Smart missed shootaround due to flat tire - cost him minutes.

[mmmmm]

Brad's setting a precedent. Flat tyres or dogs eating your homework-doesn't matter, you do what you gotta do to get there. You make millions of $$$  year, get a cab, call your helper and get to shootaround. The flat tyre excuse could be used by everyone if he didn't punish Smart with a minutes restriction.

I would imagine that Smart drives a very expensive car and you don't just abandon such a car by the side of the road and flag down a cab!!!  To expect him to do that is silly IMHO!!

Smitty77

If this was acceptable everyone would use this excuse and no one would ever be punished... bottom line.

Flip this around:  With this sort of zero-tolerance thinking, if I were a fan of the other team and I knew were a player lived, I'd go flatten his tires, knowing exactly how Stevens will react.  Like pushing a button.

Punishing a player (and his team) for something that is outside the player's (or the team's) control seems mindlessly stupid.

Maybe there is more information such that this situation WAS in Smart's control, in which case, he should be disciplined.  But on the surface, as reported, I find this an absurdly childish way to manage people.

[SHAQATTACK]

Seems like there must be more to the whole story. Almost has to be.

Seems trifling to punish him so severely over something he can't control like a flat tire. It's easy enough to prove fit it really happened.

The punishment doesn't fit the crime as stated .

So either he was caught in a lie,  more too it. ,  or he was way over disciplined , which I find hard to believe as these NBA are treated with kid gloves anyway.

[csfansince60s]

Rather than cut his minutes, maybe he should've just fined him....make it the same for everyone...fines multiplied substantially for multiple offenses.....or is that against the contract?

[BitterJim]

Brad's setting a precedent. Flat tyres or dogs eating your homework-doesn't matter, you do what you gotta do to get there. You make millions of $$$  year, get a cab, call your helper and get to shootaround. The flat tyre excuse could be used by everyone if he didn't punish Smart with a minutes restriction.

I would imagine that Smart drives a very expensive car and you don't just abandon such a car by the side of the road and flag down a cab!!!  To expect him to do that is silly IMHO!!

Smitty77

If this was acceptable everyone would use this excuse and no one would ever be punished... bottom line.

Flip this around:  With this sort of zero-tolerance thinking, if I were a fan of the other team and I knew were a player lived, I'd go flatten his tires, knowing exactly how Stevens will react.  Like pushing a button.

Punishing a player (and his team) for something that is outside the player's (or the team's) control seems mindlessly stupid.

Maybe there is more information such that this situation WAS in Smart's control, in which case, he should be disciplined.  But on the surface, as reported, I find this an absurdly childish way to manage people.

I don't think Stevens needs to plan around the possibility of opposing fans breaking into wherever our players keep their cars and then vandalizin them

[mmmmm]

Brad's setting a precedent. Flat tyres or dogs eating your homework-doesn't matter, you do what you gotta do to get there. You make millions of $$$  year, get a cab, call your helper and get to shootaround. The flat tyre excuse could be used by everyone if he didn't punish Smart with a minutes restriction.

I would imagine that Smart drives a very expensive car and you don't just abandon such a car by the side of the road and flag down a cab!!!  To expect him to do that is silly IMHO!!

Smitty77

If this was acceptable everyone would use this excuse and no one would ever be punished... bottom line.

Flip this around:  With this sort of zero-tolerance thinking, if I were a fan of the other team and I knew were a player lived, I'd go flatten his tires, knowing exactly how Stevens will react.  Like pushing a button.

Punishing a player (and his team) for something that is outside the player's (or the team's) control seems mindlessly stupid.

Maybe there is more information such that this situation WAS in Smart's control, in which case, he should be disciplined.  But on the surface, as reported, I find this an absurdly childish way to manage people.

I don't think Stevens needs to plan around the possibility of opposing fans breaking into wherever our players keep their cars and then vandalizin them

Not really the point, but ok.