The Rockets traded Flynn to Portland in 2012 after he appeared in just 11 games. He played 18 games for them. The team declined to re-sign him the following season. He almost caught on with the Pistons last season, but they waived him during training camp. At both stops, his nagging injury and a lack of rhythm dogged him.
Then he disappeared from the NBA's radar, saddled with a label that's almost always career-ending: damaged goods. "When you're as good as he was and had such high expectations, when you're not able to get there, it's very frustrating," Boeheim said. "I think if you haven't made it in two or three cities, the negativity tends to surround you and you have to somehow play your way out of it."
Flynn spent last season with the Australian National Basketball League's Melbourne Tigers. "I really wanted to play in a place that was English-speaking," Flynn said. "That was really my main focus. I want to know what's going on around me." He showcased his burst, stood up against physical players who wanted to prove their worth against a former NBA lottery pick, and was selected as a reserve for the league's all-star game. "They don't call fouls down there," Flynn said. "In the league, you can't touch guys. Down there, you can have the ball and a guy will be almost forearm-shivering you in your side and they won't call a foul. I just think getting beat up and coming from the NBA, I had that target on me."
..........
Flynn wants back into the NBA. But getting back in is often harder than getting in in the first place. Impressions are made. Reputations stick. They can be nearly impossible to shake.
"Even when I talk to NBA guys here that I haven't seen for a while, [they all ask] 'How's the hip doing?'" Flynn said. "That's two, three years ago. I'm fine now. [But] they still have that on their minds."
