Telfair - Ooops - here's the link....

[Kestas]

Piotrowski, Mark A wrote:

>Kim, Gene, Warwick, et al:
>
>Please stop with the excitment about Telfair.
>
>Where have you been?  Haven't you heard?  He's a thug and a gansta (whatever 
>that's code for), 
>
Code? Why are people accusing me of using innuendos and code words? I 
said plainly and explicitly  that he's a gangsta wannabe - and he is 
exactly that,  a kid that dreams of  being a gangsta, just like Iverson 
fancies himself as one. In other words, he wants to be a bad mofo, or at 
least be perceived as one, but either doesn't have enough balls to be 
one, and/or it's not currently worth it to him, given his status and 
income.
Mark P., perhaps you think it's completely normal and expected behavior 
to be packing a Smith & Wesson for team flights  and then blame it on 
your girlfriend, or engage in armed burglary, as Iverson was. But I don't.

>the poster child for the hip hop generation, a Starbury 
>clone (of course we're ALL just like our cousins...), etc, etc. blah blah.
>
>And haven't you been following this list for the last several years?  People 
>don't change, players don't improve.  So Telfair will always be a 3rd string 
>PG on a bad team.  After all Chauncey Billups was an all-star PG when we dealt 
>him.  And when ORL, DEN, TOR and MIN did too.
>  
>
You're conflating two different things - basketball ability and 
character. Players usually improve technically and tactically over their 
career, sometimes very dramatically. However, a player's personality 
rarely, if ever, changes. Toine will always be Toine, Marcus Banks will 
always be Marcus Banks, and Ricky D. will always be Ricky D. And you 
will always be proposing trades on this list.
Nobody is disputing Telfair's skills or even his desire to win. But if 
that were all it took to become a great NBA PG, every team would have a 
dozen Telfairs. You also need to have the physical attributes and the 
right personality. Telfair seems a typical undersized NYC playground 
legend with slick moves against high schoolers/rec players and an 
oversized ego, but little else. 

></bitter sarcasm>
>
>I think the Telfair trade is terrific -- i have as far back as May 12:
>[http://www.igtc.com/pipermail/celtics/2006-May/026110.html]
>
>  
>
I thought you thought every trade was terrific, by definition.

>Everything you read makes Telfair sound like just a totally solid kid.
>
>If you haven't seen the "Through the Fire" doc -- check it out!
>
>That that YouTube passing clip is from.  In it you can see that Telfair is a 
>confident, engaging, driven kid.  And his family (esp. his older brothers 
>(oone of whom's fighting to make it back from Greece to the NBA)) is really 
>important to him... and will help keep him straigth.
>  
>
Is that the one that was up on attempted murder charges, or a different 
one? Yes, yes, it's not his fault that his father and brother were/are 
criminals, he shouldn't be guilty by association. He's different, he 
signs autographs for kids (just fathom the sacrifice!), he wants to win 
(as opposed to what?!).

>Will he be the next Cousy or Magic?  No, but he's gonna be a good one.
>  
>
And you know that how? From a collection of  playground highlights on 
youtube?
Kestas

>(the other) mark
>
>
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