<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">By himself, Robert Whaley has not caused enough trouble to justify the Jazz's getting rid of him. But do they really need a reason? It's unfair to convict the Jazz center of any genuine wrongdoing in the latest incident that brought up his name for the wrong reasons, Saturday's arrest of his half-brother after a standoff at Whaley's home in Salt Lake City. Whaley was not home at the time. That's the thing, though: Trouble follows this guy, even when he's not around. The Jazz have two choices: Cut ties with Whaley before anything else happens surrounding him, or pray that nothing will. The more difficult decision, the less humanitarian approach, is the more practical one. Whaley is just not worth worrying about. That's strictly a judgment of his basketball ability, which is all I'm talking about here. Spend even a few minutes around Whaley and you want to like him, want him to succeed. Ask almost anybody about him, and "good kid" is the description. Yet Whaley is a product of his childhood environment, and the Jazz are not going to change any of that. It's a bad combination, being too nice and not particularly smart. The team has wondered about the company he keeps, and here's another example: Frank Barnes, his half-brother, was floating around and apparently just happened to be at Whaley's home when police executed an arrest warrant. Whaley's offense? Being too accommodating. The Jazz should not make the same mistake. The team was too soft with Whaley in December, when he and teammate Deron Williams were involved in a nightclub confrontation in Park City and were cited for giving false information to a police officer - remember the infamous "Torrey Ellis" and "Bobby Williams" names that they supplied? Beyond that, Whaley lied to Jazz officials about how he had cut his hand that night, resulting in a one-game suspension. That was not exactly a harsh response to a player who supposedly was subject to a "zero-tolerance" policy when the team drafted him, thanks to his criminal past. Coach Jerry Sloan did say he was close to waiving Whaley at that time, but backed off. So now what should the Jazz do? </div> Source
If you are going to have character issues you better be able to play. Headcases at the end of the bench don't last long in this league. I got the opportunity to get to know Whaley in his one season at Walsh University and he seemed to be an engaging fellow. The bottom line is though he isn't good enough to have his name surrounded by any controversy. The fact that three incidents (the preseason fight, the argument at a bar and subsequent hand injury that he lied about, and his brother latest antics) he has been associated with have all reaffirm that he has not shed the label as a headcase. And the fact that he could never break into the Jazz rotation proves that he is skill set isn't one that will enable his off the court activities to be overlooked. I hope the best for Whaley but if I was the GM of the Jazz Whaley would have been cut after he lied about his hand injury.
