I’m curious to hear your opinion on this
This is an audio clip — thanks to Chris, a very good contributor to this blog. Jason Quick, who covers the Trail Blazers for The Oregonian, is being interviewed on The Fan by Isaac and Suke about Greg Oden.
Jason is a long-time friend of mine and very good at his job. His comments about Oden begin with “I can’t stand to be around the guy” — which I’m not sure I’ve ever heard a reporter say in public (although many times in private) about someone he’s covering. What do you think, first, of a reporter saying that in a public forum? And second, what do you think about what he’s saying about Oden?
Media, Trail Blazers | Dwight Jaynes | December 10, 2008
Pretty unprofessional. Quick is not getting paid to hang around the guy. Maybe Oden doesn’t like being around Jason. Neither has to like the other to do their jobs. In all fairness, Oden should be given the opportunity to say how he feels about Jason Quick.
Somehow I doubt many reporters liked Cliff Robinson or Racheed Wallace, but I never heard anyone complain publicly about them to another media source.
This sounds like two people are taking it personally that a player is having a tough time integrating into the NBA after a rollercoaster of hype and pent up frustrations that went on for over a year.
Even if this was the case – and I can only go by what Quick is saying – are these comments (on a major sports radio outlet) going to remedy the situation at all?
Isn’t there a difference between lighting a fire under someone and completing burning them?
The relationship between JQ and GO is certainly not what I expected it would be…weird.
I agree with Hayduke. That’s pretty unprofessional of Quick. He’s paid to be a reporter, not Greg Oden’s buddy.
Reason #829 why the newspaper industry is failing. Reporters aren’t objective.
Dwight – can you share your thoughts on the matter?
I think you guys are missing the point. This is a professional observation which was shared by another professional. The point is that despite a 15-7 record Greg Oden is so negative that these guys do not want to interview him or anything else. What is the reason? It could be the key to the Blazer season. Is it minutes played, his success, not getting the ball enough? The answer to those questions is important in the Blazer scheme of things. It is not just Quick being snubbed after the “negative”, read truthful, article at the start of the season. The relationship that Jason has with this team harkens back to the days when professional teams traveled by rail, or bus, and the press rode with them. Reason # 829 does not wash because he IS being objective. Jason will write the good, the bad or the ugly. He does not toss softballs. The newspaper industry is failing because they do not print the truth. They print opeds disguised as the news.
Reason #829 why the newspaper industry is failing. Reporters aren’t objective.
Wrong answer. Quick was being asked to pull the curtain back and he did.
Personally I prefer to have this stuff out in the open while a guy is in town rather than hear the stories after they’ve left (see also: Randolph, Zach). Quick is being paid to dig into what makes these guys tick. It’s what reporters should be doing rather than stenography, which is what Justin seems to want.
Add…
We heard several times last season how gregarious and open Oden was, especially compared to the sulking Durant. Mike Rice made this point weekly. Now it turns out either a) there’s something wrong or b) we were being shined on again by the organization. Which is it?
When you are surrounded by dirtbag players, as Quick was for most of the last 10 years, I am sure he had to constantly be aware of letting his personal opinions influence what he wrote about them. He was always way too forgiving of Stoudamire’s shortcomings, both personal and professional, because Stoudamire was personable. I thought he was pretty careful with Bonzi and Rasheed, who I am pretty sure he detested.
Now that he is surrounded by nice guys, he has gone a bit overboard in letting his preference for certain players influence his professional opinions. I think Outlaw fits with the team least in the longterm, and probably has the highest trade value, but Quick steers clear of that topic because he likes Outlaw so much personally.
I started watching the blazers because I was so fond of Sabonis and would forgive his performances against shaq and all kinds of turnovers. But I’m a fan, not a writer. How much someone likes a player is not news.
I like Quick’s stuff a lot. But his work is getting closer and closer to the nonsense his colleague Canzano pulls.
But in the end, Quick is supposed to be professional and to say he can’t stand the guy won’t do much to improve the relationship and it’s something that I don’t really want or need to know. The NBA put Greg on that show with the round table of great centers and big men so it’s a pretty big mental and emotional adjustment to split time and just play a role. The kid is pretty young and just trying to figure things out so it would have been nice to let the his first season unfold a bit before throwing him under the bus, so to speak.
Oden sounds to me like he’s depressed. Which is understandable when you consider all he’s had to deal with and that it is winter time in the Willamette Valley. Do these sports franchises have psychologists? How TO has gone without treatment for this long baffles me. It’s a relatively cheap investment. Not every player is Brandon Roy. How did they not insist on some treatment for Bonzi, Sheed, Reign Man, Stoudamire, the list goes on and on. Maybe they are and they keep it quiet. Well they might not be able to keep it quiet with Quick and Canzano setting players up with dope tests and tattling on the players for feeling blue.
i couldnt handle the pressure now at my age (50)that this young man is going through. so i`m going to give him a break.i would have kept that statement to myself, at least this year.but i`m not paid to cover the team. tough call
I’m shocked that he would feel this way and also that he would broadcast it. Quick recently beamed about Oden in some of his podcasts on the o-live Blazers Blog. I recall him saying that Greg would dominate the league and be an all-star THIS YEAR.
Has Quick’s opinion changed THAT much in just a matter of a few weeks? From adulation to “not-standing” in such a short period of time, to me, seems fickle.
Fans don’t have to, but Quick should give Greg Oden a break. After all, he bears a large portion of the responsibility for the hype that Oden is having a hard time dealing with.
I seem to remember Mr. Quick complaining a few years ago in a podcast about wanting to do other things and how his editor wouldn’t let him and that upset him. Quick does have good insight and is human, so he will hold back or go to far on occasion.
The big thing is though I don’t think you want your dirty laundry aired out for the national media which it now is. Quick’s comments are on ESPN’s True Hoop.
Greg is shooting himself in the foot so to speak because of his body language and perceived lathargic attitude. Greg needs to learn lesson number one about playing in PDX….Play Hard, your short comings will be overlooked. He doesn’t have to be perfect but, act like you care during the game. Me reading about how upset you are in the dressing room doesn’t resonate with me. I see something different on the court. Big men take time to develop and the injury I am sure doesn’t help. I want to be patient, I want to let Greg develop. I just want to know that the money I spend on season tickets goes to a team that plays hard.
Kudos to Quick for telling the truth in this Blazer-obsessed city – his honesty about the situation is refreshing.
I don’t blame Oden for being grumpy about everything so far. I doubt that he expected to struggle this much or be exposed to such a learning curve.
I think things will become easier for Oden as time goes on, and that Quick will enjoy his company again. I give both all the slack they need, in fact I congratulate both of them for being upfront about the situation. – Elgin
Personally I prefer to have this stuff out in the open while a guy is in town rather than hear the stories after they’ve left (see also: Randolph, Zach). Quick is being paid to dig into what makes these guys tick. It’s what reporters should be doing rather than stenography, which is what Justin seems to want.
You can say, “Oden has a bad attitude or Oden is a negative guy”, without saying “I can’t stand to be around him.” Because I don’t care who Jason Quick likes to be around.
Quick is probably a fine reporter. But expressing himself that way in that interview was a mistake, and my guess is he hears about it from his boss.
Between the “underwhelming” comment Jason made to Greg earlier in the season and his now public comments I wouldn’t blame Greg for not wanting to have anything to do with Jason from here on out. He may trying to be objective in his comments but clearly he doesn’t know how to build relationships. Funnu for someone who is always after the personal, behind the scenes kind of story. Just because we have a few other teammates who are pretty transparent doesn’t mean they all have to open up to a reporter – especially after being “dis”ed.
Quick comes off as the one being petulant and catty in this brief segment. Oden has the prerogative to talk to the press or not. Quick’s membership in this ‘elite’ group does not entitle him to anything. I am not sure but it seems like Quick’s every expanding coverage is part of the PR campaign by the organization to re-establish a relationship with the community. But this piece of genius by Quick makes me question his self-perceived responsibility as a journalist. Isn’t he supposed to tell the story that’s there, not the story he can’t get? And who knows why Oden leaves early? I’ve been in Oden’s shoes, living in a strange town with no friends; it’s not easy. Quick will probably develop a much better relationship with Oden if he would let Oden come to him rather than his current attempts to publicly badger and interview out of Oden. Frankly, Quick’s barbs are bullshit. I don’t know if he was provoked into it by the radio hosts off-air or if he was just having a bad day, but this is a cowardly way to deal with the lack of communication between Quick and Oden.
So Oden isn’t being very personable right now….big deal. Can you really blame him? This is a game he used to be able to play pretty well, and for the first time in his life it’s a struggle, that might put me in a bad mood too. He has also never had his legs fail him before, and I doubt he can figure out why he doesn’t have his old springs when the doctors are telling him that his knee is healthy.
Now add to all of that, Jason Quick came out and told the entire world that this guy was going to be an all star immediately. Of course the national media heard this and passed it on to the national public, and now everyone wants to call him a bust because he hasn’t delivered on the promise of a beat writer.
For the record, I think that this will all be moot by next year. Greg will get fully healed, he will understand the league better, and the next big story will come along and the spotlight will be taken off of Oden and put somewhere else.
Quick made his own bed with the “underwhelming” comments way too early, and now hes got to lay in it.
Quick probably shouldn’t have said what he did in a public forum. Reporters are paid to try and cast aside their opinions and stick to the facts.
Talk radio is problematic for journalists because its all about debate and personal opinions.
I guess I don’t get why the Oregonian allows him to go on the air and pontificate. You’d think they’d have a policy against it. You’re giving away stuff to the competition!
I guess Quick’s analysis is interesting. Why not write that story inside of jawing on the air? Maybe he can’t get anybody to talk about it on the record. Who knows what he’s saying is the truth.
It will be fun to see if Oden freezes him out or confronts him about it. I also wonder what the rest of the team is thinking. Maybe they respect Quick for saying what many of them think…
Quick’s comments and the passion with which they were delivered made me cringe, and I suspect Quick feels the same way if he’s listened to a replay. He should have softened the blow a little. Oden’s so big, both in physical stature and in basketball fandom, that it’s easy to forget his age: he’s only 20. I don’t care what you do for a living or how big you are, hearing comments like that come from somebody that you and your best friends respect would be tough to handle. As far as Quick goes, I think good reporters like him are constantly walking that fine line – is he a friend or is he a reporter? Can he be both? Maybe this interview is what it sounds like when a reporter dips his toe into the other side.
This continues to allow me to disrespect Quick. I have never had respect for him and never will.
While our “problem” teams of the previous years were in the news, Quick was one of the primary people that would drive the public viewpoint. He publishes his view of the Blazers and wants to have everyone to take the same perception.
Good Examples:
1. No matter how many faults McMillian has had with this team, why has he never criticized McMillian? Not even once in 4 years. I can site at least 5 times this season alone.
2. He plays favorites and dislikes. He will always harp on the same players – Outlaw, Sergio, Frye, LaMarcus, etc. Sometimes deserving, but sometimes not. What about Blake? What about anyone else?
3. This is completely unprofessional. You can feel the way you want, but you don’t display it publicly. His ego has hit the absolute roof. It’s funny that I can write Dwight and I get a response 100% of the time, usually the same day. If I write to Quick, I have never received a response… EVER.
4. When Portland stripped the Jail-Blazers images, we should have stripped our Jail-Blazer writers. Castanzo and Quick should have been gone from the local papers.
5. I could almost pinpoint the exact article and quotes Quick is going to take from the game. I am never excited to see the article, what a player said, how he portrayed the game. It’s the same generic garbage. Why does he need to even be with the team to write, if he is not getting good coverage? He could probably write better from his living room and take away the extra costs. If I was his Manager, he wouldn’t be spending costs writing the garbage he does.
6. And what Beat Writer needs to be interviewed on a radio station anyhow?
I can go on and on, but Quick is a problem and I wish the Oregonian/Blazers organization would release him.
Quick’s comments are ironic.
First, Quick played a role in creating irrational early expectations for Oden among some portions of the fan base.
Then, after just a few preseason games, he rushed to judgment that Oden wasn’t meeting those irrational expectations.
Since then, he has repeatedly criticized Oden for feeling the pressure that stemmed from the irrational expectations and premature judgment he helped create.
And now, he’s cricicizing Oden on a very personal level (“I can’t stand being around the guy” goes well beyond his game) for being a little upset about the whole series of events.
Quick should realize that he’s not a passive observer in this dynamic. He has played a major role in shaping Oden’s reaction to the media.
Quick approached both his expectations for Oden and his initial assessment of Oden with all the detached rationality of a 13-year-old superfan who got a shiny new Number 52 jersey for his birthday this summer. Now he’s handling the resulting deterioration in their personal relationship with the same level of maturity and professional judgment.
Quick’s a talented writer, but he’s badly mishandled Oden, as a story, from day one.
I disagree. Jason has done a good job covering Oden. I’ve enjoyed his pieces, specifically his writing style. I’d just tell him to stay off the airwaves.
Wow….lots of people claim to be able to read Jason Quick’s mind….they KNOW who he likes and doesn’t like, and they are all sure know the meaning of professionalism for a journalist.
And those of you who are still harboring grudges over his “underwhelmed” article….egt over it. If you want to just read Blazer cheerleading, go to the Blazers website and read the stuf written by team employees.
I personally prefer a reporter who calls it as he sees it. Quick does a good job of that.
Well, Dwight you did get a lot of reaction. I do not read JQ all the time, but am sure it will be less now. I had not caught on how arrogant he must be to judge a young man that harshly.
I agree that he could have said GO is down a bit rather than “I don’t like to be around him”
Interesting comparison to Canzano, who i read off and on.
Let’s see … Oden played less than one full season of college ball (missing some time with injury), was drafted No. 1 and hailed as a savior, endured a season of not playing basketball while rehabbing his way back from a serious knee injury while living in a completely new (to him) part of the country … and now when he’s not an immediately dominating player, some obsessed fans are wondering what’s wrong with him one-fourth of the way through his rookie season. And Quick wonders why this 20-year-old seems to feel as if a huge weight is on his shoulders?
Jason called out Oden early with the ‘underwhelming’ comment. Just the other day he pissed off LMA by calling him ‘soft’. Now he wants us all to know that he doesn’t like Greg… in a fairly unprofessional manner.
Greg owes Jason nothing. Leave him alone if you don’t like him. He’ll be fine in a few months, as his athletism comes back. Just cut the guy some slack for once, good lord.
I hope Greg gives Jason the cold shoulder forever. Screw Quick, he sucks. All he does is puts his opinions in his pieces, there’s hardly ever any middle ground. I don’t care what some stupid beat writer thinks. I want to know what the players think. Can the other players “not stand to be around Oden?” Do the other players have a problem with only 2/3 of the roster and never have anything bad to say about the other 1/3? Seriously Quick needs to do some actual research and put together a column that people care about, not his own damn opinion.
This guy is a jerk, let’s just face the facts. I hope he runs into Greg in a dark alley.
Wow, whats the story here? How our young budding superstar, is progressing from his micro-fracture surgery. Or the sportstwriters feelings rejection?
I think jason quick needs to find a boy band to go with his hair style, and I don’t blame Greg one bit for brushing off the media who’d piled on expectations and then criticism before preseason was even over and he’d had a chance to play a real game. He already specified his reasons when he declined the SI stuff, during that time he continued talking to local media, then Mr. Quick stepped on his toes… the big fella just wants time to do something before they erect him a shrine or dig him a grave, I dare jason to go tell bayless he’s underwhelming the glare off his face will scramble his brains
I hope the WHOLE team stops speaking to Quick. What a jerk off. Like its already been posted. The kid is 20. Everyone expected him to be the savior. He probably bought into it himself, and he is having a rough time. He needs another big man…like Howard has Ewing to come in, and mentor him. I have no doubt that Oden will be a top player in the league, its just going to take a few seasons.
This from Justin above nails it…
>>You can say, “Oden has a bad attitude or Oden is a negative guy”, without saying “I can’t stand to be around him.” Because I don’t care who Jason Quick likes to be around.
>>Quick is probably a fine reporter. But expressing himself that way in that interview was a mistake, and my guess is he hears about it from his boss.
Quick took a personal shot at Oden, and is throwing a temper tantrum cause he doesn’t like how the rookie is conducting himself…
Who is the 20 year old here???
Come on guys. Why are you listening to anything this hack writer has to say.
Remember on draft day how he “broke” the news on 1080 The Fan that the Blazers were getting D.J. Augustin? Him and his moron 1080 cronies went on for like a half hour thinking they had a scoop because they were talking to the all might Blazer beat writer. If anybody should know what’s going on with the Blazers, it should be their beat writer, right? Wrong.
Not to mention anyone who was listening to Brian Wheeler already knew 20 minutes before their pick that they were drafting Rush and trading him and McRoberts for Bayless.
Jason Quick is incompetent and shouldn’t be read let alone taken seriously. And for all for all of you robots above me that commented on what a good writer Quick is, you are either A) Jason Quick, or B) a complete and utter idiot and you shouldn’t be sharing your opinions because they are of no validity or consequence.