Losing (or
not winning) invites criticism from all sides. This was the thought
running through my mind when I read the article that
accused David Robinson of running Derek Anderson out of San Antonio. If
I am interpreting the piece accurately, Selfish Robinson, after disappearing
in the Western Conference Finals, demanded the lion's share of the Spurs'
15 million dollar salary cap allotment. Meanwhile, Derek "paragon-of-teamwork"
Anderson, stunned by the example set by the Spurs' elder statesman, signed
with the most team-oriented franchise of all, the Portland Trail Blazers.
Like all effective
propaganda, the falsehoods strewn about this piece have enough ties to
reality to sound convincing. Let's sift through the fabrication and deal
with the truth:
1) Robinson
disappeared against the Lakers This is true,
as far as it goes (although Robinson did manage to play a pretty good game
3). And of course, our ace reporter stopped there. No mention of the fact
that virtually the entire team laid down and rolled over. Tim Duncan had
one Tim Duncan game. Avery Johnson? Non-factor. Terry Porter? Has anyone
seen him since the Mavericks series? You can review game film and the statistics
-- only Antonio Daniels bothered to show up for every game. Derek Anderson
was still recovering from the shoulder injury in the Lakers series, but
anyone who followed that team closely could tell you that Anderson had
not been a significant contributor since late April/early May.
2) Robinson
chased Derek Anderson out of town Again, this
is entirely inaccurate. Anderson wanted to play in Portland all along.
He indicated that at his press conference following the trade. After the
Spurs re-signed Robinson, the Spurs had enough cap room to sign Anderson
to a contract roughly equal to that of the Portland offer. It was Anderson
who was unhappy about the length of the contract and that he had to meet
certain incentives (God bless impoverished athletes who have to earn their
money on occasion). The Spurs' offered Anderson five guaranteed years,
Anderson wanted six. Thanks for visiting, Derek!
3) Robinson's
demands and behavior were disgraceful I'll admit
some of the statements Robinson's agent made (presumably with his client's
approval) during the negotiation period seemed inappropriate, considering
his reputation. But just contemplate for a moment what Robinson's critic
is suggesting! That a player of Robinson's pedigree play for one million
dollars a year!? He is a player in decline, but he was still productive
enough to make the 2001 All-Star team and go for 20 and 20 every so often.
Believe it or not, this is not about the money; it's about what you are
worth. Would any of you reading this article take less money from your
employer just because you could afford to? Didn't think so. The other All-Star
center in this free-agent group, Dikembe Mutombo, signed for 10 million
a year. The market suggests that Robinson deserves a contract somewhere
in that vicinity. And for all Derek Anderson apologists, he's a talented
player but really didn't deserve all that much money. This is a player
whose entire resume reads as follows: 1998 All-Rookie 2nd Team, 2001 Player
of the Week. The latter came during the week he came up big against Portland.
Perhaps hoping to impress potential employers?
In case no
one remembers the "Admiral Should be Ashamed"
piece, allow me to summarize:
It's quite
unfortunate that only David Robinson's underachieving prevented the Spurs
from beating the Lakers. It's quite unfortunate that Robinson's obstinate
behavior forced Derek Anderson into exile. Most tragic of all, however,
was that Robinson refuses to pay the Spurs back so they can acquire Vince
Carter, Gary Payton, Jerry Stackhouse, Chris Webber, etc...
Did I take
a few liberties? Sorry. Just following Mr. Sherwood's example.
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