Ya know, I don’t consider Danny, or most GM’s for that matter to be liar. Many have called it spinning, well technically I would say it is, I don’t really consider it spinning either (because “spinning” to me has a negative connotation).
I just call it being positive, and I think a lot of our players are the same way.
Like I’ve never heard KG or Ray or Pierce talk bad about a current teammate (although I know there are some stories about KG fighting his teammates, I don’t recall him talking bad about them to the press, maybe I’m wrong though). I’m pretty sure I’ve heard our guys say Semih is going to be a good player in this league, I remember hearing the Pistons’ players (when they were good) saying Darko was going to be a good player too. I’m sure there are or have been guys on our team that the Big 3 didn’t like, but you don’t talk bad about them, or even be bluntly honest. You talk about the positive things. If KG didn’t like Patrick O’Bryant, he would say things like “Patrick O’Bryant is a good guy and has the tools to be a good player if he works hard”, even if he really thinks POB is lazy, I don’t expect him to call his teammate lazy (to the public). I don’t consider this lying or spinning or whatever. I just consider it being positive. And this goes for the GM too.
Chemistry is important. I consider being positive part of building good relationships and chemistry. But this is the type of guy I am, so I guess I expect it from others too.
I don’t talk bad about a girl I’m dating when I’m dating her, even if there are things I don't like. But if we break up, I might say some things I wouldn’t say before. Dating a girl who might be a little selfish, I’m not going to talk about that to others, I’m going to talk about something positive instead like how funny she is. Once we breakup, is a little easier to say that she was a little too selfish for me.
I don’t talk bad about my co-workers when I’m working with them. But if they quit or get fired, I might say some things I wouldn’t say before. When I work with “Joe” and I don’t like him because he’s lazy or a bad worker or whatever, when asked about “Joe” I might say, “Joe is a really smart guy.” But when he leaves, I might say, “Joe was smart, but he always came in late and left early and I don’t really think he wanted to be here. I’m glad we got “Dave” to replace him, Dave is the first one to get here and the last one to leave.”
I don’t talk bad about my teammates when I played sports. But if we’re not on the same team anymore, I might say some things I wouldn’t say before. If I’m a Celtic and Perk was my teammate, I’m going to talk about how tough he is, how good of a defender he is when we’re on the same team, I would never talk about how bad an offensive player he is. If I’m concerned about his injury, I’ll talk about how hard he’s worked to come back, I’m not going to talk about how scared I am he’s not going to ever be 100% again. When he gets traded for Krstic, I’m going to talk how good an offensive player Krstic is and how how nice it is to play with a Center who can stretch the floor and is active on the offensive glass.
(Lol, hopefully this doesn’t sound two-faced, it’s not saying two different things, it’s being positive).
And this is what I think Danny does, and what most GM’s do.
If Danny told Perk: “We are going to do whatever it takes to re-sign you, we want to make sure you retire as a Celtic. We’re not going to trade you.” Then I would consider him a liar, but we really have no idea what is said in the locker room. I do think some GM’s do this, but not all. I don’t think Danny does this (but that’s just my opinion).
And with the injury thing (like to guys like JO, Shaq, Garnett in the past, etc.), again I don't consider this lying, but focusing on the positive, being an optimist as opposed to a pessimist, and you see it with a lot of posters here. (Just throwing out numbers here), say there's a 25% chance JO returns, some posters focus on that there is a 25% chance he returns, and some will focus on that there is a 75% chance he doesn't return. Some people focus on the positives of the trade, some focus on the negatives. Often effective leaders (IMO) focus on the positives of what they have, instead of the negatives.