There is nothing sadder and more disappointing than to see an athlete with God-given abilities, waste them without so much as a flinch.  I’m all for living life on the edge and doing things in an unconventional way, but when you are given chance after chance and take that for granted, that’s a problem.  Most young men can only dream of playing in the NBA, so why would anyone not appreciate the chance to live out such an opportunity?  It drives me crazy when I see young (black) athletes living up to the stereotype.

If you have such great skill, why is it necessary to purposely untie the shoe laces on your opponents’ sneakers while your teammate is shooting a free throw?  Why do you need to skip practice to go shopping?  WHY is it necessary to charge $3,000 of room service (that you didn’t even eat) to your team’s bill, only as some sick joke to see if they would keep delivering it.

It just doesn’t make sense to me!  It’s all too familiar as well.  We’ve seen strange behavior from all-star  athlete, Allen Iverson, when he was in his prime.  A.I. was one of the greatest to play, but his attitude and reputation always preceded him.  From his ball-hogging antics, to his rebellious behavior to organization rules and skipping practices, it almost seems like he has been reincarnated in the league.  What’s even crazier is, Allen Iverson regretted some of those bad decisions and you would think someone like J.R. Smith would want to do it differently.

I hope Smith gets it together before it’s too late.  Otherwise, he’ll just be another talent wasted and ego bruised.  I genuinely hope that he can find his way because the clock is ticking and people are noticing his bad-boy ways.  I’m rooting for him to get it together, quickly!  I like to keep my posts as positive as possible, but to see such behavior is disheartening.  J.R. Smith has a golden opportunity to reach his full potential and enjoy the feeling of being one of the greats, but it is slowly slipping away.