<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Through his first 23 games as a Piston, guard Ronald (Flip) Murray has been up and down, on and off. Here one night, gone the next. "He's like the stock market right now," coach Flip Saunders said. "Usually the stock market is really good right before the first of the year." If Saunders is right, then maybe Murray's shooting percentage (41.6%), points per game (6.5) and overall production are about to rise. Murray certainly hopes so, and he went so far as to acknowledge that his transition to the Pistons hasn't been easy. "I didn't know what to expect when I came here, thinking I was going to be the first guard coming off the bench," Murray said. "That's something I've got to deal with. The only thing I can do is go out there and play when I'm out there on the court and come in and produce as much as I can." In his last two games, Murray has shot a combined 4-for-16 for nine points and zero assists. The toughest thing for Murray has been finding a rhythm. He plays behind shooting guard Richard Hamilton, who has been the Pistons' most consistent player. So Murray's minutes have been sparse. "It's tough. It's tough," Murray said. "Like I said, it's something I've got to deal with. It's another challenge." Though things haven't gone as Murray would have liked them to, Saunders isn't giving up on one of the Pistons' off-season acquisitions. "He still continues to work hard, and I think it's a matter of -- like Maxy (Jason Maxiell) or Dale (Davis) -- you have a breakout-type game, and all of a sudden you kind of relax," Saunders said. "And he just hasn't gotten to that point yet."</div> Source
Flip played 12 minutes against his former team the Sonics-- and was effective in the minutes that he got (7 pts). He is now forced to play shooting guard exclusively behind Rip Hamilton and is giving away minutes to a rookie 60th pick in Will Blalock. Damn right he has a beef. He is in a contract year and he could have definitely recieved more money on the free agent market last year. He took a pay cut to be a part of the Pistons in hopes that he be able to back up Chauncey and Rip exclusively w/ the opportunity to play along side of them when the team went small. He basically felt that he could add to an already solid franchise. Hasn't happened thus far. Immediately after he signed his deal the team signed Lindsey Hunter to 2 year 4.5 million dollar extension. Meaning again Murray was in a crowded backcourt. This kid has tried to take the high road and accept the fact that he has to play well in the minutes he gets but he has always proven that in extended minutes he can be an upper echelon guard in this league. He is 27 years old, so he is no longer a young asset that needs to be developed. If he isn't going to get the opportunity that he was told he was going to get in Detroit than they should look to deal him for a player who is comfortable with an erratic role. I am very disappointed that Flip hasn't found his niche yet in this league b/c I know that he is more than capable of flourishing with consistent minutes.
Blalock has been playing pretty well thats why. Flip plays well at times but can be very careless. He played well last night in the win over the Hawks.
I'm kind of getting sick of seeing all these reports and interviews with Flip complaining about coming off the bench, I understand its frustrating, but if you're that unhappy with your role, then request a trade, I dont want to see guys on the team that dont want to be there.
Im kinda sick of Flip he just needs to shut up and earn his minutes. I love Will Blalock though he was great at g-tech and hopefully will be a solid player for us.
