I don’t want to be the guy who harps on a “these guys get paid millions†agenda. But professional athletes get paid so much because fans spend their hard-earned money to watch them play. The players are obligated to earn their salary by giving it their all in an attempt to display the best product possible.
The player who said the above quote clearly lacks the honor to fulfill his contractual commitment to the game of basketball.
After the Kings game, I asked Antawn Jamison about the quote and if it was a fair depiction of the Wizards locker room. The Captain sent a pretty strong message to that anonymous player.
via Truth About It » Captain Jamison Doesn’t Play That.
I recognize that they extended Jamison, too. I do, I get that. But this was always set up to be Arenas’ team. He was supposed to be Batman, and either Caron or Jamison were supposed to be Robin. I’ll let you make the Joker joke on your own.
I don’t want Wizards fans to suffer anymore, but I can’t help but want Jamison somewhere else. It would have been so easy to tank this season, to quit trying, to not make that speech to the fans, to not take responsibility as a leader for the absolute circus this thing has turned into. He hasn’t done that. He hasn’t shirked from responsibility or shut it down or stopped giving a crap. He’s still out there hustling, trying to win, trying to earn that paycheck and do things the right way. Watching Butler backslide has been enormously painful. And if this whole Wizards team is going to represent the failed potential and what occurs when guys are too wrapped up in their own heads and not thinking of anyone but themselves, I want one guy to make it out, to succeed.
Jamison as a Cavalier has to be nauseating to Wizards fans, a last resort, nuclear option, the worst possible result. But he doesn’t fit anywhere near their future. Zydrunas Ilgauskas’ expiring contract? That fits. And Jamison belongs on the Cavs, as the underrated but crucial component to a championship team, the difference maker. He doesn’t deserve to be the parent on a squad that finds it hard to find reasons to keep trying, even if they’re on a winning spurt. Maybe they’ll make a run (I am required to mention the Ewing Theory, and for that I am sorry), maybe they won’t, but what Jamison can accomplish elsewhere after his debacle, and what the Wizards could accomplish with a clean slate is too great to hold on to out of nostalgia or a sense of mourning.
The carousel ride is broken, it’s time to let the one that’s still working get shipped off to a nicer mall, tear down the remaining piece and start over.
(A Side Note: If you’re not a regular follower of TruthAboutIt.Net, you need to get on board. Kyle “WE DIE” has taken us closer to a team than any other blog this year. I feel like I’m actually in there, actually watching the dynamics. It’s fascinating, and Kyle needs to be hired to make a documentary and book about this whole thing. Read him. That is all. Thanks.)
