Yes but we don’t know how he acted. So why do some hate him so much. Saying we’re better off trading him for the better of the team or trading him to get something before he leaves is understandable. Calling him names or hating him all of a sudden is just weird to me. I personally wanted to keep both him and buddy for cheap/reasonable contracts in hopes they work it out, but I also hope the kings win a championship in my lifetime so I guess I’m a dreamer.
Free Agency
- Thread starter sactowndog
- Start date
Yeah let's not act like that's not completely moving the goalposts. First of all, Buddy never said he didn't want to be here just cos. His OG gripe was that he wanted to be in an organization that valued him (shown through the $$$ being offered). Secondly, the "hate" was about how he should do what's best for the team, shouldn't care whether he starts or not.
Trading him for the better of the team isn't necessarily about chemistry, or any sort of implication that Bogi is a bad team player. It's just about clearing logjams, and not overpaying to have a player that has half a foot out the door mentally (same goes with Buddy). Basketball wise, aside from a few good stretches Bogi really hasn't been that great for the team. His previous season was terrible, with excuses being thrown around about him being tired from international ball. He has often displayed terrible shot selection and gone through very cold stretches too, but because he's somewhat of a playmaker suddenly all these are forgotten as if he's the second coming of Ginobili.
Edit: let me add one thing. I think Bogi is a good player that needs better coaching and will do better on a good team, just like Buddy. I also need to remind us that Luke Walton remains the coach of this 30 win team.
Edit: let me add one thing. I think Bogi is a good player that needs better coaching and will do better on a good team, just like Buddy. I also need to remind us that Luke Walton remains the coach of this 30 win team.
Yes but the point here is that those are cultural differences. The motivation for both players is the same so pleading empathy for one guy because you like the way he goes about his business more comes off as disingenuous when the same benefit was not conveyed to his teammate. I argued last summer when we arrived at peak Buddy hate that he's not from the US and it seemed unfair to hold him to the politeness standards of a culture he didn't grow up in. We also saw footage of Buddy and Vlade laughing together in the midst of their very public negotiation so it seemed clear that for both parties involved it was nothing personal.
Also, Buddy did sign with Sacramento and did play off the bench when the coach asked him to. Yeah people were going to ask him what he thought about it in the locker room because that's their job and perhaps to his detriment he was very candid in his remarks. But from the beginning the issue for him appears to be about respect. Other players went through similar shooting slumps and didn't lose their starting spots. I would have preferred that he just put his head down and quietly worked harder to earn that spot back but that's not his personality. And that's fine. He talked a lot, but that doesn't mean he wasn't working behind the scenes.
I don't know how this ultimately will play out with Bogdanovic or what his motivations are, some of that is only going to come out in retrospect. I do support his right to negotiate and find the best possible contract and team situation for himself as I would with any player. But if that means he blew up a favorable trade for Sacramento and then left as a free agent with no compensation going to his old team I also feel as a fan of that team that I'm justified in feeling a little sore about it. Nothing personal again, Bogi seems like a good dude and he's worthy of a starting spot somewhere. If the situations were reversed and he had become a free agent last summer it may be Buddy who was dealing with the roster and salary crunch now. We can't afford to pay everyone what they're worth especially when that means stacking talent at one position at the expense of the others.
Also, Buddy did sign with Sacramento and did play off the bench when the coach asked him to. Yeah people were going to ask him what he thought about it in the locker room because that's their job and perhaps to his detriment he was very candid in his remarks. But from the beginning the issue for him appears to be about respect. Other players went through similar shooting slumps and didn't lose their starting spots. I would have preferred that he just put his head down and quietly worked harder to earn that spot back but that's not his personality. And that's fine. He talked a lot, but that doesn't mean he wasn't working behind the scenes.
I don't know how this ultimately will play out with Bogdanovic or what his motivations are, some of that is only going to come out in retrospect. I do support his right to negotiate and find the best possible contract and team situation for himself as I would with any player. But if that means he blew up a favorable trade for Sacramento and then left as a free agent with no compensation going to his old team I also feel as a fan of that team that I'm justified in feeling a little sore about it. Nothing personal again, Bogi seems like a good dude and he's worthy of a starting spot somewhere. If the situations were reversed and he had become a free agent last summer it may be Buddy who was dealing with the roster and salary crunch now. We can't afford to pay everyone what they're worth especially when that means stacking talent at one position at the expense of the others.
Adrian Wojnarowski: Free agent Gordon Hayward is signing a 4-year, $120M deal with Charlotte, per source.
