What Philly wants... (or "On Being a Gangsta...")

[Piotrowski, Mark A]

"ghetto rat".  there's a new one, egg.

look i appreciate Kestas explaining what he means by calling Telfair "gansta" 
-- even if i very much disagree with him.  outside of his explanation, i just 
think there's a lot of throwing around of terms -- thug, gansta, hip hop -- 
here and elsewhere on the net which are just updated slurs.  That's my 
opinion.

how is me coming out and admitting that i'm being "bitterly sarcastic" about 
Telfair not being able to change, etc. somehow more of a "petty personal 
attack" than you calling our new PG a "ghetto rat" or others calling him a 
gansta thug?  i'm not trying to take anyones right to express their opinions 
and to suggest otherwise is just foolish.

the red flag goes up when i hear stuff like that b/c i seriously doubt that -- 
if say, Ainge or Brian Scalabrine got in trouble for having a concealed weapon 
anyone on this list would call them a gansta.... maybe i'm wrong.

carrying a gun is stupid.  but i think its weak to say we know someone (and 
all he'll ever be) based on one public incident... maybe i'm too pollyana 
about it.

all i know about Telfair is the little i've read and the documentary i saw -- 
it painted him as a pretty solid kid coming from a tough area of Coney Island.
 that's where i'll draw my conclusions... you can draw yours from wherever you 
want.


----------------------------
Having just caught up with the recent posts, I realize now 
how personally offensive it must have been to bleed green 
posters that some here had the audacity to classify Telfair 
as a "gangsta" etc.   It certainly has caused lots of
circling the wagons with old coach testimonies, highlight films 
(almost as persuasive as the Sergio Rodriguez films),   
and snippets of brave little Sebastian's meteoric rise from 
ghetto rat to good citizen.

Sebastian is such an appealing young man that the "honest 
mistake" that Rivers/the Celts bought into was his claim that 
he had confused his handbag with that of his gun-toting 
girlfriend and that it was her bag and her gun, not his.

Few can dispute that Telfair was one terrific high school player.   
The problem is that in his two NBA seasons, he has yet to prove 
he can be an effective NBA player, let alone a pass-first PG.   
Would Portland have traded him had they not had more confidence 
in rookie PG Jarrett Jack (22nd pick in 2005) or Gene's old 
favorite, Steve Blake (38th pick in 2003)?    Telfair's .393 and 
.395 FG% in two seasons, his matador defense, general 
inconsistency, lack of height, and high turnover rate, all
make me question if he is capable of being our ultimate 
answer at PG.   If not, why give up a #7 for someone who 
was #14 two years ago and has disappointed since?

Mark Piotrowski, you are a passionate and prolific contributor. 
But you should be thankful that this list affords diverse 
opinions instead of constantly stooping to petty, personal 
jabs at specific list members (sniff, sniff) whose opinions differ 
from yours.
   
Egg