More Pacers Woes, NBA Suspends Brandon Rush For Drug Violation

Says five games. Nothing else in the text worth noting.

not really a big deal IMO. I mean, I smoke pot all the time, who am I to judge someone else who does it? Besides, it’s not like Rush is an intergral part of our team.

I think we could take his ‘munchies’ and use that to make him a super, great defender. Just tell him the ball holds funyuns. Of course, this leads to a severe lack of offense, as well as a large increase in the purchase of new basketballs.

I hope he gets his money back, because I didnt see any enhanced performance.

Brandon Rush SUCKS!!!!!!!

Bad player who clearly doesn’t know when to put down the blunt.

As I’ve said before, Rush smokes a lot of weed. Not surprising to anyone in Lawrence. This is why he is so passive on the court. Where are all the Rush fans now?

Players will often get addicted to vicodin after injuries. The way Larry Bird said it made me think it’s pain killers cause pot makes me think he’s be more ashamed. But yea if it’s pot it would be funny cause he acts like he’s high. Hell he prolly go it from Zach Randolph lol

Is it me or is Roy looking a little on the skinny side?

What an idiot. Did you learn nothing from your brothers?

Now I know why he’s so laid back on the court. He’s been all kinds of high….I’m not as bothered by this as I am Lances situation, but damn, how much do ya get paid? And you can’t leave the weed alone why? It’s just dumb. Pick up the blunt again when your career is over…it’s retarded of Rush, thank god we drafted George! Maybe we can package Rush and TJ and get a decent PF.

But I just had a comment discussion with Brad Wells on a post of his at Indiana SB Nation calling for the Pacers to get rid of Rush ASAP.

I posted that I agreed with a lot of what he was saying, but disagreed about Brandon’s value as a defender, citing my Hickory High post.

Brad asked me if I thought Rush should be kept on the team next year. My response was as complete a thought as I have had on the matter so I thought I would bring it over here to possibly spark some more discussion. Here’s what I said:

To be completely honest, I don’t know. I guess I am just really glad I don’t have the responsibility of making that decision. I don’t think it will keep me from rooting for him if he stays in a Pacers uniform. I am also less offended by the personal decision to smoke marijuana, than the lack of respect it showed for the organization and fans; especially as a repeat offender. On a side note, I haven’t heard any mention in the coverage on whether Brandon gets notified after each failed test. I know the team doesn’t hear about it until the 3rd, but it’s incredibly infuriating if he knew he had already failed two tests and it didn’t change his behavior.

One thing that I have found frustrating about the discussion is the argument that getting rid of him kills two birds with one stone. I don’t like the idea that he stinks on the court and is a knucklehead off it, so getting rid of him is a win-win. A knucklehead he may be, but I think he is a solid contributor.

As I alluded to in that post, I think his defense is much better than he gets credit for and has the potential to be great. In addition, he was one of only 26 players in the league last season who made better than 40% of his 3PTs. He was also 6th out of those 26 in terms of 3PTA, so it’s not like he put that number up on just a handful of shots. Teams kill themselves to find solid wing role players who can defend and hit the 3PT. I am bothered by the fact that so much of the opinion on Brandon seems to be about what he doesn’t do well, and ignores the things he does do well.

He joined the Pacers with very high expectations, ones which may be a little unrealistic. Maybe he is not an all-star, but he has two above average NBA skills, and the potential to be a great role player. I honestly don’t know how I feel about him being a part of the team next year, I feel differently almost everyday. (I know that’s a huge cop-out.) I just think the argument that this is an easy decision because of his performance ON and OFF the court is not true.