OT - Manny's Reaction on LeBron

Submitted by GustaveFerbert on

Lost in all the LeBron hullabaloo is the reaction from Manny on Lebron's bailing from Cleveland.   Though it is unconfirmed, Manny apparently was overheard claiming that he is happy LeBron left because there likely was not room for both of them on the roster and Manny is anxious to show Clevelanders what he can do. Of course, time will tell.

 

 

 

jmblue

July 9th, 2010 at 5:35 PM ^

Most players are going to side with LeBron on this.  They're not going to vilify him for going to a better situation.  Gilbert is going to regret making that crazy diatribe.  I doubt he'll ever be able to sign a big-name free agent after this. 

jmblue

July 9th, 2010 at 6:01 PM ^

That's what Jerry Krause and the Bulls thought back in 1998.  They could shove Jordan, Pippen and Rodman out the door and quickly sign replacements with the cap space they gained.  It turned out that players didn't want to sign with a franchise that had treated its previous players so shabbily.

wishitwas97

July 9th, 2010 at 6:12 PM ^

averaged close to 8 assists per game.  How is he not a team player?   He would have averaged well over 10 assists per game if his teammates can knock down open shots.  Manny has to carry the load and take bad shots because it's the only way that Manny know how to win is to try to do it by himself because he has no one on the team(except for Sims at times) who can score.

 

Please englighten me on how he's not a team player.  He wants to win and is willing to pass more if he has teammates who can score.

SpreadGuru

July 9th, 2010 at 6:36 PM ^

game where he managed to get suspended and, as our best player, was a really good teammate and proved to be very reliable on that day.  His soph. year at Iowa, where he was such a good teammate he managed to get benched for OT and really helped us out.  If he shows any of those trademark Manny moments, he'll be playing for the Holland Blast before Vincent Smith gets his first carry of the year (which btw will be on the third play of the year).

el segundo

July 9th, 2010 at 7:22 PM ^

to say that Manny was not a team player (unless there were off-the-court issues that have not been made public).

But Manny is a ball-stopper:  when he gets the ball, he wants to take his man off the dribble and then go to the rack, pull up for a jumper, or dish -- in that order.  He does not want to put himself in the flow of the offense and let the play dictate whether and where he gets his opportunities to drive and/or score.  He wants to be the catalyst and create the play on his own terms every time he touches the ball.  He's willing to pass, but on his terms, on his time.

That doesn't make him selfish, but it does make him a bad fit for a motion offense like Beilein's, where good shots are supposed to come from continuous ball and player movement, not from the individual ability of any one player.  I think part of the problem with the offense last year is that Manny's and Sim's abilities were not well-suited to a motion offense.  Beilein ended up throwing more and more pick-and-roll into his sets to suit their talents.  The problem with that strategy is that it interrupted the flow of the offense.  Douglass, Novak, and Perry got open shots off the pick-and-roll sets, but not always when and where they expected them.  I think they shot worse than expected because the offense was always a little out of sync.  We'll see what happens this year.  I expect a better flowing offense and better shooting from Douglass and Novak and Vogrich.

Being a ball-stopper may also hurt Manny in the NBA.  He won't have the same athletic advantage he had over his college opponents.  He won't be able to get away with being so reliant on his right hand.  He won't be able to beak down the defense all by himself anymore.  If he does not realize that and change his game accordingly, he'll be playing in Turkey or South Dakota.

wishitwas97

July 9th, 2010 at 8:07 PM ^

game translate better in the NBA.  There's more spacing on the open floor, no hand check and it put more emphasis on athleticism moreso than anything else(unless you have one outstanding trait to off-set the lack of athleticism) in the NBA level.  Manny got abused, hand-checked and doesn't have much room for spacing to get to the hoop, yet he consistently showed that he can get to the rack despite the fact that he doesn't go to left very often(many people know about it) and is not a great shooter.  That tells you something about his athleticism and the ability to get by defender.

 

Making excuses for Stu, Novak or LLP and other players doesn't cut it for me because they're wide open and you should be making it at least 50% of the time yet they don't.  You should be already set to shoot the ball if you're open and if you can't make it on a consistent basis, then we've got a problem.

mgopat

July 9th, 2010 at 5:57 PM ^

The first time I read this I thought you were talking about Manny Ramirez, and I didn't find that to be a strange thing for him to say at all.

Timnotep

July 9th, 2010 at 6:20 PM ^

Manny could dunk on LeBron no problem, James saw him coming and said "No way am I going to subject myself to being embarassed day in and day out in practice... I'm outta here!"

Zone Read Left

July 9th, 2010 at 8:46 PM ^

He plays for their summer league team. Which summer league team you play for has little to do with which NBA teams you end up getting try outs for. Also, Manny and Lebron play different positions.

SysMark

July 9th, 2010 at 9:22 PM ^

Is Manny getting his own ESPN show when he decides where he is going?  Okay maybe he has to settle for 15 minutes of fame and not the full hour.