[IDIOT] Cam turns down Slam Dunk Contest invite … twice

Jalen was set up to be up next or get hate for the next few years. man.. smh..

imagine if Jalen won it.. I dont think Jalen took it seriously.

You really have to have a plan in the dunk contest.

 

Mature beyond his years

 

I don't think it has anything to do with the dunk contest itself it's just that there are only so many great contest style dunkers at a time. It's not like a 3 point contest where you can just enjoy it at whatever level of competition you're watching.

But, I would say 2020 was up there with one of the best dunk contests of all time. Aaron Gordon is one of the best ever.

 

could you add dots in the thread title...otherwise, it looks kinda offensive to Cam

 

Kudos to Cam for his self-restraint. I can't even pass up a dunk contest on Clutchfans.

 

Jalen was the #2 pick in the draft, the highest the Rockets had in decades. Then he was replacing one of the 3-5 shooting guards ever.

Brian Shaw talked up Green and made comparisons to Jordan and Wade.

Mofo was drafted because of what TF and Stone wanted him to be, Harden with a 40 inch vertical. They didn’t realize how raw he was or overlooked it.

Then he joins the Rockets and was labeled as the Rockets immediate future franchise player and the next great shooting guard.

They then let him do whatever he wanted, and didn’t make him defend or be accountable on the court. He got used to losing as long as he got his 20-22 points it didn’t matter if he was a net negative.

Terrible coaching for his first few seasons and then Ime treated him like a third year player on the Heat or Denver - expected him to be accountable on defense and to make the right reads and he struggled.

Also Green has no idea how to actually work hard in the off season. He would go on vacation alone or with friends and claim he was working on his game hard. Now he is learning that he has no idea how hard it is if he wants to be a star. He blew off training with Harden and George this off season - that was a mistake.

Not sure Jalen has the desire to be great but we will find out -

 

Cam was a legit 4-5th pick though in his own right, he just dropped due to various reasons that were inexplicable at that time.

Dude had the NBA ready body, the NBA ready scoring, decent 3 point shooting....

The only thing was he could not facilitate and was more of a tunnel visionist.

 

Good guy Cam.

Watched his teammate perform previously, didn't want to embarrass him too much.

He's already going to do so by taking his starting spot soon enough.

 

I’m actually curious if he’s turning down the Rising Stars game also. He’s exactly the type of player who would destroy that pick up game

I guess we’ll find out later today when the player pool is announced

 

Jalen really turned down Harden and George invite.....

 

Never really doubt your delivery of into Nook but your source may be feeding you some unverified or exaggerated info here.

Those things are not mutually exclusive. You can work hard on your game and go out at night with your friends. Also how would anyone know what he did alone on a vacation? By definition, he’s alone. There’s no way it would stay under wraps this long in the modern media age where only insiders have heard or seen this if Jalen Green appears to be working hard but isn’t. Look what has happened to players who have lied like that, Social Media finds them and shreds them up (eg Ben Simmons).

I find it unlikely every coach since he was a kid says he’s good worker while he’s not. However, I do find it likely that after 100ish losses in his first 1.5 seasons, he made a bad but common choice (even among star young players) to check out rather than be competitive in a forced hopeless situation and many of these stories are about those few months rather than about his career. That, I can totally see. At some point last season, Green got more selfish than he’s ever been and that stopped shortly after.

In the past I would have agreed that a player should never check out even if tanking, not tanking is not staying constant. It has become brutal. I do not believe a Luka or MJ or Kobe would remain checked in if they knew their team plans to force 120 losses in their first two seasons with practically no veterans, constant in-fighting between coaches and management being disappointed with wins (Pray for Wemby he said). Only a non-competitive person would be able to remain 100% focused throughout all that.

I hope your source is wrong. Doesn’t sound as solid as the usual info they give you. Perhaps there’s more you know but you tend to share these things in pieces so just going by what you’ve mentioned here.

 

Good

Still have PTSD from Jalen’s attempted dunks last year

 

I am not saying that you cannot work hard and go out with your friends at night..... Wade, Jordan, Harden and many others did. The issue was more that he had opportunities to workout and train with veterans that know what it takes to currently succeed in the league and he turned them down. That was a mistake, and he most likely has learned from it.

The reality is that Green was in an organization with a new GM, a new head coach and no teammates that had the type of work ethic that it takes to be elite - so if Green never trained with or was surrounded with elite leaders, then it stands to be that he will not have the type of work ethic or experience to reach the level he wants. Historically there have been a few players that were able to do it completely on their own, but they are very rare.

Had Green played next to elite veterans, with smart and strong work ethics - and he witnessed and learned how to prepare for the season and games, he would likely be further along. As it is, he has picked up bad habits and spent the last few years thinking he is working hard, when in reality he hasn't been pushed like he needs to be... and that is reflected in comments from Udoka saying that effort and focus is why Green has been better recently. I am not saying Green is a problem or even lazy. I don't see the type of desire that first ballot Hall of Famers usually have - but I do see someone that will work as hard as everyone else and will probably, with repetition work even harder.

 

Jalen did work with Fred for a bit this summer.

It does seem like Ime has broken him down completely to build him back. I’m curious to see if he can keep his aggression up. He flashed as much on defense in the 4th quarter last night as I’ve seen his whole career.

 

Agreed - he looked overall yesterday as the best player on the court, and physically he had no issue getting his shot at all, he seemed more confident with his handle and in control 90% of the time. He still took some silly shots, but that was tolerable.

 

I remembered something about him working out with KD last summer, so I googled it:

https://sports.yahoo.com/rockets-jalen-green-draws-rave-145903494.html

I'm not sure how long these workouts lasted (a day? a week? several weeks?), but it does seem like he spent at least part of the summer working out with vets.

 

Agree with everything here. I think usually in a players career there at least one person somewhere that had the stature, credibility and mindset to be a role model. Jalen seems to have lacked that all 15 years.

Would have been nice if he did a season in college with a good coach. Or for Udoka to coach him early but then we would not have gotten picks as high as we did. Listening to Cam the other day saying rockets practice is easier than Villanova practice really opened my eyes to why Jalen is so far behind. This is genuinely his first time with a hardcore coach that is not afraid to hold him fully accountable. Any human at any job should have experienced that by this age.

This is why I say Green has all the attributes for a late bloomer story. Just a kid that was very lost and Udoka/FVV/Brooks may have shown up juuuuust in time to save his career.

 

Fun time is over pretty boy.

 

Good. That's just more wear and tear on his knees. And for what? That dude on the Sixers won the contest and I don't even know where he is now. The dunk contest is done cuz all the past participants already made all the cool dunks.