The REAL Delonte West

[wayupnorth]

We, as a society, are always so quick to judge someone based on what the "media" tells us, even without any sort of verification.

I wish everyone would at least listen to what Delonte's version of the accounts that transpired that night.

I really feel for the guy, and from all the accounts from the Police officers, this story is not just PR.

http://www.slamonline.com/online/the-magazine/features/2011/09/the-real-mr-delonte-west-guns-gloria-ball-bipolar-and-all/

[Chris]

So, his side of the story is that he "collects" these guns, but when a bunch of his friends came into his house where he was hiding him, and where hid mother and some children were also living, he decided it was a good idea to jump on his 3 wheeled motorcycle in the middle of the night, already on his "seroquil trip", carrying all of these weapons, to move them to another house...because a bunch of his friends were in the house waiving the guns around "living the whole gangsta life thing"?

I gotta say, this does not help his case in my eyes.  I never thought he was out trying to shoot up a night club or anything, I thought he was emotionally unstable and made horrible decisions.  Hearing the story from his point of view just confirms that to me.

I sure hope he is maturing, because it scares the heck out of me that there are people making decisions like that.

[wayupnorth]

So, his side of the story is that he "collects" these guns, but when a bunch of his friends came into his house where he was hiding him, and where hid mother and some children were also living, he decided it was a good idea to jump on his 3 wheeled motorcycle in the middle of the night, already on his "seroquil trip", carrying all of these weapons, to move them to another house...because a bunch of his friends were in the house waiving the guns around "living the whole gangsta life thing"?

I gotta say, this does not help his case in my eyes.  I never thought he was out trying to shoot up a night club or anything, I thought he was emotionally unstable and made horrible decisions.  Hearing the story from his point of view just confirms that to me.

I sure hope he is maturing, because it scares the heck out of me that there are people making decisions like that.

I never said it was okay for him to do what he did. Though I wish we all had your common sense and logic, he's still a young man, who suffers from a mental disorder, and is from a lower socio-economic class, who was vilified by the media and fans in general who did not understand nature of the incident. Is it the driving under the influence or the guns that most scares the heck out of you?

[Chris]

So, his side of the story is that he "collects" these guns, but when a bunch of his friends came into his house where he was hiding him, and where hid mother and some children were also living, he decided it was a good idea to jump on his 3 wheeled motorcycle in the middle of the night, already on his "seroquil trip", carrying all of these weapons, to move them to another house...because a bunch of his friends were in the house waiving the guns around "living the whole gangsta life thing"?

I gotta say, this does not help his case in my eyes.  I never thought he was out trying to shoot up a night club or anything, I thought he was emotionally unstable and made horrible decisions.  Hearing the story from his point of view just confirms that to me.

I sure hope he is maturing, because it scares the heck out of me that there are people making decisions like that.

I never said it was okay for him to do what he did. Though I wish we all had your common sense and logic, he's still a young man, who suffers from a mental disorder, and is from a lower socio-economic class, who was vilified by the media and fans in general who did not understand nature of the incident. Is it the driving under the influence or the guns that most scares the heck out of you?

See, I just don't think he was that vilified.  I think everyone recognized he was a kid that had problems that weren't necessarily his fault.  He has a disease, and it is not something that is easy to deal with, and I think the vast majority of people (at least around here, not sure about nationally) understand that, and give him a ton of leyway for.

But I think it also comes into play when you talk about giving him millions of dollars and a roster spot on an NBA team.  At that point, it doesn't matter WHY he has issues, it is just that these issues make him unreliable, and a liability.

As far as what scares me, it is that someone with a history of mental illness is allowed to collect guns in a house that his mom and children are in.  IMO, he is very lucky that the only thing that happened was that he got arrested.

[Celtics4ever]

Here are the twitter rants supposedly:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1015308-delonte-west-twitter-rant-proves-dallas-mavericks-guard-really-needs-help

derived from this article

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2012/01/delonte-west-cant-attend-white-house-with-rest-of-mavs/1

Part of me is glad we didn't sign him.   He doesn't seem 100% stable.

[ianboyextreme]

So, his side of the story is that he "collects" these guns, but when a bunch of his friends came into his house where he was hiding him, and where hid mother and some children were also living, he decided it was a good idea to jump on his 3 wheeled motorcycle in the middle of the night, already on his "seroquil trip", carrying all of these weapons, to move them to another house...because a bunch of his friends were in the house waiving the guns around "living the whole gangsta life thing"?

I gotta say, this does not help his case in my eyes.  I never thought he was out trying to shoot up a night club or anything, I thought he was emotionally unstable and made horrible decisions.  Hearing the story from his point of view just confirms that to me.

I sure hope he is maturing, because it scares the heck out of me that there are people making decisions like that.

"maturing, maturing , maturing". I keep reading all these posts about different players saying "i sure hope theyre maturing". None of you guys know these people in real life. Having emotional/ terrible decision making problems is quite different from not being mature. For all we know, he has a lot of money saved up for his kids and his future. For all we know he is able to do all the things that a responsible father does for his kids. Stop using this "mature" thing to sum all his problems up.

[Chris]

So, his side of the story is that he "collects" these guns, but when a bunch of his friends came into his house where he was hiding him, and where hid mother and some children were also living, he decided it was a good idea to jump on his 3 wheeled motorcycle in the middle of the night, already on his "seroquil trip", carrying all of these weapons, to move them to another house...because a bunch of his friends were in the house waiving the guns around "living the whole gangsta life thing"?

I gotta say, this does not help his case in my eyes.  I never thought he was out trying to shoot up a night club or anything, I thought he was emotionally unstable and made horrible decisions.  Hearing the story from his point of view just confirms that to me.

I sure hope he is maturing, because it scares the heck out of me that there are people making decisions like that.

"maturing, maturing , maturing". I keep reading all these posts about different players saying "i sure hope theyre maturing". None of you guys know these people in real life. Having emotional/ terrible decision making problems is quite different from not being mature. For all we know, he has a lot of money saved up for his kids and his future. For all we know he is able to do all the things that a responsible father does for his kids. Stop using this "mature" thing to sum all his problems up.

From the first part of the article:

“It didn’t change D, but it did help him mature some,” Mark Fassett, Delonte’s childhood friend and business manager, says. “It helped him focus his energy on what mattered.”

I am not using mature to sum up all his problems.  I am just stealing the word from the article, and saying that I hope its true that the experience helped him mature. 

[Q_FBE]

Without basketball Delonte West has nothing. Seriously, he needs a lot of help and we need to educate ourselves more on bi-polar disorder before we go pre-judging Delonte West.

[indeedproceed]

Without basketball Delonte West has nothing. Seriously, he needs a lot of help and we need to educate ourselves more on bi-polar disorder before we go pre-judging Delonte West.

I'm not sure what that means though. Should Delonte have been let off after getting onto a motorcycle while impaired (endangering others), or should he have been let off for allowing his dumb friends to horse around with his (or their) guns in the house while he slept upstairs in a drug induced slumber? (that's going on the context of the article, not on actual side-effects)

Delonte got hung-out to dry on charges based on really, really, really stupid and negligent decisions made on what I'm sure are good intentions. If the judgement you reach to is 'wow, that was really dumb. He needs to get his crap in order and get the right kind of help', I hardly think its in improper conclusion.

[BballTim]

So, his side of the story is that he "collects" these guns, but when a bunch of his friends came into his house where he was hiding him, and where hid mother and some children were also living, he decided it was a good idea to jump on his 3 wheeled motorcycle in the middle of the night, already on his "seroquil trip", carrying all of these weapons, to move them to another house...because a bunch of his friends were in the house waiving the guns around "living the whole gangsta life thing"?

I gotta say, this does not help his case in my eyes.  I never thought he was out trying to shoot up a night club or anything, I thought he was emotionally unstable and made horrible decisions.  Hearing the story from his point of view just confirms that to me.

I sure hope he is maturing, because it scares the heck out of me that there are people making decisions like that.

"maturing, maturing , maturing". I keep reading all these posts about different players saying "i sure hope theyre maturing". None of you guys know these people in real life. Having emotional/ terrible decision making problems is quite different from not being mature. For all we know, he has a lot of money saved up for his kids and his future. For all we know he is able to do all the things that a responsible father does for his kids. Stop using this "mature" thing to sum all his problems up.

  People don't mature out of emotional problems, but people with emotional problems do mature to a certain extent, including with their decision making.

[Chris]

Without basketball Delonte West has nothing. Seriously, he needs a lot of help and we need to educate ourselves more on bi-polar disorder before we go pre-judging Delonte West.

But who is pre-judging him?

That's what I don't get.  At least on this site, I think people have been incredibly understanding.  Its just there is a huge difference between being sympathetic to his situation, and advocating taking a risk on him as a basketball player.

I think the most common "negative" view towards Delonte has been "I hope he gets better, but I don't trust that he is mentally stable (and or physically stable, from an injury standpoint) to give him a contract/role"

I really have seen very few people judge him as a person.  But it is absolutely appropriate to use his actions and history to decide whether he is a good fit for you favorite basketball team.

[Celtics4ever]

Most of us don't know him as a person.   Those who did in the Celtics family saw him as expendable though and that is enough for me.

[Celtics18]

Love you, Redz.  You'll always be a Celtic in my heart.