Last week, a blog post on the site that went up after Gerald Green was cut by the Rockets drew a strong reaction from our readers, most of whom think that Green’s in this spot because he didn’t go to college to refine his skills. Apparently though, a rep for having a poor work ethic is the main thing that could keep him out of the NBA for good. Check out Paul Pierce’s take on Gerald in today’s Boston Herald:
“I think he has the talent to definitely be in the NBA, but I just think he has to develop a better work ethic,” Pierce said. “I think the coaches he’s played for say that’s the one knock on him. He knows how talented he is and how good he can be, but it’s a matter of wanting to work at it every day. If he ever gets that mind-set, he wouldn’t have to worry about being cut and who he’s going to play for next.
“Definitely he has the ability, but that’s the story in the NBA with these young guys. I’ve seen guys come and go. They can have the talent, but if they don’t work at it they never really make it.”
Count Pierce among the frustrated. He often went out of his way to work with Green and to praise the youngster publicly.
“I tried to take him under my wing,” Pierce said. “I tried to work with him. There were days when I’d come in and play some one-on-one with him and show him some stuff that I do to get better. But you’ve got to have the work ethic. You’ve got to want to do it.“I think that’s what helped me as a young player. I wanted to be in the gym. It wasn’t because I have a veteran telling me to. What are you going to do in the summertime when you don’t want to be there? That’s the NBA. It’s all about the grind. If you’re not willing to do it, there’s somebody else who’s hungrier and younger and just as talented, and they’re going to take your job.”
Pierce’s last line says it all, right? “If you’re not willing to do it, there’s somebody else who’s hungrier and younger and just as talented, and they’re going to take your job.” They don’t play the same position, but case in point? Mike Harris.
March 19th, 2008 at 9:22 am
jz_smoove says:
gerald green WILL be back in the League. too talented, hopefully not a numbskull though.
March 19th, 2008 at 9:43 am
Prof. TX says:
Considering some of the guys that still have jobs in the league, someone will probably pick up Green over the summer. I’d be surprised if we don’t at least see him in some summer or preseason work to try out for some of the lower-ranked squads.
March 19th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Bobby stew says:
I can see New York offering him 13 million a year if Isiah is still there
March 19th, 2008 at 10:06 am
mellamoernest says:
“Lower-ranked squads” can’t afford to have someone not willing to work. He couldn’t crack the lineup in Minnesota, who are in full blown rebuild mode. Hate to say it coming from Minnesota, but you can’t get any lower ranked that that.
I worry his stint in Minnesota shows how little he is willing to work. The opportunity was there to show his worth in Minnesota, but he couldn’t do anything with it. To not be able to beat out Marko Jaric for playing time should tell you something about his attitude.
March 19th, 2008 at 10:06 am
yallallreadyknow says:
he gotta work harder. even if he’s not a slacker, once coaches, gms, mngmnt see comments coming from an all star like pierce, that perception will be his new reality.
is an athlete 1,2,3,4th.
he gotta work harder to become a bball player 2,3rd.
he can be an athlete 1st, but he gotta fit being a bball player in there higher which means he gotta work hard and get bball iq smart
…but if harold miner aint get back, green aint coming back
March 19th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Kobeef says:
There are literally millions of stories like Gerald’s about kids who have all the talent in the world but couldn’t put it together.
- Ndudi Ebi
- J.R. Rider
- Kwame Brown
- Eddie Griffin
- Qyntel Woods
- Rafel Arujo
- Julius Hodge
Green he has blown his chance and will need to work very hard to get a second try. If the “they owe it to me” attitude doesn’t change he won’t be back. There are just too many people lining up (in front of him now) for his job
-
March 19th, 2008 at 10:54 am
fallinup says:
Send him to Europe. Let him see what it’s like there. Let him feel the hurt of not getting that fat NBA check. We’ll realize what he needs to do to earn himself a spot on someone’s roster….too bad though, he has the talent.
March 19th, 2008 at 11:00 am
Daily boy says:
I don’t know if he will or not, I hope so. But these Vet’s and coaches have been telling this dude the same thang for the past few years, if you don’t put in the work someone’s gonna snatch your spot and never let it go.
Case & Point.
March 19th, 2008 at 11:15 am
YOUNGFED says:
Kobeef JR Rider was nice dude WTF.
March 19th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Celts Fan says:
Kobeef, good list, but some are a bit off…
Ndudi Ebi (right on)
J.R. Rider (had all the talent, just couldn’t keep his head right. different story since he was a hell of a player. Side note, there was a really depressing story on what he’s done since he was last spotted in the nba - he’s in jail now, again - last month in a competing magazing that we’ll just call “Dunk”)
Kwame Brown (absolutely)
Eddie Griffin (was getting himself together, but alcoholism took its toll. I’m almost positive he’s a Rasheed clone if he’d not been hooked on the booze. He was NICE at the Hall and made plenty of jumpers in the NBA too before last summer… RIP)
Qyntel Woods (what talent? the only talent he had was for fighting dogs.)
Rafel Arujo (see above, only substitute “shooting steroids” for “fighting dogs”)
Julius Hodge (dude got randomly shot his rookie year. let’s cut him a break…)
My take on Gerald: He seems to be a good enough team guy and his attitude isn’t terrible. He was typically the first guy off the bench to high-5 guys at timeouts during his time with the Celtics, but he did have a rep as guy that didn’t work hard and thought he was better than he was. He’s also never had the legal issues guys like Rider had. This may be me just hoping for the kid, but I think he takes this and realizes what needs to be done.
March 19th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Captain America says:
Gerald is a head case. He would get so down on himself when things were not working for him on the court. Add PP’s take and yoou have someone with an NBA death wish.
Some team will take a shot at Gerald again just to see if his mind is right. Hopefully the next time it will be.
March 19th, 2008 at 11:48 am
yallallreadyknow says:
jr rider should not be on ur list
that punk ass bastard still played 9 seasons
funniest thing i ever saw was when jr was with minny got a two techs and still didnt want to leave the court; his mother was in the stands with her church hat. she stood up, mad that ‘dont fuck with me jr’ face moms make and she got him to leave the court
hahahaha
March 19th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
tjack says:
this is a classic case of what happens when the media, family, friends, etc start filling these young guys heads up about how good they are. or think they are for that matter. we all know that the only strong part of gerald gree.’s game was the fact that he can jump. that’s it. with that, it takes a while for ppl to get over that and start looking at their games for what it is: under developed with little to none work ethic.
it bothers me that these guys are getting paid millions of dollars to play the sport they supposedly love. now I use the word supposedly because once upon a time we played the sport because we truly loved it. now once those dollar signs starts forming, then that love goes straight out the window. ie stephon marbury. all you have to do is play bball and work on your skills. now how hard is that? you should have no worry in the world, when it comes to that aspect of your life. ppl hate on kobe all the time, but I bet if half of the ppl in the nba had a fraction of his work ethic, this league would be great to watch. not just during the playoffs, but the whole season.
bottom line, if you don’t work hard, then expect to get cut for someone that might not be as talented, but is willing to work hard.
gerald green needs to realize that nothing is owed to him. nothing. the only thing that is owed to him and expected is that one unfortunate day life will come to an end. everything else in his life is what he makes of it.
March 19th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Kobeef says:
@ youngfed
I would consider JR a great athlete that couldn’t keep his ISH together….kind of like Gerald….and yeah.. ..he’s in jail now….so that sounds to me like a guy who screwed up his career.
March 19th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Celts Fan says:
ya, but with Gerald, it’s about not putting it together ON THE FLOOR. There was no doubt with JR that as long as he made it to the games without getting cuffed, that he was good.
March 19th, 2008 at 4:36 pm
doc says:
Kobeef JR was nice on the court and Eddie I thought your list was for dudes who had talent but wasnt shit.
March 19th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Kudabeen says:
To Green’s credit he did take a summer to work with John Lucas. By all accounts that is no easy summer for anyone. Also, when he got minutes he produced decent numbers.
In the end it’s about earning the minutes though. Any coach worth his check and respect won’t put a guy on the floor, especially an unproven young guy out of High-School on the floor if he isn’t really earning the time and respect of his team.
Ah Well… He isn’t the first or last guy that can shoot, run and jump with ability. He will be replaced and/or forgotten if he doesn’t wake up.
March 20th, 2008 at 6:11 am
Mike says:
Maybe its because Green plays with only four and a half fingers on his shooting hand?
http://www.squidoo.com/GeraldGreen