[220Participant]

"I just stick to my strengths," he [Jabari Parker] said on 670 The Score in Chicago Wednesday. "Look at everybody in the league. They don’t pay players to play defense. There’s only two people historically that play defense. I’m not going to say I won’t, but to say that’s a weakness is like saying that’s everybody’s weakness. Because I’ve scored 30 and 20 on a lot of guys that say they play defense." – Jabari Parker said in an interview. 

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/24139895/new-bull-jabari-parker-says-better-offense-wins-championships

I’m literally dumbfounded by such a statement from Jabari Parker. I can’t believe he honestly thinks guys don’t play defense and that teams don’t pay players to play defense. Does he look at opponent field goal percentage or any defensive stats at all? I get his point that people hit their scoring averages, but making it harder for guys to score is crucial to the game. It’s a large reason some top notch scorers don’t get the same respect as the top two way guys. Parker just looks ignorant with such a comment.

 

[zcnumerounoParticipant]

 Well, as a Bucks fan I can certainly say he played with that mindset over his 4 years in Milwaukee. LOL.

[jonus grumbyParticipant]

 Is he really wrong?  I know what you say is correct about the defensive aspect of the game.  But people are saying that with Zach and Jabari at the 2 and 3 the Bulls have the potential to be historically bad defensive end but yet they each got a new contract at 18 and 20 million.  I mean let us know when a all defense and no offense guy makes as much as a no defense and all offense guy.

[220Participant]

 We’ve undoubtedly seen a multitude of guys who only play on the offensive side of the ball get big contracts. I have no problem with him saying guys who score get paid the big money. What bothers me if him saying only two guys historically speaking play defense. He sounds like a fool saying that. It’s almost as if he said I tried playing defense before and I didn’t like it so I won’t do that again.

[HobbyOGParticipant]

 Well..he just got 20Mill per season and he’s injury prone. And a guy who plays defense like Marcus Smart, whose been more durable only got 12 milllion a season…I don’t agree with his statement but he kind of has a point. 

[The GoatParticipant]

 This should ring alarm bells pairing him on the wing with Zach Lavine. This team will be very reliant on Lauri and Carter Jnr. If those two went down, Dunn, Jabari and Zach have about 25 wins in them – maximum. 

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

Well, Chicago has gone a year without Jay Cutler… 

[ballup23Participant]

 Sounds about right, Steph Curry was being called the best player in the league while being a wekaklink on that end

[HobbyOGParticipant]

 James Harden as well..dude won MVP this past year and plays no D. Has a fat contract and fat endorsement deal with Adidas…

[llperez]

He sounds dumb here. Just as a laker fan, Ive seen defense absolutely rewarded financially. Isaiah Thomas had to settle for minimum salary this year in large part to bad defense. Julius Randle has a monster year and led lakers in scoring while shooting 56%fg but had to settle for 9mil due in large part to mediocre defense. Kcp isn’t the offensive player either of those 2 were but he brought it on defense and got more money then the two of them combined. There’s tons of examples that go both ways on this

[BothTeamsPlayedHardParticipant]

Andre Iguodala has a Finals MVP for a series where LeBron averaged 36/13/9. Why? Keeping him to 39.8% from the field and 31% from three made the counting numbers less impactful. They were pace of play numbers. The Spurs won 47 games in the West without their best player. Why? They were one of, if not the, best defensive team in the league. 

Smokin’ J Parker certainly doesn’t sound like he gets it. Maybe it is just sensitivity to the criticism and he is trying to dismiss it, but it is not a good look. It is a quote that should get David Nwaba’s agent on the phone immediately. If a young guy has a lax attitude to defense, the remedy is to bench him. You can’t score from the bench, right? If the Bulls go forth without Nwaba (and now that the Spurs made their move on Kawhi, I think he would probably be high on San Antonio’s list of options to help defend ont the wing), and if Chandler Hutchison does not prove to be ready to offer minutes right away, then where can the Bulls go? Denzel Valentine and Justin Holiday aren’t terrible defensively, but aren’t equipped in terms of length or athleticism to take on the job of defending the other team’s best wing. As for Parker, he is on a one-year deal. They can announce it as two with an option, but if they can’t play him and LaVine together without getting hung for 120, he is the one who will go. LaVine has four years. Markkanen is on a rookie deal at the 4, and Carter is on it at the 5. Even if they ultimately decide that keeping Parker as a 4 off the bench makes more sense than keeping Portis, it is not going to be for the same money as he just got. This, still worthwhile, one-year experiment is about whether he can get his body back to a place after two ACLs to play the 3. If he can’t, he can still have a career as a 4 who can shoot it, but at a much different pay grade.

 

[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

 It’s not surprising coming from a guy who is possibly the worst defensive player I have ever seen.

[TarHeelRavenParticipant]

 It’s not surprising coming from a guy who is possibly the worst defensive player I have ever seen.

[Author]

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