HONESTY, LOYALTY, RESPECT. (NOT IN THIS BUSINESS)
My whole life I was taught to be fair, honest, loyal, and respectful in all things. ALL THINGS. In the past couple of weeks I have been in contact with 2 teams. Out of respect I will not name the teams. Team 1 offered me a contract and said I would have to share an apartment with a player and his girlfriend along with me my wife, daughter, and future son( due in january). How disrespectful is that? Team 2 called me and said they wanted a meeting with me and the coach and the president. To discuss things, at the meeting the team asked me for how much I wanted, I told them and of course( all teams do this) they said that was too much. I asked for what they could pay and they never gave an answer. The day after the meeting the general manager called me and said we want you to sign “today” I asked for how much, his reply was “I don’t know but I will have a meeting with the president and I will call you in 2 days to tell you for sure”. That was 3 weeks ago. If you don’t have money to pay that’s fine just say so. If you want another player just say so. That’s not the only example of not telling the truth. I got a call from a president of a team and he is asking me questions about how fast I could be there, which airport I wanted to leave from and time I wanted to leave. We agreed on a price my agent was on the 3 way call everything was looking good. The president said “I am going to email you the contract in 1 hour and you will leave tomorrow morning”. I pack my suitcase got my passports(American and Belgian) ready, the email or call didn’t come that night and I called my agent to see what was going on. My agent checked on the situation and he called me the next day and said I heard from the coach because the president would not answer his phone that they are taking a former NBA player. It is not an insult to lose a job to a former NBA player but if you tell me the job is mine and have me pack saying an email is coming and not take me is bad but what makes it worse is that they didn’t have the respect to call me and tell me. My last example is that every team I really mean every team I have played for in my exit meeting has asked me to come back for the following season. Only 2 teams I told I would come back, Bree and 1 other team, the other team and I agreed on deal and the president said its a done deal. I was thinking the same thing until my agent called me and said he hasn’t been paid but the team would call me and ask me to sign back and that we (me and the president) would split my agent’s fee from the season before and the upcoming season if I didn’t tell my agent. I told the president I would not do that he got mad hung up the phone and I never heard from that team again. Why in a business were the players are blamed, booed, resented, ridiculed, and called greedy and a trader, and worse for taking more money for doing the same job. Every person on the planet if they were offered more money for doing the same job would take it but in sports the players are supposed to be loyal and stay with the team that gave them a chance. This is not including the late and non payments for players but we are as players to respect to the team and show up and do your best for the team but the teams need to do it in return to the players after they are the reason for the success for teams.