French Jordan

I think more than anything it's the frustration with his basketball IQ, which is about as low as you can get. He just has no natural feel for the game or sense of the correct action for a given situation. He's kind of like the anti Stephen Jackson. SJax is Mr. Clutch, Pietrus is Mr. Unclutch. So many dumb mistakes in critical situations last year like fouling someone 30 feet from the basket as time is running out in a tie game. Plus he is a horrible freethrow shooter which directly cost us a game against Utah in the playoffs last year. He can dominate, but he can also just disappear on a team with plenty of guys who could use those minutes. Well, Custodian can rant better than I can for hours about Pietrus but I would sum it up with the word frustration.</p>

To be fair, he's playing somewhat better this year, but I still don't think I can ever fully trust him. Hey, Dunleavy is also playing better this year, but I wouldn't let him pay me to come back to the Warriors. So...au revoir, Mikael!</p>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (HiRez)</div><div class='quotemain'>To be fair, he's playing somewhat better this year, but I still don't think I can ever fully trust him. Hey, Dunleavy is also playing better this year, but I wouldn't let him pay me to come back to the Warriors. So...au revoir, Mikael!</div></p>

lol.</p>

My problem with Pietrus is that he still makes the same bone-head plays in year 5 as he did in year 1 -- Beginning a drive from the corner by stepping backwards out of bounds... Catching the ball and immediately going left before turning to see the defender camped there waiting for him... fouling a jump shooter 20 feet away from the basket...</p>

It's hard to fault him though because of his wonderful attitude and love for the game -- you know he's always going to give you 100% effort, even if that means going 100% on his way to committing a charge...</p>

For what his game is though, Nellie does rely on him at times. The difference now is that I realize he's never going to be a star, or even true starter, in the league. He's never going to be worth a $10 mils contract. But, if he'll take $3 or $4 mils per year to fill the reserve role that he has now, I don't have a problem with that. He brings hustle, energy and defense (albeit unintelligent defense at times) off the bench, and that's valuable on certain nights when the starters need a pick-me-up.</p>

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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (HiRez)</div><div class='quotemain'></p>

I think more than anything it's the frustration with his basketball IQ, which is about as low as you can get. He just has no natural feel for the game or sense of the correct action for a given situation. He's kind of like the anti Stephen Jackson. SJax is Mr. Clutch, Pietrus is Mr. Unclutch. So many dumb mistakes in critical situations last year like fouling someone 30 feet from the basket as time is running out in a tie game. Plus he is a horrible freethrow shooter which directly cost us a game against Utah in the playoffs last year. He can dominate, but he can also just disappear on a team with plenty of guys who could use those minutes. Well, Custodian can rant better than I can for hours about Pietrus but I would sum it up with the word frustration.</p>

To be fair, he's playing somewhat better this year, but I still don't think I can ever fully trust him. Hey, Dunleavy is also playing better this year, but I wouldn't let him pay me to come back to the Warriors. So...au revoir, Mikael!</p>

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HiRez said it. When Pietrus was a rookie he had all this promise of being a very good 6'6 shooting guard. He was an exciting player because he often scored a point per minute and he ballhawked the heck out of his assignments. He was a fan favorite for, like, two years, but then it became obvious that everything he did on the floor was based on his athletic ability and his hustle, not his skill or brains. He often had no concept of what he was doing out there on the floor... he just reacted without thinking and that lost us games or or got us near losses. And then season after season, he just never really improved his bad habits or got better as a player.</p>

We've seen the same stupid avoidable fouls with him, we've seen blown plays where he just doesn't know where to be, we've seen him not acting very accordingly to the offensive or defensive situation. The biggest problem is he's just a crappy shot unless he takes baseline shots and you set him up. Then if he can't finish those, he's basically a blackhole who will dribble his way into a travel or just crash into people. He just lacks a role because he's too unnatural and unskilled to be a swingman, and he's too short, weak, and unpolished to be a power forward. I mean it sucks to be saying this, but he's not a basketball player. He doesn't demonstrate too much reliability over most 4 year players for that position of SG/SF. No post up skills, no reliable finesse game when he puts the ball on the floor, no court sense... I mean what is this guy in year 4?</p>

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Pietrus came here a lot like a kid who'd played a little high school ball and not much else. Unlike most...he never had starter experiance. Muss tossed him in as a defensive stopper-but didn't much add to his short supply of fuindamentals. With Monty,his minutes and roles varied a lot-yet Monty was busy trying to scratch out a few wins ASAP to save his butt. and working on a "future" guy was low priority if Monty had no future,yeah,Ellios + Beans developped...but a lot of that was just them getting off the leash. Mostly they learned in games what failed and what worked. So has Pietrus. Just slower.</p>

He has not done that backstep out of bounds thing all year. He's cut back the cheap fouls. He's not getting called for a charge or steps more than most. Being careful to show some BB IQ probably takes away his explosive stuiff a bit. Meanwhile....Hey folks...Jax and Baron and Barnes take dumb shots - make dumb fouls,everyone does. We just played the Lakers a game where the big diff between Kobe and Pietrus was Kobe missed 10 more shots.</p>

The PROBLEM is not so much Pietrus...or Diougu....or O'Bryant...or Belinnelli...or Wright...Lasme.....it's a GM + Coach who-in spite of a long raport-pull in opposite directions. Mully drafts projects. Nellie automatically flushes projects down the john.</p>

We virtually have "swapped" 2006 #1,2006 #2,2007 #1 (Bobs) 2007 #1,@007 #2....for THud-Croshere-Mbenga,guys NOT wanted back after a season with lots of DNPs. Dallas and Minn even PAID THud and Bongo to just leave asap.</p>

And we think the Joe Barry Carroll deal sucked?</p>

The W's had a remarkable 13 years of well earned lotto picks and we managed to stumble on Biedrins. Ironically...Beans was perhaps the LEAST likely of them all.</p>

We quit on Lasme after a test drive of ONE damn minute. Now he's blocking 5 shots and getting 8+ boards per in the D League...gee..sounds like Maxiel who's ABUSED our leprechaun/mini-ball team twice this year...</p>

We quit on the 06 #9 pick without seeming to have any interest in whether he could become a quality player or at least be a trade chip.</p>

Then we ask players who are tired and down 10 in the 4th to NOT quit.</p>

Yeah...Pietrus and O'Bryant are pretty much lost.. If I was either I'd look forward to escaping.. What I'm saying is we can't let that be the pattern.</p>

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