Brandon Jennings Isn't Worried About Making Friends
Outspoken rookie is making predictions on Bucks roster
By JOSH ALPER
Updated 12:19 PM PST, Mon, Jun 29, 2009
There were a lot of complaints that this year's NBA Draft was short on future star players, but that doesn't mean it is short on storylines. Brandon Jennings, selected 10th by the Milwaukee Bucks, has enough of them going on to make a whole book on his own.
He skipped college to play pro in Rome for a year, which will make him a test case for future high schoolers who don't want to submit to the whims of the NCAA before David Stern deigns to allow them to make a living playing basketball. If he flops, colleges will be happy, but if he's good right out of the gate, you'll probably see more European vacations being scheduled.
So the basketball establishment is rooting against him, what about his fellow players?
He slammed Ricky Rubio, who went fifth to Minnesota. That creates a natural rivalry between the two rookie point guards playing in the upper Midwest, assuming Rubio ever actually plays for the Timberwolves, and a natural interest to see which one of them winds up being the better NBA player.
He's not stopping at Rubio either. Black Sports Online has video of an interview that Jennings did with rapper Joe Budden (which is extremely not safe for work as it is riddled with both profanities and racially volitile terms), and you can read an asterisk-heavy transcription at The Baseline. Over the course of the interview, he slams Rubio some more and then sets the Bucks depth chart at point guard with him on top and Ramon Sessions looking for work with another team. He then slams the Knicks, particularly point guard Chris Duhon, Jay Bilas and just about anything else that comes up for discussion.
Jennings certainly knows how to grab attention, doesn't he? He even made the most memorable draft entrance since Priest Lauderdale climbed out of the stands to terrify/greet David Stern in 1996. The challenge now is to make attention for your play, rather than for your mouth. If he can't do that, he'll be remembered as an even bigger bust because of all the checks he's writing before stepping on the court for the first time.
Someone's talking to him about the mouth, as evidenced by the disappearance of his Twitter page, but there's not much you can do about being 19 and full of confidence. This probably won't be the last we hear of Jennings.
Copyright NBC Local Media
First Published: Jun 29, 2009 11:50 AM PST
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