I would cheer for him if I were at the game. Hes a jerk for playing Rowell like that but while he was here he was the one Warriors who put winning above all else. It was frustrating to watch him trying to be the man with no Baron (and no Monta). He's probably one of the top handful of Warriors we've had since Run TMC though.
I would not cheer for him, but do agree he's a jerk. Still, the jerk may have had a point in that someone from Warriors management told he and Monta that they would get a front court stud this past off-season -- Stoudemire. They heard that a deal could have been made just like we did. Monta handled it professionally, but Jax did not. Warriors management certainly did not handle it professionally. PG: Jax, CJ SG: Monta C: Amare, Turiaf, Hunter SF: Mags, Martin PF: AR, Tolliver
I would not boo but I will be glad he's gone. I'm sure all of you guys play pickup at least. SJax's actions are those of the classic front-runner. Plays hard when the team is doing well; maybe even to the point of fooling everyone else into thinking he's a "warrior" (see T. Duncan). But a person's true character shows when hit with adversity. What has been SJax's history? He helped the Spurs win. Went to the Hawks and then sulked because they stunk. Played pretty hard when with the Pacers because they were a 40-50 win team. Warriors? Helped them become relevant but when they stunk? Did he stay professional and grateful for his contract? Absolutely not. He's just like the guys who stack a team then when the best players leave, the guys fake an injury or say they have to go because they know their team will likely lose. I hate those clowns.
What didn't they handle professionally?? Sure there were Amare rumors but the Warriors were smart not to make that trade. They never promised SJax they would bring him Amare so he could win a ring, lol. Besides Jack is a #3 anyway so why does he deserve to be assistant GM? Only way he's getting a ring is with Duncan or Shaq or LeBron or somebody... The Warriors were smart to keep Curry and not trade the bank for a guy like Amare. Remember, it's not like they had a hand-ful of terrific star big men to choose from. There were a few rumors that did not necessarily benefit GS, and that was it. 2010 Will be a much better time to go hunting for a star. Especially now that Captain Jack-Ass isn't dragging this team down with his negative attitude, selfish shooting and piss-poor effort on defense.
All valid points but just to play devil's advocate, the Hawks of those days and the Warriors of the last 15 years have had inept management who were not committed to winning. Jack's main point in the trade request was that W's management told him they would do whatever it took to land a star big man. Then they had the opportunity and didn't. This was all after a season where it seemed Jack was very, very frustrated that the Warriors were not winning. And that was his career year when he was the man. It's easy to knock him and I'm not saying I'm happy about what he did but I do admire that he puts winning above all else. He just doesn't stand for losing. Even if its when hes the man and hes one of four players in the league to put up 20/6/6, if the team lost he was pissed off. Again, he pissed me off with his chucking, "I know it aint me" comments, his manipulation of the W's management, etc. etc. but dude is a winner. I would gladly take his attitude over guys like J-Rich, Jamison, etc. who the W's management (successfully) sells as uber-nice guys who are good players but ultimately can not get it done in the W column. That being said, I'm also completely with management choosing not to trade Curry for Amare. The Suns are panicking to move him now because they know hes just going to go to wherever will pay him. I wouldn't give up anything of value for him because he seems pretty candid about the fact that he has zero loyalty to anything but the size of his paycheck.
For the Hawks, he chose to sign that deal as a free agent. He could have gone anywhere, including back to the Spurs. As for the W's? He was given a guaranteed extension with no representations about any possible trades. That's a bargain, you get your $27M guaranteed and we have your promise that you will play your best for those three years. Um, didn't happen. "Dude is a winner." Um, no. A winner is someone who plays hard every second, who does everything possible to make his teammates better. How many times did you see SJax complain about a non-call while his guy runs down court and its a 4-5? Just today Tolbert joked to Nellie about whether Nellie was counting on the 4 free pts each game while SJax complained. A joke, but a hint of truth too. He had a career year? BFD. He also led the team in TOs and pounding the ball for a clear out. He "puts winning above everything else?" No, he puts his guaranteed contract over everything else, then he tries to wrangle a trade to a winner so he can call himself a winner.
And for these reasons, I am going to Boo him from the couch. (Not gonna spend a penny on the team this year) I managed to get free tickets to 1 game, and they got smoked. I'm really hoping that Cohan sells so I can buy a onesie in June (Expecting our 1st baby this summer). I've gotta try to mold a little point guard, whether it's a boy or a girl.
Congrats CH on your new addition!! I am only now getting to watch more sports because my boys are getting older (8&10) so I have more free time. But I would never trade the time with them for sports.
First of all, I'm a realist. We can agree to disagree on whether trading or keeping Curry was a smart move at the time. I recognize that. Curry could end up being an all-star and another Steve Nash type PG, but at the time it was a # 7 DP. I would want to keep Curry today because of the way it has played out and get another coach besides Nelson. That would be my first plan. You know my take on Nelson -- fire the DB a year ago (better yet do not give him the two-year extension! Flock how stupid was that???!!!???!!!). However, if we could turn the clock back to yesterday and we still had Jack, Crawford and Belinelli, then I would have taken the trade. I would disagree with you about the Warriors management (Nelson and Riley? Riley and Rowell? I can't remember who exactly went to ATL.) handling this situation professionally. It seems to me they were the ones who went out to ATL to talk with Monta. I can't remember if Jack was there, but they eventually talked with him as well. The purpose of this was to soothe ruffled feathers about how the team did a year after making the playoffs. From what I read, there were some *promises* made. It wasn't in writing, but from the comments I remember reading from Jack and Monta, management made a promise to get a front court stud. Lo and behold, they get a chance to snag Stoudemire, but they would not give up the # 7 pick once they realized Curry fell in their laps. If management had a firm plan and vision in place, then they would have made that deal regardless of Curry or not have made those kind of promises. There were reports Nelson changed his mind when he saw Curry. Certainly you're not going to stand there and argue that Don Nelson does not change his mind and that he keeps his word. To CH: Congrats man. I got a boy and a girl, so the first one is an awesome experience.
You know whatever "promises" were made or not made, if they had any professional integrity they would understand that they have the obligation to make the best of the situation since they already signed the contract (as opposed to signing because of representations made that were not kept.)
Yeah, I agree philsmith75. Nelson said Monta was his PG. How long did that last? Monta was frustrated when the Warriors drafted Curry. That's the kind of thing one does if they want to destroy their team. Today, Nelson does not like Curry. He's changed his mind again. He changed his mind about Jamal Crawford after getting him for Harrington. Before that, he became unhappy with Harrington and changed his mind on him. It a never ending vicious cycle.
Congrats CH! I dislike SJax. He grew on me as a player and because of his all-around skillset and defense... but he just let me down as a professional athlete. Sjax is typical of what is wrong with the nba. So yeah I would boo him if I had the chance. He forgets that playing basketball is a privilege and you can't always get what you want. At the same time I can understand that maybe there was a chance to move forward with the success in making it to the playoffs and become a better team, but the guys upstairs have no f'n clue what they are doing. It's a very depressing franchise to play ball for if you give it your all and Cohan and his cronies have no clue how to win. They don't put anybody in a position to win. That is frustrating. So yeah, maybe I can relate to how SJax must have felt. It's still no excuse to act out and talk to the media like that. He betrayed the Warriors fans.
Thanks everyone. With my luck, Cohan will sell the team, they'll trade for and draft an all-star roster, and I'll be busy with the baby and not get a chance to watch the championship run. Haha
