phrazbit wrote:I just dont get how you could not have patience with Dudley but preach that Beasley deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Dudley has been a good player here for the last few years and recovered from a slow start last year. While Beasley has been an awful player for his entire career. Even when he manages to "get his" on offense, it comes at the expense of his own teams offensive flow. And he might as well not run back on defense because at least then his team would know they are 4 on 5 instead of getting caught off guard by Beasley's disappearing act.
Beasley is a bad NBA player. Period. He has never been good, he would have to fundamentally change both on offense and on defense just for him to become usable, because right now every minute he plays he dramatically decreases his teams chances of victory.
Minnesota tried hard to trade Beasley, found no takers. Most of the league knows what he is and any half decent front office wouldnt even take him on a minimum deal. His lazy stupid play is a disease. I know it wouldnt happen but the Suns would literally be better of waiving him tomorrow and eating his entire contract. At least then they are paying him to stay home rather than paying him to make the Suns awful and unwatchable.
I dont how you can not have patience with Beasley, but preach that Dudley gets the benefit of the doubt.
How old is Michael Beasley? Twenty Three. Three years younger than Goran Dragic. Think about it.
Three. Years. Younger.
When Dragic was 23 years old, we drafted him, and he ended up riding the pine for his rookie season, with many obniouxious posters over at ASFN calling him "Tragic." (Yes I may only have been a early-teenager at the time, but I still remember the idiots over at ASFN)
But looking at our very own Goran Dragic, we see how much a player can change. We've allowed Goran Dragic three years of patience and nurturing in the NBA to get to where he is right now, a sure fire starter and a borderline star. But some of us aren't even giving Michael Beasley ten games to acquaint himself with our new system, new team, new coaching staff, and new mentality.
Do you remember how badly Jason Richardson played for us when he got traded here? It took him almost a whole season to acquaint himself.
Saying that Beasley has "never been a good NBA player" is stretching it. You have to be at least a decent NBA player to earn a starting job, and at least a "good NBA player" if you can average 19.2 points per game. Beasley is a good NBA player. In fact, he is a very good NBA player, with the potential of being a star in this league. Yes he has his faults, but the problem is, people are writing him off too early, and not giving him time to get over these faults and improved his game.
Remember guys. Twenty three. At twenty three, Wesley Johnson was a rookie.
Before Beasley came to the Suns, he was known as a ball stopper. But the Michael Beasley I have seen this season, is anything but. He has shown to me, and to many others, that he's completely changed his game, and is actually a very willing and skilled passer. Thats a big tick in the "prove dem haterz wrong" box for Beasley, and has shown he has the work ethic to improve his game
Right now, it is obvious that he isnt shooting well. But history suggests that it's just a slump, and will get out of it soon. The problem is, many people seem to believe a shooting slump warrants "trading him for a second rounder." Knee jerk??
Onto why I do not preach the same patience with Jared Dudley. Do you remember our 2009/20 Playoff run? Yes? Good.
Jared Dudley was a key contributor to that wonderful team. His hustle, grit, and determination, along with his beautiful three-point shot earned him the nickname "junkyard dog." Then things changed. Dudley went from being the guy off the bench, into being our permanent starter.
It's as if to him, being a starter elevates him up the heirachy. He stopped hustling. He has stopped playing good defence. And he's focused on driving to the rim more. Yes. Jared Dudley. The most un-athletic starting shooting guard in the league, has worked on attacking the basket. What a big waste of time that is.
Jared Dudley has not only lost my respect. But he has also lost his identity. He has lost the identity of the dirt-working, hustle maniac player he used to be. He has moved away from focusing on splashing the three ball, and worked more on isolations. He's moved away from leading by example as a dirt-working hustler, to a prima-donna "I'm too good to be diving on the floor and scrapping for rebounds" starter.
What Dudley has done, is that he's ruined his own game. The game which everyone respect him for. He's basically ruined himself, because if I was running thsi team right now, Dudley wouldn't get even ten minutes of playing time based on this production.