Quick on 95.5

Some fans tend to think the media has it in for their favorite teams or players when a story is published they disagree with. Jason Quick is simply asking the same questions that a lot of fans want to know. If Roy looks bad answering them, it's on Roy and nobody else. Quick wasn't asking leading questions, just some general ones. Roy took it entirely upon himself to throw the team, coach and organization under the bus.

 

If fans expect players to play up to their contract, then shouldn't the inverse be true as well? Meaning that Roy was a bargain his first 4 years in the league, and as such, has built up 4 years of potentially underperforming on a bad contract. I certainly don't recall many posters (if any) saying what a great deal it was to have Roy playing like an All-Star while on a league-mandated rookie contract. Yet many who kept quiet in those days now bash Roy in an anger that really does not seem proportional, or even healthy, if I may go that far, to the reality of the situation. The amount of money that Roy made in the past was a non-issue on this board and on BBF; making it an issue now seems hypocritical.

 

I never said this was rational behavior.
It's far from it.

Unfortunately here on Earth humans tend towards irrational behavior far more then they do rational.

Yes, B-Roy was a huge fucking bargin when he was playing at an All-Star level under his rookie contract.
The same way Batum at this point is worth keeping because he makes so little money right now the team can afford to wait out his ups and downs.

As for being hypocritical, no doubt.
Nearly everyone has been a hypocrit from time to time so this isn't a surprise either.

 

I was referring to a long standing trend in Portland sports writting to find the worst to say about the Blazers.

It's been going on for at least 30 years and will continue on for the next 30 if the team remains in Portland.

This is in part due to the Blazers really being the only game in town as far as major league sports are concerned.
If Portland had a NFL team, an MLB or even a NHL team they could spread the ugly rumors and innuendo around.

They are in the business of selling papers.
A sad fact of life is that negativity sells way better the positivity.
Thus the local media have always been fairly negative about the team.


It becomes absurdly clear if you compare the writting in the Columbian to the writting in the Oregonian.

 

Quick didn't "find the worst thing possible" to say about the Blazers. Roy pretty much said it himself. Quick even expressed on the radio, that even if it's his job to find out everything, he wished that Roy would be more discrete. Sorta weird position for him to be in.

 

I understand and agree with your point on how we all are hypocrites. My specific criticism of some of the Roy bashing, though, is that if fans are going to whine about money, then it would seem to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Meaning that solely using criticisms of a player based on his large contract is going to always mean that a person has something to be negative about. I see a lot of $80 million!!! posts, and in doing so, those people are setting themselves up for 5 long years. I just wonder what the point is of even watching the team, if everything is viewed through a financial prism.

Anyhow, I digress...

 

I disagree, so it isn't "definitely" worthy of ire. Unless, of course, you were talking about your own opinion, and I misunderstood the bolded phrase.

 

Quick also said he reads boards like this one, and that if posters bashing Roy knew him personally, they would post some of the things they post. Also, he mentioned more than once how much he likes Roy as a person. It's a situation where an All-Star player has lost a step, at least temporarily, and he also isn't being utilized to the best of his abilities.

 

My issue is with Roy's attitude, not with his contract. This team has always had overpaid players. It's a fact of life in the NBA. He's obviously more valuable to the team than Raef LaFrentz was, and RL was making bank.

With that said, I have been very disappointed in Roy since the beginning of last season. He is establishing himself as a complainer, and I don't think it's very indicative of a team leader or the cornerstone of the franchise.

 

Yeah, I understand that argument, and I somewhat agree with it. The money thing, though, I just don't get. I find it hard to blame Roy for signing a contract that was offered to him. Compounding this line of criticism are fans like the callers to BFT that I referenced earlier in this thread. Those who either don't know the rules (you can't renegotiate a contract to a lower salary, as per the CBA), or don't apparently watch the team player (the guy who said that Houston shut down Roy in the 2009 playoffs). You keep up on the team and are knowledgeable; most of the callers I hear offering "solutions" to the Roy situation are obviously ignorant in the working of the NBA.

 

There's only one "Roy solution" that I can think of. He accepts that he isn't the player he was and adapts his game, because he can't be traded and I don't see the team accommodating his demands anymore.

 

I agree with this. It is the only solution.

 

But it isn't personal... it's about the game of basketball, which is his career of choice. If they choose to have a career in the public eye, they must expect to get public scrutiny. That's part of the deal. They get fame and fortune, but they also get criticized for their flaws and mistakes. When I was writing for a living, I expected people to criticize my work. I expected people to hate my opinions. I knew I had to have thick skin. It has nothing to do with my personality or my life away from the career I choose. If my writing sucks, I expect people to tell me that my writing sucks.

I'd also like to point out that some of the nicest guys in the locker room are the guys that get zero PT. That doesn't mean they suck any less.

 

How does he adapt his game, though? He's not going to be able to run through screens. Hell, he didn't want to do that when he was healthy. Why would he be in constant motion on two bad knees? The most successful adaptation for him may be to run even more ISOs or post-ups, given his limited explosiveness. Now that would be worth trying, if only for the reaction on this board.

 

I think I've actually suggested that a while back... I think Roy needs to develop a post up game. Jordan did it. Kobe did it. Carter did it. I think he needs to work on his turn-around-jumper and his fade-away. I would never expect Roy to run off screens because that's just really not his game, or his style, but he needs to figure out a different way to get separation so he can shoot. A lot of star players have to adapt their games as they get older, Roy is just going to have to do it much sooner than most.

 

Roy has had a good post up game since his rookie year. I don't think he needs to develop one. Fine tune it, sure. But they need to actually use it. Of course, the same issue is present with his penetrations. What's to stop a second guard from sagging into a double team?

 

Nothing, at least with a PG that can't shoot. Which brings us back to Roy's thoughts on the PG. People may not like how Roy expressed it, but I do find merit in the actual opinion.

 

I mean, I agree, I don't care for how he expressed it. But I agree to an extent with the premise of his complaint.

 

He just needs to watch the Phoenix game over and over. One dribble and shoot. What he can't do, and this has very little to do with his knees (IMO) is run the offense. He was never "the PG of the future" even when he was at his best.(Do we all remember the Philly game?) Who ever is the PG needs to run the team. Roy is a SG who can pass, but not a SG that can dribble through traffic. Giving him more room by spreading the floor is not the answer.

He can adapt his game and still be a 20+ a night scorer. He just has to finally realize what it is going to take. Miller may not be the perfect back court mate (I think a big time scoring PG is our only solution to get to the next level) but he needs to stop blaming others and start evolving his game. And no more "behind the back" dribble in traffic. They have all seen that move by now.