Kblaze8855
04-08-2021, 10:11 AM
...has to be “Doesn’t care if we win so long as he gets his numbers”.
When it’s true I don’t even know how you go forward with said player. Note the “When it’s true” because fans often suggest such things about players who obviously giving it all they have....perhaps on misguided ways....perhaps while shooting poorly, or maybe without the physical gifts to play great D. Whatever. It doesn’t apply to everyone who isn’t winning. But if it does? Do you even bother trying to fix that or just bail on whatever talent might also be there?
For example(unfortunately the last two star bigs in Minnesota)....
Darko is a nut who left the league to kickbox and loves fruit more than basketball(he grows cherries now) but this is a truly scathing assessment from a teammate:
“I had the opportunity to play with great players in the NBA, but they were all crybabies, like Kevin Love, for example. Minnesota Timberwolves GM wanted me to apologize to all the players on the way I behaved, and I didn’t want to apologize to those crybabies. You have a guy like Kevin Love, and don’t get me wrong I don’t have the right to talk about anything because of the way I played, and he achieved much more than I ever did. But he is a type of guy that is not satisfied if he doesn’t score 20 points and grabs ten rebounds even though we won the game. He was unhappy in the locker room and was even close to crying, and he is supposed to be your go-to guy in a championship team?
I can’t play with those types of players, and I won’t apologize to them. I did some stupid things in my career, and I agree I was wrong, but I would never apologize to Kevin Love. I was used to different values growing up like, team basketball, teamwork, and winning games.”.
And KAT?
Many of you should remember this but I’ll give a visual in case not....
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/AgedOrangeBushbaby-size_restricted.gif
Amin Elhassan on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (https://www.worldofsuey.com/podcast/episode/ae329423/local-hour-breakfast-flan),” produced by Mike Ryan:
Allegedly, that was directed at Karl-Anthony Towns (https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/5432/), who, whenever he’d come to the bench, “Where’s the stat sheet? Let me stat sheet.” Looks at how he does. There have been stories about, he comes out of a game, they’re up 20, sits down, looks at his stat sheet, realizes he had 20 and nine that night. He’s like “Argh” and is visibly disgusted and frustrated because I didn’t hit my marks.
Amin is a former nba exec who is always on that show and KAT is among the people he says front offices just don’t take seriously regardless of his talent. The word is out from too many people that he wants the numbers first.
Now a lot of players have number related goals. Jordan did. Wilt. I remember Reggie saying once he’d make sure to get his 20 quickly vs bad teams he might not play the whole game against. It’s human to just....be aware of it. Especially with contract implications....but you can’t watch some of the real effort guys and conclude they don’t care. Bird knew his numbers...nobody is gonna tell you he didn’t care about winning. No doubt someone who will dismiss every teammate and qualified observer saying otherwise is about to say Westbrook. But anyone with eyes can see he leaves everything out there. He’s not about to hit his numbers and then be cool taking it down a notch or not go as hard. He isn’t jacking up contested 29 footers down 6 with 9 seconds to go because he wants 3 more points. He doesn’t care about his shooting numbers...he’s trying to win. Jordan had his run chasing triple doubles openly and he insisted on leading the league on scoring...but no man alive questioned his need to win the game.
When teammates can see and call you out about putting the numbers over the teams success.....that has to be the ultimate criticism right?
Is there even any point in keeping such a guy around? Can that be fixed?
To KATs credit he seems to be admitting he was wrong in the past:
I’ve had the time to mess up and I guess you could say ‘chase stats’. That s[***] is over. I’ve proved myself in this league. I truly believe that. I don’t have to prove myself anymore. But now what I have to prove is: can I win? I think that’s the next step. I have to do whatever it takes. I look at the stat sheet ‘oh, is great, it’s wonderful, 30 and 16’. But we lost. I don’t give a s[***] then. At the end of the day, the word on me is still gonna be the word. There’s only one way to change the narrative, and that’s to go beat the narrative.”
Which is good to hear but....after 6 years?
Hes a rare talent. A 7 footer shooting about like Reggie and Ray Allen from 3 by the numbers. But it’s tough to measure his buy in.
I don’t know what you do with guys like that once it’s known. Hope to catch it before the word is out and trade them?
You would get a hell of a haul for KAT if all the league didn’t know what he was. Hell you would get a lot now. Just....not from as many teams probably.
When it’s true I don’t even know how you go forward with said player. Note the “When it’s true” because fans often suggest such things about players who obviously giving it all they have....perhaps on misguided ways....perhaps while shooting poorly, or maybe without the physical gifts to play great D. Whatever. It doesn’t apply to everyone who isn’t winning. But if it does? Do you even bother trying to fix that or just bail on whatever talent might also be there?
For example(unfortunately the last two star bigs in Minnesota)....
Darko is a nut who left the league to kickbox and loves fruit more than basketball(he grows cherries now) but this is a truly scathing assessment from a teammate:
“I had the opportunity to play with great players in the NBA, but they were all crybabies, like Kevin Love, for example. Minnesota Timberwolves GM wanted me to apologize to all the players on the way I behaved, and I didn’t want to apologize to those crybabies. You have a guy like Kevin Love, and don’t get me wrong I don’t have the right to talk about anything because of the way I played, and he achieved much more than I ever did. But he is a type of guy that is not satisfied if he doesn’t score 20 points and grabs ten rebounds even though we won the game. He was unhappy in the locker room and was even close to crying, and he is supposed to be your go-to guy in a championship team?
I can’t play with those types of players, and I won’t apologize to them. I did some stupid things in my career, and I agree I was wrong, but I would never apologize to Kevin Love. I was used to different values growing up like, team basketball, teamwork, and winning games.”.
And KAT?
Many of you should remember this but I’ll give a visual in case not....
https://thumbs.gfycat.com/AgedOrangeBushbaby-size_restricted.gif
Amin Elhassan on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz (https://www.worldofsuey.com/podcast/episode/ae329423/local-hour-breakfast-flan),” produced by Mike Ryan:
Allegedly, that was directed at Karl-Anthony Towns (https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/5432/), who, whenever he’d come to the bench, “Where’s the stat sheet? Let me stat sheet.” Looks at how he does. There have been stories about, he comes out of a game, they’re up 20, sits down, looks at his stat sheet, realizes he had 20 and nine that night. He’s like “Argh” and is visibly disgusted and frustrated because I didn’t hit my marks.
Amin is a former nba exec who is always on that show and KAT is among the people he says front offices just don’t take seriously regardless of his talent. The word is out from too many people that he wants the numbers first.
Now a lot of players have number related goals. Jordan did. Wilt. I remember Reggie saying once he’d make sure to get his 20 quickly vs bad teams he might not play the whole game against. It’s human to just....be aware of it. Especially with contract implications....but you can’t watch some of the real effort guys and conclude they don’t care. Bird knew his numbers...nobody is gonna tell you he didn’t care about winning. No doubt someone who will dismiss every teammate and qualified observer saying otherwise is about to say Westbrook. But anyone with eyes can see he leaves everything out there. He’s not about to hit his numbers and then be cool taking it down a notch or not go as hard. He isn’t jacking up contested 29 footers down 6 with 9 seconds to go because he wants 3 more points. He doesn’t care about his shooting numbers...he’s trying to win. Jordan had his run chasing triple doubles openly and he insisted on leading the league on scoring...but no man alive questioned his need to win the game.
When teammates can see and call you out about putting the numbers over the teams success.....that has to be the ultimate criticism right?
Is there even any point in keeping such a guy around? Can that be fixed?
To KATs credit he seems to be admitting he was wrong in the past:
I’ve had the time to mess up and I guess you could say ‘chase stats’. That s[***] is over. I’ve proved myself in this league. I truly believe that. I don’t have to prove myself anymore. But now what I have to prove is: can I win? I think that’s the next step. I have to do whatever it takes. I look at the stat sheet ‘oh, is great, it’s wonderful, 30 and 16’. But we lost. I don’t give a s[***] then. At the end of the day, the word on me is still gonna be the word. There’s only one way to change the narrative, and that’s to go beat the narrative.”
Which is good to hear but....after 6 years?
Hes a rare talent. A 7 footer shooting about like Reggie and Ray Allen from 3 by the numbers. But it’s tough to measure his buy in.
I don’t know what you do with guys like that once it’s known. Hope to catch it before the word is out and trade them?
You would get a hell of a haul for KAT if all the league didn’t know what he was. Hell you would get a lot now. Just....not from as many teams probably.