We Are Stuck With Him - The Lance Stephenson Thread II

[HornetJail]

Any updates on his current status? He's been out too long for what appeared to be a very minor & mild groin inury

It apparently wasn't that minor. It's been 3 weeks since he's even been able to run without pain

[yosemiteben]

This was the most recent update:
[tweet]https://twitter.com/HornetsPR/status/551484550854230016[/tweet]

There hasn't been a timetable since he's been out, just periodic updates as to whether he'd make it for the next couple games.

[mrknowitall215]

This will be applicable with my suspicion if he miss another week and don't return on January 15th for the home stand against the Spurs followed by games against the Pacers, Timberwolves, and Heat in Charlotte consecutively

[yosemiteben]

What does him sitting out accomplish for him?

[mrknowitall215]

What does him sitting out accomplish for him?

I never stated that sitting out of games will help him accomplish anything, but I am starting to find it just a tad bit suspicious (specifically if he doesn't return next week) that what appeared to be a very minor & mild groin injury is beginning to look like a serious one based on recovery time

Maybe it's management telling him to sit out until they can find a trade if they feel like the relationship is irreparable, and that meeting followed by the headline that they plan to compromise with each other & take Stephenson off the trade block was just damage control since allowing teams to know that they're desperate to deal him doesn't help either case

I work in the corporate world, and things like this happen all of the time for public relations & perception purposes where the company may give a high ranked executive a paid vacation leave or ironically even a pay raise w/ a temporary promotion until they figure out semantics on how to move forward

[MasterIchiro]

So you think he faked injury in that game?

[yosemiteben]

Maybe, but having a lingering injury on top of his performance earlier in the year isn't exactly boosting his trade value so it seems foolish to me to sit him, especially if part of the reason for his decreased production was not gelling with Al.

He had the groin injury in preseason and aggravated it multiple times during the course of the season. I think that is hugely responsible for how poor his production has been for us. I think it's much more likely that they want him to be fully healthy than it is that they've abandoned him based on how he produced while nursing an injury.

You may be right, but the fact that the injury was around all preseason seems to me to suggest that he hasn't taken the time to heal and they are doing that now.

[mrknowitall215]

So you think he faked injury in that game?

Personally, I think Stephenson is full of theatrics per game where he flop, exaggerate contact, stay on the floor longer than he should, limp around, and etc.

I doubt that he faked that specific injury that has kept him out initially, but like "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", well, you get my gist

[yosemiteben]

I doubt that he faked that specific injury that has kept him out initially, but like "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", well, you get my gist

I actually don't. He didn't miss a single game the last two seasons, so there is hardly evidence to support that he has done this before, plus how does that apply to the situation where he is willing to play but the FO is the one holding him out?

[MasterIchiro]

It could be Lance's groin injury is legit and he's dying to get on the court and run uptempo without Al in the lineup.

It could be the Hornets removed him from the trade market because they want to build more value by getting him back fully healthy in order to boost his performance, thus they're being extra careful managing his healing/recovery time.

It would be ironic if Lance recovered sooner than Al and the team looked dynamite with Lance and Kemba and MKG/Zeller uptempo.

Would they still trade him?

I still believe there are not enough touches/shot clock for all 3 of Kemba/Lance/Al Jefferson.

[mrknowitall215]

I doubt that he faked that specific injury that has kept him out initially, but like "The Boy Who Cried Wolf", well, you get my gist

I actually don't. He didn't miss a single game the last two seasons, so there is hardly evidence to support that he has done this before, plus how does that apply to the situation where he is willing to play but the FO is the one holding him out?

'MasterIchiro' asked me if I thought Stephenson faked the injury. I never gave a concrete answer, but I did highlight the fact that Stephenson is full of over-exaggerated theatrics on the court and some of that do involve what I think is faking injuries for attention

[yosemiteben]

It could be Lance's groin injury is legit and he's dying to get on the court and run uptempo without Al in the lineup.

It could be the Hornets removed him from the trade market because they want to build more value by getting him back fully healthy in order to boost his performance, thus they're being extra careful managing his healing/recovery time.

It would be ironic if Lance recovered sooner than Al and the team looked dynamite with Lance and Kemba and MKG/Zeller uptempo.

Would they still trade him?

I don't think there is anyone here that doesn't wish for the opportunity to at least see what it would look like. I think it's pretty unfortunate that his injury is robbing us of that opportunity, though given that Al's return is being talked about in terms of weeks and Lance is just having updates in terms of games, maybe we'll still have the chance.

Then again, maybe both Al and Lance faked injuries and they're really just being locked in a room by Cho and told to hug it out until they can play together.

Strange situation.

[DY_nasty]

geez

guys can't even get injured around here lol. like this dude was the source of any of our problems

He was the source of a couple problems, but far from the biggest one. Really hoping he gets back soon. We need him

maybe i missed out.

what problems? i just hate the precedent our org set in the beginning of the year by pretty much singling him out. if it wasn't lance, a guy with baggage issues, then we'd look like scumbags for putting everything on the new guy like that. just a bad look when it comes to welcoming free agents.

[HornetJail]

geez

guys can't even get injured around here lol. like this dude was the source of any of our problems

He was the source of a couple problems, but far from the biggest one. Really hoping he gets back soon. We need him

maybe i missed out.

what problems? i just hate the precedent our org set in the beginning of the year by pretty much singling him out. if it wasn't lance, a guy with baggage issues, then we'd look like scumbags for putting everything on the new guy like that. just a bad look when it comes to welcoming free agents.

You're right.

But his overdribbling, terrible shooting, and uninspiring body language weren't exactly helping us at the time.

[DY_nasty]

there isn't a single good shooter on the entire team, the offense is generally terrible and every ballhandler on the team not named kemba is guilty of overdribbling regularly (out of henderson, neal, roberts, and nowadays MKG - i'll gladly tolerate lance doing it as an alternative if its simply going to happen because our offense doesn't have 3rd options at all apparently), and body language... eh. he's not used to playing bad on bad teams. i can give him a pass

i really feel like that with as much negative energy this guy attracts, there should be something more substantial. and if you guys look into the offseason posts, i never even wanted him to begin with. now that he's here, he should at least get the same blanket that everyone else shares. singling a guy out and saying that he's faking injuries without anything suggesting that he is doing so is just trifling

unless there's actually something suggesting that he's doing so.

[BobsBuddy]

I'm sure MD and Trainers are watching him. He's not faking it... I look for him back playing 2-3 weeks before trade deadline.

[catch20two]

I was one of the guys that grew tired of Lance and his body language and the fact that it looked like he's been distancing himself from his teammates.

But he's been growing back on me for wanting to give him another chance the way he's been visibly rooting for the team in his street clothes on the bench. I think he's starting to gel with the team and I would love for him to be a part of this faster paced defensive playing unit without Big Al and his Alfense.

[yosemiteben]

I'm really annoyed that we aren't getting any sort of update on Lance.

[Bassman]

I think we read too much into this. Clearly Lance wasn't "born ready" to be our stud star, and his failure to immediately translate success frustrated him. He probably clashed with some guys and that led to serious questions about his fit (both style and personality). I think his injury is legit, but he may also be going through a transformation as a teammate during this time off. I hope he gets his chance to play with Al out.

[catch20two]

I'm really annoyed that we aren't getting any sort of update on Lance.

I'm starting think it might be a torn hamstring instead of a groin pull how long he's been out.