<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">LOS ANGELES - One lucky fan at Tuesday's Suns home opener was selected to play for the team. Sharrod Ford, signed Wednesday by Phoenix, was in the stands but could not sit on the bench Tuesday because he had not signed his contract. "It was odd, but it was exciting, too," said Ford, who was inactive for Thursday's game. Ford may not be inactive for long. After spending the summer with Atlanta and the preseason with San Antonio, the athletic rookie big man from Clemson could crack the Suns' active 12-man roster once he learns the system. If he is ready, rookie guard Dijon Thompson would be sent to the Suns' NBA Development League affiliate in Albuquerque. Training camp in Albuquerque starts Saturday. Ford, who is 6 feet 9 and 225 pounds, is similar to recently waived Lucas Tischer, but shows the potential to learn faster and be a significant help in practice. "My style of play fits right in with Phoenix," Ford said. "The upside to my game is running the court." Ford was battling for a Spurs roster spot until they decided to keep only 13 players. "He's a very athletic four," Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We'll evaluate his talents."</div> Source
I thought Dijon Thompson would get some playing time here I guess I was wrong, but I thought he was a good fit for the suns style of play?
The Suns have 10 guys getting playing time that are doing well right now, and then Amare gets back. No room for Dijon.
That sports illustrated article had Alvin Gentry saying that Thompson had a bad attitude and didn't want to learn.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting panfolk:</div><div class="quote_post">That sports illustrated article had Alvin Gentry saying that Thompson had a bad attitude and didn't want to learn.</div> That's interesting. Gentry usually has a good beat on players, especially young ones (he did coach in the D-League), and to hear him say that about Thompson is more than reason enough to worry about his future. I didn't have high hopes for him anyway, but to see him go to the D League is just too bad. He is a talented player, apparently with no place better to go, oh well, seems he brought it on himself.
Gentry is right, he had the same problem at UCLA. Dijon is one of those players who has all the ability to be a superstar. He can take over a game on either end of the court, but he lacks drive. In his senior year, he single handly won a game for the Bruins. They were down by 17, and the player Dijon was guarding started trash talking to him. Next thing you know Dijon tied the game up scoring 17 straight points, and eventually hit the game winner. You just never know which, Dijon is going to show up for you. Sending him to the DLeague is probably the best thing for him. It will give him a wake up call and hopefully challenge him to play at a higher level.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">You just never know which, Dijon is going to show up for you. Sending him to the DLeague is probably the best thing for him. It will give him a wake up call and hopefully challenge him to play at a higher level.</div> Hard to wish that weren't true. Every time I see a player who just has all that ability, it just frustrates you so much. This guy could do a lot of great things with his talent, but he just doesn't realize it. To see a player waste a talent that is so hard to come by is just a shame.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Crywalker:</div><div class="quote_post">Hard to wish that weren't true. Every time I see a player who just has all that ability, it just frustrates you so much. This guy could do a lot of great things with his talent, but he just doesn't realize it. To see a player waste a talent that is so hard to come by is just a shame.</div> Agreed, which is why I'd love to see the NBA get rid of guaranteed contracts to weed out these type of players. Give the chance and the money to someone who will make the most of it.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">Agreed, which is why I'd love to see the NBA get rid of guaranteed contracts to weed out these type of players. Give the chance and the money to someone who will make the most of it.</div> My God, what a good thing it would be for basketball to get rid of the guarantees. Players earning their keep? Preposterous! Think of what the Union would do? We'd see picketing left and right, it would be the NFL of the 80's all over again. Guys pulling up to the stadium parking lots in $500,000 cars to protest the scabs getting off their free public transportation. Would anyone feel for the players in that instance? Not me. Never again would we have to see Glenn Robinson make $12,000,000 a season to warm the bench for players 10 years younger than him. Never again would we have to worry about players committing violent crime and escaping true justice simply because of the influence of their money. You can avoid the american legal system, but not the court of dissenting opinion. If Stern wants to clean up the league's image of basketball players being spoiled brats who always get what they want, while on the side they committ more crime by volume of players than any other major sport, perhaps guaranteed contracts are a good place to start.
Well, I live in Albuquerque and I'm going to the T-Birds game on Friday so I'll see him play. P.S.- I saw the Suns vs. Kings pre-season game a couple weeks ago that was hosted in ABQ, so this will be my second time seeing him play.
