(Photo courtesy of DGA Productions)
By: Greg Payne
Alright, time for some role play. You've got two options: You can take the form of the father in this scenario or you can take the form of his young son, who's Glen Davis's biggest fan. The following comments from Davis appeared in today's Globe, and, while not surprising, they did shed light on the his future in green, which could very well be decided in the coming week.
“I’m eager and kind of curious,’’ said Davis. “I don’t know where I’m going to be. I like security. Not knowing where I’m going to be is scary. But at the end of the day, I’m in a good position where I’m going to make more money.
“I’ll be very excited to come back to the Celtics or go to a team where I might start. Wherever I’m at, I’ll be happy.’’
"I'm in a good position where I'm going to make more money." That was a beauty. Keep that one in mind.
So, it's opening night of the 2009-2010 NBA Season, and this father and son duo have terrific loge seats just to the right of center court, about twelve rows up, directly across from the players' bench, which the father shelled out nearly $500 dollars in order to obtain.
So the game tips off, and by the end of the first quarter, the Celtics are leading the Toronto Raptors 32-18. All is well, right? Well, in the back of the father's mind, something's nagging at him, and he's merely hoping his young son won't notice. But then, with 10:47 left in the second quarter, his son drops the bombshell.
SON: Dad, where's Mr. Davis?
It was the one question he was hoping to avoid. It was the one thought that would put a damper on the entire night. He was sincerely hoping his son would just forget about Davis and accept Kevin Garnett as a suitable replacement (I bet you never thought anyone would ever type that!), but no. So what now? Does he tell his son the truth? Does he lie? Does he try and cover for Davis in order not to crush his son? Does he wait until after the game? Yeah, waiting until after the game sounds good.
FATHER: Oh, he sprained his ankle in practice yesterday, buddy, so he's not going to play tonight. But look at Kevin Garnett! Watch this!
Kevin Garnett catches an alley-oop pass from Rajon Rondo solely with his right hand and slams it home in Chris Bosh's face, causing his finger bands to explode from his digits.
SON: Wooooooooooowwwwwwwwwww.
The father smiles to himself, hopeful that that very play could begin the cycle. He would need to wean his son off of Glen Davis, and he would need many more monster plays like that one from Garnett.
The game ends in a 109-84 bashing, but not before Garnett threw down two more slams and ferociously swatted three of Bosh's attempts. The father and son walk back to their car, with the son excitedly jumping up in the air, pretending to slam an imaginary ball through an imaginary hoop.
SON: Look dad! I'm Mr. Garnett!
Success!? Was this game all it took? The father finds out the answer as the pair pulls out of the garage.
SON: That Mr. Garnett was great, dad! But I can't wait to see Mr. Davis play again!
The father curses slightly to himself. He has to break the news to him now. He has to.
FATHER: Son, Glen Davis won't be playing for the Celtics this season.
SON (with the smile slowly fading from his face): Why not, dad?
FATHER: Well, it's kind of difficult for you to understand, but players don't always stay with the same team forever.
SON (in denial): But why'd he leave? Mr. Davis was sooooo great! Remember when he hit that jump shot at the buzzer? Remember that, dad? Even mom was jumping up and down!
FATHER: Well, son, I know to you basketball is a game, but in the big leagues, like the game we just watched, it's also a business. And those players make a ton of money. And sometimes, that money gets in the way of things...
SON: So the Celtics didn't pay him enough money then?
FATHER: Well, it's more like another team just paid him more. The Celtics thought that team's offer was too high. They thought Davis wouldn't have been worth THAT much money.
SON: But we're going to win the championship, dad! The championship! Remember two years ago?! You remember it better than I do, but it was soooo exciting, dad! Even mom was jumping up and down! Why wouldn't Mr. Davis just take less money and come back and help us win the championship?
FATHER: I guess sometimes money is more important to a professional athlete than winning is.
SON: That's silly. Then why do they always talk about how much they want to win? Why don't they just come out and say they want to get paid a buncha money?
FATHER: Because it makes them look bad, son. An athlete's image is sometimes even more important than money.
SON: So this whole time, he never really cared about us? He just cared about money?
FATHER: Well I think he really cared at first. But when it came time to make money again he just cared about that more...
SON (crestfallen): Oh...
Here's hoping no father and son actually have to have such a conversation at the start of next season.
Stay Tuned.
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