MT Talks to JRich

by Atma Brother ONE on Jul 4, 2007 10:24 AM PDT in Links Comment 48 comments

GSoM friend Marcus Thompson from the Contra Costa Times spoke to Jason Richardson at length about the trade on Tuesday. JRich understandably sounds angry and betrayed. Regardless of your thoughts on the trade MT's article and blog post are more than worth the price of a click:

J-Rich emotionally spent- He's angry, excited and sad five days after being dealt by the Warriors [Contra Costa Times]
J-Rich Speaks [Hoop Junkie]

There's a ton of interesting quotes in MT's pieces, but this one struck me the most:

Richardson also pointed out that he rushed back from knee surgery last season, despite a teammate telling him not to risk future injury, because he wanted to deliver on his playoff promise at the end of 2005-06.

"I know you're not supposed to do that," Richardson said, referring to an unwritten player code, "but I played hurt for a franchise. I put my career on the line for the sake of the franchise. That's just how I am. I'm loyal. I was expecting them to be loyal to me."

Most people are forgetting Richardson's admirable return from that knee injury in their analysis of the trade. It severely hurt his productivity level, but you have to love a guy who put it all on the line for the team and the fans in this day and age in sports. The ratio of guys like Erick Dampier who "take their time" recovering from injuries to hard workers like JR isn't exactly 1:1. The apology letter Jason organized after the painful 2005-2006 season came straight from the heart and the amount of effort he poured in simply to live up to his playoff promise to the fans is incredible.

Again, thanks Jason.

Jason_Richardson_8.02.03.jpg
Never forgotten.

It's also cool to read MT's reflection on his experiences with Jason while he was a Warrior:

Anyway, I certainly am going to miss JR, though I think it was a smart move by Mullin. J-Rich was my guy, as the other media members liked to say. I was the butt of so many of his practical jokes. He never got too big headed. He was always down to earth. He never shunned us, no matter how bad he played or the team played. He was there to talk to us, win or lose. Plus, you could always go to him and just chop it up about anything. You can't do that with Baron, or most stars in the league.

Also see:

Thanks to loyal GSoM community member xoverdribble for posting this up in a diary.

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Jrich

had some mad love for the franchise and the fans. That's what made him my favorite player. I definitely hope that he makes the playoffs and all star in the east.

The J-RICH show is on his way out...=(

by dajrichshow on Jul 4, 2007 10:58 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

yep

me too, you could see it when he played, he put it all out there on every game he could.

by RubberDubDubs on Jul 5, 2007 12:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

damn.

i felt like crying. i love that dude

by travisl212 on Jul 4, 2007 11:18 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

J Rich appreciation

We really need to organize some kind of J Rich appreciation thing...

Next season, for our home game against the Bobcats, we need to make it unofficial J Rich Appreciation Night. Or better yet, imagine if Dubs management actually made it J Rich Appreciation Night. That would be hella sweet.

by swank6 on Jul 4, 2007 11:45 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

If we don't get G-Wallace

I hope the Bobcats resign him so that they are a real force in the east.

The part about him wanting to have his jersey hang from the rafters really got to me...

by racsan on Jul 4, 2007 11:52 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

exactly what

i was gonna say. if they sign G Wallace they will be raw. I will become a bobcats fan (2nd to the dubs of course) if they do, probably even if they don't i will still love watching J Rich and the cats.

by travisl212 on Jul 4, 2007 12:07 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

will still love watching J Rich and the cats.

I'd like to see all the Bobcats games next year, do they offer them on cable?

by Skeptic con Urquell on Jul 4, 2007 4:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

hell yeah that would be tight

but im pretty sure u gotta get the league pass

by travisl212 on Jul 5, 2007 12:43 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I've had league pass

the last 2 seasons and noticed most games get blacked out.

www.TRACKjams.com

by MANUTEs BOLs on Jul 5, 2007 11:14 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

most games get blacked out?

Hi Manute, Hit the three!
Do you mean they don't give you the games like charlotte and only the popular teams or what?

by Skeptic con Urquell on Jul 5, 2007 11:18 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

not at all

the type of games they show are balanced...meaning high profile games/team shown are the same as the lower tier teams/games.

on a given day, they'll show about half or prolly even more of the day's schedule. hope this makes sense.

hey remember the front page article on SI or Sporting News about Manute Bol? The title read "Hey, Wait A Manute!"...anyway, I didn't get to read the article so I dunno what it was all about. And I guess i really have no point here, so sorry for that!

www.TRACKjams.com

by MANUTEs BOLs on Jul 6, 2007 12:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thank you Jason!

i'LL ALWAYS be your fan, wherever you might be

by chili01 on Jul 4, 2007 11:55 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

i seriously think

that JRich is gonna work his ass off even harder then normal and is gonna be a STUD again. All he's gotta do is get his quicks and hops back a little bit, work on the handles and some moves a bit and then he will be able to take it to the rack like he used to. Combine that with his outside shot and he could be an allstar.

by travisl212 on Jul 4, 2007 12:08 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

what's up with the repeat post?!!?!

haha jp

by travisl212 on Jul 4, 2007 12:34 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Emotional?

It's a business. Move on! 5 days and still angry at the Warriors!?! It's a business. You're a pawn. If the fans can move on on the same day that the trade went down then the players involved should be able to get over it in half the time. /sarcasm

by ssmokinjoe on Jul 4, 2007 1:28 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

You're joking right?

Someone lives in an area for 6 years and plays his heart out for a franchise and fanbase and you want them to get over the trade in 5 days?

That's just not being real. That's cruel.

by Atma Brother ONE on Jul 4, 2007 1:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

sarcasm

I was being sarcastic Atma. Sorry u missed that.

I'm just funning with the group that ragged on the fans around here who got emotional when JRich got traded.

by ssmokinjoe on Jul 4, 2007 2:18 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Damn

This is still sad. Mullin did do him dirty though. I really am about 2 sport a J-Rich Bobcat jersey...damn never thought id say that. Bobcats, Warriors, NBA Finals. ha

I love 2 tell tha truth, but I'm such a Good Liar

by JRichIsStillAGodButBiedrinsIsABeast on Jul 4, 2007 1:34 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Jason asked for a trade

How is that being "loyal" after apologizing to the fans and promising a playoff run the following year?

I like Jason, but it's not like these guys are playing for free.

by DrDre on Jul 4, 2007 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

well

if you been playing for some really crappy teams for that long it would be understandable for a trade, but he fought through it and paid off.

by 24k state fan since 87 on Jul 4, 2007 7:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah

Yeah, we all have to take the emotion out of it. But that only happens w/the passage of time. Dr dre is correct, even though on his own album covers he was she-thang.

I'm just worried in a basketball sense how this trade will play out. Very worried.

by GameSix on Jul 5, 2007 7:35 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I nominate

the very first Bobcats Warriors home game to be one of the designated GSOM nights.

by longus on Jul 4, 2007 2:01 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

with all due respect

to Jrich...he is one of my all time fav warriors. But the W's were ONLY going to do this trade with the Cats. This was done in order to get that $10 mill exception. The teams that Jrich would have wanted to go to would not have been able to provide that. They would have sent back bad contracts and filler to get Jrich and that is not at all what the W's wanted or needed. I think once the emotions cool off Jrich will understand the reasoning.

Let's Go Oakland! Gas, Brake, Dip.

by OaktownFunk on Jul 4, 2007 2:03 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

So...

...you're saying that the Warrior's brain-trust chose to keep JRich out of the loop of trade talks involving him so that he wouldn't have a chance to insist on a short list of teams that he would want to go to?

I'm sure JRich fully understood this reasoning and it's this reasoning that insulted him. JRich doesn't have any contractual power to veto a trade involving him so keeping him in the dark concerning trade talks was very unfair to him.

They should have treated him with a little more respect and kept him informed. For him to find out after the fact from his agent who found out via a reporter is a slap in the face to a player that most saw as the face of the Warriors.

by ssmokinjoe on Jul 4, 2007 7:21 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

If

you tell every player on your team when they are involved in trade talks, you are going to be in trouble. I would say that 99 out of 100 trades discussed don't happen, but you have to let J-Rich know each time? That sounds a little unneccessary.

Plus we all know that Mullin likes to work in secret. Nobody ever has an inkling that something is about to go down. And I think that we all know that agents blab everything. You let J-Rich know that he is being shopped, his agent starts talking out of his butt like most agents, and then the trade offers start decreasing in value because the teams know you're shopping him. Its really a double-edged sword, but the top priority should always be on the team, not the players emotions.

by yehyeh82 on Jul 5, 2007 10:33 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Word

If you work backwards from the assumption that JRich is the Good Guy, as some here are doing, you're always going to come up with the "he was wronged!!" narrative.

I mean, I like JRich, and don't think that his trade request makes him any less of a nice guy -- just sayin' that rarely in the business/entertainment world there are there "good guys" and "bad guys." Just a buncha rich guys looking out for their own best interests.

by Sleepy Freud on Jul 5, 2007 9:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

man

i miss jrich. maybe we can get higgins to hook us up with a deal, how about foyle for jrich? haha

by lowchi on Jul 4, 2007 2:57 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Thie quote really got to me

Richardson acknowledged he asked Mullin privately to trade him a few times, the latest being before the 2006-07 season, but he kept quiet after Mullin's promise of coming help.

OMG JR is so loyal and he always wants to be a warrior and and etc... (note, this is after his letter too it appears)

Anyone of those people who are no longer fans since JR got traded care to comment on this?

by awesomer on Jul 4, 2007 2:59 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

the one thing i don't want to hear about is...

..."rushing" back from knee surgery. he had that surgery in August. season ended in March/April. his waiting to have that procedure was suspect back then, let's be fair. probably wouldn't have been any "rushing" had he done it in April when the season ended. much love, but let's not revise history here.

by 321 IN n OUT on Jul 4, 2007 3:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

J-rich asked for a trade?

I echo Dre's thoughts completely. After learning he asked for a trade after last season, how much loyalty can you expect from an organization. All I know is I loved the guy and still do but come on, a trade request to get out of your beloved city. Less respect for you now J-rich.

Playoffs!!??

by PAWarrior on Jul 4, 2007 4:40 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Well...

I interpret it as JRich not asking for the trade to "get out of his beloved city", but more of a trade away from a losing situation. He revoked his trade request when Mullin assured him that they would make moves to improve the team. In JRich's heart he always wanted to stay, but losing sucks. You want assurance that the powers that be want to win too.

by ssmokinjoe on Jul 4, 2007 11:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It is understandable

that J-rich would want out of his situation and I would probably done the same, but, there were two things wrong with his request.
-One, it came after the promise that he made on his own of bringing the playoffs back to Oakland. He should have played at least one more year before asking for a trade because he needed to live up to his promise to the fans.
-Two, if J-rich wanted loyalty from the warriors organization, then he should have provided loyal too by not asking for a trade. It is o.k. if you ask for a trade, but to demand loyalty after the fact does not make sense.
It is understandable that J-rich wanted a trade but the timing and comments made after being taded just do not line up. That being said, he will be sorely missed

Playoffs!!??

by PAWarrior on Jul 5, 2007 12:06 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

j-rich

was one of my all-time favorites and i got a lot of love for him...I'm making a jersey shirt that's number 23 and the name "forever", so i will miss him...however, he's still making 12 mil a year to play ball, so it's not like its the end of the world.

Much love J-Rich....I'll be a fan for life

by dnalvare on Jul 4, 2007 5:26 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

yes

echo your feelings completley!

by RubberDubDubs on Jul 5, 2007 12:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

This should help temper some of the hurt feelings:

Richardson acknowledged he asked Mullin privately to trade him a few times...

I already feel better.

by Jeremy Belvins on Jul 4, 2007 6:33 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

well at least he didn't go the media about it.

Like Kobe o i want to get traded and all forget that man. he didn't let it be a distraction to the team. cause he always thought about the team.

by Warrior fan 23 on Jul 4, 2007 8:25 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Exactly...

That is a HUGE difference. Basically nobody but JRich and Mullin knew about this trade request. That is the respect that he showed the organization that didn't reciprocate the same.

by ssmokinjoe on Jul 4, 2007 8:32 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Respect?

He showed respect to the organization by asking for a trade but not going to the media about it? No, it is not respectful to bail out on a large statement made about making the playoffs.
It would have been o.k. if he waited a bit for the trade demand, but we should respect him for turning his back on promises made to the fans who supported him?
Sure it could have been a bigger deal if it had leaked out but what changes then, his self appearance gets shot down. If anything, he hid the trade request to keep his good self image.
Again, we should praise this man for his efort and hard work, but not for hiding his trade request from the media.

Playoffs!!??

by PAWarrior on Jul 5, 2007 12:15 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

WOW

That's a lot of spin doctoring you're doing there.

The reason a private trade request is a HUGE difference then a public one is NOT for self-image preservation but rather to treat the request as just that and NOT FORCE the hand of the organization through media sensationalization. If you don't recognize the difference between Kobe and JRich's requests then you're missing a big point. Also, you're the only one on here i see using the word "demand."

Second, i see how hurt you are by the news of the timing of the request, but you seem to be content with the few facts you know about it. The guy did after all put out a full page ad to apologize for the 05-06 season and then promise to make the playoffs the following year. I think after that a trade request seems more odd than malicious and deserves to be explained in context by JRich and Mullin.

To jump to a conclusion as saying that he turned his back on the fans and the organization and does not deserve loyalty from the Warriors because he showed none paints a picture of JRich spewing venom. I'm not buying that.

by ssmokinjoe on Jul 5, 2007 1:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

man i was gonna respond to PAWarrior

but your response is much better...

www.TRACKjams.com

by MANUTEs BOLs on Jul 5, 2007 11:26 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great Points

I agree completely that J-rich does not deserve to be painted in the light of 'spewing venom" and your take on the private trade request did open my eyes. But, I still believe the credit is given in the wrong situation. We seem to be praising him for this deed of keeping his request (not demand) private. I think this is one situation where it is more than odd after that kind of promise made the fans of the warriors. It is wrong what he did and I would not have expected this from J-rich. All in all, I would have thought J-rich to be one guy who would have tried to keep a promise of bringing the playoffs back instead of wanting to get out.

Playoffs!!??

by PAWarrior on Jul 5, 2007 3:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Again "It's a business decision"

I can't say I have a problem with JRich asking for a trade (if he did) last summer pre-Nellie. The team was going nowhere with Mullin, Higgins, and Rowell running one of the most clueless NBA front offices. They didn't make a single meaningful move till the Nellie surprise in late August. It looked like it was going to be the status quo all over again.

But again it comes back to the rhetoric of "it's a business decision". It was a business decision when the Warriors traded JR to save some money and bring in a power forward prospect. And it was a business decision when JR asked for a ticket out of the mess last summer which he did his best to overcome.

There's nothing "wrong" per say with either of those business decisions. The Warriors weren't exactly loyal to JR with the trade, but that's okay- it's a business (so I'm told).

I can't say I really find anything wrong with what Kobe's doing either. That organization failed him and would have continued to do so until he embarrassed them publicly. The major issue here is that Kobe made a foolish move by making his demands public and lowering both his value and the ease at which the Lakers could make a reasonable trade. I fault him for handling the situation intelligently, but I can't fault him for making that trade demand.

by Atma Brother ONE on Jul 5, 2007 3:37 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Business Decisions

I agree completely. I think J-rich had every right to ask for a trade and he was very thoughful about his ways of asking for it as well. (Thanks for clearing that up ssmokinjoe) I just wish it wouldn't have come after the promise. Maybe I hope for too much but I thought J-rich was better than that. Again J-rich is the man and was reasonable with his request, but the timing just seems bad.
-AB1, love the site and hope to hear more of your insight on free agency.

Playoffs!!??

by PAWarrior on Jul 5, 2007 3:46 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

And its the guys like Kobe

even as good as they are, that do get the No-Trade clauses right?

Fine, KG never asked to be traded no matter how bad his team's roster can be on any given day, yet he gets criticized for that by some, right? People wanting him to speak up or "be smarter" even though there's some "If KG's on the market, he might come to my team!" in there.

Jason's part of the bloated salary pieces of the last few Warrior season, but outside of Tim Kawakami, you could feel okay about saying this guy earned his money. Dun-Murph-Fisher(free agency coming over here)-Foyle, not soo much.

He shouldn't get the brunt of the blame either for the Utah series lost closeout games since it is a 5 on 5 game, the team did seem to tire out after such a dramatic late season push, but I guess it speaks to the amount of impact Jason really had to win games?

Since he has certainly been capable in the past and could have turned the tide had he done what we know he can do when 100%. Some expected him to be the kind of guy who spent his whole career here and later opened up a BBQ place in the city, in the vein of Big Nate, but the trade happened, no going back now.

We can all play armchair GM here but none of us have the chess pieces to move around on the real board.

by back2back51s on Jul 4, 2007 10:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think this was a great trade

But I don't think I've ever been that sad reading a sports article. J-Rich is a classy guy. I think that his asking to be traded (because he wants to win) is not a knock on his character. The fact that he kept it private, and you KNOW that mullin would never let anything like that ever leak, is a testament to his professionalism. And when he finally did receive help with Jax and Monta (two guys who play his position), he never complained about playing time or his role and did everything possible for us to win games.

He loves the Bay, the fans, and the organization and wanted to win with us but the fact that he wasn't so blindly loyal to a continuously losing situation makes me respect him even more as a player and person. It's different with us because we're fans. I'll always follow the Warriors no matter how many L's they put up in a year but it's foolish for J-Rich to think that way. I respect that he wants to win and I'm eternally grateful that he had the brief chance to do it in such a spectacular and memorable way with us.

Hopefully, the Cats will be a great fit for him and he can get the recognition he deserves in the East. But...I still love this trade. GO DUBS!

by sadleavy on Jul 5, 2007 3:25 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

so i guess that full of shiite bulls-trade rumor..

...may have had some truth to it after all? J-Rich isn't angry he was traded; he's angry that he didn't have a chance to specify where. You can read his thought process like a book in the article. After looking at the pieces the bcats have, blah blah, now he's feeling a little better about it. Meh.

by GameSix on Jul 5, 2007 7:39 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Totally off topic

but can someone give me the dl on Sirius satellite radio? Will it play every single Warriors game of the regular season or only select ones? Do I have to get a special NBA package or is it part of the general deal (like basic cable back in the day)? I'm up here in Montreal and it is very hard to catch regular season games.

Thanks and sorry for the derailing.

by walkerp on Jul 5, 2007 7:55 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

J-Rich's record 206-286 (.417)

Just some food for thought. As a season ticket holder I'm both please and disappointed with the Warriors on this one. For a long time I thought J-Rich was guy that needed to go mainly due to his hot and cold nature as a player. In fact the during Warriors run both at the end of season and the playoff I keep telling people how much reminds me of Vinnie Johnson, ya know, the Piston would light it up off the bench for the Bad Boys. In fact, I'd just start screaming "the microwave is back" every time J-Rich caught fire. Needless to say Vinnie Johnson was role player to Isiah and Joe-D in Detroit's backcourt and he certainly wasn't over paid for is contribution to the team, as I think J-Rich is.

That said, he was the true leader of the Warriors. As we all witnessed he was one of the main reasons that Warriors even pulled off the miracle run that got them into the playoffs. You can tell that he poured his heart and soul into the team. For that we all have to be grateful that there are still people like this sport.

Though I'd like to hearken back the fact J-Rich's salary would kill the warriors chance of keeping Biedrins and Monta, which I believe are both going to be stars. Add to the fact you have Baron demanding more $$$ and that you're still over paying Foley you've got the making of having to let either Monta or Biedrins go for nothing. Plus, by trading J-Rich you helped address one of the biggest holes in your rotation, which is getting another big man to block shots and rebound the damn basketball (ya Al Harrington I'm also inferring your lack of effort on the glass, you better step it up or maybe Mully will ship you out too!!).

J-Rich, I know that Bay will miss you. GOSM crew and fans clearly do. I'm sure that one day the Warriors will have a J-Rich day, much unlikely the Seattle Mariners just had for Ken Griffey Jr. In nothing else, I'll make sure to be at his 1st game back here at the Oracle. But perhaps J-Rich's leaving just saved the franchise from fall back to mediocrity both next season and beyond.

by mcwalter44 on Jul 5, 2007 1:46 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs