriate response to the remarks Tyrus made concerning his participation in the Slam Dunk Contest. It is a poor reflection on Tyrus individually and a poor reflection on the Bulls organization and I am certainly disappointed,” stated Paxson.

“The league office has chosen Tyrus to participate in one of its premiere All-Star events and that is an honor that should be accepted with humility," he continued. "I spoke to Tyrus this morning and am confident he understands that he made a mistake with his words and that he also understands the importance of representing the Bulls and the NBA in a positive way.”

Thomas (6-9, 215) has appeared in 41 games with Chicago this season, including two starts, and averaged 3.5 ppg and 2.7 rpg in 10.3 mpg.

[Rip-Hamilton32]

lol so if he comes in last hes only gonna make 6125

[Fillmoe]

he loves the dough

[P-O-Z]

he loves the dough
who doesnt

[Holmes_Fans]

What did he say?

[ponky]

What did he say?

what a fucking moron

from SI.com:

'Free money' was the motivating factor behind Tyrus Thomas' decision to participate in the dunk contest on All-Star Weekend.
'Free money' was the motivating factor behind Tyrus Thomas' decision to participate in the dunk contest on All-Star Weekend.
Greg Nelson/SI

CHICAGO (AP) -- The Chicago Bulls fined forward Tyrus Thomas $10,000 on Tuesday, one day after the rookie said he only was interested in the money for the NBA's slam dunk contest.

The first Bull since Scottie Pippen in 1990 to participate in the event, Thomas was quoted in Tuesday's editions of the Chicago Tribune as saying: "I'm just going to go out there, get my check and call it a day."

When asked if being around some of the game's greats could be beneficial for a rookie, he responded, "I'm just into the free money. That's it. I'll just do whatever when I get out there."

The winner of the Feb. 17 event in Las Vegas gets $35,000. The runner-up earns $22,500, with the third and fourth-place finishers getting $16,125. Joining Thomas are defending champion Nate Robinson of New York, Orlando All-Star Dwight Howard and Boston's Gerald Green.

"This fine is an appropriate response to the remarks Tyrus made concerning his participation in the slam dunk contest," Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson said in a statement. "It is a poor reflection on Tyrus individually and a poor reflection on the Bulls organization, and I am certainly disappointed. The league office has chosen Tyrus to participate in one of its All-Star events and that is an honor that should be accepted with humility. I spoke to Tyrus this morning and am confident he understands that he made a mistake with his words and that he also understands the importance of representing the Bulls and the NBA in a positive way."

Thomas has appeared in 41 games, averaging 3.5 points and 2.7 rebounds.

[P-O-Z]

what a fucking moron

lmfao :lol

[Horry For 3!]

Well if he was only in there for the money, he better win to pay off his $10,000 fine :lmao

[JMarkJohns]

The League should have fined him the exact amount of fourth place. Put the pressure on him to actually show up and care about the event. If he can no longer just show up and collect a check (since he's breaking by competing), he's forced to actually perform in order to turn a profit for his participation.

[RonMexico]

He should get suspended for 15 games.

[ChumpDumper]

The league didn't fine him.

[Sacramental]

he wont win for saying that. the crowd's gonna boo him.

[ALVAREZ6]

he wont win for saying that. the crowd's gonna boo him.
He wouldn't win anyway, what the fuck is he doin in a dunk contest?



Gerald Green will win it easy, unless the judges ride Nate's cock again for his 14-attempt dunks, sympathizing over his height and guaranteeing him the win just because he's short.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

the NBA needs to stop being so cheap as it is, if they had a 1M dollar 1st place prize, then maybe a decent selection of dunkers would actually participate.

[RonMexico]

Maybe if they made players wait until their junior years to declare for the draft like the NFL, they wouldn't have such bitch-ass players in their league.