for those of you still clamoring for Griffin

["Art Silva" <vzd1s1hb@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Oct. 26, 2003, 9:25AM

MYSTERY MAN

Rockets' Griffin remains a closed book as troubles mount
By JONATHAN FEIGEN
Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle

FROM the day the Rockets made him theirs, Eddie Griffin was a mystery who
came without clues. Things never seemed to make sense. They never seemed to
fit.
There were minor incidents, fights that seem almost innocent now and at the
time hardly seemed possible. Then Saturday, after weeks of confounding,
unexcused absences that led to his suspension from the team, Griffin was
accused of beating a woman and shooting at her in his home. Police began
investigating and said the case would be referred to the Houston Police
Department's family violence unit.
Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson said he could not comment on the
matter until he could gather more information.
But in many ways, Griffin has defied explanation ever since the Rockets
gambled so heavily to land him.
Dawson said no one from the team had reached Griffin on Saturday. In the
coming days, police and the Rockets will likely gain information. Answers,
however, might be harder to find.
The Rockets gave up three first-round draft picks to acquire Griffin from
the Nets on June 27, 2001 -- something they are reminded of as Griffin's
career spirals from promising toward a cautionary tale of wasted potential.
The Nets used the first of those picks to choose Richard Jefferson, now one
of the NBA's young stars. Had the Rockets not make the trade, they likely
would have taken Notre Dame's Troy Murphy, one of only five players to
average at least 10 rebounds and 10 points last season.
The Rockets and many around the league believed they had pulled a draft-day
coup. Former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich had even polled his staff to ask
whom they would pick if they were leading off the draft. Griffin, then just
a month removed from his 19th birthday, was the most popular choice.
"I'm sure everybody was excited about Eddie's shot blocking (and) ability to
rebound the ball, and I think everybody here is still excited about that,"
Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said after Griffin was suspended. "As I look at
Eddie, it was the right trade for Houston. Rudy, Carroll and Les (Alexander,
the Rockets' owner) put a lot of trust and faith and belief in Eddie. I've
tried to show him that in my time here. Now he's got to make the step
forward -- particularly to Rudy, Carroll and Les, to repay them. I think he
wants to do that. Time will tell by his actions."
Griffin slipped to the seventh pick partly on a reputation built on a few
incidents showing his anger and immaturity. He punched a Seton Hall
teammate, Ty Shine, in the team's locker room and was involved in a similar
incident at Philadelphia's Roman Catholic High School.
But when Griffin joined the Rockets, he avoided such fits of rage. Through
his finest and worst moments on the court, Griffin has kept the same
sleepy-eyed, stone-faced expression. After a particularly stunning dunk in
the preseason last year, teammates kidded him that he actually smiled. He
has shown little passion, let alone fury.
Professional athletes have often been skilled at building a facade or at
least an image, so much so that since the media dissection of O.J. Simpson,
it has become almost a clichi to assume a false front when bad news comes.
But Griffin has never shown any interest in creating a public image. Even in
the protective circle of the locker room, Griffin, now 21, seemed young, shy
and quiet. If he was wearing a mask, it was blank.
When Griffin was a rookie, he chose No. 41 to honor his late brother, Marvin
Powell, who wore the number as a college player. His mother cried that day
at the Rockets' training facility. When the Rockets traded for Glen Rice,
who assumed the number as a veteran's prerogative, Griffin switched to No.
33 without complaint, figuring Rice had the right to the number.
The first public sign of trouble came last season when Griffin missed a home
game under mysterious reasons. He reported that his dog bit a neighbor and
that he had been instructed to wait for the police. As the evening went on,
the story was found to have been fabricated.
Griffin joined the team in Minnesota and apologized.
When he missed a flight to Sacramento, Calif., this month, his absence was
considerably more disturbing. He did not call the team to say he was running
late or to later explain himself. The next day, he neither caught up with
the team nor returned messages left by Rockets officials.
When the Rockets returned, Van Gundy suspended Griffin for two games but
allowed him to practice.
That night, Griffin said he had stayed in Houston to attend to "personal,
family problems."
"I just had some problems I had to take care of," Griffin said then. "Things
are fine now. I'm going to be back with the team. I'm going to be out for
two games, but I understand, because that's the best for the team because I
didn't show up. I had some stuff to take care of.
"I'm fine with it. I should have let him (Van Gundy) know. I didn't let him
know. That's what you've got to do."
The next day, Griffin did not show up for practice and was suspended
indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team.
With the team in San Antonio, the Rockets scheduled a workout for Griffin on
Friday. Again, he did not show up as expected.
As maddening as Griffin's absences have been, they have been considered to
be as uncharacteristic as his fit of anger in the Seton Hall locker room.
Teammates have been supportive publicly and have tried privately to reach
out with a sympathetic voice. Griffin, however, has not returned calls.
If teammates have been at a loss to explain Griffin's absences, Saturday's
alleged incident, in whatever form the truth holds, counts as a complete
shock.
It won't be the first. Last April, when Griffin was stopped for a minor
traffic violation, a small amount of marijuana was found in his vehicle. His
case is pending. Though Rockets players said they were not distracted by
Griffin's arrest, the next night they matched the worst offensive
performance in franchise history in a home loss to Portland. A night later,
they nearly matched that showing, losing in Utah and effectively ending
their playoff bid.
"Everybody loves Eddie," Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley said. "He's going to
do what he has to do. We're going to do what we have to do so when he comes
back it won't be as hard for him. Right now, we're concentrating on winning.
He's concentrating on what he has to do. He's a good kid. We love him."
After Griffin's rookie campaign and in the early months of his second
season, teams called the Rockets trying to pry him loose and got nowhere.
The interest indicated that the Rockets were far from alone in their
assessment of Griffin's future. But with the roster crowded with three power
forwards, the team faced another decision about what sort of player he would
become.
The Rockets instead dealt forward Kenny Thomas, an understandable move at
the time given Thomas' unhappiness at playing a reduced role, the likelihood
he would leave as a free agent, and the need for a small forward. And just
as they had the night they traded for Griffin, the Rockets placed enormous
faith in their young, underachieving power forward.
"The NBA or basketball in general is littered with highly talented people
that never lived up to expectations," Van Gundy said. "There's others you
thought would never be great players but willed themselves to it because
they had a special attitude or demeanor.
"I just think what separates players in this league (is) not so much talent,
but attitude and chemistry, spirit and passion. That's why in high school
you see all those All-America lists. Why do some of those (players) fall off
the radar screen while less heralded players keep growing and get better? I
think it's totally due to a certain level of drive and passion to succeed in
their profession."
But in 24 hours, the Rockets might have gone from facing tough decisions to
having no choices.
They have until Friday to exercise their right to pick up the fourth season
on Griffin's rookie contract. He is set to make $2.3 million this year. Even
if they no longer consider him a key to their rebuilding, allowing him to
become a free agent after the season could diminish his value on the trade
market.
Saturday's incident, however, could have eliminated the last bits of that
value.
Griffin is unlikely to inspire teams to take the risk and public relations
body blow off the Rockets' hands. He remains an interesting prospect and
marginal starter but far from the kind of talent whose problems are ignored.
If the Rockets were concerned about the message extending his contract would
send when Griffin's greatest infraction was skipping class, even at a loss
of $25,697 per game, the message would be received much worse now.
If Griffin remains with the team, he could return to the court at some
point. But increasingly, the Rockets have learned not to rely on him.
"It's like when you go to the bank," Van Gundy said after the suspension.
"You make a deposit, make a deposit, make a deposit. If you make enough
deposits, then make a withdrawal, you're still looking good. If the
withdrawals outweigh the deposits, then you have to re-evaluate.
"We're not happy about the situation. But really, I don't have a lot of time
to think about who's not here. I think about him, and I think about him a
lot. He's a likeable guy. But I've got a lot of guys in there who want to be
NBA players, who want to maybe start or be in a rotation or just find their
way on to a team."
The Rockets once thought Griffin was one of them. He might be. But
increasingly, it seems they really don't know.