I found this story from TNT's Eric Williams an interesting read.
Williams quotes PJ Carlesimo at length regarding the latitude he is providing Jeff Green and Kevin Durant on offense, not to mention the rest of the team. Carlesimo explains his free-handed reign by referencing the way in which Tony Parker was allowed to run the offense his rookie season in San Antonio in spite of the numerous mistakes he often made.
What made me curious was the complete lack of laissez faire attitude when it comes to one Mo Sene. Sene, now in his second season in Seattle, has failed to take off his warm-up jacket in 9 of the Sonics first 11 games.
Now, I'm not going to say that Sene is a brilliant young player who is being buried on the Sonics' bench. He is, however, 21 years old, 6'11", strong, and with long arms. If PJ is willing to abide the mistakes of Green and Durant, why not Sene?
Inasmuch as the Sonics are writing off this season for rebuilding, would it kill them to play last year's first-round pick, oh, I don't know, maybe once a week? How is benching him for the entirety of the season helping him develop? Is Sam Presti working on a trade proposal with another club desperate to pay someone $1 million a year to sit on the bench? Does Sene have work visa issues with the State of Washington which preclude him from working within the state lines? Because after 11 games this year, he has yet to play at KeyArena.
Hey, this season isn't about the playoffs, we understand. But considering that Sene has the possibility of being a decent back-up center in this league, if for defensive purposes only, why can't we give the kid a chance? Are you telling me that he can't fill an Olden Polynice-type role in the future?
It's all well and good to say you're giving players "their freedom," when the players in question are Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, but how about extending that freedom to some of the other guys on the roster?
5 comments:
Agree with you 100%.
In addition to what you said he is both exhilirating and horrifying to watch. The game seems more exciting when he's in the game.
Free Sene!
I salute your wisdom
PJ is not giving all "their freedom". Sene and West (is only 24 yrs old & has a lot of upside) are the two player who should be playing more min. They should be giving the "freedom" like everyone else, but so far it doesnt look that way.
Sene got a little bit of burn last night. I think Idaho's the place for him this year. If he had a little more experience, he'd be terrifying down low (good terrifying). I'm kind of confused about Gelly riding so much pine, he was one of my favorite players last year. Wouldn't he fit in with this defensive mentality PJ's pushing?
As someone said above, Sene is so fun to watch - and he could be good - maybe even real good - with some experience.
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