If we can just get the Ayton we've gotten over the past couple of weeks, that's the best we can hope for. But Suns fans say he's always phasing in and out...
Overwrought, drama queen. I get having a strong opinion, but he needs to dial it back. Let the story be what it is, or else it becomes about the writer. Trail Blazers stand pat at trade deadline as Joe Cronin continues to ring the bell of hope By Jason Quick 3h ago PORTLAND, Ore. — The long, spiraling descent into the abyss of irrelevance continued Thursday for the Portland Trail Blazers, with general manager Joe Cronin opting not to grasp for lifelines of help at the trade deadline, but rather steadfastly grip the bell of hope and ring it to the dwindling masses who still follow this once proud organization. Cronin on Thursday said the Blazers were “very content” with no movement at the trade deadline, and added that “we are happy with who we have and where we are at.” He cited pleasant surprises during this 15-36 season such as rookies Toumani Camara and Doup Reath, and noted “quality and sustainable play” from veterans. “In totality, I like where we are headed,” Cronin said. Of course, there are no shades of darkness. It knows no depth.
Quick is an asshole even when thing are going well but at this time his assholery is well waranted because... well... Yet Joe insists on saying they aren't. I understand that he can't tank the value of our players or discourage the fan base but his presser could have had just a touch more realism because I think his brightsiding to us while our team is struggling is discouraging. I am hopeful that Joe is right about being happy with where we are headed but without acknowledging that this isn't currently a fun place, him being "happy with where we are at" is kind of a kick in the nuts.
Maybe not a great moment for Quick, but an even worse moment for Ayton, IMO. Looking to a handler for support for not wanting to answer a fair question? Dude, you've been a pro for six years. If you can't answer this directly ... even by just repeating "I'm here now. That's in my past and I'm just looking forward, so I legitimately don't have any thoughts about playing the Suns any more than any other team now" then don't even do the presser. He comes off as condescending and petulant and as naive as a 6-year-old. For goodness sakes, talking past the question by telling his handler that "I thought I was going to be here to talk about the team we played last night." That's low level and deserves criticism. He knows that's not how these things work. Now, Quick shouldn't be taking it out on him here. That's not doing his job, either. However, Ayton ran the risk of cutting Quick's thin skin by being remarkably thin-skinned himself. They both look bad and both deserve to look bad, IMO.
I have no problem with Ayton's reaction. Reporters were annoying AF about it when he arrived. For quick to talk trash four months later is well, quick.
Yeah he could have said just a very basic "I'm just going to keep trying to improve and go out and play to the best of my ability" type thing. You have to be able to deal with media. If he's a "Max" player then you also have to be one in front of the cameras.
I have to agree with this also but Quick has a reputation and it's pretty well documented that he will eventually cut back. He always does.
Not saying it was a good move. Ayton keeps making things harder on himself. But I’m saying that I think that was the moment that he made an enemy for life from J Quick.
Im rewatching the last dance and a scene last night changed my thoughts on this. At one point the media was asking Michael about Pippen’s trade request. At a point, Jordan said, “you gonna ask me about the game or are we gonna talk about Pippen?” In a manner that made it clear he is no longer gonna discuss Pippen. The media, at all levels, have really disintegrated into gossip columnists. Sports, politics, all levels. A true reporter is very rare indeed.
Marang is better than Quick. Highkin is better than Quick. Richman is better than Quick. These are all guys who aren’t really into the muck raking like the former Oregonian guys from the early 2000s.
Wow! and that isn't saying much considering the Marang hate around here. Lol. That puts Quick at snake-level reporting.
Oh, yeah, obviously. If I was giving the impression I was coming at you on this, my apologies. I was just commenting on Ayton's play, like you said, making things harder on himself than they need to be. But you and I both have been in this business. I don't know Quick personally, but you don't cover pro or major college teams without encountering multiple beat writers who either are into sensationalism, hold petty grudges or both.
Quick and Canzano came from a time when print writers were still prestigious. They wielded a lot of power around the blazers and they acted like it. I imagine it was a pretty massive ego hit when the Oregonian crumbled and they’re a couple of has-beens.
I don't think asking a guy whose last stop ended acrimoniously for his feelings about facing that team are gossip. On the contrary, I think it has value and can reveal a lot about their character or other aspects. For instance, let's say Ayton took this question on head on and said "A lot's been said about that. I'm looking ahead, not back. It's been widely reported that we didn't see eye to eye and I won't deny that, but I'm here now and I want to show the people of Portland the person and player I am." That quashes anything Quick or anything are going to try to spin negatively right there. That's a mature answer. Ayton's play there not only was weak, it fanned the flames of what haters were saying about him. He's a former No. 1 pick and a player to whom a lot of resources have been assigned. It's fair to want to know if he's someone whose psyche is stable enough to build around. I'll tell you another reason why the questions were fair and why they were fair to Jordan and didn't deserve pushback: Because the availability to these players is limited. Nate and I both have been in these situations. There are no parameters set on what is on or off the table. You don't go into a practice the day after a game for a media availability typically asking questions about last night's game -- that's what the postgame availability last night was for. Ayton knows that. Jordan knew that. They just tried to throw their weight around, which wasn't justified in either case. If you want to put it into a different context, if your president makes comments that seem incendiary and thousands of his supporters immediately storm the capitol and a riot ensues and his next media availability is signing a trade agreement with Backwaterstan, would you think it was good journalism to avoid asking him for his thoughts and potential role in the riot just because he said "I was told the only questions would be on the Backwaterstan trade deal today"? You probably wouldn't.
If that were the case, I don't think so many of us still would be here talking about them all the time. Not saying you're completely wrong, but I think there's more to it than that. If a bum on the street yells that we're a loser for attention, most of us wouldn't even give them the time of day.
He’s still a name. Like Canzano. Like Dwight Jaynes. Like Kenny Vance. Guys that people knew who were connected at one time. Are they connected still? Who knows. Probably not. But people know their names and still listen.
I think muck raking still has its value, just like the example about politics I gave to SharpeScooterShooter. There's A LOT these teams and players can put out there on their own today that wasn't available in the 1990s. I think you'd agree, we can't take all their tweets as genuine answers to questions. Sometimes they are out and out dishonest. Journalists with investigative skills are examining those POVs with multiple sources to get to the truth. We have fans here all the time talking about, for instance, Cronin's quality of work. It usually comes down to none of us being able to make an informed answer because so many of these guys now are just scouring Insta and X, formerly Twitter and throwing out opinions or pure speculation. Journalists don't do the leg work to track down the facts anymore. I don't entirely blame them; the grief-to-compensation ratio often isn't worth it and has driven a lot of people really suited to doing the job into other professions.
