Post#46 » by TrueLAfan » Sun Dec 2, 2018 4:50 pm
I think Rondo was—and is—an idiot.
But we need make sure we understand the difference between someone who “is a bad teammate” and “someone who hurts a team.” Michael Jordan was, by all accounts, a a$$hat as a teammate—he was alternately brutal and condescending to other team members. LeBron, clearly, isn’t always a wonderful guy for teammates or coaches—ask Kyrie Irving or Kevin Love or David Blatt. Kobe is self-centered, to put it charitably. He’s had problems with teammates and coaches.
This is not new. The league has always had top notch guys and/or led teams to titles that didn’t get along with many players and teammates—Elvin Hayes, Rick Barry, Oscar Robertson.
I do think Chris Paul’s reputation as a leader is somewhat overrated. I think he’s a great player and make good on-court decisions. I don’t think he always listens a whole lot to other people or puts up with a lot of bull$h*t in team meetings or practices or games. Guys like Big Baby and Hollins are okay players, but I classify them as “not smart” and “not mentally tough.” They’re the type of players who can perform at a decent level, but need a whole lot of coaching and player support to do so. I don’t think Paul is the type of guy who does that sort of thing. He knows what the players are capable of (because he’s smart), and expects his teammates to perform at their highest level, as he does. And he lets them know about mental, physical, and preparation breakdowns. (He’s very much like Oscar Robertson was, in other words.) Guys like that aren’t necessarily regarded as great teammates by all players, but they’re often pretty good leaders. If you come to a game prepared and ready to play and know your role and skills, you’ll get the most from Chris Paul and vice versa. David West, JJ Redick and PJ Tucker will benefit and be benefited from/by Paul.
That still doesn’t make him a great leader or teammate. I don’t think Paul is a leader like Magic or Erving or even Nash or Curry. He’s not an “includer.” The best leaders are like that; they get everyone to play better. (Julius Erving got as much as possible out of Daryl Dawkins, for God’s sake.) Paul has the image of being like that and I agree that it’s wrong.
So I think Paul is in a group with guys like Kobe. Kobe won titles alongside Shaq—who he feuded with—and when he had Gasol and Odom and Bynum. I don’t think Kobe helped his teammates a whole lot through team leadership; he helped his teams, though, because he was a truly great player and he played a ton of minutes at an exceptional level. If Paul could play 2800-2900 minutes at his peak level, he’d be like that. I think his peak level is like Kobe’s. But he’s played over 2500 minutes once in the last eight years and I think his game, although great, is at a slightly lower level. He’s not really a top tier player anymore—he’s in the second tier. That’s still great … but you don’t hear a whole lot about how a top 8 or 9 player in the NBA is a leader and Alpha guy on a championship team.
It’s kind of funny, because I think Paul would fit in much better with this team than with the Blake and DJ teams. For of Blake’s strengths—which are considerable—I don’t see him as a mentally tough guy either. He develops new parts of his game, to his credit, but doesn’t (or at least hasn’t) apply them consistently. I don’t think Paul ever figured out what type of player Blake was; I don’t think Blake was/is completely sure. And, like I said, Paul is not a nurturer or a hand holder. I do think that Paul loved DJ because DJ’s skills were extremely complementary to Paul’s—DJ provided rim protection and lane backup so Paul could overplay for steals (which he really really likes to do). DJ was a great rebounder. And he scored at a high percentage and had low usage, which benefited Paul’s playmaking. But I don’t think Paul made DJ better—I think Doc did that. (Sorry, Doc haters.)
Anyway—we’ve got a really tough, hard nosed team of players now that know their roles and play within their skillsets. We’re deep, which allows lots of rotations and rest. This would all be great for Paul. But he’s on a team with a kind of prime donna-ish guy in Harden, DJ part in Capela, and a guy that lacks consistency in Gordon. I don’t see that working. PJ Tucker will get better with Paul around because PJ is tough and plays within himself and takes orders. Harden and Capela and Gordon don’t really do that; I don’t see Paul helping them. So we’re left with Paul’s individual skills being the prime benefit—and they’re still really good, but slipping. If the Rockets don’t win, it won’t be Paul’s fault, and he’ll absolutely give 100% trying to get them there. That’s not the same as being a great teammate or leader, though.
