Hey, didn't you used to be Steve Francis?

[devilalum]

I never liked this guy. Every since he through his little hissy fit on draft day I have not been a fan.

The guy has/had some talent but what an attitude. Call me Mr. External Attribution.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2289923

 

[DaFlogger]

Yep, he's the million dollar dirtbag of Orlando...

 

[Yuma]

"No. I was Oliver Miller. Hey! Is that a cheeseburger?"

 

[devilalum]

"No. I was Oliver Miller. Hey! Is that a cheeseburger?"

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Step away

 

[boisesuns]

He needs to use the step master.

 

[devilalum]

Mayor McCheese, meet Oliver.

Oliver, EAT Mayor McCHeese.

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[reader]

Does anyone think having a good character should be looked at more closely when signing players to mega contracts?

Carter ... Dogged it in Toronto
T-Mac ... Dogged it in Orlando
Artest ... Oops, still crazy after all these years
Boozer ... Went back on his word, hardly played, Karma
Mourning ... Dogged it in New Jersey, would not report to TO
Dampier ... 7 years, 73 million, it sounds like Avery is benching him, too lethargic, not enough fire in him. Played well in his contract year though!

These are all men who signed big contracts and then do not have the moral fiber and character to fulfill their side of the bargain.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Does anyone think having a good character should be looked at more closely when signing players to mega contracts?

Carter ... Dogged it in Toronto
T-Mac ... Dogged it in Orlando
Artest ... Oops, still crazy after all these years
Boozer ... Went back on his word, hardly played, Karma
Mourning ... Dogged it in New Jersey, would not report to TO
Dampier ... 7 years, 73 million, it sounds like Avery is benching him, too lethargic, not enough fire in him. Played well in his contract year though!

These are all men who signed big contracts and then do not have the moral fiber and character to fulfill their side of the bargain.

I'll give you Carter and Dampier, but not the others.

TMac never dogged it in Orlando, he just didn't play with a ton of passion. That is a lot different than not showing up to play. He single handily carried that team to the playoffs with a horrible supporting cast and no Grant Hill.

Artest has a relatively small contract, and is vastly underpaid.

Boozer isn't dogging it, he is just constantly injured. You are right about the Karma thing though.

Mourning didn't dog it in NJ either. He got a big contract and then was ruled unable to play due to his kidney. The only reason NJ signed him was because Kidd demanded it, so maybe we should talk about his moral fiber. Not reporting to Toronto wasn't exactly unexpected like Jimmy in NO was. Toronto traded for him knowing that he wouldn't ever play for them.

 

[George O'Brien]

Every situation is different. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if a player doesn't report following a trade, he doesn't get paid. It may disappoint the team that traded for him, but it is a lot more honorable than reporting and then getting while not playing hard.

As for injuries, it is a tough call. Some guys are always injured due to bad luck while others don't work hard on rehab and are the cause of not being ready to play. It is very hard for outsiders to know which is which.

Guys with personality defects sometimes clean up their act when they go to another team in another city. Sheed Wallace has not been anything close to the problem child he was in Portland. Steve Francis is the same jerk he was in Houston. I would guess that having a strong team with veteran leadership can sometimes tame wild men; but I have to think that Artest will be a bigger problem on a young team.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Every situation is different. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if a player doesn't report following a trade, he doesn't get paid.

Depends on the team's stance. If a player fails to report to a team, the team has the option of suspending that player without pay. This happened to Jimmy.

However, Toronto never suspended Zo (there was some noise about his health holding him out) - so he was paid his salary.

The new CBA has some new measures to further dissuade players from failing to report as well.

 

[Chris_Sanders]

Remember when Orlando turned down T-Mac for Marion straight up and went after Francis and Mobley instead?

And that is why they are a loser team.

 

[jibikao]

I hate Francis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He refused to play for Grizzily when we drafted him!!!!!!!!!! So freaking cocky.