RealGM

I think the whole idea of 'character guy is over rated' and Kudos to BC for finally stepping away from it.

Anyways googled Telfair and came across this:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2331954

The Portland Trail Blazers fined guard Sebastian Telfair on Wednesday after a loaded gun was found on the team's private jet at Boston's Logan Airport.


Telfair
The handgun was found in a pillowcase belonging to Telfair as the team plane was being prepared for a flight from Boston to Toronto, the team said in a statement.

Telfair explained to local authorities that the gun belonged to his girlfriend and that he had inadvertently grabbed the wrong bag when leaving for the team's road trip.

"We did sweep the plane and we did find the handgun, and it was a loaded handgun," said Jennifer Peppin, a regional spokeswoman based in Seattle for the Transportation Security Administration. "Once we got that we turned it over to the state police in Boston."

Don't bring any guns to Toronto. Please keep the guns back home. -Thanks. Good move by the NBA, I wonder how much he got fined for.

BC talks out of both sides of his mouth.

He will sell you on one thing, then bash it the next week when he changes his position.

This was long ago we likely would not have traded for him then. He has grown up!

When BC talks about "character guys" if you are capable of reading between the lines its pretty clear to see what he really means is "guys that wont try to bitch their way out of playing in TO". Telfair is a journeyman trying to stay in the league. Hes not going to cause problems and if he does he will be released no harm no foul.

I think Telfair would be the first to admit that he needed to do a lot of maturing once he entered the league. He seems to have rededicated himself the past couple of years and corrected his work habits. I'm not expecting a whole lot out of him but he still has some promise if he really has turned a corner in his life.

i remember last yr or yr before barnes signed a qualifying offer with us? anyway he isnt much for a character guy

Regarding this incident, years ago, I assume it represents a mistake/issue that is clearly in the past.

However, I really think that people around here underestimate character as a trait for players. Look at how the Raptors, a young team handled the adversity of that 4-19 start. They very rarely packed it in or turned on each other publicly. That has value. Talent is important, but without character or guidance you have the Sacramento Kings. It's a balance obviously but there are players who have a good combination of both. Why people seem to want to go after players who have a track record of being mentally unstable is beyond me.

Chill....this happened when Bassy was 19/20 years old. I hate making excuses for people but he didn't have the best vets paving the way for him. Guys like D-Miles, Zach Randolph, Ruben Patterson, Damon Stoudamire.....ugh. He seems to have matured a lot since his Jailblazer days. Suns players like Jared Dudley and Goran Dragic were sad to see him leave and thanked him for everything.

Just not sure I can ever refer to him as Bassy. Sounds stupid.

"Character guys" with BC has always be BS. I'd never call Bargs or Hedo character guys.

On the flip side, I think it's absolutely important to have good character guys on your team. When you have good character players, you can bring in a couple bad apples with talent and it won't disrupt the team. Heck, it's worked for the Spurs for the last ten years.

On the flip side, nearly every underperforming team in the last decade has happened with teams with too many questionable personalities.

Zeno wrote:I really think that people around here underestimate character as a trait for players..

of course they do. because mostly they are either 14 year old weenies and whiners, or adults who think the internet is a great place to be the assh*oles they always wanted to be. but anyone who has any kind of maturity at all knows how helpful it is to work with people who are not self-centred jerks.

lobosloboslobos wrote:

Zeno wrote:I really think that people around here underestimate character as a trait for players..

of course they do. because mostly they are either 14 year old weenies and whiners, or adults who think the internet is a great place to be the assh*oles they always wanted to be. but anyone who has any kind of maturity at all knows how helpful it is to work with people who are not self-centred jerks.

It's interesting...I was thinking about my post above, and how angry it is. And about how I don't particularly like other people being angry and pointing fingers around here, so it's kind of lame that I'm doing it, and have done it in a few recent posts. But that's what happens when you have a few bad apples who start name calling, eventually they bring the whole tone of the group's discussions down to egotistical ranting and divisive side-taking. And that is exactly why character guys are important on a team. because all it takes is 1 bad apple on a team, or a few loud ones in even as large a group as this forum, to poison the whole atmosphere. I think our teams have always been highly functional as groups and as people and that is something i've always enjoyed. We haven't had any bs dramas tearing our teams apart. I wish I could say the same about this board, but personally I'm going to make a point of trying to maintain a better attitude around here and not stoop to the level of the few who enjoy causing conflict.

telfair will have the best chance with toronto, any players would. bc is very generous with our players if you notice.

J-Roc wrote:Just not sure I can ever refer to him as Bassy. Sounds stupid.

Seabass