 Scrub Wars:
The Sitting Menace
December 7th, 2003
A storm of controversy erupted on Friday with recently traded bench jockey Chris Jefferies and soon-to-be cut future NBA All-Star bench guard Rick Brunson at its center. Jefferies was the key Raptor player in a six-man trade with Chicago on December 1st that was first reported by Rick Brunson .com.
Once he arrived in Chicago, Jefferies was quick to comment on playing in Toronto and his relationship with his fellow pinesman. "Everybody [in Toronto] was cool. I liked everybody except one person, and I heard he was cut," said Jefferies, making an obvious reference to Brunson, who is expected to be cut or traded on December 15th, the earliest the Raptors can make such a move under league rules. Jefferies continued, stating that "I really don't care about that dude at all. I know a lot of people don't like him."
A Raptors source confirmed the bad blood between the two players and chalked it up to the two of them spending too much time together. "Most players on the team get along pretty good because they work hard together and have some respect for each other, but those two were constantly fighting over their seats and you just can't respect their games. After four years of riding the pine, Yogi (former Raptors forward Michael Stewart) really wore a huge ass groove into seat 1L. Just looking at it is uncomfortable. Rick would arrive hours before game time, clang a couple of shots off the rim, and then park his butt on seat 1K for the next 5 hours. That used to really piss Jefferies off.”
Raptors team psychologist Wayne Burke called the battle a "classic alpha male standoff." In an exclusive interview with Rick Brunson .com, Burke explained that this situation in not uncommon between the leagues benchwarmers. "These guys, even if they play different positions, feel that they are in competition with each other for playing time and attention. They feel a need to be the top dog, even if it is among a group of mutts." Burke explained that in this situation, the two players took very different approaches to getting the recognition they so desperately wanted. "Brunson attached himself to (Coach Kevin) O'Neill very quickly, while Jefferies tried to fit in with the players."
Both players were largely unsuccessful in their efforts as Brunson had 10 minutes of playing time in three games while Jefferies saw eight minutes in two games. Since the trade, Jefferies' problems have gone from bad to worse while for Brunson the possibility of being cut by the Raptors may have a silver lining. Team psychologist Wayne Burke explains that "Jefferies is now competing with the entire Chicago team for minutes, not just a couple of benchwarmers in Toronto. Maybe if he had been traded to Orlando he could have been a starter." When asked about Brunson, Burke added "he will probably be the best player at every school-yard game of pickup he joins." |
