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Fascinating comments from Paxson re: injuries...

Recently, some posters (commentators) here have speculated that Gordon may be malingering. That is, some believe he might be exaggerating the extent of his wrist injury in order to prove his value to the team and maximize his contract negotiating leverage.  Similarly, others believe he could play, but that he doesn't want to even remotely jeopardize his health prior to his summer as a restricted free agent, because doing so might adversely affect his market value. In an interview with Hanley, Paxson does little to dispel that perception. In fact, if you read between the lines, Paxson appears to indicate that, while Luol's injury is substantiated by MRI's, there is no diagnostic confirmation for Gordon's injury. It's entirely possible I am misinterpreting the quote, which is edited, but I thought it was telling nonetheless:

"I can't answer for them. What I've learned in my 25 years since I started playing in the league is that you have to listen to players and believe what they tell you about their bodies and their injuries. . . .You can't tell a player to play. We do all the medical stuff. . .everything we can do. At the end of the day, we really have no power to tell a player that you have to go out on the floor. Obviously, given the fact that Ben and Luol didn't get their [contract] extensions done, and the fact that we're not playing well this year, obviously fans want to know what the deal is. In the case of Luol, he had swelling in his Achilles. We at the position with him, with the All-Star break coming up next week, that rest was the big thing to get the swelling out and let the tendon heal. He's going to get a repeat MRI when we get back from this trip. But with just two home games before the break, rest was the key. It makes no sense to bring him back. We feel we're giving him the appropriate time off of it. Hopefully, that will allow him to play the last 30 games of the year. Again, there's not guarantee there.

"We have to get healthy first. My target date is right after the All-Star break (Feb. 15-17). I hope that with 30 games left we will have Gordon back, Deng back. My understanding is Ben Gordon is day to day. I'm going to try and touch base with him today and talk to him about what he's thinking."

The remainder of the article contains Paxson's thoughts on the playoffs and trades (Note that Paxson (a) states that Tyrus will get minutes; and (b) admits that Nocioni's large contract makes trades more difficult):

http://blogs.suntimes.com/bulls/

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huh?
Nothing new here. If you're desperate for a reason to dislike Gordon, surely there are real ones out there.
Fire Boylan!

by hscs on Feb 8, 2008 10:49 AM CST reply actions  

I don't dislike Gordon.
To the contrary, I want him back on the court. I just have an inkling that he is being particularly cautious about a minor sore wrist because he doesn't want to harm his offseason value as a restricted free agent. It wouldn't be the first time in league history that has happened.

Idle speculation, of course.

 

LSU 38 OHIO STATE 24 - LSU IS THE NATIONAL CHAMPION AND I AM THE KING OF BOURBON STREET!!

by 1958ChiTown on Feb 8, 2008 10:56 AM CST up reply actions  

Gordon has plenty of outs
  1. It's day to day.  I've been participating in shoot arounds.  I even played in the Sonic game.  It didn't feel right.
  2. We're flying almost every night on a west coast trip.  Takeoffs, landings, and flights don't exactly help the healing process.
  3. Wrist injuries are difficult to diagnose.  Healing time is almost random.

by NBA Observer on Feb 8, 2008 11:39 AM CST up reply actions  

If Gordon doesn't
want to be here, and if he's demanding more than $10 mil per year, then why are we set on keeping him?  I like Thabo better as a starter anyway, and $10 mil isn't worth it for a bench player.

Why not trade him for Julian Wright or Andray Blatche or Luis Scola, and maybe snag a pick as well, to keep the payroll down and build for next year?

by YaoPau on Feb 8, 2008 2:22 PM CST up reply actions  

I don't know who you mean by "we"
but he's only a bench player because the coaching staff is too dumb to start him. I'm not sure how any of those 3 guys help the Bulls, and Sefolosha isn't an upgrade over Gordon.
Fire Boylan!

by hscs on Feb 8, 2008 2:53 PM CST up reply actions  

In defense
Thabo is an upgrade. His shooting will come in time.
Never went to church camp but I did go to Girl Scout camp. If you ever need help making a campfire I'm your girl. :P

by sue369 on Feb 8, 2008 3:47 PM CST up reply actions  

never isn't a time
Sefolosha is 23 (almost 24) with an ugly shot. He was never supposed to be much more than a big defender, and he's been a bust as a 'help now' guy.
Fire Boylan!

by hscs on Feb 8, 2008 4:33 PM CST up reply actions  

Not buying that.
Never went to church camp but I did go to Girl Scout camp. If you ever need help making a campfire I'm your girl. :P

by sue369 on Feb 8, 2008 5:00 PM CST up reply actions  

hmmm
paxson on sefolosha:
"For a long time we had been looking for a bigger guard who could complement both Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon--someone who could defensively shut down guards with size when Kirk was on the floor, and someone who could also initiate offense when paired with Ben," explains Paxson. "So Thabo sounded like a really good fit."

http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/sefolosha_feature_060914.html

skiles on sefolosha:

He's very long, he's versatile, he's got big hands, he deflects balls, and he gets out in the open floor. As John said, he's a guy we feel can play behind Kirk and Ben and come in with some size and guard some bigger people.

http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/quotes_060628.html

as was said, he was never meant to be a Gordon "upgrade" or replacement.

by ScottieCartwright on Feb 11, 2008 9:08 AM CST up reply actions  

Alot of the time players
that have been accused of being soft and not playing through injuries have ended up actually having something wrong with them.  I'll take Paxson's words at face value, you have to believe the players.

by Scotter on Feb 8, 2008 10:59 AM CST reply actions  

Plus
Paxson has always been out there saying that Ben lead's the team in the offseason and is the first guy there workign on his game and the last guy out.

I do buy that perhaps if BG's wrist is hurting him slightly, if he had a contract he might play through it because it would hurt his value a bit....but I'd hardly think he'd sit more than a week or so, because otherwise that can hurt his contract as well.

Plus I think Gordon's big shot potential already has earned him his league value......I mean Peja makes a boatload of money and he just hit his 12th ever game winner.  BG had more than this (or as many) likely by the midpoint of his second season.....

But yeah, Ben could be slightly exaggerating it, but he's already missed a few games and wouldn't want to miss more games either or that might hurt his contract status mroe than just a bad game or two since he already had a high value coming in, and has shown again that he can be a vital piece when he's on fire (if the Bulls were structured correctly we'd see more of that this year).

by majoyenrac on Feb 8, 2008 12:20 PM CST up reply actions  

Thanks for finding this
it's a transcript of the radio interview Pax did Thursday. Glad that a Sun-Times intern did the work for me :)

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 8, 2008 11:18 AM CST reply actions  

oh, and if you listen
Hanley's tossing softballs. Before he even asked a question about trades he qualified everything with "fans don't understand the cap and want something done" (or something like that)

At least ask about releasing Veektor, or trading Joe Smith.

http://www.670thescore.com/episode_download.php?contentType=36&contentId=1427503

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 8, 2008 11:20 AM CST up reply actions  

...and I was just about to offer
a public compliment to the Sun-Times for how they seem to be making a real effort--linking to you last week, linking to WSCR today.  Well, I'll still say it. Kudos, S.T.
"No, no. Stop talking to me. Someone might notice," Paxson squeaked.

by alec on Feb 8, 2008 11:24 AM CST up reply actions  

btw I cleaned up the quote
If you want fancy gray backround, for reference:

<div class="blockquote">PUT OTHER PEOPLES WORDZ HURRR</div>

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 8, 2008 11:23 AM CST reply actions  

I've been wondering how to do that.
LSU 38 OHIO STATE 24 - LSU IS THE NATIONAL CHAMPION AND I AM THE KING OF BOURBON STREET!!

by 1958ChiTown on Feb 8, 2008 11:48 AM CST up reply actions  

And for the better, not-lame one
http://bleedcubbieblue.com/special/posting_tips
"Glen Davis??? wow!! We had Glen Davis, his name is Michael Sweetney" - tyrus4prez

by NittanyBull on Feb 8, 2008 12:23 PM CST up reply actions  

just a test
I rule and so do the Bulls

I vote for Thomas to play, play more and play regularly.-Sam Smith

by tyrus4prez on Feb 8, 2008 2:11 PM CST up reply actions  

woo hoo
I vote for Thomas to play, play more and play regularly.-Sam Smith

by tyrus4prez on Feb 8, 2008 2:11 PM CST up reply actions  

Not playing on national TV
against the no-defense run-and-gun Warriors puts a lot more weight in the BG-is-hurt-or-at-least-thinks-he-is column.  At least in IMHO.  (too many dashes?)
Goodbye Viktor, and Godspeed.

by bullshooter on Feb 8, 2008 12:08 PM CST reply actions  

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