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Originally Posted by Bwatcher
Maris61, I think your comments are possibly along the right lines, but probably not. It is more complex than that. People on this board tend to forget that one very important aspect of Nate's current job is to develop the key players. LA is a key player and Channing is potentially an important role player. I believe that Joel got less time than he "really deserved" because Nate was giving LA and Channing more time to play, so that they would face up to their current limitations and work on them. Joel is not going to develop much beyond what he is now. They others have more "potential" to develop. Also, Nate is of the "learn to be tough" school, and he wants all his players to get it into their heads that they need to push themselves to be better--- all the time.
For Sergio, I think something else is at play. I don't know what it is, but if it were racism, I believe Blake would have gotten less time and Taurean Green would have played more. I suspect that as people have pointed out, Nate seems to really like Jack. I think that for at least this last season, Nate saw a real need to highlight the "competitive spirit" that Jack displays more clearly than anyone else.
Are there differences between Nate and KP? I'm sure there are some. But until the "complete core" group has played together for at least a year, I don't think there will be any big disputes. Everyone is trying to do their best to prepare for this, which should be about 3 years from now.
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As for development, Sergio has shown the potential to become an absolutely brilliant player. Jack has shown that's unlikely for him. The prevailing theory on Jack is he plays because we are "showcasing" him, but I believe it's purely favoritism and pig-headedness and if it continues this year I expect it to have a very disruptive effect on the team's unity.
The Blake thing is puzzling, and Victor Khryapa was an obvious favorite of Nate's despite his milky complexion, but it is obvious that for SOME reason, Nate has a personal dislike for both Joel and Sergio. Maybe it's a racial thing (I sincerely hope not), maybe it's something else, but it's a fact and it is hurting the team. We could have been in the playoffs quite easily this year if Nate hadn't tied this team's hands so often by playing favorites and ignoring the needs of the game situation. I lost count of the games where we got killed in the paint with Joel watching from the bench. Jarrett has become the desired opponent of every backup PG in the league as it's always easy pickings for them to score career highs on him.