Paul Silas praising and ripping Gooden all at the same time

[The George]

This desire may also explain why Gooden, despite his rebounding skills, can be frustrating to coaches. When I asked former Cleveland coach Paul Silas about who might be able to average 15 or 16 rebounds a game -- something only three men have done since 1983 -- he mentioned Dwight Howard, Shaq ("if that was his focus") and then his former charge, Gooden. "He has the jumping ability, the timing, and he's strong," said Silas. "But Drew wants to score more than rebound."


Silas needs to get over the fact he got fired and quit dropping little insults like this on his ex players....BUT is was nice to see his opinon of Drew and I thik he is right...ALSO I want to let it be known that I have changed my mind and I really want Drew to stay here and I say in the offseason we offer him 5 years 45 million or 6 years 52 million what ever it takes I want Drew here

 

[The George]

this was on si.com to if anyone wanted to read the whole article, it had a nice thing about drew at the beginning

 

[Coyote]

Sounds outdated to me (Silas' quote, not your post, George). Drew has proven this year that he's willing to fight for rebounds first. Problem is still mental lapses, but that has improved somewhat.

Besides, right now, we need him to score.

 

[The George]

I agree it is outdated...back from last year when Silas was a coach....but now he is just salty he got replaced by the younger Mike Brown....this is in the same line as what he said about LeBron not playing defense on ESPN....get over it Paul you dont work here anymore

 

[Recluse]

I thought it was a fantastic compliment. he essentially said that gooden could be one of the top 3 rebounders in the league and average 16 rpg.

 

[The George]

i think that he could too....man i would love to see him get up in the 13, 14 area and compete with Ben Wallace and guys like tha for the rebounding title

 

[Coyote]

I think another year in Mike Brown's system would help him achieve that. I really do. The kid's been tossed around so much, told to play this way and that, he's got this kind of shifting identity. He can score, he can rebound, but no one seems happy when he does either.

On the other hand, with LBJ, Hughes, and Z, I don't know if he could average 13-14. Hard to do that when your 2 & 3 are averaging 10-15 rebounds between them.

 

[Karma]

This is not a bitter comment by Silas. He knows Drew's mentality. It is obvious to eveyone that Drew is a frustrated scorer out there playing another role. Howver he goes about his business without complaint, which is suprisisng for a pro athlete.

 

[ootbttnlagitnbasf]

silas' comment would not make any sense if he did not include the part about drew wanting to score. how else could he explain that drew is not acheiving his purported potential of 15-16 rebounds a game? he would have to give some explanation.

plus, i agree with karma. silas knows drew and his mentality.

how can anyone argue with silas when it comes to rebounding? he was probably the best rebounder for his size that the nba has ever known. he knows more about rebounding and winning championships than anyone in the cav's organization. compared to him, the rest of the cav's organization has just watched championships on tv.

 

[Taiter]

What do you guys think will happen with Drew after he signs this next deal, which will probably be the biggest of his career? Will he coast after that and lose some motivation, as we've seen so many times with other players, or will he keep trying to improve? Seems like a key question to ask...

 

[Wine and Gold]

What do you guys think will happen with Drew after he signs this next deal, which will probably be the biggest of his career? Will he coast after that and lose some motivation, as we've seen so many times with other players, or will he keep trying to improve? Seems like a key question to ask...

It's a valid concern,.,especially after viewing him for a couple years now. He has his periods where he lapses in focus. Anyone making that degree of commitment to him, would have to have that as a primary concern. He's never been known as a player who brings it with consistency. He's on two off one, even this season. But, his energy level has gotten better, but still, if you look at his game by game stats ...he has a tendency to disapear with too much frequency still.