Connaughton wants to play Baseball - Olshey not on board

[handiman]

What I find interesting is the bit about playing multiple sports are a reason why he has stayed injury free and that play just one sport can lead to leg injuries. Its not a theory that has gained a ton of media attention but the last year i'v heard it mentioned on a ton of podcast and read it in articles where study is being conducted on why injuries seem to be so much more relevant now then ever before.

Chicken and the egg. Are athletes more durable because they played multiple sports as youth, or did they gravitate toward playing more sports because they were naturally more durable? (And is it truly a matter of playing multiple sports building durability, or just that time spent on other sports means less time pounding the knees on the hardwood?) You can bet your ass we'll never get a study, let alone a conclusive one, to isolate the cause and effect.

 

[riverman]

Rasta..I think the title to this thread is misleading. Nowhere did I read that PC preferred baseball to being a Blazer or that Olshey was having a conflict with him about it.
Pat has answered this question multiple times in his interviews since we signed him. He's commited to the Blazers and making an NBA career now. Down the road...who knows?

 

[SlyPokerDog]

We should get Connaughton a bunch of baseballs to throw at the refs when he's sitting on the bench and they get a call wrong.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Rasta..I think the title to this thread is misleading. Nowhere did I read that PC preferred baseball to being a Blazer or that Olshey was having a conflict with him about it.
Pat has answered this question multiple times in his interviews since we signed him. He's commited to the Blazers and making an NBA career now. Down the road...who knows?

Thread title: "Connaughton wants to play Baseball - Olshey not on board"

The fundamental problem with his ultimate dream, as Connaughton sees it, is that no one else appears to be dreaming it.

"It's something that scares people,'' he says. "They don't look at the positive reinforcement. They look at at the negatives that can come from it. They're not going to think it's possible until you go out and show them it's possible.''
...
He is going to spend more time than ever training for his new career in basketball. And then, when he can't train anymore, he is going to throw.

"I'm on the Portland Trail Blazers right now, I'm focused, I'm playing basketball,'' he says. "But at the same time, you can't be on the court 24 hours a day. Just like you can't be on the mound 24 hours a day -- you can't be on the mound back-to-back days, really.''

This is how he sees it working. He sees himself becoming an NBA player, increasing his strength, improving his skills. And then, on the side, when all of the NBA work is done, he will throw. The NBA cannot object to this plan any more than if he were playing golf on the side, or pursuing commercials, or taking acting lessons or recording music or opening a restaurant.

"That's not happening,'' says Neil Olshey, the general manager of the Blazers. "The conversation we had with Pat prior to all of this was you're an NBA player now. Being an NBA player is not a part-time job.''
"The time when Pat would be going to play baseball is a time when you're working on your game and getting better,'' Olshey says.

 

[riverman]

Thread title: "Connaughton wants to play Baseball - Olshey not on board"

Thread title is alluding to present tense...according to the article..it's a past tense situation. Connaughton wanted to play baseball, chose basketball-Olshey explained what summer requires for a rookie NBA player to crack the rotation. That's a little less misleading.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

His hair is a dead giveaway he's still a baseball player at heart:

 

[riverman]

We should get Connaughton a bunch of baseballs to throw at the refs when he's sitting on the bench and they get a call wrong.

Or simply inbound the ball everytime we come out of a timeout..this guy can paint the corners with a basketball.

 

[blue9]

Baseketball. It's real, and really awesome.

Indeed - it IS an awesome movie!

 

[ripcityboy]

Indeed - it IS an awesome movie!

This song was worth the price of admission alone.

 

[BonesJones]

Yes, he should have. Most over-rated Blazer in history.

Also, he was a rare example. People whip that out whenever when want to justify some guy they like. I didn't hear anyone saying that as an argument to keep Rashad James.

One good quarter for a PG who shoots so much that he's bound to have one at some point. That doesn't apply to Connaugton playing average and people claiming he's bad.

 

[jlprk]

"But there are also some theories now that say there are so many knee injuries because kids specialize in one sport. I played 18 years of professional sports and never had a surgery and never had a broken bone. And some people have told me -- trainers and doctors -- they attribute that to me playing multiple sports as a kid.''

Connaughton believes that he will be less vulnerable to overuse injuries because his athletic portfolio has been diversified.

For the benefit of those who read only your excerpts and not the article...Connaughton didn't say that first paragraph. Ainge said that about Ainge's career.

I guess Batum should've went back to France after his first summer league...Seriously, a dude goes off and they say "doesn't matter, can't read into it because it's summer league" Then, when a kid has an average to above average summer league, they say it means that the guy, somehow, isn't good enough to play...

Batum was an immediate starter only because we had horrible SFs, Webster and Outlaw, and Webster was injured. His very ordinary SL performance didn't hide a rookie who was ready to start.

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

Pat held his cards close to his chest on his desire to play both sports before the draft. I heard him say on Courtside that he wasn't going to dedicate himself to basketball until he ended up in Portland. Well that is fucking bullshit, but whatever. I doubt he'll ever play both sports at the same time, but I think it'd be cool if he did. I rooting for him.

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

 

[jlprk]

Nickname: His Majesty

 

[riverman]

His mullet just screams Vinnie Del Negro doesn't it?

 

[Rastapopoulos]

 

[Blazers Roy]

lol who cares about him? waive him and sign someone who wants to be an NBA player.

 

[Sinobas]

One good quarter for a PG who shoots so much that he's bound to have one at some point. That doesn't apply to Connaugton playing average and people claiming he's bad.

He shot a decent clip from 3, but that's basically all he did. Usually, guards that have legit NBA talent tear it up in the summer league.

 

[ebott]

yeah, because rapping on the side is the exact same as playing baseball.

It is if the reason Connaughton isn't allowed to play baseball because he should be dedicating that time to basketball. What if Damian is successful and is gonna go on tour?

 

[Blazers Roy]

He shot a decent clip from 3, but that's basically all he did. Usually, guards that have legit NBA talent tear it up in the summer league.

Remember Jaryd Bayless was SL mvp and then he sucked on his rookie year?

 

[ripcityboy]

His mullet just screams Vinnie Del Negro doesn't it?

Nobody could be Bird's mullet.... that thing was so out of place in the NBA it was like a modern art masterpiece.

 

[Orion Bailey]

His hair is a dead giveaway he's still a baseball player at heart:

The dude is a lady pleaser. He is flashing 2indapink,1indastink!

 

[Blazers Roy]

He'll go bald in 3 years.

 

[jlprk]

Long hair is cool rebellion. Fuck all of you bald young conformists.

 

[ripcityboy]

Bet he listens to Mumford and Sons.... (loud vomiting noise. )