These guys play 82 games with 41 of them on the road in 160 days during the season and that includes a week off for All-Star week. This is the part that always confuses me about statements like this. When the season is over they do their own thing. But distractions during the season seem to be a bit over blown. Seriously how many times do any of us see a player during the season other than at a game or at the practice facility when they are not doing some kind of media thing at a hospital or food donation center? Maybe a visit to a school or homeless warming center? I know they do a coat drive. Also South Beach was fun. I was just there, but again it's not like there were NBA players all over the place?
Good find! Man, I looked for quite awhile. Hey, this is just like old times, where every thread would turn into a Butters thread. @Eastoff really should have won that poll too. Who the heck actually makes an avatar like he has??? Lol
Oh well, for the record, I switched to my Damian Jersey. Meyers will be retired with my Batum Jersey.
On one hand, I hear the criticism of Whiteside and I think: oh shit, dude is immature and gives no fucks about anyone but himself. But on the other hand? Dame is a guru alpha. I can't think of a single leader in Trail Blazer history better; he is inclusive and encouraging and clear about his expectations. He has Stotts' back too. And he has CJ, who will back him up and is friends with Whiteside. I'm nervous too, but I'm betting this works.
Chris Haynes showing love today on the Stephen A Smith show for the Blazers, Whiteside and the unmatched leadership of Dame. Says they will come out of the west. Said the option for Dame to throw lobs when he drives is huge as opposed to throwing out to the 3 pt line all the time. Stephen A joked that Whiteside will have considerably fewer distractions in Portland than in Miami. They both had a good laugh about that.
I suspect that players spend a great deal of their free time blowing off steam. How fans perceive the situation is largely dependent on the local media. The Portland media like to set themselves up as the hectoring harridans of public morality. Having someone like Canzano spewing faux outrage every time a player goes to a strip club probably wouldn't fly in Miami.
yeah, it's a decent article one thing I'd dispute: "Blazers president of basketball operations Neil Olshey took an enormous gamble Monday, agreeing to acquire disgruntled center Hassan Whiteside from the Miami Heat as part of a four-team trade that will send Meyers Leonard to South Beach and Maurice Harkless to the Los Angeles Clippers." am I the only one who thinks this was a fairly minor gamble? Low risk/high reward? expiring contracts exchanged in a 1 year rental format. Mo and Meyers don't represent much in terms of cost and Blazers get a player in a position of need who has played at high levels in the past sure, Whiteside could end up being an ass, but Portland can solve that quickly. This seems a lot more like nothing-ventured-nothing-gained than an "enormous gamble"
