Kevin Henkin of Celtics StuffLive has a good rebuttle look at Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski’s tribute to Chris Paul.
It is titled “Adrian Wojnarowski Lathers Weak Sauce on Rajon Rondo and Chris Paul”
Here is a portion….
Later in the article, Wojnarowski heaps praise onto Paul for his apparently charitable decision to extend his contract with the Hornets a year ago. Woj’s words: “It speaks to Paul’s character, his loyalty, that he signed a three-year extension with New Orleans in 2008.”
What? Child, please. First of all, it was a four year contract extension (the fourth year being a player’s option) with the rate of pay set at the maximum allowable under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement (starting at 25 percent of the salary cap for the first year of the extension, with 10 percent raises thereafter).
Let me repeat: it was a max contract. Bearing this in mind, I consider it a bit of a stretch to claim that Paul’s agreement to the extension makes him the equivalent of Mother Theresa in high-tops. It simply makes him a good businessman, a young player getting his first big payday set in ink as soon as possible.
In addition, Wojnarowski says of Hornets owner George Shinn: “The NBA pushed him into New Orleans, understanding it would’ve been a PR nightmare to abandon the post-Katrina city.” Sure, right. Except the same exact principle applied to Chris Paul when he decided to re-up with New Orleans last year, not even three years removed from Hurricane Katrina, with the city and surrounding area still largely in ruins. Paul’s shiny reputation would have suffered a considerable hit if he’d chosen to leave New Orleans at that point. Based on all of the above, it was a no-brainer for Paul to re-sign early with the Hornets. To ascribe noble intentions beyond that is simply ridiculous.
I must say I like reading ‘Wojo’ and he sometimes does write a little over the top. And I don’t always agree with him. But he is not afraid to call out some big names in the game and call it straight. But I have to agree that this is a much too one sided look at both parties involved.
For equal time, here is the Adrian Wojnarowski article Kevin is referring to. Decide for yourself.
