From the Toronto Star: “Delfino is laid-back like no other Raptor, like few other pro athletes, in fact. His facial expression seldom changes, his voice is barely more audible than a whisper. It is who he is and he can’t – and won’t – change.
“I am a quiet guy,” he said. “Sometimes I look like I’m out, but I’m in, that’s my personality, that’s how I do things. (But) I feel good, I feel good with (Mitchell) and I think we’re comfortable working with each other. That’s very positive. It’s good to know that after two weeks you are able to understand each other and it’s time to go on.”
Also linked from SLAM:
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071012/SPORTS03/310120008/1051/rss16
Psh, we don’t want him anyways with that kind of attitude.
That is shocking, that really makes me not like him at all…
Very ungrateful and what he is saying shows that he doesnt show any competitive edge…very poor attitude from Delfino, i was really expected more from him (as in his character).
What’s the big deal? He’s right. He’s a 25 year old soon to be FA who has accomplished absolutely NOTHING in the NBA to guarentee a big time contract. Tay wasn’t going to sit, neither was Rip so it’s only LOGICAL that his opportunities to succeed in Detroit would be limited which in turn would cost him REAL dollars at contract time. By going to Toronto and competing for a starting spot he’s putting himself in position to get a BETTER offer next year.
All he’s saying is that “If I had stayed with the Pistons I’d be forced to sign a backup level NBA contract, which is less than I’d be offered to go back home by far so I couldn’t take that. Here in Toronto I have a chance to earn a contract that will be BETTER than what I could get home.”
Just because WE worship the NBA as the ultimate level of basketball on the planet DOESN’T mean a 25 year old Euro star like Carlos should suddenly forget the difference between 5 Million dollars and an 800K-1M backup contract.
How can that make you not like someone?
I agree with PG4eva. His statements are pretty pragmatic and reasonable, and not disparaging of Detroit as a team at all, just his role there.
PG4-You make it sound SO innocent. lol
I dont know, when i first read it, it sounded like he was bashing the Pistons and was pulling out an “AK47 deal” (Andre Kirilenko for those of you that dont know).
But looking at it from your POV makes sense but i still think he was taking a shot at the Pistons.
PG4L: It makes me question his heart. Sure, he could be complacent and go back to Europe where things are easy, but what kind of competitive athelete would want that? Who wouldn’t want to play against the best players in the world and learn from all-world talents like Chris Bosh, or Tayshaun, or who ever you happen to be trying to guard that night? For a guy to say, “If I don’t do well this year…!” seems like a pretty defeatist attitude. It’s up to him whether or not he steps it up and succeeds, yet he makes it sound like he has no idea whether or not he’ll play well. To me, that’s crazy. But that’s just me.
Umm the kind who wants to make 5 or so million a year instead of 800K just maybe?
There is NO way he was earning a starting job on the Pistons this year. He needs starters money to match the contracts he could get back home.
This is an A+B=C buisness decision and nothing more. Heart has absolutely nothing to do with it.
No offence but Players DO NOT play for the same reasons we WATCH basketball.
Delfino had to have been a tough problem for everyone in the organization. He played a much more uptempo, unstructured game, but he didn’t have the will or personality to change the game when he came in. In a run unit, he would have fit perfectly, this year for instance, playing alongside Amir and Stuckey, he might have excelled in limited minutes. But he couldn’t knock down the jumper consistently coming off the bench, and he never showed the aggressoin going to the basket that the other players talked about seeing in camp and at practice. If he can parlay his athleticism into consistent finishes at the hoop, he will give Toronto a lot more than he gave the Pistons, who needed him to back up Tay or Rip. How many other players just haven’t had a chance to play serious minutes because the Pistons are stacked?
He’ll get confidence with Toronto, and even if he doesn’t ever become a really consistent player, he’ll get a decent contract. If someone offered me five times the money to do what I do in another country, I’d take it. And it doesn’t hurt to make it known that you will leave for greener pastures because it can strengthen your negotiating position. If you say something like: “I’m an NBA player and I’ll be in this league for my whole career,” you might be screwing yourself out of money.
PG4L: That’s okay that it’s a business decision; I’m not naive enough to forget about the business side of things. But as a fan, I think I don’t think it’s unfair to hope that players are competitive and have a bit of heart. I think it’s more the WAY Delfino said things than WHAT he said. I dunno. I’m probably reading too much into it because I’d take the larger contract to go home, too. But I don’t think I’d talk about it like it was a question as to whether I was capable of performing or not.