Corey Maggette Is No Longer “Bad Porn”
As I was waiting in the Oakland airport last week for my baggage to arrive post vacation bliss, I saw a familiar figure dressed in USA Olympic elite garb leaning against the wall. It was Corey Maggette.
For someone with such a talkative and boisterous persona as he embodies on the court, in this situation, he was just another mellow traveling passerby. Quiet and reserved, Maggette dropped the superstar attitude and flew in off of a Southwest general admittance line fresh from a mini vacation of his own.
For all intents and purposes, this is who Maggette has become recently. Before our very eyes, the 30-year-old, eleventh year pro straight outta Krzyzewskiville seems to have transcended. He’s gone from a self-centered shooting forward to a more reliable veteran presence.
Never one to look for the open man – career averages of 2.2 assists a game speak for itself – Maggette has always looked to fulfill his shot quota before worrying about wins and losses. Somewhere in the mix of Stephen Jackson’s banishment and Don Nelson’s fluctuating (and absurd) playing time sheet, Maggette became the Bay’s favorite closet scapegoat behind Monta Ellis. Through all of the negativity surrounding both Golden State and Maggette’s camp, he has managed to put together the most effective and mature season of his career.
What’s more is that the Warriors are flat out terrible (10-24), making this observation even more confounding. Unlike his documented, and justified, gravitation toward being a selfish ball hoarder, Maggette is now playing like a seasoned vet – both mentally and physically. Over the past six outings, he is averaging 26.0 points and 6.7 boards on a un-Maggette like 61 percent shooting (that’s on 84 shots too). On the season, the man is averaging nearly 54 percent from the field and is taking more quality shots versus the head scratching decisions that he had become synonymous with. In his previous ten years in the League, Corey’s next highest shooting percentage has been 47.8 during his rookie year in 1999.
Maggette has been able to quietly produce with such effectiveness as other Warriors begin to assume more responsibility. He has also been able to shed some of his selfishness label – a tag that may never be completely erased – something Ellis has taken in smiling grace. He’s penciling in around 18 and 6 per in less than 30 minutes a game on the year – the same minutes he’s averaged throughout his entire career.
That’s not to say Maggette doesn’t still have his knocks. His passing, defense and constant ref-badgering may never reach a level that front office management is pleased with. Still, Maggette has vastly improved from what he was and has become a positive veteran force in the locker room. I’m not saying that I would toss money at the guy to fill in my frontcourt just yet, but you can’t deny his ascension thus far.
Come to think of it, J.R. Smith composed himself enough to hit two big free throws with less than a second remaining to beat Maggette’s Warriors on Tuesday – with Corey dropping 35 on 12-16 shooting. Who knows, maybe he’s next on the road to transcending maturation. And maybe I’m the Easter Bunny.
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January 7th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
Heckler says:
corey maggette still sucks. a selfish ballhog.
and for no reason. he was never that good to begin with.
January 7th, 2010 at 12:04 pm
KnicksFan84 says:
A stretch but yeah Maggette is one of those forgotten gunners in the league. Wish he got a chance to play on better squads!
January 7th, 2010 at 12:10 pm
Heckler says:
@knicksfan84–
Maggette got an offer last year from San Antonio 9for like $6 mil a yr or so). but since GS was offering more money (5yr $50mil I think), he went to GS for the loot.
so, he had a chance to play with a better squad. but he chose the money — hey, I got no real problem with that. but just to let you know, he had oppts.
January 7th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
BiG ShoT BoB says:
Agree with everything said with Monta being the only other leader on the team Corey has really stepped up to help out in that regard. In fact the Warriors are just beginning to gel as a team. With our bigs being back from injury don’t be surprised if we somehow sneak into the playoffs. IMO if we traded Monta for a big right now while he still has value there’s no question we could steal that 8th spot.
January 7th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Travis says:
The Jazz have also heavily recruited him in the past. More than once I believe.
January 7th, 2010 at 1:17 pm
Tbone says:
I don’t get the part about JR smith. Just becasue JR composed himself down the stretch of that game, what does that have anything to do with Maggette and his maturation??
January 7th, 2010 at 1:18 pm
G says:
My man signed that big ass contract and he’s flying Southwest? I’m all for fiscal responsibility and everything but no way that can be a comfortable flight for him. Live a little Corey, you cant take it with you!
January 7th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Pet Society Help says:
That block Nene did on Maggette recently really showed how age is really creepin up on him. Shoulda worked on that outside shooting a long time ago.
January 7th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Pet Society Help says:
So new he wasn’t even included in the boxscore although he did play 21 minutes.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore?gid=2010010626
January 7th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
control says:
http://www.lipstickalley.com/f4/corey-maggette-25456/
I remember reading that about Bad Porn. Pretty funny shit.
BTW, was there a point to this article? Maggette ain’t “matured” at all on the court, he is and always will be a jacker. Sometimes he’s hot, sometimes he’s not, but he’ll always be hurting the team.
January 7th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Keith says:
With Ellis on the same squad, you have to wonder if he’s getting enough chances to even take bad shots. Not enough jacking to go round, maybe?
The guys been putting up good numbers, but lets be honest, he’s not a winner.
January 7th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
K-Dubs says:
that might be true…and congrats to maggette if that’s the case. but you gotta love the name bad porn. next up…winning? can he do that?
January 7th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
KCL says:
I think your the easter bunny Jack. He’s still Bad Porn in my eyes because in the end he doesnt care whether he wins or loses as long as he gets his 20 pts. He is not and will never be a good teammate because of this and I think he’ll never actually be a winner either, even if he signed with Boston or the Spurs cuz he would have ruined their offense. The guys a good player but he’s a loser for life and he’s happy with that. Therefore Id never want him on my team
January 7th, 2010 at 4:08 pm
Seven Duece says:
I remember when he played in Orlando his rookie year; great guy, really nice and friendly. If he would’ve stayed there and continued to grow under Doc Rivers, his game would be so different now.
January 7th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
christopher says:
did somebody say ‘over-rated’? I guess I just did.
January 8th, 2010 at 5:54 am
jimmythesaint says:
J.R should be ashamed he stole that foul from GSW
R.I.P Sportsmanship … that was a dive for a penalty & shoulda been fined