Amidst the speculation and excitement that accompanies any blockbuster trade, the personal side of professional basketball is often forgotten.
Pundits and punters see newly-acquired Sun Jason Richardson as a hyperathletic perimeter threat who will shore up a struggling Phoenix offense, but he’s more than that — according to his former teammates in Charlotte, he’s also a horrible friend.
Yesterday The Sport Count spoke to a highly-placed league executive regarding Richardson’s inability to relate to his fellow man. “We’re never surprised when Jason is traded,” said the source, who requested anonymity. “It’s happened twice in a year and a half, and it’s not because he’s a bad player. He’s just kind of a dick.”
“We’re losing a pretty darn good player,” said Bobcats coach Larry Brown, whom most league followers believe pulled the trigger on the trade that brought Raja Bell and Boris Diaw to Charlotte. “It’s just a shame Jason Richardson is such a cruel, vicious human being. He’s one of the most efficient racists I’ve ever coached. He hates everyone: whites, the Chinese, Mexicans. Especially Mexicans.’
Reserve forward Adam Morrison reacted to news of the trade with muffled glee, rubbing his cheek and smiling when approached by reporters at his locker. “Oh. He was a good player, yeah,” said Morrison, looking off into the far distance. ‘He was just so fucking horrible to me. He used to call me a Mexicant. He’d chant it during practice.”
“I just couldn’t take the ritual humiliation any more,” said point guard Raymond Felton, who has struggled with confidence issues since entering the league in 2005. “He was always calling me ‘gay.’ He thought it was so funny. It wasn’t.”
Richardson’s former cohorts at the Warriors confirm the harsh assessment of his character. “I’m an easy going guy — Jesus, I drafted Marco Bellini, didn’t I?” laughed Don Nelson, who we spoke to as he drank Bloody Marys at the Amnesia bar on Valencia Street. “When we traded Jason for nothing, that was the best day of my life. Think about it; the guy is constantly talked about as a great player, but both trades have been completely lopsided. Why? All of us couldn’t wait to see the back of him. Chris Mullin despised him. He was always hitting on Cathy [Mullin's daughter].”
“I will kill Jason Richardson one day,” said former running mate Stephen Jackson. “Flagrant foul or not.”
Richardson’s cruelty extended to the most vulnerable of teammates — the rookies. “The first day I got here, when I was meeting all the guys, Jason didn’t stand up. He just pointed at me suggestively, then mimed devil horns,” said first-year point guard D.J. Augustin. “He spent the rest of the night standing by the catering table, eating egg sandwiches and staring at all the guys’ partners.”
The worst abuse was reserved for power forward Sean May, who has always struggled with injuries and conditioning issues. “I’m used to all the bullshit… you’re fat, you’re a loser, whatever. But Jason used to call me a ‘bad person’ all the time. He’d just tell me I was a worthless person. I don’t know why.”
Phoenix guard Steve Nash is familiar with Richardson’s reputation. “The hardest part is losing my best friend,” said Nash, speaking of Raja Bell. “And to get such a notoriously mean human in return? It just hurts.”