More on Andray
Friday, August 3rd, 2007Ivan Carter has a long update up on the Andray situation which is well worth reading:
As for Andray Blatche: the Wiz and Blatche were on the verge of finalizing a deal on Thursday. From the folks I talked with, the deal (five years worth around $12.5 million) would have been finished no later than the weekend. Now, who knows? I heard that Ernie Grunfeld is feeling a mixture of hurt and anger right now. I was told that Ernie pulled Andray aside recently and told him to be careful about where he went out and who he went out with. I know for a fact that Gilbert, Antawn, DeShawn, Caron and Roger Mason have had the same conversations with Andray.
When I spoke with one vet tonight, he couldn’t believe the news: “Dude was about to sign a contract for millions and he got arrested for that? That’s stupid! Everyone knows you aren’t supposed to be out like that when a contract is getting done.”
It’s no secret in Verizon Center circles that Dre Day enjoys the night life - even after getting lucky two years ago when some crafty females suckered him and Peter John Ramos into getting jacked by two thugs in the early morning hours. Dre lived after getting shot but it’s hard to tell whether he’s really learned anything.
That said, Blatche is a 6-foot-11, 20-year old with no ceiling to his game. From my experience, he’s also a good guy. If he were a true knucklehead, I’d say so. He’s not. But he is extremely naive and he’s displayed a stunning lack of judgement which is not all that amazing considering his age. He’s rolled through money (I heard from a good source that the kid was sleeping at Verizon Center for several nights as rookie because he couldn’t pay rent), he’s out on every single road trip whether there’s a game the next night or not and he obviously doesn’t have a good read on females. There’s a reason why the guy was the MVP of Michael Jordan’s high school/prep school all star showcase but still fell to the second round, trust me.
This is why all beat writers should have blogs people, this is the kind of stuff that doesnt make the paper but, to people who really care, is invaluable inside stuff. I know it kinda dampens my love for Bulletproof. Andray absolutely should have been following Henry Abbott’s advice:
Isn’t the best course of action not to even be there? This would be a great month to spend evenings working on that jumper, or really catching up on your videogames and your Netflix. For a guy who has already endured a shooting, at some point isn’t the urge there just to be a little cautious?
What is it about partying or going out that would compel someone to risk so much (note: I still can’t wrap my mind around an NBA player trying to buy sex)? You were about to sign a contract for millions of dollars Andray, you couldn’t stay in until that was over?