Its funny how often this happens -- it seems that European (and Argentina is pretty close to Europe, right?
) players have a tremendous number of these incidents when talking to their own language papers back overseas. All of the politically/sports correct language used everywhere else -- "we just have to keep working hard", "its a young team on the rise" etc. etc. gets thrown out the window, and they seem to say things to their home country media that are just off the wall brutally honest. Gripes that if you said them to the New York Times or something would just be eye opening. Still have not figured out whether that is because the players somehow feel "safe" talking to the non-English media, as if somehow its not going to make it back across the language barrier, if it is because these media outlets are largely tabloid in nature and really going fishing for sensationalistic quotes, take things out of context, put a spin on etc. etc., or if its because the players are put up on a pedastal in their home countries and they feel like they have to make excuses for why they are not dominating in the NBA.
As for the actual complaints:
1) well, yes
2) how exactly does he know anything about our fiscal attitude? He's been here 1 month during which time we have made no fiscal decisions. Is he just guessing from the trades?? Has he been told something? Does he have no concept of the free salary cap room to sign a free agent tactic?
3) disjointed and selfish play would be inevitable in a team with a 50% turnover rate at the trade deadline, would it not? What did he expect?
4) if I hear one more person say that our .418 shooting flopping 90lb weakling of an OG should get even more shots to chunk up I'm going to scream. If I hear one more person try to except from a selfishness label a player who shoots/flops 10 times for every assist he racks up I am going to scream even louder.
5) Nocioni may be a "winner"...in Europe. I have always thought, and still do, that he could be part of a winner in the NBA, but he's never won anything here. His Chicago teams barely made the playoffs in the East, and he came over from another lottery team (another young lottery team at that).
6) I was unaware of the opt out clauses -- is his "if I can get something better" actually a threat that he might use them?
Never in a million years would I have guessed that.
7) maybe this interview is his way of doing just that -- after his play thus far you could easily have seen him being kept as sort of the veteran mentor to a young team, but after you blast them all in the paper/online whatever, kind of shoots your leadership right in the foot. Our players are stupid and selfish enough as is, now you call them on it in public, isn't anytway they are going to listen to you.
8) in the end, maybe its just the losing. Hence the comment about the draft. Like Bobby, an instinctual competitor and unable to reconcile himself to the strategic realities and life cycle of the NBA.
Almost guaranteed to never resolve anything.
