TheNewEra wrote:GREY 1769 wrote:TheNewEra wrote:
I thought I read that Fox quit before he was going to be cut. The game he struggled in and didn’t receive a lot of minutes led to the belief he wasn’t going to be involved as much.
Well I thought White would get cut the game before that because -- he struggled and didn't receive a lot of minutes. His penetration was great, outside shot not so much, and I honestly don't remember what kind of defender he was, but with FIBA being far more physical, it may have been a factor. I get letting a guy save face in these sorts of circumstances, but there was an interview with Pop shortly after and he looked genuinely taken aback and a bit upset at the news.
But Fox is one of a couple of grey area cases, right? If we look at all the guys who flat out declined, there's like two rosters' worth of players so there's a bigger issue at play beyond a Fox here or a Melo there. The decliners can suck it; huge credit and respect to the guys who committed.
Understandable. I can also see it from Fox point of view he was kind of the hyped to be the guy to show out then he’s competing with White for mins. Biggest concern from a confidence standpoint the usual boost from this will it impact guys that played in a negative way.
Not the olympics but damn sure going to be headlines about the failure
This team grew really tight. I've been following all the practices, interviews, quotes, etc., and they have a genuine brotherhood. I think once reason prevails, and this team isn't constantly being looked at through the skewed lens of more talent-laden rosters of the past and their achievements, the conversation will pivot to the players who flat out bailed. FIBA moving the schedule to make the commitment half way across the world within such a short time of the NBA season and Olympics schedule also gave it the result it sought. So a perfect storm of new team, short time to develop, stars bailing, schedule moved will looked at.
Reactionary headlines will be what they will be, but this is a team in transition and had more factors to deal with than just about any other prospective contender. Nobody on the team used any of them as an excuse, but that these were factors is a reality. I think the more insightful columns will take them into account and look at least as much at how much other players didn't take enough pride in committing.
