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From:http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/grizzlies/article/0,1426,MCA_475_3984114,00.html
Tillery: Fratello gets what Brown deserved
Offloaded malcontents did former coach in
By Ronald Tillery
Contact
August 7, 2005
It was four years ago. The Memphis Grizzlies were in their infancy.
I first met Jason Williams in a parking lot at a public appearance.
I remember one of the first sentences Williams spoke to me.
"Once you get to know me," he said, smiling, "it's all over."
Williams didn't lie.
I just wonder if he warned Sidney Lowe or Hubie Brown or Mike Fratello.
Once you get to know Jason Williams the basketball player, you'll laugh at his jokes, enjoy his fancy play and impress your boss by eliciting a controversial quote or 10.
But winning at a high level? Or getting along with a coach? Or maintaining the respect of teammates on the court?
Yep. It's all over.
Fratello definitely received this offseason what Hubie Brown deserved.
Brown, the greatest coach in the franchise's brief but compelling history, only wanted to teach and win. He asked for peace of mind and cooperation, too. And when he didn't get that, Brown got ill.
He got sick of the insubordination, disrespect and gutless behavior that started with Williams and ended with Brown's abrupt resignation.
The situation got so bad at one point that Brown wanted to place Williams, James Posey and Bonzi Wells on the injured list.
Management said sorry, can't do that.
The situation got so absurd at one point that Brown wanted to trade Williams, Posey and Wells.
Management said sorry, can't do that.
What baffles me is that Williams's cult of fans is OK with him turning on the coach that restored his credibility.
Brown eventually left so that he could salvage his retirement years, and Fratello replaced him only to draw the same conclusion.
Williams, Posey and Wells had to go.
Wells threw headbands and wristbands from the bench over playing time.
Posey pouted for no legitimate reason other than jealously over Pau Gasol.
The more volatile Williams acted out the most. He once traveled beyond cantankerous over a fine.
Fratello threatened to fine Williams $5,000 because of an irrational and expletive-filled rant about playing time soon after a Grizzly victory.
Remember, the team won.
Williams responded by calling Fratello a derogatory name that rhymes with itch and dared his coach to fine him $10,000 because he's burned through more than that in a week.
Here's something for Williams to consider in Miami: How about burning the defense and going hard to the rim? How about burning those demons that haven't allowed you to consistently reach your potential?
"I had a long talk with him," Griz president Jerry West said. "I told him he needed to learn how to be more professional. He's going to play on a great team. But discipline is very important to Pat Riley. I wished Jason well."
Too bad we couldn't root for Williams here.
Sorry, folks.
We just couldn't and we shouldn't have, simply because the kind of excitement Williams provided was only good enough to start a barbecue pit.
Somewhere Hubie is smiling.
And if he has a beer in his hand, Hubie has to be thinking: Good luck, Fratello. These trades are for you.
From the baseline
Grizzly gossip from the trading frenzy revealed that among the first Wells deals proposed involved Boston and Paul Pierce. The teams couldn't agree on the complete package but don't rule out the Griz talking to Boston before training camp. ... Lorenzen Wright deals have poured in from at least a half dozen teams. The most persistent suitors have been Toronto and San Antonio but both teams are offering less serviceable players and bloated contracts. The Griz have rejected those as wells as offers from Utah, Sacramento, Minnesota.
Postage
Grizzly fans are everywhere so it comes as no surprise that I found Bob Chang of Huntington Beach, Calif., in my inbox.
Chang wrote: "We'll probably miss some of the electrifying plays from the likes of (Stromile) Swift and J-Will, but the truth is: Bobby Jackson, Eddie Jones and Damon Stoudamire are higher up in the NBA food chain than those aforementioned ex-Grizzlies. So we've finally parted with a ton of never-to-be-unrealized potential and gotten ourselves some real pros. Good! That took some courage on the part of the Grizzlies' front office. The Grizzlies of the past acted like a bunch of bickering kids in a bad reality TV show."
Bob, for those reasons and plenty more I'm on board.
Quotage
"(Fans) just know what they may have read or saw on television and that's not actually me. I know what type of person I am and all I can do is just show you. I just want to show the city of Sacramento the real Bonzi Wells, the person I am, and the person I've grown to be."-- Wells, speaking during an introductory press conference with the Sacramento Kings. Smart talk Williams is great in the beginning: The first three quarters and October-January. But he's iffy at the end: the fourth quarter, and March, April and May.
--more and more of these stories keep piling up, sounds like J-will was the worst of the lot according to this guy.
Tillery: Fratello gets what Brown deserved
Offloaded malcontents did former coach in
By Ronald Tillery
Contact
August 7, 2005
It was four years ago. The Memphis Grizzlies were in their infancy. I first met Jason Williams in a parking lot at a public appearance.
I remember one of the first sentences Williams spoke to me.
"Once you get to know me," he said, smiling, "it's all over."
Williams didn't lie.
I just wonder if he warned Sidney Lowe or Hubie Brown or Mike Fratello.
Once you get to know Jason Williams the basketball player, you'll laugh at his jokes, enjoy his fancy play and impress your boss by eliciting a controversial quote or 10.
But winning at a high level? Or getting along with a coach? Or maintaining the respect of teammates on the court?
Yep. It's all over.
Fratello definitely received this offseason what Hubie Brown deserved.
Brown, the greatest coach in the franchise's brief but compelling history, only wanted to teach and win. He asked for peace of mind and cooperation, too. And when he didn't get that, Brown got ill.
He got sick of the insubordination, disrespect and gutless behavior that started with Williams and ended with Brown's abrupt resignation.
The situation got so bad at one point that Brown wanted to place Williams, James Posey and Bonzi Wells on the injured list.
Management said sorry, can't do that.
The situation got so absurd at one point that Brown wanted to trade Williams, Posey and Wells.
Management said sorry, can't do that.
What baffles me is that Williams's cult of fans is OK with him turning on the coach that restored his credibility.
Brown eventually left so that he could salvage his retirement years, and Fratello replaced him only to draw the same conclusion.
Williams, Posey and Wells had to go.
Wells threw headbands and wristbands from the bench over playing time.
Posey pouted for no legitimate reason other than jealously over Pau Gasol.
The more volatile Williams acted out the most. He once traveled beyond cantankerous over a fine.
Fratello threatened to fine Williams $5,000 because of an irrational and expletive-filled rant about playing time soon after a Grizzly victory.
Remember, the team won.
Williams responded by calling Fratello a derogatory name that rhymes with itch and dared his coach to fine him $10,000 because he's burned through more than that in a week.
Here's something for Williams to consider in Miami: How about burning the defense and going hard to the rim? How about burning those demons that haven't allowed you to consistently reach your potential?
"I had a long talk with him," Griz president Jerry West said. "I told him he needed to learn how to be more professional. He's going to play on a great team. But discipline is very important to Pat Riley. I wished Jason well."
Too bad we couldn't root for Williams here.
Sorry, folks.
We just couldn't and we shouldn't have, simply because the kind of excitement Williams provided was only good enough to start a barbecue pit.
Somewhere Hubie is smiling.
And if he has a beer in his hand, Hubie has to be thinking: Good luck, Fratello. These trades are for you.
From the baseline
Grizzly gossip from the trading frenzy revealed that among the first Wells deals proposed involved Boston and Paul Pierce. The teams couldn't agree on the complete package but don't rule out the Griz talking to Boston before training camp. ... Lorenzen Wright deals have poured in from at least a half dozen teams. The most persistent suitors have been Toronto and San Antonio but both teams are offering less serviceable players and bloated contracts. The Griz have rejected those as wells as offers from Utah, Sacramento, Minnesota.
Postage
Grizzly fans are everywhere so it comes as no surprise that I found Bob Chang of Huntington Beach, Calif., in my inbox.
Chang wrote: "We'll probably miss some of the electrifying plays from the likes of (Stromile) Swift and J-Will, but the truth is: Bobby Jackson, Eddie Jones and Damon Stoudamire are higher up in the NBA food chain than those aforementioned ex-Grizzlies. So we've finally parted with a ton of never-to-be-unrealized potential and gotten ourselves some real pros. Good! That took some courage on the part of the Grizzlies' front office. The Grizzlies of the past acted like a bunch of bickering kids in a bad reality TV show."
Bob, for those reasons and plenty more I'm on board.
Quotage
"(Fans) just know what they may have read or saw on television and that's not actually me. I know what type of person I am and all I can do is just show you. I just want to show the city of Sacramento the real Bonzi Wells, the person I am, and the person I've grown to be."-- Wells, speaking during an introductory press conference with the Sacramento Kings. Smart talk Williams is great in the beginning: The first three quarters and October-January. But he's iffy at the end: the fourth quarter, and March, April and May.
--more and more of these stories keep piling up, sounds like J-will was the worst of the lot according to this guy.
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