Who Do You Blame Most?

[FortWayneFlash]

The players? JOB? Bird & Morway? Ownership?

[Gremz]

For what? That new Twilight rubbish? Upping the price on Freddo Frogs? Making it rain a Christmas?

If I find out it was one of them........

[Miller4ever]

Ron Artest.

I hope this thread ends here.

[Reginald Wayne]

two girls, one cup.

Seriously, crap like that is too blame for all the worlds evils

[Scoot McGroot]

Ron Artest.

I hope this thread ends here.

I was about to say the guy that threw the cup, but then realized that Ron had already ruined Reggie's last chance at a title by forearming Rip Hamilton in the head in the ECF.

[PR07]

Donnie Walsh for hanging onto Artest for so long, even after we knew he was bonkers.

[Dunthreevy]

I blame Steve Stipanovich's, Scott Haskins', and Jonathan Bender's knees. yeah I went there!

[Great]

Luther Head, Brandon Rush, TJ Ford, Earl Watson, Travis Deiner, and AJ Price all on the same team...

Who did that?

Knowing Granger and Murphy's injury tendencies, why not more wing scorers with size.

Head and Price wouldn't be top five SG's in the d-league. No size.

[Dunthreevy]

Luther Head, Brandon Rush, TJ Ford, Earl Watson, Travis Deiner, and AJ Price all on the same team...

Who did that?

Knowing Granger and Murphy's injury tendencies, why not more wing scorers with size.

Head and Price wouldn't be top five SG's in the d-league. No size.

Luther Head just dropped 30 points in the NBA tonight, and AJ Price is a PG so of course he wouldn't be a top 5 SG in any league.

You don't seem to know too much about Granger's injury tendencies yourself. Up until this season he had only missed around 20 games combined his first 4 seasons in the NBA.

Murphy isn't exactly injury prone either. He typically plays about 70-75 games a season (aside from 03-04).

Go troll elsewhere please.

[Great]

Luther Head, Brandon Rush, TJ Ford, Earl Watson, Travis Deiner, and AJ Price all on the same team...

Who did that?

Knowing Granger and Murphy's injury tendencies, why not more wing scorers with size.

Head and Price wouldn't be top five SG's in the d-league. No size.

Luther Head just dropped 30 points in the NBA tonight, and AJ Price is a PG so of course he wouldn't be a top 5 SG in any league.

You don't seem to know too much about Granger's injury tendencies yourself. Up until this season he had only missed around 20 games combined his first 4 seasons in the NBA.

Murphy isn't exactly injury prone either. He typically plays about 70-75 games a season (aside from 03-04).

Go troll elsewhere please.

Criticism is trolling? I speaking on what their record reflects.

I made a mistake and misnamed my Irish named players. I meant Dunleavy. Coming off of his injury having more scoring depth would have made sense.

Granger had injury history going back to college. I followed his game in college. It was only a matter of time. If I knew this, They knew this.

Head did score thirty. He's an undersized SG. Rebounding and defense will be an issue with him.
He wouldn't average 25 a game in the d-league.

Is Price a PG like Chris Paul or like Gilbert Arenas?

Is Price more of a combo guard like Billups? Or a combo guard like Flip Murray?

[Scoot McGroot]

Luther Head, Brandon Rush, TJ Ford, Earl Watson, Travis Deiner, and AJ Price all on the same team...

Who did that?

Knowing Granger and Murphy's injury tendencies, why not more wing scorers with size.

Head and Price wouldn't be top five SG's in the d-league. No size.

Interesting, but Price is a PG, not a SG.

Also, do you really not know who Brandon Rush is? He's not Kareem Rush. Different brother. Brandon Rush is the 6'6" SG/SF that has shown that he can not only be a tremendous defender, but can fill up the bucket in bunches. He hasn't been consistent by any means this year, and has lost minutes, but he's only a 2nd year guy.


Diener has essentially fallen off the roster.

[Scoot McGroot]

Is Price a PG like Chris Paul or like Gilbert Arenas?

Is Price more of a combo guard like Billups? Or a combo guard like Flip Murray?

None of the above.

He's certainly not a combo guard. But really, neither is Billups. In fact, switch Arenas with Billups in your two questions, and you make some sense.

[Great]

Luther Head, Brandon Rush, TJ Ford, Earl Watson, Travis Deiner, and AJ Price all on the same team...

Who did that?

Knowing Granger and Murphy's injury tendencies, why not more wing scorers with size.

Head and Price wouldn't be top five SG's in the d-league. No size.

Interesting, but Price is a PG, not a SG.

Also, do you really not know who Brandon Rush is? He's not Kareem Rush. Different brother. Brandon Rush is the 6'6" SG/SF that has shown that he can not only be a tremendous defender, but can fill up the bucket in bunches. He hasn't been consistent by any means this year, and has lost minutes, but he's only a 2nd year guy.


Diener has essentially fallen off the roster.

I ask honestly because the I've been wondering why this team is so bad.

Is Price a PG like Gilbert Arenas?
Is he a SG in PG body?
Is he a Jannero Pargo/Anthony Roberson/Mo Williams PG?
Is he floor general?

What are Rush FG% and FT%?

[celtspacers]

Only person to blame is Bird he put this team together. We know whats going to happen next, he will make a trade for a player just good enough to help get enough wins to barely miss the playoffs and get a lousy pick.

[mizzoupacers]

Ron Artest.

[8305]

I blame the combined brain trust of Walsh and Bird. Working together they made a series of moves that would make Isiah Thomas proud. Since the summer of 2004:

1. Assembled or extended a group of disfunctional players (Jackson, Tinsley, Williams, Artest) were the ring leaders of disfunction.

2. In the summer of 2006 they refused to see the hand writing on the wall that this team wasn't going to get it done. In true NYK fashion they traded a 1st round draft pick for Al Harrington and an expiring contract for Marquis Daniels. That combined with drafting a guy (Williams) who would fit right in on a team already having too many guys of questionable character.

The problems of today are the result of the gross mismanagement that took place between 2004 and 2006. Three years later just like the NYK we are still trying to unravel that mess. You could never figure out who to hold accountable during that period of time. Its a good thing (at least for Bird and Walsh).

[mizzoupacers]

^That's a valid opinion, and the Harrington thing as well as acquiring Daniels were mistakes, but I can't be too hard on the front office for trying to salvage the O'Neal-era squad. Completely blowing up a team and rebuilding from scratch is an ugly process (as we're seeing today) and it's generally not something you enter into until all hope is clearly lost.

In retrospect, it's easy to say that hope should have been abandoned a few years sooner, but you have to remember just how many things went wrong in the few seasons beginning with the Artest fiasco...it was uncanny. I can't blame the front office for not anticipating all of that--basing your planning on expectations that the worst-case scenario will come true is not a plan for success.

[Gremz]

I think a majority of us would put the incidents surrounding the brawl at the top of the list. That specific time could have seen us take a title.

Without any off court issues, we could continue to hold valuable pieces to be used or traded accordingly much like during the 90s which provided such longevity and success.

[8305]

We are just one more example of the pitfalls of turning a basketball team over to a loose cannon (Artest) and a very weak leader (O'Neal). I'm not sure what could have been done. Certainly no one was advocating more character, experience and leadership being added to the squad in the summer of 2005. The focus was how do we beat the Pistons.

So maybe a pass should be given for the moves leading up to Ron Artest asking to be traded. From that point through that offseason the personnel moves were right out of the Isiah Thomas playbook.

1. Trading Artest for a two month rental of Peja. Hard to imagine an expiring contract and a mid to late first round draft couldn't have been obtained as an alternative.
2. Trading the 2007 1st round draft pick for Al Harrington. If there was any team in the NBA who should have known what Al Harrington was (an all sizzle no steak player) it should have been the Pacers. Not to mention the franchise not acknowledging the possibibity that this move might not work and the potential of the pick being pretty valuable.
3. Trading the expiring contract of Austin Croshere for Marquis Daniels. Management continuing to allow the salary structure of the team to hover dangerously close to luxury tax level.
4. Drafting Shawne Williams. Clearly still not thinking about the value of mature, NBA ready players.

This series of short sighted moves is why we are where we are today. Back out of these moves and it would be interesting to see where the rebuild of this team might be.

[Hoop Hunter]

JOB