Andray Blatche’s history of poor decisions is well documented. During his seven-year NBA career, he has come off as more focused on strippers and breaking the law than improving his game.
For a guy that came into the league with a ton of talent and promise, he has to go down as one of the biggest disappointments of all time. Blatche bottomed out last year when he got cut from the Washington Wizards for lack of conditioning. Nobody wanted to touch this guy because no amount of skill is worth the headache that he brings to the table.
But he may be finally getting it together.
Blatche enlisted the help of former NBA player John Lucas, who has a history of getting players on the right path. He spent three months in Houston working with Lucas, receiving counseling, training and nutritional help. Blatche is already down 20 lbs. to 265 and he is hoping to go for five more.
Combine this with his move to Brooklyn to join the Nets, and Blatche could really turn things around.
The environment in Washington was ripe for someone who lacked focus. The entire team has been a big sideshow for the last couple of years, ever since Gilbert Arenas’ stunt with the gun in the locker room. He’ll surely see much more discipline with the Nets.
Lucas has high hopes for Blatche, saying he just lost his way because he entered the NBA as a teenager and quickly became complacent.
“I just think Andray forgot how to work,” Lucas said, adding, “People stopped believing in him, and he stopped believing in himself.”
Anyone who saw Blatche play back at the end of the 2010 season knows what he is capable of, he just has not had the motivation in a long time. If the Nets have the secret to inspiring him, they may have picked up a great asset for their future.
Image: ExpressNBA.com
