Canada releases Dalembert

[tk76]

Has Sammy ever had a personality/attitude behavior here? Interesting.

Sam was pouty and went crying to the media about being unhappy about his touches. And that was right in the middle of the Sixers big winning run. He is the kind of guy that has to be handled with kid gloves. He has clashed with other coaches before (J.OB.) Sam has an overinflated view of his offensive skill level- and has to be dialed back gently or he gets all pouty.

[RapZilla]

I'm very shocked. I never would've expected this considering all that Sammy went through get on the team. He seemed to give tons of effort at the Americas tournament last year too.

On the Raps board most people seem to blame Rautins (coach) rather than Sammy but nothing is really known right now. Mostly it just sucks for Canada.

[Contract Season]

I've got some sources that would know and apparently he had a big entourage there and was distancing himself from the team ... wanted to be the leader but didn't like when they brought in 36 year-old Canadian veteran Rowan Barrett (think he played summer league for the Sixers once or twice?) who took over as leader. Was alienating himself, etc.

That said, Rautins did a piss poor job handling this. NBAers aren't exactly lining up to play for Canada.
Jamaal Magloire never plays, Nash liked the former coach Triano, who, while wasn't good enough for Canada, apparently, is good enough to be Carlesimo's assistant two summers in a row with USA's practice team (the squad that keeps the Dream Team in shape).

Joel Anthony is the lone NBAer on the roster now and I'll bet 70% of this board has never heard of him.

Just to add, I don't think Daly's a bad dude. Immature/clueless, sure, but he genuinely wanted to be on the team to play for Canada, he just didn't want to be treated as just one of the guys.

[barkley34]

Has Sammy ever had a personality/attitude behavior here? Interesting.

Sam was pouty and went crying to the media about being unhappy about his touches. And that was right in the middle of the Sixers big winning run. He is the kind of guy that has to be handled with kid gloves. He has clashed with other coaches before (J.OB.) Sam has an overinflated view of his offensive skill level- and has to be dialed back gently or he gets all pouty.

Totally agree, especially with the part in red font.

Anyway, this is probably a positive for the Sixers. Now there is no chance of him getting injured.

[Contract Season]

Actually, a couple of us have also heard he was playing injured and that's a big reason he left.

[disc0]

It's interesting to hear the sixers fan speak of dalembert. Obviously you guys know him a lot better than we do, as much as us canadians like to think of dalembert as stand up guy, hearing some of your stories doesn't make him so innocent anymore.

apparently we have a former number one pick that has a bit of the same problem as dalembert, needs to be treated like a princess.

thanks for the insight.

[jroach6]

ah welll who cares team canada sucks anyways .. and im cdn im just telling the truth .. btw prolly leos fault bring back triano!

[ilikecb4]

ok i'll sum it up for you guys

basically in the game vs. slovenia , Dalembert was 1/8 from the field and had a really bad all around game

He was taking fadeways, 16 foot jumpers, hooks, anything he saw pretty much

The Canadian Coach Leo was unhappy that he wasn't being a team player

Sammy basically told him he was the best player on the team and he should be getting all the touches all the time

And then....yeah that's about it

Sam wanted to be the MAN on the team offensively (even though he couldn't deliver)

Leo is an inexperianced, ego-driven coach who does not knwo how to deal with players with egos

And that's how it got to this point

[Shav]

If anyone wants the full scoop from Sammy himself, just park your ass in the video game dept at the Best Buy in Plymouth Meeting. Seen him there two of the last 3 times I've swung in there to grab something.

[panacea]

If anyone wants the full scoop from Sammy himself, just park your ass in the video game dept at the Best Buy in Plymouth Meeting. Seen him there two of the last 3 times I've swung in there to grab something.

I haven't had the fortune. The one on Chemical Road?

[Sixersfan87]

Does anyone else see this as a little troubling for the Sixers? I agree Sam has really developed an overly inflated sense of his value, especially his offensive prowess. He isn't delusional, he know's he's never going to be a first option, but now with EB42 on board, doesn't our offense look like

Brand - 1st option
Iggy - 2nd
Miller/Williams - 3rd
Thad - 4th
Daly - 5th

With the way Thad's been maturing (yes I take summer league with a grain of salt), it's not unreasonable to put him as the 4th and possibly even 3rd option this year.

How will Sam react to being the last option in the offense? Hopefully Brand is up to the challenge of keeping him in line all year. I read on HoopsHype after I originally posted that an insider on the team said Sam wasn't a bad guy, he was just doing some of the things he's seen the stars in the NBA do (skipping team meals to be with his entourage, etc). Sam was the best player on the Canadian team and he knew it, and acted like it. The new coach tried to make an example out of him by benching/suspending him, and Sam just called his bluff. No one was really the bad guy, the just had different agendas. At least he lived in Canada at one point, I'm still trying to figure out what Kaman's doing for team Germany besides hopefully getting hair styling tips from Dirk.

[Guy Smiley]

Here's what our local beat writer had to say about the whole thing.

Raptors Blog
By Doug Smith
That didn't end too well

Sam may have been the Devil personified (and apparently that’s how the coach painted him in a radio interview Thursday) but if that was the case, shouldn’t something have been done before the qualification tournament was under way? Shouldn’t someone maybe taken him aside when he was allegedly being late to all those meetings and practices and disassociating himself from the team during training camp or the games here? I cannot believe his disruptive behaviour happened only in Germany and Athens. If it did, it should have been dealt with before the Slovenia game, not on the bus to the arena to play Korea.

It was badly handled.

Here was Sam's side

By PHIL JASNER
Philadelphia Daily News
Dalembert tells his side

"I'd be happy to represent Canada when things get more organized and structured," Dalembert said. "The guys [on the team] know I work hard. I wish them well, for Canada. I want them to win, to give Canada some pride, to go to the Olympics. But sometimes a man has to stand up."

[STChaser]

After reading Sam's side of things, it does shed more light on the situation. I'm willing to give Sam the benefit of the doubt based on all his years here versus a short stunt playing for Team Canada. I would have totally absolved Sam had he not sported that ridiculous mohawk during the playoffs.

STChaser

[tk76]

The biggest red flag is that Sam complained to the media this season about being underutilized- and it was during the Sixers big streak. Some players complain when the frustrations of losing boil over- Sam complaied when the Sixers where on an epic winning streak. A quality guy like Miller can handle being benched for many 4th quarters in favor of Lou, while Sam shows himself to be in his own little Hatian Sensation world.

I hope he will be happy with all of the easy dunks he will get from the extra attention Brand will drw. he plays on a team with a bunch of unselfish players (Miller, Iguodala, Brand, Thad and even Lou are willing passers to Sam.) You would think he would embrace his role, and the extra attention he will get as being a part of a premier team and defensive frontcourt- but I worry in Sam's world homing his jumper and ball handling skills rates higher than team success.

[underpressure]

Sammy has always been a man of big words. He might have made some points during his vindication, but based on recent history, as tk76 pointed out, he has not that much credibility backing his statements.

[Don]

Sam's a nice guy, but tk's right about his misguided view of his offensive prowess. Someone needs to sit him down and explain that he needs to be a team player, for the good of the whole.

[freshie2]

Not concerned about Sam's ban, but if some are concerned would you make a Biedrens for Dalembert s/t deal??

[eyeatoma]

Not concerned about Sam's ban, but if some are concerned would you make a Biedrens for Dalembert s/t deal??

Without thinking twice...