After yesterday’s gushing post, I’m hesitant to pile on, but this is too weird not to mention. Did you ever feel like the odds were sometimes stacked against Amir Johnson during the Flip Saunders era? It’s because they were. From Chris McCosky of the Detroit News:
Somewhere there is a former Pistons assistant coach who ought to be checking his vital signs. Two years ago, the assistant on Flip Saunders’ coaching staff looked at Amir Johnson clanking one ugly-looking jumper after another during warmups and said, “As long as I am alive, Amir Johnson will never be in an NBA rotation.”
Well sir, don’t look now. Johnson will not only be in the rotation for tonight’s opener against the Pacers, he will be the starting power forward for a Pistons team that again is expected to contend for the Eastern Conference title.
“Who said that? Damn,” Johnson said. “That’s OK. That just gives me fuel. Whoever the doubters are, man, I am going to prove everybody wrong.”
I encourage you to read the rest of the article, which offers a rare glimpse into Johnson’s first two years in the league, including how difficult it was for an 18-year-old to adjust to life as a pro, and the not-entirely surprising revelation that Johnson’s now-impressive work ethic took some time to develop.
Back then, it was hard for fans trying to follow his progress — his name was rarely mentioned in the media aside from an occasional one-liner at the end of an article whenever he was assigned to or promoted from the D-League. Even up-to-date D-League stats were hard to come by, though it was apparent that he was tearing it up. I remember it being a tad frustrating, though considering the rest of the team was busy winning a league-high 64 games in 2005-06, it was an extremely minor nuisance.
(Also, for what it’s worth, Amir’s jumper still looks awkward, even if he gets relatively decent results.)
Just for kicks, I’m curious who this naysayer was that thought fit to bury a 19-year-old rather than try developing him …
Flip’s first season on the job in 2005-06 coincided with Amir’s rookie year. That year, Flip’s assistants were Sidney Lowe, Don Zierden, Ron Harper, Kevin Wilson and Igor Kokoskov, none of whom are still with the team.
Lowe and Zierden left after the first year — Lowe took over at NC State and Zierden took over the WNBA’s Lynx. Harper and Wilson simply didn’t have their contracts renewed the summer of 2007. Terry Porter came on board the summer after Flip’s first year and stayed two seasons before he was hired by the Suns this past June, taking Kokoskov with him.
In June 2007, McCosky wrote, “Some on the coaching staff believe he will never be more than an end of the bench reserve,” which seems to suggest Asst. Coach Negative Nancy was still employed by the team. Since Lowe and Zierden had already been gone for 12 months, we’re left with Harper, Wilson, Porter or Kokoskov. Considering Kokoskov’s primary role seemed to be in player development, I’m guessing we can rule him out. I know Porter also spent a lot of time putting the Zoo Crew through the paces before games last year, so if I had to guess, I’d probably rule him out, too.
By process of elimination, we’re left with Harper and Wilson. It’s a coin flip, right? Perhaps. But in this article from 2007, Ron Harper described how talented Amir was and how he enjoyed teaching him. And in hindsight, it seems like Dumars really wanted to get Wilson out of town.
Wilson was one of Flip’s most-trusted friends and mentors — in fact, Wilson actually recruited and coached Flip at the University of Minnesota back in the 70’s. A couple of decades later when Flip was hired by the Timberwolves, he added his former coach to his staff, and he eventually brought him to Detroit when Flip was hired by the Pistons.
When Wilson’s contract was up in the summer of 2007, Flip was hoping it would be renewed, and when it wasn’t, he told Dumars he’d pay Wilson’s salary out of his own pocket. Dumars refused the offer, instead choosing to sign Michael Curry. Could it be Dumars knew Wilson didn’t have faith in his young project? Did Wilson oppose to being used as a human springboard?
Maybe. Or maybe not. This is pure conjecture, I could be completely off base, and even if I’m not, it’s not like it actually matters. Johnson faced an uphill battle — he was one of the last five players picked in the 2005 draft, a lot of people doubted him.
And for it’s worth, Wilson is no longer in the NBA — as surprising as it sounds, he’s actually the director of admissions at Bethany College in West Virginia, a small school with an enrollment of 800 students. I wish him well, and for his sake I hope all of the 10-year-olds at his basketball camp have perfect form.
The only reason I’m posting this is because curiosity got the best of me and I figured I may as well share my guess. Despite the fact I just devoted a thousand words to this (seriously, I need a new hobby), I place zero importance on actually knowing who said what and when, aside from hoping that Dumars, Curry and the current assistants are all on the same page, which I’m pretty sure they are.
When Dumars introduced Curry, he admitted it was the first time he’s hired someone he already knew, and cited his rapport with Curry as one of the reasons he was comfortable turning to a rookie head coach. It’s too late for it to really matter for Johnson, but it’s certainly good news for Walter Sharpe, not to mention Alex Acker and Will Bynum.
MW, that was a damn fine read. No new hobby required, though if you were interested in some ghost writing for some uni work of mine…
Just kidding.
But seriously, if your interested…
No, its wrong. Kind of like that time with my cousi…
Ahem.
I hate Flip now. I love Amir. Season starts!
Back then, it was hard for fans trying to follow his progress — his name was rarely mentioned in the media aside from an occasional one-liner at the end of an article whenever he was assigned to or promoted from the D-League. Even up-to-date D-League stats were hard to come by,>>
I must be on a different Internet because I saw Amir play about a dozen or so D-League games at least on the internet. That is when I knew that someday he was going to be a star in the NBA.
(Also, for what it’s worth, Amir’s jumper still looks awkward, even if he gets relatively decent results.)>>
It looks a heck of lot better than Marion’s.
Actually the only thing to me that looks different about it is that he tends to release it from the side of his head rather the front. However, I don’t notice a hitch in it. He doesn’t seem to shot put it. In fact he has in my opinion a nice smooth quick release albeit from a different position than most NBA shooters.
Matt:
I am glad McCosky and you wrote these articles because these articles support what I have been saying for last 2 years.
Not that I have ever waivered in my support of Amir, but it is nice to know that the truth is finally coming out that Flip kept Amir glued to the bench because he didn’t trust and like his game.
That would also explain Cowern’s comments in camp that Amir doesn’t do many things that are coachable. This is consistent with what Snowflake and Hot Rod said about Flip. That is that at least last year when they were rookies Flip didn’t spend anytime or assign anyone to coach the young guys.
This is also consistent with what a lot of Pistons fans said duuring the Flip era that Flip didn’t develop the young guys.
Snowflake is one of Afflalo’s three nicknames.
Snowflake was given to him by Sheed
Aflac was given to him by his other teammates
Spellcheck was given to him by some Pistons internet fans
Snowflake? Really? As I recall, you freaked out when someone called him Spellcheck, but I guess a nickname that makes him sound like a little girl’s pony is cool with you.
Anyway, nice police work. It’s a little surprising, since I’ve been keeping tabs on Amir for a while, and most of the coaching staff (including his D-League coaches) only had positive things to say about him.
Well, bye bye Flip and Wilson.
Snowflake sounds great to me (we HAVE to get rid of Spellcheck.)
Reading the article, I kept thinking how all these details were absent from conversations in the past. Meaning that the Pistons purposely swept these details under the rug when it came time to talk to the media.
What I kept going back to when I’d discuss Amir, is that, throughout his time with the Pistons, he has done nothing to derail my high expectations… physically, mentally, socially, etc. But had I known more of the stuff that came out in this article I probably wouldn’t have been so optimistic.
Matt- Like Laughton I thoroughly enjoyed your 1000 words and agree this is a great hobby for you to have. Don’t be shy about long posts/columns on something you’re passionate about because you normally throw an A game when you do.
Last year I had League Pass but this year I’m stuck with watching some bootleg and begging that my DSL doesn’t let me down. I hope no one else here has to deal with crappy-ass Charter cable. Go Amir
MW - Keep writing, I think most of us agree, that we all enjoy your work.
Snowflake? Really? As I recall, you freaked out when someone called him Spellcheck, but I guess a nickname that makes him sound like a little girl’s pony is cool with you.>>
Spellcheck was given to him by a group of casual internet fans (I know where it came from it is was given as a derogatory nickname when it was give) and is a dumb nickname in my opinion because there are a lot of players in the NBA whose name is harder to spell like “Wally World”s last name for example. Besides Afflalo’s name is not found in dictionaries so running a spellcheck on how to spell name would be and is a worthless waste of time.
Snowflake was given to him by Sheed and if Sheed gives a nickname to a plyer then it is cool with me.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Q&A with Arron Afflalo
Joanne C. Gerstner / The Detroit News
Q. You traveled to Japan over the summer. How was it?
A. It was good, it was an interesting trip. I was in Tokyo mostly.
Q. Sightseeing, doing what?
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A. It was like an NBA/adidas thing. I did basketball camps and talked a lot about the game to kids and people who were interested in the game. It was a lot of work. I didn’t get to see much outside of that.
Q. Did you do anything fun?
A. I went to some electronics stores and looked around. And I had Kobe beef for the first time. That was really good.
Q. What’s the worst way your name has been mispronounced?
A. There’s been a lot of ways. I don’t know why it happens. I don’t think my first or last name are particularly difficult. They’re said just the way they look. But it happens all the time.
Q. I know Rasheed Wallace has given you a weird nickname. Why?
A. He’s called me “Snowflake.” It makes no sense.
Q. Maybe he’s trying to say you’re unique, as no two snowflakes are alike.
A. I guess. It makes no sense to everybody, except for Rasheed. First time he called me that, I just looked at him trying to figure it out. I still haven’t figured it out.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081028/SPORTS0102/810280370
“Besides Afflalo’s name is not found in dictionaries so running a spellcheck on how to spell name would be and is a worthless waste of time.”
???
“I know where it came from it is was given as a derogatory nickname when it was give.”
I don’t think it was meant to be derogatory.
Whoa, that’s the first I heard someone suggest “Spellcheck” was offensive. I always thought it was playful and light-hearted.
You’re missing one Afflalo nickname: Showbe.
@Mike:
“I know where it came from it is was given as a derogatory nickname when it was give”
I think our own Kevin S. is responsible for the “Spellcheck” nickname, which was never derogatory. If you can find an earlier reference, Mike, post it.
I hate that, just because he didn’t have a nice jumshot doesn’t mean he can’t play.
It’s like saying, man the car is from 2000, too old for me, instead of looking at what kind of car it is and what kind of shape it is in.
damn
good read Matt….Can’t believe a coach had the nuts to say a dude who was barely an adult had no business in the NBA