It is one of the oldest topics in sports: there is no “I” on the team.
But in reality, it isturned on.
It should always be about the team, not just an individual player, no matter how good it is.
Enter here and now.
If you think the analysis has worked poorly in sports, this is even worse when attending to a player’s career.
Now you see it more than ever. It’s about not wasting the career of a particular player. Somehow, the team has to do anything to ensure that a certain player wins in their career. If not, this player should move on to a better situation.
Hogwash.
Often, travel and struggle make the reward even sweeter. The Chicago Bulls didn’t waste Michael Jordan’s first seven years. There were only better teams and players on their way.
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However, this notion is not accepted today.
The latest nonsense came from Golden State. Somehow, management had to assure Steph Curry that the Warriors would do their best to make sure he won the rest of his already stellar career.
General Manager Bob Myers said the Warriors felt a responsibility to maximize Curry’s title window.
Not the organization window, however Curry.
“We feel this responsibility until this guy retires, or not to our team, “Myers told the media.” You have to honor him.
“You have to do what you can, but that doesn’t mean these opportunities are there every day and they’re easy to find. You’re always looking, but that’s your job.”
What doesn’t make sense is that the mission of trying to win is based on helping Curry win. The team no longer created Curry when they added Kevin Durant to a team that had already won a title. In addition, Curry has won three NBA championships.
However, somehow, the Warriors owe Curry something more at this point in their career.
The mission must be for an organization to try to win all the time. And when you select Curry, does that mean the careers of Klay Thompson and Draymond Green don’t matter as much? And if Curry weren’t part of the team, wouldn’t the Warriors strive so hard to win for those guys?
Nothing makes sense.
And guess what. Not everyone can win.
So if a team doesn’t win, does that really mean the franchise wasted a player’s career?
But here we are where we are. It’s about serving a single star player. That’s why there are two quarterbacks in the NFL that both cross theirs legacies are more important than anyone else’s.
First, Deshaun Watson decided the Texans don’t know what they’re doing despite having made the playoffs four of the previous six seasons.
Somehow, as he was not part of the interview process to hire the team’s new general manager, he no longer wants to play in Houston and has asked to be replaced.
Remember, Watson is the same guy who signed a mega-dollar contract with this organization after changed his No. 1 goal to DeAndre Hopkins in Arizona.
That would have been the time to call us and demand a trade. Instead, he agreed with the team’s decision and took the money anyway.
The same goes for Russell Wilson with the Seattle Seahawks.
Somehow, after going to the Super Bowl twice and winning once, Wilson doesn’t believe Seattle is working to secure his legacy. It has been public against the team.
Wilson never once admitted that his legacy would be even greater if he had not thrown that interception at the finish line to lose the Super Bowl to the New England Patriots.
And while Wilson hasn’t officially ordered a trade, he has hinted that he wouldn’t mind moving on to another team that he considers a better situation for him.
And let’s not forget James Harden’s departure from the Rockets. Surely Houston did its best to put other stars around it. They brought in Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. And while the team made some serious runs, it ultimately failed to reach the NBA Finals.
They barely lost Harden’s precious years. Also, it is possible that they would have won a championship if Harden, himself, had not melted at great points under the postseason lights.
Sports teams should try to win all the time, and especially for the fan base, not just a player obsessed with his place in history.
“What is your responsibility?” Myers said about Curry. “It’s to help him win a championship, to put the best players around him that you can.”
It should be the Warriors, not just Curry. Today, teams don’t focus well.