Jason Richardson is an emotional guy. It's his edge. It's what makes him the player he is, the person he is.
So you can imagine all the emotions that ran through him when he received the news that he was no longer a member of the Warriors, the only NBA franchise he's ever known, traded away to the Charlotte Bobcats on draft day Thursday.
Five days later, after the Warriors swapped him and the No. 36 overall pick for the No. 8 selection, North Carolina freshman forward Brandan Wright, the emotion is still present.
"I'm still shocked," Richardson said in a phone interview from the Bahamas, where his fiancee and two children are taking in a planned vacation. "It's hit me a couple of times. ... It was a shocker. That was home. I've been there for six years."
At first, he did not want to go to Charlotte. Seriously. After getting a taste of winning last season, he wanted to go to a contender. Chicago, Dallas, Orlando, San Antonio, Cleveland -- any playoff team that needed a shooting guard. I don't think Charlotte is that bad. They regularly have one of the worst records in the East, which is pretty bad. But they aren't that far off. They have some nice young pieces. Richardson's one gripe is that he didn't want to start over and try to take a young team into the playoffs. He wanted to help a veteran team get go deeper into the playoffs. But the one saving grace to him, he said, was that he has some guys whose going to play with him. One of Richardson's problems in the past was that some of his teammates didn't play hard. He doesn't expect to have that problem in Charlotte. "I play hard just like the rest of them on both ends of the floor. My thing is do whatever it takes to get this team to the playoffs. This team is just a piece away. It can happen fast. They were only five games outside of the playoffs. They’re young, but they have some guys who can play. All they need is some leadership and experience. I hope I can bring both."
Pretty much what I expected him to say it just took a lot longer for him to come out and say it publicly. Oh well, just get to Charlotte with your huge contract and put up good numbers
It's not that he doesn't want to be in Charlotte. He was just hurt by the way he was traded. The anger wasn't, "To Charlotte!" The anger was, "you traded me!"
From reading the whole interview, I feel pretty positive about what JRich wants to accomplish in Charlotte.
One thing you know for sure HE IS GOING TO PLAY HARD! Charlotte will rally around him and Gerald Wallace going balls to the wall IMO.
__________________ Favorite NBA players: Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony, Ben Gordon, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Josh Smith, Dwight Howard, Chauncey Billups, Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, Roy Hibbert, Jerryd Bayless, Greg Oden, Kevin Martin, Joe Johnson
__________________ Favorite NBA players: Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony, Ben Gordon, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Josh Smith, Dwight Howard, Chauncey Billups, Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, Roy Hibbert, Jerryd Bayless, Greg Oden, Kevin Martin, Joe Johnson
will they have the money to resign wallace after taking on j-rich's contract??? and don't they play the same position???
perhaps the j-rich trade was to replace wallace...
Natural position for J-Rich is Sg, whereas the natural position that Gerald Wallace plays is SF. Wallace slots into the 2 and 4 roles sometimes, because he has that versatility, but he's a 3, so they'd be able to play together without any "Lets draw straws to see who gets to play SG" situations.
Natural position for J-Rich is Sg, whereas the natural position that Gerald Wallace plays is SF. Wallace slots into the 2 and 4 roles sometimes, because he has that versatility, but he's a 3, so they'd be able to play together without any "Lets draw straws to see who gets to play SG" situations.
Man, the Bobcats are going to be fun to watch....assuming they keep Wallace. If they succeed in keeping him, you can add me as an uninvited guest on that bandwagon.
Man, the Bobcats are going to be fun to watch....assuming they keep Wallace. If they succeed in keeping him, you can add me as an uninvited guest on that bandwagon.
I think I'm already on the bandwagon to some extent...plan on watching some Bobcat games this season.
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Go Warriors!
As of December 26, 2008:
Me at UCLA basketball games: 12-2
Me not at UCLA basketball games: 62-10
Me at UCLA football games: 8-3
Me not at UCLA football games: 9-18
Jason Richardson finally speaks
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