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I hate to say it, but who the cares? Griffin is a ROOKIE. His opinion doesn't count.
Griffin says Blair will fit with Spurs
Mike Monroe
When Blake Griffin checked into a midtown Manhattan hotel the day before the NBA draft, he sent a text message to his good friend, Pittsburgh forward DeJuan Blair.
“At hotel in NY; Where U at?” the text message read.
Blair's response: “Not there.”
Puzzled, Griffin sent a second message, inquiring about Blair's arrival time. This time the response left Griffin totally perplexed.
“He let me know he wasn't coming to New York at all,” said Griffin, the Clippers rookie and 2008-09 College Player of the Year who was the No. 1 overall selection of the draft. “That confused me and surprised me.”
In fact, Blair wasn't in the “green room” at Madison Square Garden, awaiting an expected curtain call to pose with commissioner David Stern after being announced as a first-round pick. That was because the league had determined it wasn't likely that Blair would be taken in the first round, which turned out to be the case.
Instead, the Spurs made him the 37th overall pick.
Blair has vowed to make the 29 teams that passed on him regret the decision.
Griffin believes he will make good on his promise.
“It doesn't matter that he didn't go (in the first round),” Griffin said. “He got drafted where he was meant to be, and I know he's going to make the best of it.”
The two power forwards became good friends at summer basketball. On Wednesday night, they went head-to-head at the AT&T Center in a preseason game. Griffin had 23 points and seven rebounds. Blair turned in his second double-double, with 11 points and 12 rebounds in Los Angeles' 93-90 victory.
Griffin was strictly a power forward at Oklahoma, but Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy plans to try him some at small forward this season.
“He's got great effort and a skill level, as far as ball handling and passing, that are off the charts for a big guy,” Dunleavy said. “His shot is getting better and deeper all the time.”
Blair knows his future never will be on the perimeter but said he is eager to see Griffin at small forward.
“They're really going to play him out there?” he said. “I want to see that.”
Lucas back: Former Spurs coach John Lucas is back on the sidelines in the NBA, added to Dunleavy's staff. Lucas replaced Jerry Tarkanian as Spurs coach on Dec. 18, 1992, and coached the team through the end of the 1993-94 season.
“I'm having a blast,” said Lucas, who coached the 76ers and Cavaliers after leaving the Spurs. “I've always had fun coaching.”
Equipment notes: Manu Ginobili wore black shoes, explaining as he checked into the game in the first quarter that he was going with his rebel look.
Tim Duncan, wearing a brace on his left knee, had the device wrapped in white tape between the first and second quarters.
Duncan played 16 minutes and had six points and five rebounds.
I hate to say it, but who the cares? Griffin is a ROOKIE. His opinion doesn't count.
wtf? did you even read the article??
Calm down, spaz, he said something nice.
I hate to say it, but no one cares what you think.
Irregardless of what Griffin says, it does not matter. When the verterans compliment him & they should, he'll get his due.
Blair has vowed to make the 29 teams that passed on him regret the decision.“It doesn't matter that he didn't go (in the first round),” Griffin said. “He got drafted where he was meant to be, and I know he's going to make the best of it.”
IMO Blair is a great player, better than Griffin. Griffin said nice things, but veteran NBA players don't care what comments are made by a rookie. Being in the same draft class is fine & all, plus being "good friends" is nice. What it all comes down to, is his (Griffin) opinion doesn't really count. Blair will prove that he is a very good player.
Just because I give my opinion, doesn't mean you have to be a .
>irregardless
Damn. Don't expect me to ever give you a compliment then.
No need to be an ass about it because the spurs lost.
In retrospect, I tried putting myself in Blair's position and can only imagine the disappointment and hurt at not being able to attend the draft ceremony. Then to receive those text messages from his friend Blake who was not aware of developments must have stung. Anyway, things worked out well for Blair and the Spurs and he now has all the motivation to leave his mark on the NBA.
I never ever will ask for compliments. Preseason doesn't count. I'm not hurt that they lost. Just because I have a strong opinion on Blair over Griffin, is my opinion. Griffin is a good player, but IMO Blair will be more of a complete player than Griffin will ever be. Although, I can see Griffin's career lasting a little longer than Blair's. Blair, to me, just brings more to the table as a player.Damn. Don't expect me to ever give you a compliment then.
No need to be an ass about it because the spurs lost.
That would be very interesting to see.
Yes it will be. I hope that I am right. Many teams will miss out on Blair's NBA contribution.
I don't think Blair is more of a complete player than Griffin for the simple fact that Griffin has a better all around game both offensively and defensively. He went #1 for a reason.
Also, somebody cares about what Griffin thinks. I'd imagine his comments were a response to a question that someone asked him. I rather doubt that he just tossed his comments out of the blue.
griffin is no different to all the white stiffs who are lottery picks, either bust or overrated...look at morrison, kvh, red for example...
Except he isn't white you .
There's a lot of similarities between Griffin and those guys.
Damn that sig is funny as !!! Wish I had found it.
The fact that Dunleavy would try to fit Griffin in at SF speaks to the inep ude of that organization. He's basically Amare with better handles.
Although Griffin doesn't have the height OU alleged in college, he certainly seems to have the talent, as well as the capability to use it. Blair is fantastic, but better than Griffin? Sounds like a homer dream to me. And I was pretty anti-Blake Griffin myself for a while.
Let's just enjoy their performances as their respective careers unfold. They're on very different teams with different roles to play. Both their teams are glad to have them. The time to compare them, if ever, will be when they have a lot more seasons and accomplishments under their belts.. but for the meantime, just enjoy watching two talented players compete.
Things are getting out of hand around here.
I thought Griffin was awesome yesterday. The only thing not going his way is that he's in the Clips.
Bringing up the fictional double negative word in the sentence?
I wasn't going to say anything about it...
Trade Blair for Griffin and we will all go home happy
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