Hamed Haddadi Says He’s A Star, Demands A Trade
Last time I checked, the only “stars” on the Grizzlies were O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay. But apparently after he did a little work two weeks ago helping Iran win the FIBA Asia Championship, Hamed Haddadi thinks he deserves to be on that level.
“Grizzlies’ officials don’t let me show my abilities,” said Haddadi, the first Iranian basketball player to make it to the NBA. “I have done my best every time I was called up to play for my team, but I don’t know why they don’t trust me.
“I want to play regularly for the Grizzlies; nevertheless I will have to change my team now since I am a star of the team but sitting on the bench.”
Star? The dude averaged 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in six minutes a game last year. I’m sure the Grizzlies saw what Haddadi did this summer and were waiting for him to come to camp to “show his abilities” and see if he could do that on the NBA level. So why demand a trade?
At 7-2, you gotta think that the 24-year-old Haddadi will see more minutes this season in Memphis if they don’t agree to cut all ties with the clearly delusional center. His best game last year was a nice 10 points and 8 rebounds with a block in under 10 minutes, but I wouldn’t say that makes you a star.
With Darko gone, Haddadi should come off the bench to spell Marc Gasol or Hasheem Thabeet this season, and if he performs like he thinks he can, his playing time will surely increase. Crazy to think though that with Steven Hunter, that makes four 7-footers on the Memphis roster.
If you were the Grizzlies, what would you do?
Source: Mehr News Agency
August 26th, 2009 at 11:34 am
penske1 says:
Let him rot on the bench. NBA players can be such whiny bitches.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Amos Leak says:
WHO IS HE…JUST FOR THIS..ALL THE COACHES IN THE NBA SHOULD READ THIS AND SAY…IF WE EVER GET HIM..CUT HIS BUTT..HE’S TRASH..NEVER HEARD OF HIM…IF HE DON’T GO SOMEWHERE..WHY DO PEOPLE THINK..JUST CUZ THEY DO STUFF OTHER PLACES..THEY CAN DO IT IN THE NBA AND BE SOME STAR..THESE OVERSEAS CATS ARE OUTTA POCKET..I UNDERSTAND THE INTERNATIONAL MONEY IS GOOD..BUT THEY GETTING OUTTA LINE..WE MIGHT HAVE TO START CUTTING THE NUMBER DOWN ON WHO WE TAKE AND WHO WE DONT.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Shrink This says:
Maybe something got lost in translation here. Perhaps the word ’star’ actually means ‘garbage’ in Iranian.
The Grizzlies should make him earn his playing time like everyone else.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:43 am
HaHHHAAAAAHHaAAA says:
AAAAHHHH HHAhahahaHHHaahaHHAHAHHHAAHAHAHAHAH. . . . aaaaAAAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHHHAHAHAHAHA…hahahhahHhahahaha..
haha.. heheh. ha
August 26th, 2009 at 11:46 am
shake&bake says:
The Grizzlies should make masks out of his face and sell them for Halloween. He’s almost as scary looking as Robert Swift.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:54 am
Brown says:
It’s not like he’d get puch PT as a 3rd-string centre on a bad team anyways. Who cares.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:57 am
BiG ShoT BoB says:
I think with more playing time this guy probably could put up better numbers. Those are already pretty productive numbers considering the amount of minutes he gets. But with that position stacked in Memphis I say trade him to the Rockets for maybe one of there arsenal of fowards.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Citizen B says:
Dude wants to play. Let him start one game and see what he can do. His numbers ain’t sh*t cause he has no minutes.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Amar says:
how is this dude, on the same team as gay and mayo, considering himself as the star? i don’t think he has that much cognitive dissonance in him, this may be like the telephone game. maybe he says he wants to START, that makes more sense than, you know, be a star.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:01 pm
control says:
Knowing the Griz…they’ll probably wait for him to PROVE he is a star, then trade him to the Lakers for nothing…
August 26th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Ansonious says:
He should hold his tongue or he could end up being the sequel to the Stephon Marbury show.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Ian says:
well if he gets around 35mns he could go for 15 and 15 then again maybe he tops out at 5 and 5.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Michorizo says:
I would ask him where the Weapons of Mass Destruction are?
August 26th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
sk says:
he’s not bad. i saw him beat the warriors, earlier this year. in around 10 minutes, he had 10 points, around 10 rebounds, a block or two, and his team prob went on a 20-5 run with him in. good rebounder. the team is garbage so i don’t understand why they couldn’t have 10-15 mins for him. @ michorizo, IRAQ not iran. different countries.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
sk says:
hmm, he probably meant star of the iranian national team.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
p-dizzle says:
As a Iranian I’ve watched this dude for a few years. He made himself eligible for the NBA draft when he was 17 and skinny as Anthony Randolph. Obviously he went undrafted. Dude can play though…… Star? Something probably got lost in translation there. But he does have size and unlike most euro (foreign) bigs he doesn’t mind getting in the trench and bangin. He looked akward when got burn last year but I think that was more due to his over exuberance of being in the game. Watch him in the Olympics though….Like I said, dude can play. Beating China in the FIBA tourney is no easy task and he beasted Jianlian. If somebody gave him time to develop I think who can do a good job in the NBA.
August 26th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Dagomar says:
Oh man, I hope this isn’t a matter of translation, because if not it makes my day . . . .
August 26th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
The Real Tryrone says:
Ain’t no doubt y’all that this cat is one punkass retard. Cat’s don’t be knowin’ how to hoop up, but he be runnin’ his punkass mouth. Cat should be cut from Memphis and then be seein’ how his punkass ain’t be able to find no team in the NBA y’all.
True thugs NEVER lie.
-The REAL Tyrone
August 26th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
POPPI GEE says:
They should trade pimpin to Houston for some cash and future draft picks! Yeaaaa!
Wow well it’s good to have confidence in yaself even if nobody else does. Still….see what the liquor do to him!
SMH
August 26th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
weezy f says:
dude was probably jokin around but if hes not daaaaaaaamn…but im sure he doesnt really think hes the star so calm down everybody
August 26th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Hugo says:
Maybe he can play and all, but beasting Jianlian is not something that makes you a good player, that only proves you’re a human being …
August 26th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Patrick says:
Dude seems crazy, but if he can put up a point and a board every two miuntes you gotta at least see what happens when you give him 30. It’s not like the grizz are gonna win 40 games this year. What do they have to lose.
August 26th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
LoBezn0 says:
Beasting Yi might be one thing, but he got beasted by a 30-year old Wang Zhizhi as well.
August 26th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
D.H. says:
@22
Gotta agree with ya. The guy received no playing time. Would it have been that hard to give him 20-30 minutes for a few games at the end of the year?
August 26th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Tig obamo says:
lmaoooooooooooooo star hahahahahaha if he’s a star then i am 2 even tho i average 0 a game across the board
August 26th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Prof. TX says:
Trade him back to the middle-east. See how many endorsements and paychecks he gets playing sand-ball for the ayatollah.
His country is one bad press conference from being wiped off of the map and he’s complaining about his life here? These guys have no idea how lucky they are.
August 26th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Lol see what happens when you hang with these NBA players??
They still aint showed that pic of Hamed smokin a J in his 67 Impala with his bling glaring in the sun..
ITS THE MOST BALLINEST SHIT EVA!!!!!
August 26th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
sh!tfaced says:
GTFOH!! HAHAHA.
If they had a picture of that interview, I’m pretty sure they’d have gotten the HASHISH he was smokin’ somewhere in the background. Either that or they must have Starbury TV back in Iraq or both…
August 26th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
the cynic says:
this is obviously a translation error. He wants regular minutes just like everyone else does. Overseas b-ball doesn’t operate like the NBA
August 26th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
POPPI GEE says:
What would really be sick is if indeed he does get traded and goes somewhere and actually goes off and becomes one of the top 5 Centers lol.
Wait there aren’t 5 Centers who are at the top right now are there? Bout 3 or 4 prolly?
Anyway if this dude does ball, it’s gonna be so funny. Picture him shooting everyone the bird!
Lookin kinda slow and simple in that pic though. Truly!
August 26th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
b$ says:
dude used to dj too! check it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-YIRS0lS-w
August 26th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
mellmeister_straightfromShaolin says:
damn, tsk… look at what crack can do to a person… hahaha!
but seriously, Dude needs minutes, give ‘em some…
It’s not like Marc Gasol would shave his beard for this dude… the centers MEMPHIS has aren’t even good, give him 10-15 minutes a game and see how he produces if he can have at least a point and a rebound every 2 minutes then give him more time and see if he’d be better off the bench…. Friggin’ Memphis GM doesn’t even check on the ones they get. tsk… they have 4 seven feet mongrels that they don’t fuckin’ develop. argh, i think their GM collects CENTERS while MINNESOTA GM’ Kahn collects PGs. i think if this is wrestling MEMPHIS would win. hahaha! A**wipes!
August 26th, 2009 at 6:00 pm
Ron Dexter says:
Who can say he ISNT a star if he doesn’t prove himself getting legitimate playing time. This guy wasn’t some bum draft pick, he was a FREE AGENT signiing. I dont know why the loser Grizzlies would let him rot on the bench. Maybe the whole thing was just some publicity stunt. Though I’m not so sure how many Iranians live in Memphis.
The people criticizing Haddadi on here are MORONS and UGLY AMERICANS.
August 26th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
control says:
I translated the original statement personally, apparently he was talking about crushing infidels on the court using the All mighty Star and that it would take none but a minute to complete this task. He will drink the blood of all infidels, steal and rape all of his enemies’ camels and women. He will have the strength of God and all of his enemies are crushed because they are infidels and jews.
Easy to get it wrong, he has bad grammar even in his native tongue.
August 26th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Mack Brownee says:
“The dude averaged 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in six minutes a game last year.”
give him 36 mins a game, times his stats by 6, and he’s 15ppg and 15 rpg.
The dude is a legitimate star ahahahahah
August 26th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
snoop_robb says:
trade him to Houston for a bag o’ chips!.. Htown could do with anything that’s 7 foot… we’ll take any of em, for a bag o’ chips!! lol
August 26th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
IGP says:
Does anyone think it’s weird how the real tyrone has perfect punctuation in his sentences?
August 26th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
kowtz says:
Trade him to LA for Adam Morrison… Then start clamoring for a three peat… ;D
August 26th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
navster says:
I got nothin against no one..but the man averaged the most rpg in the olympics and rebounds over all…more than any american..more than anyone!..he deserves to play
August 26th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
D1 of harlem says:
The real tyrone, what in the hell are you talking about. maybe dude ran his mouth a little to much. Maybe it is a translation problem. What ever. If you are not confident in your self no one else will be. Dude you sound like someone who has never played this game on a serious level. Sometimes you have to speak up to get noticed. A closed mouth don’t get fed. Except for a couple of guys on that team the roster is wide open. This guy is also on a real high. He did just help win a Euro championship. That is more than the guys ahead of him can say. Now Tyrone, i dont see anyone saying you should be out of a job for the dumb/stupid things you say.
August 26th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
jzsmoove says:
This fellow,HaHHHAAAAAHHaAAA, beat me to it but here goes…hahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahaahaha…Marc Gasol will batter and bruise this dude. funny shit though.
August 27th, 2009 at 1:24 am
Derik says:
he doesn’t even dominate in Asia….i would say even the Grizz wants to give him 30 min. he will foul out in 15 min. and have 4 points and 3 rebound… and we’ll see him on sportscenter getting dunked on all the time…
August 27th, 2009 at 2:08 am
Greg says:
To his credit, he really has played well whenever he’s been given the opportunity to play. In the way he moves and how his body looks, he comes across as Calvin Booth’s taller Iranian cousin but he blocks shots, has good touch around the hoop and is a solid rebounder. He could very well pass for a decent backup center. I think he has a legitimate beef. Based on the positives he shows when he plays, why won’t Memphis just give him more of an opportunity to play?
August 27th, 2009 at 3:10 am
BBaller79 says:
I guess every swinging di6k on an NBA roster who, “gives it his best when asked to play” should be considered a “STAR” right? Who do these guys think they are coming into the NBA and demanding 5hit? Obviously you don’t stand out enough to get playing time, has that ever ran through your head? So tired of these fools who think they are ENTITLED to play just because they made it to the NBA. How about shuttin your mouth and knowing your role!
August 27th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Chise says:
Damn… I can’t believe I’m contributing to a discussion about the 3rd string center on the grizz….. but honestly dude calling himself a star is nonsense… if Ali baba is puttin up a point and a board every 2 minutes then he should atleast deserve a shot to get a little burn
August 27th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Da_Griff says:
Remember Wang Zhi Zhi? The first chinese player to make it to the NBA?
Don’t blame you if you can’t. This guy will be the same. Just a foot note.
August 28th, 2009 at 6:31 am
Guitar Hero says:
Actually Zhi Zhi wasn’t that bad. He dropped some buckets for Miami back in the day.
But really, how hilarious it would be if the Grizz actually gave some PT to Haddaddi and the man developed into an All-Star? Man,that would be funny.
But, really, he deserves some PT. The Collins Bros are much worse than him, and they started some games in the League, so why not?
August 28th, 2009 at 10:29 am
Dr.Googles says:
SERIOUSLY?……who the f**k this guy is??