David Aldridge - nba.com - "Dribbles" (about the tired Tony parker)

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One team is paying you ridiculously good money, more than a million dollars a month, to play. Seems like an easy decision.

According to French fans, it's only an easy decision if your brain is full of and you have no heart. People that are guaranteed a job by the government and get paid for not working seem to take for granted that someone has to pay Tony Parker to do his job.

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his father is american and his mother is dutch

Ah. The Dutch part threw me off. I guess Germany would have found an excuse to take him as well, given their previous track record.

[Brazil]

One team is paying you ridiculously good money, more than a million dollars a month, to play. Seems like an easy decision.

not that simple obviously see manu pau tp dirk etc etc but maybe you are clever than these guys

in tp case if he is paid more than a million dollar a month because of the french federal structure, he has lived in INSEP since he was a kid, he grew up playing bb in a federal structure. Not playing for France is like saying you to the people that gave him a chance to do something in his life. This structure is his second family and you don't say you to your family unless your brain is "full of ".

Now I think he did enough to be able to say stop at one moment of his carreer. I don't know if this moment is now but on the contrary of what you're saying it is not an easy decision.

[ElNono]

I only read the first 2 pages and the last one, but why the do all these types of threads have to turn into Tony vs. Manu?..they play for the same team, we're all Spurs fans here, what the is the point of always doing this with Tony-Manu?..

Actually, this thread is none of that. The only argument here is between the Spur fan Nazis vs the International Ball apologists...

There. Now we even have Godwin's law in here. We're done.

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in tp case if he is paid more than a million dollar a month because of the french federal structure, he has lived in INSEP since he was a kid, he grew up playing bb in a federal structure. Not playing for France is like saying you to the people that gave him a chance to do something in his life. This structure is his second family and you don't say you to your family unless your brain is "full of ".

Um, Tony has been earning a paycheck since he was a teenager without benefit of a guaranteed government job. Again, he owes France nothing.

[Admidave50]

Ah. The Dutch part threw me off. I guess Germany would have found an excuse to take him as well, given their previous track record.

If I recall well, I think it's Dutch as in Holland

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If I recall well, I think it's Dutch as in Holland

Yeah, his mother is from the Netherlands, which means she's Dutch. We got that. What's it got to do with my joke about the German national team being s?

[Spursmania]

"I just think I've played too much basketball," Parker said last week.

Genius comment.

Duh...

[TD 21]

I've been concerned about Parker all year. Duncan is back to playing at an MVP level, Ginobili is slowly, but surely getting his groove back, but Parker just looks out of gas. He's lacking that extra burst to beat his man off the dribble and get to the rim any time he wants and then when he does get there, his trademark uncanny ability to finish at the rim is diminished. On top of that, he's become a sieve defensively, though he's been better lately.

If Duncan and Ginobili continue to trend up and McDyess wakes up, maybe the Spurs get to the Western Conference Finals, but there's little to no chance (assuming they get there) of beating the Lakers unless Parker is spectacular. As we all know, that is the Spurs biggest match-up advantage over the Lakers.

[Whisky Dog]

Well no ing you're tired, did that really just hit you now? Did you not think about this before?

Since you are tired and only giving 70% you should be paying Holt 30% of your salary back, dumbass.

[Baseline]

Life is so hard, isn't it? Your coach wants you to play 100% every night...for your $12.6M.

The key word here is "play." He's playing a game, not splitting logs in the Ozarks, or haulingin 160-lb fish in Arctic waters, or washing windows on skyscrapers.

Good Lord - shut up and get the job done, Parker.

[ezau]

we need to trade this guy already. 12.6 million a year and he's still complaining? do your ing job like everyone else, ing SOB

[ezau]

I hate to see these players break down after pushing themselves too hard in the summer. The NBA teams who lose these players to their national teams should be compensated by those countries. Basically if Tony can't go because he's worn himself out playing in the summer then the guilty country should pickup part of the contract. 3 months commitment to the national team should equate to a 25% reimbursement to the NBA franchise of his salary.

Agree with this

[narmerguy]

Agree with this

I don't. These players are completely responsible for their decisions and if the NBA teams want players who play for national teams they have to live with the consequences. I personally feel they should start adding some clauses about how much they're allowed to play so we can stop this nonsense. Just put it in their contract that they can't play for a national team more than x-x games or whatever.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

If Manu and Tony didn't have the heart, drive, commitment...you name it, that pushes them to play for their countries despite of the more sensible alternatives ( health-wise ), then the Spurs would have 3 less les. That's part of the character the Spurs, and we as fans, are so proud of.

[draft87]

So you going to ing help duncan or not

ruff ruff! grrrrrrr rufff!

exactly

booooooo

[Bukefal]

If Manu and Tony didn't have the heart, drive, commitment...you name it, that pushes them to play for their countries despite of the more sensible alternatives ( health-wise ), then the Spurs would have 3 less les. That's part of the character the Spurs, and we as fans, are so proud of.

+1

[veji1]

Life is so hard, isn't it? Your coach wants you to play 100% every night...for your $12.6M.

The key word here is "play." He's playing a game, not splitting logs in the Ozarks, or haulingin 160-lb fish in Arctic waters, or washing windows on skyscrapers.

Good Lord - shut up and get the job done, Parker.

Come on, that kind of comment is plain silly. Did Parker go "bouhou I am tired, this is unfair, I should be paid more..."

No he was just talking with journalists about his inconsistent play and being candid when he says that he feels like he has played too much basketball for the last few years and it has caught up with him, leaving him out of gas.."

Is that whining or stating a fact ?

[buttsR4rebounding]

well it looks like your choice is obvious, Mr. Parker.

say what you want, but your allegiance is to your pay check right now. if you want to play for France, go ahead, but save the Spurs the $millions so they can sign another point guard.

Don't underestimate the endorsement income that Parker gets in France. He is one of the top 3 in-demand people in France. Not playing on the National team would surely hurt that.

[romain.star]

Don't underestimate the endorsement income that Parker gets in France. He is one of the top 3 in-demand people in France. Not playing on the National team would surely hurt that.

French people don't give a about NBA and their BB National Team. It's all about football, rugby, tennis and cycling one month per year. If Parker decides to quit the NT, nobody will make a big deal out of it

that being said, Parker will stop playing for his NT only if they underachieve next summer in Turkey (meaning no ticket to London).

[polandprzem]

Good article. I think any debate about whether national team play hurts players can put to rest this season. Parker has obviously been tired all year and Pau Gasol has stayed gimpy. It's just not humanly possible to play that much basketball. I respect Parker's enthusiasm for playing for his home country -- but as a Spurs fan that enthusiasm lowers the team's chance of winning a championship ... and that's all I really care about.

That said, I don't buy what Parker is saying. He's the master at playing both sides of the pond. He'll tell US reporters that he's thinking of not playing while telling French reporters something totally different. If I had to guess, he'll be suiting up next summer once again.

Playing 9 months of basketball is not humanly possible as well though almost every playes does that and feeling fine.
many players got glimpses, not just players that play for NT.
Pop knows that TP plays for France so he could handle him better in apreperation for the season. [and spurs were fishing after first round]
btw. TP said he feels fine just before the season.
And funny thing is that TD and MG are getting much needed rest and TP is not. He always had to carry the spurs offense in a big load.

[Pauleta14]

Yeah, its true TP wasnt born in France, but in Brugge, Belgium. I was confirming what you said. And he could have played for Belgium instead of FRance, I was just saying. But with naturalization, almost everyone can play for every country. I dont totally understand your post.

Tony only lived the 2 first weeks of his life in Belgium!
He grew up in France and spent some holidays in his US family in Chicago.

That has NOTHING to do with the naturalisations of guys that spent only a few years in a country...

[polandprzem]

Hey! TP also was few days in Poland

[Pauleta14]

French people don't give a about NBA and their BB National Team. It's all about football, rugby, tennis and cycling one month per year. If Parker decides to quit the NT, nobody will make a big deal out of it

that being said, Parker will stop playing for his NT only if they underachieve next summer in Turkey (meaning no ticket to London).

That's true all year long... until the few weeks before the compe ion when it become a good subject for the media!!
And then, suddenly, like Noah before (who was from Cameroun when he was loosing), people will ask if he REALLY feels he is french and question his comitment.

[ShoogarBear]

I hate to see these players break down after pushing themselves too hard in the summer. The NBA teams who lose these players to their national teams should be compensated by those countries. Basically if Tony can't go because he's worn himself out playing in the summer then the guilty country should pickup part of the contract. 3 months commitment to the national team should equate to a 25% reimbursement to the NBA franchise of his salary.

1) You want to see the USOC pay the Cavs 25% of LeBron's salary?

2) You want to see Donald Sterling try to get the entire Clippers' roster on the national team?