So the summer league games are something other than exhibitions that amount to glorified scrimmages? I suppose that if the Spurs entry in Vegas does well, the Spurs will actually start the 2009-10 season with an extra win or two?
O really? Then why have a SL at all?
Why shouldn't players sit home and send videos of themselves shooting free trows?
If the players in the SL, most notably those who are NBA bound, have NO DUTY TO PARTICIPATE, why go at all? Why not just stay home, not go to practice, and not bother to tell the FO? After all, if the players have NO DUTY to attend and contribute, then certainly the players have NO DUTY to tell the FO the skipped something completely NON SPURS RELATED.
If you follow your logic through it's ultimate, and erroneous conclusion, then you will have a SL full of Allen Iverson's, all talking about "practice." And since the SL games are just "practice," then they'll skip those as well.
Then this tool, on the verge of being a great one for the Spurs, the Toros, becomes beyond useless.
In other words, friend, you are clearly mistaken. Practice matters: the SL matters.
Last edited by poeticism707; 07-15-2009 at 11:05 PM.
So the summer league games are something other than exhibitions that amount to glorified scrimmages? I suppose that if the Spurs entry in Vegas does well, the Spurs will actually start the 2009-10 season with an extra win or two?
What you can do is cancel ALL THE DEVELOPMENT of the following players if they don't bother showing up for "practice":
-Ian Mahinimi, whose only been "practicing" for 4 years!
- Hairston, who has only practiced for 2 years at least!
-Hill, who has grown a lot in "practice."
-Blair, who maybe never gets a contract, without "practice."
-And many others.
So, following your logic, these players would lose their development, which would result in a loss of championship for the Spurs, as it is THESE PLAYERS who the Spurs depending on to pull their respective weight.
Again, you are mistaken, friend. Practice matters.
Last edited by poeticism707; 07-15-2009 at 11:20 PM.
Blue collar guy. About as likely to go to Europe as Rush Limbaugh.
Blair and the Spurs were made for each other.
Ian and Hill couldn't really be used in this comparison because both were first round picks with guaranteed contracts. They could play as much as they wanted in the SL or DL and still be fine if they were to have ever gotten injured.
In looking at any second rounder, their opportunity is basically to show a FO that they can play and garner a guaranteed contract. Since you used Malik in this comparison, he hasn't shown enough to do this in two years until now.
Blair is in a different situation. He was slated to be a top 15 draft pick. He went ahead and showed what he had in his first SL game and most likely saw what happened to Pat Mills and smartly decided to wait it out until a contract came. I believe he still wanted to play, but he has to think about his long term future and who will be taking care of him first.
A good example is Leon Powe with the Celtics. His contract was up and he got hurt on the last year of that contract. Celtics didn't offer him anything which means he has no income until he is healthy again. Powe and Mills are both good examples as to what could have happened to Blair and he smartly shut it down until his contract was finalized.
Another factor to take into consideration is that this is the SL... meaning that the teams consist of other players who are new to the league and are trying to make a team. Because of their desire to make a team and there newness to the league, it's even more important to secure a deal before playing in the SL. You would be more likely to get injured in a SL game then you would during the regular season where seasoned vets play.
I see what your point is involving a team first at ude, but you have to remember in order for him to have that at ude, he has to be secure in himself before anything. Having home taken care of has to be the first step in being part of a team. That way, there are no qualms or issues or questions as to what could or might happen. Now that the contract is done, he can go full throttle and play with nothing in the back of his mind about having to play half speed or careful about getting hurt.
I would rather see that type of player then one who is just going through the motions.
...but that will not shut me up one iota just the same!
Assuming (falsely) that contract negotiations had anything to do with Blair's absence, I don't see the harm in a player missing a practice to take care of the business side of his job. It's not as if missing one practice (I'll note, too, that it's one against a whole lot of guys who aren't going to play a second in the NBA) is going to re Blair's growth. And it's not as if the Spurs were going to use Summer League games to determine Dejuan Blair's worthiness to be given a guaranteed contract. They had already committed themselves to Blair by announcing immediately after he was picked that they expected him to play 20 minutes per night in the coming season.
Again, my ultimate point here is that some draw some pretty strong conclusions (or at least some pretty strong inferences) about a player's commitment to the concept of team from some pretty weak evidence.
Blair suited up and was in all the huddles for Game 2 versus the Nuggz. Imagine the nerve of that guy...suiting up like he was going to be playing. How selfish!!!
I just glad he's signed for the duration. I'm guessing the Spurs are now much more familiar with his body.. probably stick him into all sorts of CAT scans, MRI machines.. the works.
"We're talking about practice, man. I mean, how silly is that? We're talking about practice. I know I'm supposed to be there. I know I'm supposed to lead by example . . . I know it's important . . . I honestly do. But we're talking about practice, man. What are we talking about? Practice?"
Weren't you told by Mrs. Kori Ellis herself to read more and to post less? You talk too damn much.
Some people just don't know when to quit when they are behind.
Grizzly Blair!
Friend: if you (or anyone else) bothered to notice:
I made NO INFERENCES: what I said is IF BLAIR HAS DONE THIS, THEN IT WAS WRONG BECAUSE OF THESE REASONS.
That is as cut and dry as it gets.
Did I say Blair did this? Did I STATE ANYWHERE that Blair has done this? I state OVER AND OVER that I don't know, but IF he did, it was wrong.
Seriously: not that I'm speaking to you in particular FromWayDownTown, but the group think on Spurs Talk is beyond CHILDISH.
But of course, a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree good fruit.
Neither can an immature tree bear mature fruit.
Last edited by poeticism707; 07-16-2009 at 02:07 AM.
But the point was that even IF he did do it because of contract reasons, he was still justified.
IF THAT HAPPENED, then no, he wasn't friend.
At least, however, you are not calling me childish names and posting pics of curse words.
But supposedly I am responsible for these things, when I have cursed no one, have spoken no negativity against anyone, and only spoken the truth.
Disagreement I can deal with, and easily. I am ever ready to discuss like adults.
Childish taunts and curse words, I will ignore and bear without retort, rather than dignify such behavior with a response.
Just to completely understand your view, I have quoted your descriptive post of your reasons. The main point you are making is that he is being selfish IF he stopped playing because he didn't have a contract and is putting himself above the team.
Would selfish also be another word for being responsible, prepared, or smart? Because if he was hurt seriously, make no mistake, the same word, selfish would be used by the Spurs FO in being responsible, prepared, and smart in not signing Blair to a contract.
Similar case is everyone's favorite retread that is consistenly brought up...Javtokas. He got hurt, Spurs helped him out with his injuries, was not signed to a contract.
He could have played and continued negotiations, but still risked a serious injury with no possibility of a contract if that happened.
So exactly, how is that being selfish in a negative sense IF he sat out for contract reasons? Did you read my previous posts? And how is he not justified for the reasons described?
Again, I would rather him not be worried about getting hurt and playing full throttle with a completed contract then to play half speed which makes him more apt to get injured especially against a bunch of SL players. That's the life of a second round pick.
poeticism707, I think your reasoning fails because you start from a false assumption: Blair is NOT part of the spurs team until he's got a contract.
Until then, he cannot not put himself above the team, as you said, since there's no "team", yet.
Friend: I made it very clear that IF Blair sat out for contract reasons, and used the media to force the Spurs hand, it was wrong. I also stated very clearly that IF this is the case, he could have EASILY told the Spurs his concerns in private, then there would be no swirling internet rumours.
See. The solution is very simple. But here I am, being bashed, when Tim Duncan, the cornerstone of the Spurs franchise, has always been a class act, has never used the media for leverage, and even took less money than he deserved so that the Spurs could continue to be contenders. If Duncan, of all players can do this, then everyone else can fall in line.
As, I stated before, IF THIS IS THE CASE WITH BLAIR, meaning I have no idea one way or another. However, since I've made this statement VIRTUALLY everytime I've posted, and it's been completely ignored and my words twisted, I'm sure it will be ignored in this response as well (not necessarily by you, mont).
Last edited by poeticism707; 07-16-2009 at 02:32 AM.
Imagine the position he'd be in if he suffered a career-ending injury while playing for free. He passed on his senior year in college, and he'd be missing out on at least a million dollars, if not multiple millions. Even though he didn't choose to sit out because of contract issues, I think he would have been fully justified if he did. This is not an issue of selfishness, it's good business sense (this is his profession, after all).
This reasoning is not sound friend: the moment the Spurs drafted Blair, he was a part of the team.
Or else, why can't another team sign him, then? Because the Spurs OWN HIS RIGHTS, CORRECT?
And why is that? Because he is now a part of the Spurs team. Just because his reaching the "inner circle" hadn't happened yet, was a mere formality because most drafted players are not signed until the late summer or fall.
Also: on a subjective note, why was Blair so thankful and appreciative of the Spurs drafting him, of taking a chance on him?
It's because he's now apart of the team.
Yes I did, and I am OKAY with that, why? because he's putting his family first.
Also, although many posters have said this, Blair himself did not want to sit out, the hold out came as a shock to him. It's not like he twittered "no money no game."
The media has eyes and ears everywhere. He in no way, used the media to try to leverage a contract.
Finally, the deal seemed to get done rather quickly, which likely signifies that this deal was already in the works before the media found out about it.
As I've said many times prior, friend: IF BLAIR DID THIS (I don't know, clearly), then the easiest thing for him to do would've been to just communicate his concerns to the FO in private, then there would be no rumors or guesswork. That is the simplest and classiest solution: the RIGHT SOLUTION.
Again, this is all hypothetical, as I have no idea if Blair did this or not.
Additionally, you keep saying that he sound keep his concerns private, I'm sure he tried, but his management team perhaps did not.
Rumors usually start because some journalist is trying to get payed.
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