[Kstat]

Rip reached a new low tonight. This guy used to be a professional, now he apparently has to be informed in advance to warm up.

Drew Sharp: From Tom Gores to Rip Hamilton, it was another bizarre night at the Palace | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

he mysteries surrounding the Pistons’ present and future continue, making this the most compelling losing team we’ve had around here in quite awhile.

There was an intriguing assemblage in Palace suite No. 125 during Tuesday’s game against San Antonio. Billionaire suitor Tom Gores made his first Palace appearance, watching the Spurs’ 100-89 victory with owner Karen Davidson, chief operating officer Alan Ostfield and other high-ranking franchise officials.


The gathering stirred optimism that perhaps a deal was close with Gores, a Beverly Hills financier, making his first public appearance in Auburn Hills.



Both Gores and Davidson declined comment.


It’s the smart move. Silence is the best strategy, considering the sensitivity of any potential corporate sale on such a large scale. Don’t risk sending any mixed messages that could create further challenges in what’s already believed to be a difficult negotiation.



Rip Hamilton should follow a similar course. But the more he expresses his displeasure, the more immature and unprofessional he comes across.


He spoke with reporters in the locker room for nearly 10 minutes following the game — another game that earned him another DNP (Did Not Play) in the final stats box. He painted himself as someone who simply wants to play basketball and can’t understand why he’s not getting the opportunity.

“It’s a mystery,” he said.


But what shouldn’t be a mystery is why Hamilton can’t march into Joe Dumars’ or John Kuester’s office for an explanation if he’s truly as bewildered about this predicament as he suggests.


He couldn’t answer that Tuesday when repeatedly asked.

Hamilton didn’t play against the Spurs due to a sore groin. Naturally, he blamed the injury on a lack of communication last Saturday in Milwaukee. He surprisingly played against the Bucks — scoring 15 points — and believes he didn’t have sufficient time to warmup.



Are you serious?



He said he didn’t go through his normal routine, which included a pregame massage, because he figured he wouldn’t play. But when asked whether a professional player should always have himself prepared for every possibility, he couldn’t provide an explanation.




Rodney Stuckey almost barreled into Hamilton near the end of the Pistons’ bench diving for a loose ball in the second quarter Tuesday. Does Rip now blame the organization for purposely telling Stuckey to do that?


A rift that was initially personal has now turned pathetic.


Kuester and Hamilton were once so close that Kuester attended Hamilton’s wedding, and when asked Tuesday about the last time he and Kuester spoke, he said that it’s “been a minute” — meaning that it’s been awhile.


“It’s crazy,” he said. “My wife says that all the time, but it’s a business.”


Rip’s biggest problem is that he’s unwilling — or worse yet, incapable — of honest self-reflection. Nothing is ever his fault. Somebody else is always to blame. His chronic avoidance of accountability comes frighteningly close to sociopathic.

“You can blame everybody,” he said, once again turning the focus to others. “You can blame me. I’m not the person to always say ‘OK, you know what, it’s just one-sided.’ It’s crazy how the situation went down. People say that I could have went in there and spoke to them after the first time it happened. You can say anything anyway you want to do it on that.”


There’s speculation that the team approached Hamilton about playing against Sacramento on Jan. 15 after benching him the previous two games, but Hamilton said he didn’t recall any such conversation.


Hamilton knows the Pistons won’t publicly challenge the often fanciful tales he’s spun in the media over the past weeks. As a result, Hamilton controls the public narrative — portraying himself as the helpless victim.


Dumars and Kuester gain nothing responding to each tirade. It’s already embarrassing enough for this franchise, and they wisely won’t worsen the situation further into a tabloid tit-for-tat. Unfortunately, their silence is too easily perceived as an admission of guilt when, in fact, it’s more reflective of taking the professional high road.


Someone has to play the grown-up in this mess, don’t they?


But Detroit loves a martyr. This is a community that would rather exist on memories than accept current reality. This is especially true with its iconic sports figures. They’re more sympathetic toward Rip because he was the leading scorer on the 2004 NBA championship team. He somehow deserves better because of something accomplished seven years ago? That’s inconsistent with the business of the NBA.


Either you roll with the changes or change rolls over you.


Rip’s getting flattened right now. He calls this situation “a mystery” but he’s as capable of solving it as anybody else.

Contact Drew Sharp: 313-223-4055 or dsharp@freepress.com.

[capnpaco]

This all seems kind of tempest-in-a-teapot to me. He's the third-string shooting guard. He's way over-qualified for that job, so obviously they should trade him if it's at all possible to do so, but in the meantime I don't find it terribly surprising that he isn't getting any minutes.

All the stuff about who's-not-speaking-to-who was much more interesting back in Jr. High School, when it involved people I knew personally.

[Big Jerm]

And Rip's sense of entitlement and immaturity rear their ugly heads again. If it's such a mystery, and you're so concerned, wouldn't the obvious solution be to go to Kuester or Dumars and ask what happened? The fact is, it's not a mystery. Less talented players are getting Rip's minutes because of his lax effort and piss poor attitude. Of course, he'd rather cry about it to the media and villify "the man" rather than take responsibility. It's too bad Joe signed him to that ridiculous extension. Now he's basically untradeable.