alext42083

Agreed with all those points. Nate is not going to be saying:

"We're expecting Rudy to come in and play 25-30 minutes and challenge for a starting spot. We're looking for a Manu Ginobili impact type player out of him and hoping he can guide us to an NBA title possibly this coming season."

To me, Nate actually sounded like he knows Rudy is a good player but doesn't want to put too much pressure on him right from the start. But I can tell that there's going to be a lot of media attention on Rudy first day of training camp, between him and Oden.

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mgb

Sounds like Nate was being honest. I found nothing wrong with what he said at all.

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Michael



"Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling."
-Margaret Lee Runbeck

"Science is built with facts as a house is with stones--but a collection of facts is no more a science than a heap of stones is a house."
-Jules Henri Poincare (1854-1912)

"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion."
-Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

mediocre man

This will probably get me banned, but what the hell it's how I feel.

I think if Rudy were a black guard that was known in the NCAA's for his excellent defense and steady play Nate's comments would have been along the lines of the Taurean Green comments. However, Rudy is not any of those things. He is a fun player from Spain to watch who sometimes plays a little helter skelter.

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"SHOW ME THE BUFFET!!!"


Former Blazer Alaa Abdelnaby on being a student athlete at Duke. "The only way I could get 5 A's at Duke was to spell my name"


I'm Mediocre Man, and I approve this message.

meru

Let's pretend that's all you said, which basically preserves anything of value, and you should be fine.

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"I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever." -- Thomas Jefferson, not-so-proud Founding Father

MARIS61

Why would the obvious truth get you banned?

Nate has shown over the years he will do everything in his power to minimize the opportunities of white players while maximizing the opportunities of black players.

He is the NBA's unofficial Affirmative Action Program.

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I know what I know. - Paul Simon
I'm ALWAYS right and I NEVER lie. - George C. Tirebiter
Life is tough, it's tougher when you're stupid. - John Wayne
The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced. - Frank Zappa
You are responsible for your children until they are a credit to society. - Jovan Banjanin

Balian

I remember last year his tendency to not Blake and Pryz at the end of games. He would always have Travis Outlaw and Jack in there even though we needed rebounding and a point guard that does not turn the ball over. He kinda changed at the end of the year. Constant fan crying made that happened I think. IMO, the best end of the game lineup was TO, Roy, Blake, LMA, and Pryz.

mook

Blake and Przybilla didn't really even have NBA careers until they met Nate McMillan.

Przybilla chose Nate's team over several others when he was a free agent.

Blake seemed genuinely disappointed when he found out he was traded away from Portland a few years ago, and was quite happy to come back.

Nate must be a really devious racist, so good that nobody but internet bulletin board posters seem to notice the subjugation of his white players.

wizmentor

Let's not pretend. He said "black player" and there's nothing wrong with
commenting on the FACT that white players and black players are perceived
differently here in the USA. MM didn't comment on whether such perceptions
were valid or not. Though opening a can of worms, such a discussion could
be done rationally, but not in this thread!

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"Bayless is going to be that guy where, you know, Nate goes 'Oh you put in your second unit to give your starters a rest? Well, watch this.' And he's going to throw in Bayless and he's going to point to that second unit point guard and he's going to say 'Eat Him Alive', and Jarryd probably will."

---Dave Deckard of BlazersEdge

Shaq: Hey Thorpe, I'm getting sized for a thumb ring
SportsNation David Thorpe: I guess your wife is back in your life. Congrats.

nikolokolus

So let me put this to you another way MM, if Nate was a white coach and he was favoring white players over black players -- which you seem to be suggesting that the inverse is true then he'd be a racist for not playing black players more?

This is the problem with accusations of racism on the flimsiest of observations and conjecture, it's stupid, counter-productive, and leads nowhere but toward a pointless argument ... especially on a message board

Tortimer

I really haven't seen anything with Nate to justify these comments about Nate preferring Black players. He did have two white players starting. Both those players signed FA contracts with us knowing Nate was the coach. I think both could have gotten almost the same contract with other teams. I know Blake really wanted to play here but still if he had any concerns about Nate he would have signed with someone else.

I'm still not crazy about the tone of what Nate said about Rudy even though it is probably a true statement. Until Rudy is signed and playing for us I think Nate shouldn't say anything if it isn't positive. Rudy already is a little nervous about coming over taking less money and seeing Sergio isn't getting much playing time.

If Rudy does come over and Nate doesn't give him a fair shot to develop into a good NBA player then we can talk about Nate and his comments. I will hold off judgment until I see how he handles Rudy. IMO Rudy is going to need at least one year to get use to the NBA and needs playing time even if it costs us a few wins.

mediocre man

Yes that is exactly what I think. I couldn't care less what color our coach, players, owner or GM is. Watching Nate coach, and seeing his substitution patterns it apperas to me that he favors certain players, and those players happen to be black.

Jarrett Jack recieved for more playing time on a team still trying to evaluate it's players than he should have.

It's just an observation, but it's a fact that KP went to Nate and asked him to use Joel more in the 4the quarter. (no, I have no link)

__________________
"SHOW ME THE BUFFET!!!"


Former Blazer Alaa Abdelnaby on being a student athlete at Duke. "The only way I could get 5 A's at Duke was to spell my name"


I'm Mediocre Man, and I approve this message.

It's_GO_Time

It's great the OP compare Nate's comments about Green and Rudy. When I watched the video I didn't think there was anything wrong with what Nate siad, I just wish there was more excitement in his voice or mannerisms.

But Nate sounded very excited about Green and didn't really play him. So really these early comments about a new player don't mean a whole lot.

The mantra throughout the organization ever since the last game is "we expect to make the playoffs next season." That is no easy task or foregone conclusion, so I see Nate giving the minutes to players that will get the team to the playoffs.

That could cause problems with Rudy about not giving him the time to develop (or make mistakes) he needs for the fast climb . . . I just hope Rudy is ready to contribute right away because I'm on board the "playoff next season" chant.

ProZach

I didn't like Nate's tone when talking about Rudy either, but it's nothing to get worked up about. He has that monotone subdued voice when talking about a lot of things - during the actual season let alone in the middle of his offseason.

As for Nate being racist... Most people don't become racist later in life, it's something that usually happens at a pretty young age. So I have a hard time believing that Pritchard, a white man, hired Nate if there were any reason to believe he were racist, and he would have heard something if it were true. Him deciding to play Jack instead of Blake at crucial times or taking a wait-and-see approach with Rudy just isn't enough for me to accuse a guy I don't even know. Weird, huh?

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uhh...

STOMP