<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Desmond Mason has buried the hatchet.Mason was a bitter man back in February 2003 when the Seattle SuperSonics traded him to the Milwaukee Bucks in the deal that sent Ray Allen west. According to Mason, the Seattle management had been telling him that he was going to be one of the team's cornerstones for the future, and Mason was looking forward to a long career in the Great Northwest. Then, suddenly, he was traded to a city and a team that he knew little about. The hard feelings that Mason harbored toward the SuperSonics' management festered for quite some time. But now, as he returns for the second time since the trade to play against his former team, Mason admits that the passage of time has managed to soothe his bitterness. "All that stuff is gone now," the fifth-year forward said. "That stuff is over with. They just kind of caught me off guard (with the trade). I was young and it was the first time I'd ever been traded so it hurt my feelings a little bit because they had told me some things. But you grow past that and you realize it's a business in the NBA and you can get moved around. You just move on."</div> Source
Still one of my favourite ever players to pull on this uniform. But the NBA is a business. Trading him was so tough, but it was a trade that we got a lot out of, and while it was tough on Dez, he pretty much covered it right there. It's business, and it's never about the individual, all about the team and what's best for it. There's no room for romance.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Roland Hood:</div><div class="quote_post">Does this mean he wouldn't be adverse to coming back to Seattle should the opportunity arise?</div> Haha, don't think I don't pray for that every day. He seems to have built a nice little home for himself in Milwaukee, if Redd sticks around I don't see why he'd leave. But, it's a business...
It's amazing that when ownership screws over the players it is all under the umbrella of a "business decision." But the moment a player does something that could be construed as negative toward an organization he is labeled a "cancer." If a player signs a multi year contract to stay with a particular team when he is a free agent he shouldn't be dangled around as trade bait before the ink is dry. Players being traded is much more than them just putting on a different uniform. They have to move their families and get accustomed to new teammates, coaches, and philosophies. D-Mase had just signed an extension with the Sonics the offseason prior to him getting traded in 2003. I think that upper management needs to think about more than just their bottom line profits. People got all upset about Boozer snaking the Cavalier management but no one seems to care when ownership uses their leverage to snake a player. The Lakers did it to Gary Payton. Other teams have brought in free agents promising them the world and then released them before their contracts were guaranteed. It may be a business, but players should reserve the right to attack ownership for decisions that can or already have negatively affected their lives. And our media outlets should report those missteps of ownership as frequently as they report the missteps of our "hip hop influenced" NBA players.
I'm still not exactly sure what Des's best position is - as a 2 he's not consistent enough shooter, not that great at creating, either. As a 3 he's a wee bit smallish. But he plays hard and smart and brings those intagibles with the added bonus of having a lot of ability (seems to be on ESPN top 10 at least once per week). I think he's ideally a 6th man and I would love to have him back - the way things are going lately I'd deal Ray back to the Bucks for Des and a pick.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Roland Hood:</div><div class="quote_post"> I think he's ideally a 6th man and I would love to have him back - the way things are going lately I'd deal Ray back to the Bucks for Des and a pick...</div> ...and call back Ibrahim Kutluay to handle a 2 spot
