Rather than throw this in Lagniappe, I’m throwing it out here on the front page, because it’s well worth a read. A few excerpts from a blog posted by Tyson over at his official site…
On watching Tuesday’s Hornets-Thunder game after learning of the trade:
So I’m watching the game and it’s funny because I’m still like cheering for the Hornets because, you know, I’ve still got Hornets in my blood. Those are still my guys.
On returning to the Hornets after the trade was rescinded:
The next day was just comical. I walk into the locker room and say, “Ya’ll couldn’t get rid of me!”
And everybody starts busting up laughing. I did the skit from Training Day when Denzel Washington was like, “King Kong ain’t got nothing on ME!” Everybody was laughing and having a good time.
With my teammates it’s all love. They welcomed me back like a brother.
With management, it’s always going to be a little funny because these guys just tried to trade me away and I got bounced back to them. I’m sure that will be pretty awkward.
But for me, it doesn’t matter because I play for my teammates, myself my family and the fans. That’s all that really matters to me and that’s all that will ever matter.
On health:
I’m feeling better. My ankle is still not quite 100% so that’s why I’ve been rehabbing. I have to continue to rehab it to get on the court. I’m around 80% or so. I want to get closer to 90% and give it a shot.
The guys have done an excellent job of holding down the fort while I’m gone. As long as we stay in the playoff hunt by the time I get back healthy, we’ll be fine. We’ll have all our pieces and we’ll be ready to take a shot at it.
The thing that strikes me most about the above is that Tyson doesn’t seem to have any concern about long-term health issues. Sounds like he’s rehabbing the ankle just fine and he’s looking forward to playing games again real soon.
Lastly:
It’s a beautiful thing we have. And when you go mess that up because of different financial things, that’s when players start having problems. I know I have a problem with it.
If you trade me away and it’s about the team getting better, it’s about winning and you feel like you have a shot to contend, I’m all for it. But you can’t trade me away for future cap space. I can understand if we didn’t have a chance to win, but if we’ve got a chance to win, you can’t break that up.
It’s destiny, and that’s why I’m back.
I’m glad you are, Tyson.