Golden State’s Adonal Foyle has (to use a currently popular expression) $8 million reasons to live, but managed to see no action whatsoever in the Warriors’ 120-66 exhibition dispatch of Turkey’s Efes Pilsen last night. Are the Warriors letting the big man languish unfairly, or (more likely) has Don Nelson actually seen the Colgate product play? The player seems to vear towards the latter when speaking with the Contra Costa Times’ Geoff “Def” Lepper.
“As a player, you want everything sweet and nice,” Foyle said. “But that’s not the real world.”
“What he needs to do is guard, block shots, run, get thin and do what I tell him to do, and not worry about scoring or anything like that,” Nelson said.
Although Foyle spoke out publicly three seasons ago when his playing time dropped precipitously, he has been nothing but gracious about the change in his role this time.
“To me, the issue is really not minutes,” Foyle said. “The issue is to try and be supportive and give the team what they need on any given night. … This is a team that is going to have to take more chances because we have to win. So the benefit of the doubt is certainly going to be with the coach, and what he thinks. And you can’t question that.”
As the current NBA player who’s made the most regular-season appearances (593) without ever earning a trip to the postseason, Foyle has a doozy of a plan.
“When we’re in the playoffs and I’m telling him he should run a (play to get a 3-point attempt) for me, maybe he will do it,” Foyle said. “Because I’ve been doing all the dirty work, you know?”
Need4Sheed has video footage of Bill Walton riding a bike through the streets of Shanghai. Sadly, we’ll have to wait a few days for the YouTube clip of Mike Breen rollerblading in Köln.