Being traded is a rejection. It is. That might not be the way most fans see it, but for players, being traded means you weren't what your previous team had in mind. It's no different than walking into an office, taking a job, and then being told to go away. That stings.
But Larry Hughes has dealt with it before. He's also made clear that he wants to "play more minutes and contribute" (though it could be argued that his most noteworthy contribution is any time he doesn't chuck up a shot). So when he heard the rumors that the Bulls were actively looking to deal him, he didn't seem at all fazed (HT: MP blog)
“If you get traded, obviously another team wants you, so it’s always a positive in that way,” Hughes said. “I definitely want to play minutes and contribute. That’s a focus of mine. Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to do that in the near future.”
That's probably the third time Hughes has mentioned his minutes, and contributing, and so a pattern has emerged: the Bulls aren't happy with Hughes, and Hughes isn't happy with the Bulls. The funny thing about this is that Hughes isn't exactly playing limited minutes; as Ryan at Mouthpiece notes, at 27 minutes, he's averaging only 4.5 minutes less in 2008-09 than his career average. So where's the beef?
If our powers of intuition -- coupled with Larry's history as a chucker -- are correct, Larry's "play minutes and contribute" means "I want to have the ball in my hands more. There are too many guards on this team." Good for Larry for wanting to help his team, we guess, but come on man: A little self-perspective, huh?
