:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/8149991/20130205_ter_su8_105.0.jpg)
A week ago, after rumors surfaced that the Brooklyn Nets were possibly interested in trading Kris Humphries for Ben Gordon, I wondered if perhaps the Detroit Pistons erred in shipping out Gordon and a first-round pick for an expiring contract.
Ben Gordon just gave me my answer and it is an emphatic, "the Pistons were right."
If you aren't so scarred by the John Kuester era that you're prone to horrible flashbacks, read on and you'll find a story of an overpaid veteran shooting guard blowing up on a coach because he can't will subpar talent to victories night in and night out.
Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo has all the details, but in short, Ben Gordon flipped out on Charlotte Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap and now the Bobcats front office is more desperate than ever to unload the surly shooting guard.
As Dunlap led the Bobcats in a morning shootaround on Monday before a victory over the Celtics, Gordon refused Dunlap's request to stop bouncing a ball as the coach spoke, sources said. Before long, Gordon began baiting Dunlap, telling him that he needed to "humble himself," sources said.
Gordan refused to give the ball to Dunlap, and eventually tossed it toward a ball rack, sources said.
Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins was in the practice session and ultimately intervened, sources said.
"Beyond disrespectful," was how one league source described the scene.
Ben Gordon was never the problem in Detroit that Richard Hamilton and perhaps Tayshaun Prince were, but he was certainly an unhappy player throughout his stay in Detroit.
While the Pistons have been desperate for better players on their roster, also important was to eliminate the toxic atmosphere in the locker room, lest it infect the players with a future in Motown.
Especially with Drummond being such a pleasant surprise and Monroe back to his old form, I am comfortable saying I'm glad Gordon is gone and think the first-round pick (protected, of course) was a fair price to pay.