Chicago Bulls tomorrow; Bobcats now face a test

The Bulls very well could(come out of their bracket). I can see how I misconstrued that. thanks! haha.

I understand why Duke fans hate Hansbrough. If he would have played at Duke, I would have despised him I’m sure!

after some of our hard games past us.

We had this discussion in the last game thread. My rationalle for trading Jackson may not be something you agree with, but it certainly isn’t based on a “lot of negativity that isn’t there.”

If we trade him now we have a good chance to get real value for him in terms of a younger player with similar potential or restoring some of our traded draft picks, or even both. If we wait while his well-documented and oft-repeated temper problems become even larger, we may not even find any takers. Read my comments above in this same thread.

I do acknowledge the positives regarding Jackson, as do the teams in the league that are courting us and offering deals for him.

The Diaw incident is not something that should be simply brushed off with a “it happens all the time in the NBA.”
He kept complaining about it long enough that Wallace had to tell him to knock it off not just once, but twice. It’s an escalation of behavior patterns that have been his calling card at every team he’s played for. By itself, it’s just an isolated incident, but there are too many other things that fit his pattern to ignore.

1. The technicals. Yes, it’s improved under Silas, but they are evidence that he was already in “blowup mode” at the time Brown was fired.

2. When training camp started, all he talked about was how much he’d already worked with DJ and how he and the other starters would do “whatever it takes” to help DJ grow into his new role. Since then he as teamed up with Wallace and publicly trashed DJ, Diaw, and several other teammates in the locker room, in the media, and to the coaches.

3 The utterly assinine 3-pointer he took after wasting over 4 of the remaining 6.8 seconds of the game strolling casually to the arc while his teammates (most notable Henderson) waved at him and yelled at him to hurry up and make a move. It cost us the win because he wanted a flashy finish instead of just winning with the 2 point basket we needed. Even Dell Curry said it. “He was looking for the walk-off home run,” were Dell’s exact (and frustrated) words.

That’s just for openers. The arrival of Silas and Oakley may have bought us a reprieve, but Jack is still trashing LB and his teammates in the media after the fact. Right now his positives still outweigh the negatives. But I believe based on what I’ve already mentioned along with other things that it’s only a matter of time before the trouble starts again. I’m not saying trade him just to get rid of him. What I am saying is that the coaching staff needs to keep a close eye on him and management needs to keep listening to the offers coming in. If a good deal comes along (especially as the deadline approaches) we’d be foolish not to grab it. I just want to be sure that you (and others) aren’t lumping me in with those that are irrationally calling for Stephen’s head. As I said, you might not agree with my opinion, and that’s fine. I would actually love to be mistaken on this one. But those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it and Jackson’s history is well known. We will need to rebuild and soon. Jackson is too old and slow to be a factor in those plans. If now is when we can get the best value for him, then now is when we should trade him.

We may have reached different conclusions after weighing all the same factors and that’s fine. That’s something that DOES happen all the time both in the NBA and among the league’s devoted fans.

“What do YOU mean by you people?”

(Sorry, having a Tropic Thunder moment)

but I like it!

Now if we can get Tyrus “scared” of him…

I’d like Oakley to post up on him in practice. He looks to be in decent shape, and I believe he could whip Tyrus into a great force