My thoughts exactly
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Yep, basically this. It's got nothing to do with quotable lines, and everything to do with a complete lack of communication. Whether you like it or not, with Griff we know:
- Why he drafted who he drafted, and whose advice he took
- Why he signed who he signed, and whose advice he took
- What the rough plans are for player development of those he signed
- Who he considers the primary options on this team going forward
- The rough identity he imagines the team having, and the primary focus of the team
- The strategy he wants to follow regarding team building in the long term
- His thoughts on vets vs youth argument
etc. With Demps we knew:
- Sweet FA.
After nearly a decade of being completely ignored at best, it's nice to have a guy running the show who acts as if communication is a virtue, imo.
It doesn't matter what he said. He left himself open to misinterpretation. As I've said before at this level these are the type of things a manager has to understand and be proactive about.
I don't need to know Griff personally feeling are plans for the future I need him to put together a championship level team. If Demps would have done so it ultimately would not have matter how quiet.
A media savvy person can take any statement and turn it into a controversy. You're right that it doesn't matter what he said: if the media wanted some drama out of it, he could have literally just talked about his favourite colour for 5 minutes and it would have been turned into a dramatic centrepiece for Fox Sports to stretch into a 40 minute segment.
It is literally impossible to avoid leaving yourself open to misinterpretation. There is no such thing as a perfectly ideal and precise language: it doesn't exist, it can't exist, and it won't exist. As long as human language requires both a source and an interpreter, there will be misinterpretation, miscommunication, and dishonesty.
The only alternative is silence. Obviously we all want Griff to put together a championship calibre team. I think we're all smart enough to know that expecting that in year 1 is stupid beyond belief. So you have to temper your expectations. What do you want from year one, knowing that a championship is likely off the table? For me, a real game plan, some communication, some development, some signs of progress, that's what I want. Griff is giving me that. If you would prefer absolute silence, that's fine, but you can't pretend like that's anything other than your personal preference, and that has no impact on Griff's ability as an executive or the viability of the strategy he IS using.
It happened to Griff because
A) He has worked with Lebron in the past
B) He recently was behind a trade that contained a top 5 NBA player
C) That trade also contained big name drama pieces like Lonzo Ball
D) That trade was essentially forced by fellow big name drama piece Rich Paul at the behest of Lebron James
E) He drafted Zion, another of the biggest names in basketball right now.
If Zanik from the Jazz or something had said precisely the same things about a random ex player they had, there would have been little to no drama about it. It's because it was Griff, who is in the public eye for a bunch of reasons (some of his own design, some not), talking about Lebron, that it became a big thing.
Was it too candid? Maybe. I personally didn't get that vibe reading the article, it felt fairly sensible to me. It's possible that it was too candid in retrospect, when you look back and see what came of it, but just reading the article an hour after it was published, I didn't feel like there was anything stand-out in it. The media is what the media is. Especially in August.
Again I get that. But when you take a position like the one Griffin has with the Pelicans. You have to understand everything you say for a lack of a better term "can and will be used against you in the court(of public opinion)". That's the job it's why he gets paid in a insane amount of income. I'm not dogging Griff, but he has to be forward thinking. We have no idea if this will have any play in free agency moving forward, but at the end was it worth potentially having a black mark on him professionally to make these comments? As a fan I'd say no.
Everything you listed IMO is all the reason Griff has to understand why his words more than others will likely be manipulated. He has one of the highest profile job in sports as the ultimate decision maker for a NBA team. That comes with a great deal of responsibility. I thought the situation with Danny Ferry a few years ago was BS. But it costed him his job because it's a job that comes with an insane amount of responsibilities. While this is no where near the hot button issue it still something that can potentially hurt the franchise.
This will have literally zero appreciable impact on the franchise going forward. I guarantee you that 90% of casual fans won't even consciously remember that it happened September 1st.
No matter what Griff says, there will be a potential for it to be taken out of context. He could Bill Clinton every single word in every single statement he makes, and if the media decided they wanted to make a story out of it, they would. He could understand with 100% clarity that he has to be as precise as possible with ALL statements, and have them analysed and considered to a level of absurd atomic detail, and if Shannon Sharpe decided he wanted to talk about Griffin on a given day, he would talk about Griffin that day.
Like I said before, you have two options. Either he speaks, with a risk of occasional media vulture input, or he's silent. Silent is terrible. I can think of very few good GMs who are silent: RC Buford springs to mind, and that's it. Even he has the benefit of being quiet because he has a very very outspoken head coach. Good GMs speak. Some do it better than others, and so far I think Griffin has done it fine. Getting 1 scandal that has basically already disappeared in what must be 25 media appearances so far is a pretty good hit rate, with all the attention we've been getting.
And of course, all of this ignores the fact that he will speak less naturally as things go on. So much has happened recently, that he's had to speak. New POBO, new GM, new investment in training facility, new training staff, top 5 player traded to noisiest franchise in the league (LA), drafting most hyped prospect since Lebron James, making additional trades for more players who also had explosive debuts in Summer League, executing an incredible free agency job, etc etc. Lots of stuff, very quickly.
Come January of next year, all of that will be in the past. We'll be a few dozen games into a season, the focus will be back on the players, the coaches job will be solidified, there will be no trades (at least none on the scale of the AD deal), we won't be hiring a new GM, etc etc. The attention will die down somewhat, and the media presence of Griff will die down with it. He's speaking because there's a lot to speak about. Once the game is speaking for itself, he will speak less, I'm pretty sure.
I actually agree with you in the sense that it’s nice to have a bit of media exposure now and for the info hawks out there to wake up and read fresh articles everyday in nice. And for the record, in large I do think Griffin has done a good job of making the necessary decisions. The Lakers move is one he was sort of forced to make and dropping the ball on that would have been not doing the deal at. He hasn’t been lousy and played his cards well. I can agree to that much.
But knowing that the media are vultures in everything he says going forward due to the press wave, id appreciate him putting more calculation on just speaking on the direction of the team and not speak on other superstar players or predicting exactly what players will be or do before they play a game. That’s it. In those two instances, the answer of “Lebron is on another team” or “We expect Zion to do the necessary things to help our team win” is enough context. He can control the narrative by doing exactly that. If they pick at those answers, then get in front of it and nip things in the butt.
But his comments about Bron and how he was the guy that could tell him like it is, added to his campfire story about how Hart texted him about not trading him, or even stating what Zion is or will do (bc even in concept you have disagreed in some form of the assessment) just leaves the door wide open. I’m looking at it like “dude you don’t have to tell people you have the power, we get it”. It’s just unnecessary to me.
I'm not going to claim that he's been perfect. He's said stuff I disagree with, like you said. And even if he hadn't, and I was in full agreement wiht everything he said, other people would still have the right to disagree with him, that's totally cool. I don't expect, or even want, everyone to agree me on everything :hihi: For me, it's just a case of comparing the options. Either an executive speaks, or they don't, and I'd much rather them speak. Could he have worded things a little more carefully? I guess, maybe. I didn't see a big issue with what he said, but apparently some other people did, so there's always the chance. But I'd much rather take that risk, that 10% chance of misunderstanding or whatever, over silence.
I don't even mind him telling the Josh Hart story, I thought that was kind of nice. I disagree with his take on Zion (at least in some respects) but I don't mind hearing it. I've loved everything he's said about Jrue this off-season.
It doesn't feel to me like he's telling people he has power or whatever. It just feels like a guy who is excited, has a lot to say, and is saying it. Maybe you think he's saying it poorly or maybe you don't (obviously, I don't), but in either case I don't think this reflects that badly on Griff overall, and even if it does, it's a natural by-product of the situation this team was in over the last 6 months, and it will naturally die down as time passes. That's just my two cents, I guess.
Some people can get slapped in the face with gold bricks and still wouldn't be satisfied. A lot of ridiculousness in this thread.
You sound like a Rich Paul employee
LOL
https://nesncom.files.wordpress.com/...pg?w=640&h=360
LOL . Look up close. Tyson would not sit with him.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dyr_1qjWoAAkzAR.jpg
It's completely disingenuous to say Griffin comments will or won't have an impact on the teams future. We simply don't know.
I mean, I guess there's a 1% crazy off-chance that they do, so I'll correct my statement.
There is a 99% chance that his comments do absolutely NOTHING to impact this franchise long term. If you can find me anyone in December who even actively remembers this whole debacle in the world of the casual fan, I will be stunned.
One of the biggest story this past off season was players talking about their futures. So only a fool would think that LeBron hasn't had influence on other players. Or think it's crazy that him feeling betrayed by Griffin couldn't easily turn off a potential free agent.
You are digging yourself a deeper hole if you think Lebron has influence on the players
Exhibit A)
https://img.bleacherreport.net/img/i...ter&crop_y=top
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...lebron-anymore
Exhibit B)
https://nesncom.files.wordpress.com/...pg?w=640&h=360
Looks like your boy had quite a meltdown yesterday . NCAA shut down his tampering.
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop! They BIG MAD and Scared . Nothing will stop this movement and culture over here. Sorry! Not sorry. ✌
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 6, 2019
#StayWoke pic.twitter.com/SNtEgqrWhE
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 7, 2019
That's absurd, and this ruling by the NCAA is terrible. This will have no impact on either Lebron or Rich Paul, as it doesn't impact already registered agents in the NBA. All it will do is prevent people who would have been otherwise entirely eligible to become agents, with all of the requisite knowledge, from reaching that goal by tying the legality of the position to a system which is notoriously inaccessible for large portions of the population. It's essentially a class barrier, and in many communities, a race barrier.
Yet another terrible move by the NCAA. As much as I dislike Rich Paul, and as much as I know (like everyone else) that Lebron is behind a lot of tampering in the NBA, this won't stop any of it, and Lebron is right that it's nonsense.
I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you know how stupid that is and that you're just trolling. As if the issue with getting degrees is proximity to the classes, Jesus Christ.
The point is that you do not NEED a degree to be a basketball player's agent. It is inane and unnecessary to require it. All it does is place another barrier between the individual and the role that is NOT needed.
You know what's a bigger barrier? Someone trying to do the same without a degree.
— Shamit Dua (@FearTheBrown) August 7, 2019
Shamit is tripping out on this Steve Kyler guy I see.
No. Getting a college degree takes time plus you have to pass some arbritrary interview and test the NCAA gives. Whos to say you pass that too?
These double standards have to stop. Why all these complicated extra rules and hoops (no pun) for college basketball yet college hockey is the exact opposite?
And all agents have to be certified today already. Rich Paul is a certified agent.
In the left hand Lebron has a right to complain, In the right hand Lebron is trying to manipulate the system much like he has already tried to do in the NBA. Lebron's mistake is he made it look obvious. Do you see Drew Brees with his agent skipping practices to go watch college basketball games? LSU Football games? I mean c'mon if he did not make it so obvious having Rich with him he probably could have continued doing his thing.
Be honest? I'll go back and find the posts if I have too. Did you get nervous Zion might hire Rich Paul?
This article explains both sides. Rich Paul would have to sue and somehow defeat the NCAA. This could go on for years.
https://www.si.com/college-basketbal...certified-nbpa
The point ISN'T Rich Paul. Nobody is feeling bad for Rich Paul, this doesn't even really impact Rich Paul, he's already an NBA certified agent and even if he never signed another rookie (which he will anyway), he's already got a client list packed with players and obviously other NBA players can migrate to him just like AD did. Rich Paul will be absolutely fine, his life will not be derailed in any major way.
The point is that this arbitrary, stupid rule which has no real need to exist will punish aspiring agents who are not there yet, and either introduce a lot of trouble into their lives or potentially cut off their likelihood at becoming an agent entirely. These individuals will be the ones from less educated backgrounds, from underprivileged backgrounds, who had less educated parents, or came from poorer communities. Everybody who has ever done any research on this issue knows that, while yes it's true that there are exceptions, higher education is a class barrier, and with the way class and race intersect (particularly in the US, but really everywhere), it's also a race barrier.
This ruling by the NCAA essentially extends those class/race barriers to an entire profession. That might be understandable in some cases: of course you want your surgeon to have their medical qualifications, but to require a degree for a basketball agent is so obviously absurd that it's barely worth explaining. Rich Paul is not the point. The point is some 17 year old kid who wanted to be an agent some day, but who now faces unnecessary barriers from a system designed to keep him out. That's not right.
Money talks. It is all about money.
https://www.sbnation.com/college-bas...ege-basketball
White agents are mad!! Lol Rich Paul is changing the game.. Respect my brother #MoreThanAthletes
— Matt Barnes (@Matt_Barnes22) August 6, 2019
Oh, there is no questioning the NCAA is a hot mess with actions, messaging and priorities, but no one is motivating them to change -- players still go, people still watch, advertisers still spend. -- where is the motivation to change? https://t.co/KTrHV0vsZN
— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) August 7, 2019
Listen, I'm perfectly happy to have a dialogue but if you're just gonna keep replying with stuff that isn't really a direct response to anything I've said and is just your own ramblings, weirdly tacked on to my post, I'm not gonna keep answering. I made my point, I explained my position. If you want to engage with that, go for it, but if you just want to post stuff that's not really connected then there's no need for you to involve me in it.
I see what you did with that quote that I never said.
Again
n the left hand Lebron has a right to complain, In the right hand Lebron is trying to manipulate the system much like he has already tried to do in the NBA. Lebron's mistake is he made it look obvious. Do you see Drew Brees with his agent skipping practices to go watch college basketball games? LSU Football games? I mean c'mon if he did not make it so obvious having Rich with him he probably could have continued doing his thing.
Be honest? I'll go back and find the posts if I have too. Did you get nervous Zion might hire Rich Paul?
Yes it screws other agents too. That is why it is called what it is. If you want to stop the NCAA from this stupidity you need to quit watching. Players need to go overseas or play in NAIAA or JUCO. Advertisers need to quit spending. Otherwise they won’t change!
Which happens first?
A) NCAA catches up with times allows players to be paid? Reverses decision on Agents?
B) Roger Goodell resigns
C) America gets gun control
I find it hard to get too worked up about this. First, who cares about Rich Paul? Second, this rule only applies to players wanting to preserve their eligibility and still enter their name in the draft. So Rich Paul can still go recruit all the top lottery guys that he wants. If you're going to allow this process, it makes sense to have some sort of requirements (reasonable people can differ if a degree should be one of those...no, it's not a prerequisite to be a good or successful agent, but it's also not some crazy hurdle). That said, all Rich Paul has to do is have someone at his agency meet those requirements (if he doesn't already have that) and then that person is the official agent and Paul can do as much of the actual work as he wants to. Very easily worked around...like how Kawhi had an actual agent at all his meetings while Uncle Dennis was the one talking and making the crazy demands.