This is one of the oldest clichés in sports: there is no “I” in the team.
But in reality it is mock-on.
It should always be about the team, not just one individual player – no matter how good he / she is.
Enter the here and now.
If you think the analytical activities are running, taking care of one player’s career is even worse.
You see it now more than ever before. It’s about not wasting the career of a particular player. Somehow the team has to do everything to ensure that a certain player wins in their career. If not, the player should move on to a better situation.
Hogwash.
Often the journey and struggle makes the reward even sweeter. The Chicago Bulls did not waste Michael Jordan’s first seven years. There were only better teams and players in his path.
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However, this idea is not accepted today.
The latest twaddle comes from Golden State. Somehow, manager Steph Curry had to ensure that the Warriors would do everything in his power to make sure he won the rest of his already stellar career.
General Manager Bob Myers said the Warriors feel a responsibility to maximize Curry’s title window.
Not the organization’s window, but Kerrie’s.
‘We feel that responsibility until that man retires, or not in our team, ”Myers told the media. “You have to honor it.
‘You have to do what you can, but that does not mean that the opportunities are there every day and that they are easy to find. You’re always looking, but it’s your job. ”
What makes no sense is that the mission to try to win is aimed at helping Curry win. Didn’t the team already put Curry on the leg when they added Kevin Durant to a team that had already won a title. On top of that, Curry won three NBA championships.
Yet the Warriors somehow owe Curry something more at this point in his career.
The mission should be that an organization tries to win the whole time. And if you single out Curry, does that mean the careers of Klay Thompson and Draymond Green do not matter so much? And if Curry was not in the team, would not the Warriors try so hard to win for those guys?
None of that makes sense.
And guess what. Not everyone can win.
So if a team does not win, it really means that the franchise has wasted a player’s career.
But this is where we are today. It’s all about taking care of a single star player. That’s why there are two quarterbacks in the NFL who both believe their legacy is more important than someone else’s.
First, Deshaun Watson decided the Texans did not know what they were doing, despite playing four games from the previous six seasons.
Because he was not part of the interview process to appoint the new general manager of the team, he somehow did not want to play in Houston anymore and asked to be traded.
Remember, Watson is the same man who signed a mega-dollar contract with this organization after it traded its No. 1 target in DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona.
It would have been the time to be dirty and demand a trade. Instead, he agrees with the team’s decision and takes the money anyway.
The same goes for Russell Wilson with the Seattle Seahawks.
Somehow, after going to the Super Bowl twice and winning once, he does not believe Seattle is securing his legacy. He spoke out publicly against the team.
Wilson never even acknowledged that his legacy would be even greater if he did not throw the interception on the goal line to lose the Super Bowl to the New England Patriots.
And although Wilson did not officially ask for a trade, he hinted that he did not mind moving to another team that he considered a better situation for him.
And let’s not forget James Harden’s exit from the Rockets. Houston has certainly done everything in his power to place other stars around him. They brought in Dwight Howard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. And although the team made some serious runs, it ultimately failed to reach the NBA Finals.
Hardly had they wasted Harden’s precious years. On top of that, they might have reached a championship if Harden himself had not melted in large places under the bright post-season lights.
Sports teams should simply try to win all the time – and mostly for the fanbase, not just a player obsessed with their place in history.
“What is your responsibility?” Myers said about Curry. “It’s helping him win a championship, putting the best players around him you can.”
It has to be about the Warriors, not just Curry. These days, teams have the wrong focus.