I know this isn't a Pacer's story, but this is a very interesting and candid interview with Damon Stoudamire. You don't normally read things this authentic from NBA players. It's usually vanilla, non-inflammatory, and pre-scripted. Not this:
http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=31515
Damon takes time to dish
He’s interested in player development, scouting and all the dynamics that go into making a team a winner. Some day, Damon Stoudamire is going to end up in someone’s front office.
He’d like it to be Portland’s.
“Maybe at the end of this four years (the length of the new contract he signed with Memphis) I’ll be back and run this,” Stoudamire said Tuesday from Houston, his offseason residence. “They need some guidance up there. They don’t have a clue.”
Stoudamire isn’t bitter about not getting a chance to return to the Trail Blazers as a player. He knew that wouldn’t happen. But he grew up a Blazer fan and doesn’t think much of the way the organization is headed.
His views on the team are fascinating. They won’t make him a lot of friends among the current regime.
“I really do think their team will be better sooner than a lot of people think,” he says. “I like the team, and I love Nate McMillan. He’s going to be a good coach for them. I just don’t like the organizational stuff.”
Stoudamire doesn’t have a lot of love for General Manager John Nash and Player Personnel Director Kevin Pritchard.
“I don’t like the way things are done around there,” he says. “It’s been bad from the moment I got there. Is it better now that Bob Whitsitt is gone? No, it’s probably worse. They keep on saying, ‘Cut money. Cut money.’ But Paul Allen’s not losing that much money. He let Bob spend whatever he wanted.
“I think he just doesn’t have confidence in (Nash and Pritchard).”
How will the Blazers do this year?
“The wild card is Darius Miles,” he says. “I like him. I like all the young guys. I just hope Nate stays on top of D-Miles and saves his ***. He needs somebody to push him. He won’t reach his potential if he doesn’t work hard. He can’t be a slacker.
“And the best thing about Nate is he has a five-year contract and if he wants to, he can tell Nash to kiss his ***. He can coach how he wants to coach.”
Stoudamire says the team’s power forward will be all right.
“They don’t need to worry about Zach Randolph,” he says. “He’ll be OK. He does a lot of screwed-up things, but as long as he’s healthy, he’s going to play and play well. He’s going to score, and he’s going to rebound. He was hurt last year and, like a lot of young guys, felt he had to justify his contract, so he played when he shouldn’t have.”
The former Wilson High point guard thinks a couple of mistakes have been made.
“They say Travis Outlaw is a small forward,” he says, “and maybe he is. But so is Darius Miles. And you know that Darius, with the money they’re paying him, is going to play. But I think Travis is going to be a real player in this league. So who is going to play?”
And another mistake …
“I tried to tell them, they have Sebastian Telfair at point guard and they have a lot invested in him. He’s going to be a good player. Why not bring in a good veteran, someone to tutor him and help him out? Instead, they draft Jarrett Jack. Well, he’s bigger than ‘Bass,’ and he’ll probably play better defense.
“Let’s say Jack comes in and gets after the bigger guards and doesn’t make mistakes and Nate falls in love with him. What happens then? Man, you’ve invested that much in the future and what are you going to do?”
Stoudamire doesn’t think the Blazers would be wise to trade Ruben Patterson.
“You can’t do that,” he says. “He’s the closest thing they have to a role player. He does some crazy stuff, but at the end of the day, his biggest fault is that he cares too much. He will have his best year playing for Nate.”
Stoudamire is ready to play in Memphis. He says he’s healthy, hasn’t smoked weed in two years and is looking forward to a fresh start.
“I don’t know my new teammates very well, but I’ve talked with some of them,” he says. “They’ve won a lot of games the last couple of years, and I think I already know why. They aren’t all that talented, but the difference between the Memphis guys and Portland guys is, No. 1 — they’re coachable. And they all know their roles.”
http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=31515
Damon takes time to dish
He’s interested in player development, scouting and all the dynamics that go into making a team a winner. Some day, Damon Stoudamire is going to end up in someone’s front office.
He’d like it to be Portland’s.
“Maybe at the end of this four years (the length of the new contract he signed with Memphis) I’ll be back and run this,” Stoudamire said Tuesday from Houston, his offseason residence. “They need some guidance up there. They don’t have a clue.”
Stoudamire isn’t bitter about not getting a chance to return to the Trail Blazers as a player. He knew that wouldn’t happen. But he grew up a Blazer fan and doesn’t think much of the way the organization is headed.
His views on the team are fascinating. They won’t make him a lot of friends among the current regime.
“I really do think their team will be better sooner than a lot of people think,” he says. “I like the team, and I love Nate McMillan. He’s going to be a good coach for them. I just don’t like the organizational stuff.”
Stoudamire doesn’t have a lot of love for General Manager John Nash and Player Personnel Director Kevin Pritchard.
“I don’t like the way things are done around there,” he says. “It’s been bad from the moment I got there. Is it better now that Bob Whitsitt is gone? No, it’s probably worse. They keep on saying, ‘Cut money. Cut money.’ But Paul Allen’s not losing that much money. He let Bob spend whatever he wanted.
“I think he just doesn’t have confidence in (Nash and Pritchard).”
How will the Blazers do this year?
“The wild card is Darius Miles,” he says. “I like him. I like all the young guys. I just hope Nate stays on top of D-Miles and saves his ***. He needs somebody to push him. He won’t reach his potential if he doesn’t work hard. He can’t be a slacker.
“And the best thing about Nate is he has a five-year contract and if he wants to, he can tell Nash to kiss his ***. He can coach how he wants to coach.”
Stoudamire says the team’s power forward will be all right.
“They don’t need to worry about Zach Randolph,” he says. “He’ll be OK. He does a lot of screwed-up things, but as long as he’s healthy, he’s going to play and play well. He’s going to score, and he’s going to rebound. He was hurt last year and, like a lot of young guys, felt he had to justify his contract, so he played when he shouldn’t have.”
The former Wilson High point guard thinks a couple of mistakes have been made.
“They say Travis Outlaw is a small forward,” he says, “and maybe he is. But so is Darius Miles. And you know that Darius, with the money they’re paying him, is going to play. But I think Travis is going to be a real player in this league. So who is going to play?”
And another mistake …
“I tried to tell them, they have Sebastian Telfair at point guard and they have a lot invested in him. He’s going to be a good player. Why not bring in a good veteran, someone to tutor him and help him out? Instead, they draft Jarrett Jack. Well, he’s bigger than ‘Bass,’ and he’ll probably play better defense.
“Let’s say Jack comes in and gets after the bigger guards and doesn’t make mistakes and Nate falls in love with him. What happens then? Man, you’ve invested that much in the future and what are you going to do?”
Stoudamire doesn’t think the Blazers would be wise to trade Ruben Patterson.
“You can’t do that,” he says. “He’s the closest thing they have to a role player. He does some crazy stuff, but at the end of the day, his biggest fault is that he cares too much. He will have his best year playing for Nate.”
Stoudamire is ready to play in Memphis. He says he’s healthy, hasn’t smoked weed in two years and is looking forward to a fresh start.
“I don’t know my new teammates very well, but I’ve talked with some of them,” he says. “They’ve won a lot of games the last couple of years, and I think I already know why. They aren’t all that talented, but the difference between the Memphis guys and Portland guys is, No. 1 — they’re coachable. And they all know their roles.”
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