Excellent article by Preston Ellis T.B.W.

Preston was right on the mark. Expressing our feelings!

https://www.thebirdwrites.com/2019/1...l-alvin-gentry

Griff really should despise Alvin. He stuck his nose out for him and all he has done was ruin the image Griff worked so hard to build.

Haven't seen a hit piece like this in a long time...

More or less captured the full spirit of what we're all feeling. I'm still hyper excited for our future. So I'm more patient than most. But that's a great way to put it. We have failed Zion in a way already. We were supposed to look competent around Zion. Now we've set things up where Zion's debut is even more important. There's even more pressure for the team to look better when Zion plays. Turning Zion into the exact sort of franchise savior we didn't want him to be seen as yet.

Nothing time can't cure. But it's an annoying start after things were so initially promising.

As for the injury. That's another thing time can only reveal. Is the meniscus to do with Zion's size? His biomechanics? Whatever it is, we'll get through this.

It really is an interesting question what happens to the vets if this season is lost by Christmas. On the one hand, I'm sure Griff really would like them around to balance the roster and mentor his young players. On the other, there is no way you're going to convince me that this train wreck is what Redick signed up for. I just don't believe he'd agree to spend maybe his last two years as a legitimate contributor in the league on a bottom dweller hoping to turn things around. Jrue will turn 30 after this season and has an option in his contract after next season. Favors's deal is up at the end of the year.

I know Griff can talk a a dog off a meat wagon, but this devastating start has to be giving the vets second thoughts on their futures and I'm not sure even Griffin can make the pitch to stick around for the ride work a second time around. If not, it's better to recognize and act on that sooner rather than try to change their minds and probably watch them walk out the door for nothing...

This is why I said we should have just done a complete overhaul. We should have been shopping Holiday the min we knew we were moving Davis. We should have fired Gentry and hired a player development first head coach. Why was the goal to try and win this season?

I thought the whole push to take pressure off Zion was asinine. He's either got the fire in him to be a top 3-5 player or he doesn't. The top of the top just have it immediately day one even if the skills aren't all there yet. That pressure is going to be there whether it's "his team" or not.

Overall as of now I think you have to give Griffin a failing grade.

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Originally Posted by da ThRONe

He's either got the fire in him to be a top 3-5 player or he doesn't. The top of the top just have it immediately day one even if the skills aren't all there yet.

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That's silly.

It's one thing to have fire in your belly, and another to have the weight of a franchise dumped on your shoulders aged 19 and told ''go do it''. The number of players to actually do that in history is pretty low.

Kareem didn't do it, he didn't even enter the league until he was years older.
Michael Jordan didn't do it, he didn't enter the league until years older either.
Giannis didn't do it, nobody expected him to be any kind of monster when he got drafted.
Kawhi didn't do it, he got drafted into a really good Spurs team and was like, the 4th option.

It's absurd to draft a 19 year old, regardless of how much fire they may have, and hang them out to dry with a trash coach and a flawed roster and say ''you've either got it or you don't!''

You take pressure off the young kid because doing otherwise has ridiculous risks, and that's whether they're mentally there yet or not.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

That's silly.

It's one thing to have fire in your belly, and another to have the weight of a franchise dumped on your shoulders aged 19 and told ''go do it''. The number of players to actually do that in history is pretty low.

Kareem didn't do it, he didn't even enter the league until he was years older.
Michael Jordan didn't do it, he didn't enter the league until years older either.
Giannis didn't do it, nobody expected him to be any kind of monster when he got drafted.
Kawhi didn't do it, he got drafted into a really good Spurs team and was like, the 4th option.

It's absurd to draft a 19 year old, regardless of how much fire they may have, and hang them out to dry with a trash coach and a flawed roster and say ''you've either got it or you don't!''

You take pressure off the young kid because doing otherwise has ridiculous risks, and that's whether they're mentally there yet or not.

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At the end of the day, all the pressure is on Zion, because Alvin has completely ruined it all. Single handedly.

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Originally Posted by Fedupfan

At the end of the day, all the pressure is on Zion, because Alvin has completely ruined it all. Single handedly.

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Yes I agree but that's not the position we were in back in August.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

Yes I agree but that's not the position we were in back in August.

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Oh I know. That’s the price that must be paid for trusting a man with a last name as his middle name. AL Harris Gentry is the largest diameter of debris.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eman5805

More or less captured the full spirit of what we're all feeling. I'm still hyper excited for our future. So I'm more patient than most. But that's a great way to put it. We have failed Zion in a way already. We were supposed to look competent around Zion. Now we've set things up where Zion's debut is even more important. There's even more pressure for the team to look better when Zion plays. Turning Zion into the exact sort of franchise savior we didn't want him to be seen as yet.

Nothing time can't cure. But it's an annoying start after things were so initially promising.

As for the injury. That's another thing time can only reveal. Is the meniscus to do with Zion's size? His biomechanics? Whatever it is, we'll get through this.

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Imma say Zion got injured due to playing basketball in that game against the San Antonio Spurs. Nothing more nothing less.

I don't agree with everything in that piece since I don't think this is that complicated.

The problem is you've got the wrong coach for this collection of talent. It's not a small ball team even without Zion and Favors. You can still play at a high pace, but that still doesn't mean you take at least 40 threes per night, take awful jump shots early in the shot clock, and abandon attacking the paint as your first option.

This coaching staff believes in a certain style even if it means abandoning basketball fundamentals. That is the #1 problem. All the other issues, including defense, feed off that.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by da ThRONe

This is why I said we should have just done a complete overhaul. We should have been shopping Holiday the min we knew we were moving Davis. We should have fired Gentry and hired a player development first head coach. Why was the goal to try and win this season?

I thought the whole push to take pressure off Zion was asinine. He's either got the fire in him to be a top 3-5 player or he doesn't. The top of the top just have it immediately day one even if the skills aren't all there yet. That pressure is going to be there whether it's "his team" or not.

Overall as of now I think you have to give Griffin a failing grade.

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Wait, Gentry is the "win now" coach? :idoh:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by luckyman

This coaching staff believes in a certain style even if it means abandoning basketball fundamentals. That is the #1 problem. All the other issues, including defense, feed off that.

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Yes, yes, and then yes again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

That's silly.

It's one thing to have fire in your belly, and another to have the weight of a franchise dumped on your shoulders aged 19 and told ''go do it''. The number of players to actually do that in history is pretty low.

Kareem didn't do it, he didn't even enter the league until he was years older.
Michael Jordan didn't do it, he didn't enter the league until years older either.
Giannis didn't do it, nobody expected him to be any kind of monster when he got drafted.
Kawhi didn't do it, he got drafted into a really good Spurs team and was like, the 4th option.

It's absurd to draft a 19 year old, regardless of how much fire they may have, and hang them out to dry with a trash coach and a flawed roster and say ''you've either got it or you don't!''

You take pressure off the young kid because doing otherwise has ridiculous risks, and that's whether they're mentally there yet or not.

---

So you name a handful of players that didn't come into the league with huge expectations as a teen most of which from a totally different era and think you've made a point? The point is Zion was going to have that pressure day one regardless of anything Griffin said to deny it. If he's not up for that challenge than he's not the player we thought we drafted. The pressure never goes away it only gets worse.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by da ThRONe

So you name a handful of players that didn't come into the league with huge expectations as a teen most of which from a totally different era and think you've made a point? The point is Zion was going to have that pressure day one regardless of anything Griffin said to deny it. If he's not up for that challenge than he's not the player we thought we drafted. The pressure never goes away it only gets worse.

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Being drafted number one alone puts the pressure on a player. Going number one usually means franchise player. Griff was just hoping Jrue would ease Zion into his role. That hasn’t happened. Lol

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Originally Posted by Fedupfan

Being drafted number one alone puts the pressure on a player. Going number one usually means franchise player. Griff was just hoping Jrue would ease Zion into his role. That hasn’t happened. Lol

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I get the logic I just don't see any way Zion Williamson can come into the league and be hidden. Especially not by Jrue Holiday.