Lil Red Machine

Here’s Hughes when asked by the Cleveland Plain Dealer if he missed playing in Cleveland.  This was right before the Cavs’ Sunday night game against the Knicks:

“No”

And here he is again when asked if he was happier in New York than Cleveland:

“Yeah, I’m definately happier.”

Larry got paid.  Being a respectable NBA player and being on a good team are clearly secondary goals to Hughes.  In a sense, I guess part of that mentality really isn’t that objectionable.  We tend to judge all guys against the hypercompetitveness of one Michael Jordan.  Most people, though, aren’t like that.  They just want to go to work, get paid, and go home.  NBA players shouldn’t be expected to carry a different mentality.

However, Hughes ought to remember that the Knicks are using him.  He’s happier?  Really?  All he is to them is an expiring contract.  He had it all when he came to Cleveland.  He managed to fool the NBA scouts when he declared for college.  He was terribly inconsistent during his short stay.  He fooled everyone in Philly and Golden State.  “He still has potential” everyone was saying.  In Washington, he greatly beniffitted from having volume scorers around him to take the pressure off of him.  He could go out there and average 20 PPG, shooting percentage be damned.  The Cavs saw that big number on the stats page, and Danny Ferry then went on to make one of his worse moves as a GM in giving him a 5-year, $70 million deal.  His scoring average was empty, much like a .300 hitter on baseball who never walks.

His tenure in Cleveland was a disaster.  To be fair, he had some personal tragedy in his life, as his brother passed away.  At the end of the day, though, the Cavs were so desperate to get rid of him, that they didn’t care that Ben Wallace was a bust for the Chicago Bulls.  Chicago could’ve sent him over, or merely just a bag of new basketballs and a peanut butter sandwich, and it wouldn’t have made any difference to them.

In a salary dump, the Bulls dealt him to the Knicks about a month ago.  He’s getting minutes for them.  Big minutes.  Maybe Hughes is a diabolical genius.  10 years after being drafted, he’s STILL fooling people.  In Mike D’Antoni’s system, Nate Robinson looks like an all-star and Chris Duhon is looking like an elite level PG.  Hughes is getting his, and laughing all the way to the bank every two weeks.

We don’t miss you either, Larry, by the way.