An open letter to ESPN

[FuManShoes]

We'll see if the braintrust responds

Chad, Bill, Hollinger, et al --

Why do you guys hate Adam Morrison so much? Now come on, we all know it's true. It's been nothing but vitriol and ill will toward the young, mustachioed and hobbled one since the day he entered the league. It wasn't enough to kick him when he was an underachieving rook. No, you guys have kept the drumbeat alive even as he blew out his knee, started rehabbing it and now has a new coach ya'll are convinced will either run Adam into the ground or trade him outright before the season even starts. Why? What has the mustachioed done that is so egregious? Is it so hard to give the guy a chance to prove himself -- or at the very least get back on the court and then prove you right by falling on his face? The hatred, and the relish ya'll take in dispensing it, makes little sense given there are plenty of bad apples and chronic underachievers in the league who actually deserve such treatment.

[BobZag]

Did Adam not average double figures scoring his rookie year? To me, it seems clear he wore out and, thus, tailed off towards the end of his 82 game rookie season, about 130% more games than he's ever played. Was that a shocker to the experts? Do they not know the steeper hill he has to climb vis-a-vis players in perfect health?

If the knee returns to 100%, Adam will do just fine. He won't likely be a star but he'll be a valued part of any team's rotation. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all.

Run him off picks and screens at mid-range and he'll basically do what Rip Hamilton has been doing. Nothing fancy or flashy, just score and score some more.

Good letter, Fu.

[75Zag]

Same Time Next Year

This discussion is 1 year premature.

I am hoping that AM will do what needs to be done to climb into the ranks of respected NBA players. If he does, nobody will pay any attention to the harpies at ESPN or the other negative whiners.

If AM tanks in 08-09 (which I hope he does not), then we can discuss whether or not his draft ranking was appropriate.

Go Adam Go.

[MDABE80]

It's a necessary letter Fu. As long as these guys continue to focus negatively on Adam, many others will build a case against Adam as a pro. Not sure how this got going but it is a carryover from college....since he did nothing wrong in the NBA except be a rookie. New stuff requires some growth after one gets the lay of the land. Well, Adam has that now. SO it's time for his Soph season to begin if that knee comes around like it should. Lots of Sophs would love to be at 11.3 ppg.a figure NBA teams don't fire people for. Adam's every little move, whisper, etc has been scutinized...and it's been done so unfairly. Worse! Now Adams criticism continues even though he's been gone this past year. So what's the rub with those guys? I'm not sure. Many pracical reasons to have it reduced.......among the biggest is that this finds it's way back to our own brand. More broadly though, it doesn't seem correct to pick on players in the league. It matters if someone is devalued........at least it does to me. Adam won't be a Brandon Roy. nobody is. Adam does have major upside (when healthy) and other talents though. Fairness is all we ask.

Since there seems to be no end in sight to ESPN's thoughts on Adam, somebody has to step up and at least let ESPN know how it looks. Good note and timely as well. Nicely done. ...Abe

[zagfan24]

Just wondering...

What is the biggest factor in how quickly Morrison has been judged as a bust? (aside from the unfortunate knee injury)

a) being a skinny white kid with diabetes from the northwest
b) the tearful end to his college career
c) playing for an awful team in a non-basketball town
d) his fiery attitude, mustache, and overall persona

[75Zag]

Boom or Bust

I have a wall in my game room where we rank pro basketball players. On the far right are Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Meadowlark Lemon, and Wilt Chamberlain. On the left is Sam Bowie. We are saving another spot on the left for Greg Oden in case my ortho surgery friends are correct and his surgery tanks.

Right now, AM is a lot closer to Sam Bowie than Michael Jordan. I am hoping that is a temporary problem. Time will tell, as they say.

[VinnyZag]

What is the biggest factor in how quickly Morrison has been judged as a bust? (aside from the unfortunate knee injury)

a) being a skinny white kid with diabetes from the northwest
b) the tearful end to his college career
c) playing for an awful team in a non-basketball town
d) his fiery attitude, mustache, and overall persona

All of the above. And -- let's be honest, 'tho we're all GU homers -- he didn't have a great rookie year. He simply wasn't the third-best player in that draft; but it's not his fault the Bobcats drafted him too highly.
Also, 75Zag: I hope Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson are on the far right of your wall along with Jordan, Magic, Bird and Wilt.

[zagfan24]

It's not that I dispute he had a fairly rough rookie season -- unfortunately I traveled to Charlotte to see him shoot 1-15 against the Lakers (sidenote: Turiaf had 4 fouls in 2 minutes...not my best idea). I am just amazed that after a freak injury this year people are already calling it a career for him.

And, yes, #3 was a bit high. But outside of Roy and a few others, there just wasn't that much talent in that draft...probably the worst in the past 15 years.

[zagco]

Zagco agrees the conversation is wildly premature. Ammo has a big mark on him. He was a high draft pick, but he also attracts a lot of attention with his emotional play and trademark grooming. Big target. When the sharks smell blood, they'll attack.

[StocktonIsMyHero]

And, yes, #3 was a bit high. But outside of Roy and a few others, there just wasn't that much talent in that draft...probably the worst in the past 15 years.

I disagree with that. LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy, Rudy Gay, Rajon Rondo, and Randy Foy have all done really good things already, and guys like Shelden Williams, Thabo Sefalosha, Ronnie Brewer, Renaldo Balkman, Quincy Doby, Josh Boone, and Jordan Farmar have all been contributors.

At any rate, it's nowhere near as poor as the 2002 draft was.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_NBA_Draft

As for Morrison... it's pretty obvious that the reason people are focusing on him is because he got so much attention during his junior year. The stache and hair were great for media hype, but it also set him up to be under the microscope. It's somewhat ironic in the sense that ESPN built him up and now people on ESPN are tearing him down, but there's a reason why people rag on Ammo and not on Bargnani or Tyrus Thomas... Ammo was the outspoken, over-exposed one coming into the NBA. It's no shocker that people have turned on him a bit. And Ammo didn't do himself any favors when he flipped off the fans in Miami.

But all of it is moot. If Ammo performs on the court, people will shut up. So really, it's on him to prove them all wrong.

[LongIslandZagFan]

As I said on another thread... he will never, ever, ever, ever, never be as big a bust as Kwame Brown. In fact, I highly doubt he will be a bust at all. He may be more of a journeyman when all is said and done... but with next to no body of work to go by, I'd say he has just as much chance as being an all-star. This bust crap is just that... crap.

[deathchina]

Ammo's biggest problem has always been that a basketball court has two hoops. He does just fine on one side of the court. It's the other side that gives him issues.....

[jim77]

Morrison deserved the draft position he got. He was probably the best scorer availiable and Charlotte did the right thing in drafting him...Ammo earned it too.

I don't know why anybody would want to run this kid down. He's probably got more courage than most out there. I'm still amazed with what he accomplished under the conditions that he accomplished it. He will always have my admiration no matter if he never picks up another basketball. There will be more than a few young fellas with Diabetes who will use Adams example for motivation.

Don't count Ammo out.

Morrison Rocks!

[Zag79]

being a skinny white kid with diabetes from the northwest

winner winner chicken dinner! all you have to do to find out why people hate on mo so much is read the posts people leave on any video clip discussing him. almost everytime you will find mostly negative posts, and they always regard race not hoops. how he looks is what he has to prove he can play against more than anything. if he was a black dude he never would have had the ill will toward him. he has an uphill battle to prove he belongs, which anyone that knows mo can tell he will be just fine.

[MedZag]

winner winner chicken dinner! all you have to do to find out why people hate on mo so much is read the posts people leave on any video clip discussing him. almost everytime you will find mostly negative posts, and they always regard race not hoops. how he looks is what he has to prove he can play against more than anything. if he was a black dude he never would have had the ill will toward him. he has an uphill battle to prove he belongs, which anyone that knows mo can tell he will be just fine.

I hate bringing race into the equation but I think in this case it works. All the Larry Bird comparisons, all the idolatry, the nature of the game right now... Mo has had a lot to prove since the day he was drafted. It's a shame no one has been giving him a chance to prove it, but the plus is that the pressure if off him now and the ball is in his court.