JR Rider (Wolves Most hated Top 10)

[Lipoli390]

10 most disliked players:

1. Darko Milicic - Only David Kahn wanted him by the time he came here. Poster-boy for not caring.
2. Wes Johnson - Still have nightmares about that smile. Darko narrow beat Wes as my most disliked
2. JR Rider - What a waste of talent
3. McCants - Very strange dude.
4. Anthony Bennett - At a loss for words.
5. Kandiman - Runner up to Darko for big man making the least of his talent
6. Troy Hudson - Couldn't stay health. Couldn't stop shooting. Here only because KG liked him
7. Wiggins - One of too many Wolves players who didn't care enough to make the most of their talent.
8. Eddie Griffin - Again, wasted talent. But I think he had some mental health issues, so I feel bad for him
9. Joe Smith - He insisted on an illegal deal to come here. Then failed to match production to contract
10. Marbury - He almost made my favorite list. But he ends up on this list because his pathetic jealousy denied KG and this franchise what would have been a sustained run as a championship contender.

Head Coach: Rambis. Some on this Board might have expected me to give this distinction to Thibodeau. But as much as I didn't like Thibodeau, it's not even close in my mind. Rambis was a horrible head coach.

PBO: David Kahn. Thibodeau is runner up, but Kahn is a tough one to beat for this distinction. :)

[AbeVigodaLive]

Whoa. I just realized I omitted Andrew Wiggins.

I never really hated the guy... but several years of "mehness" and frustration toward him probably bumps him up this list quite a bit.

Maybe remove Ebi because it was less about him personally... and more about him being the only "plus" from the Joe Smith fiasco. He was entirely irrelevant as a player.

At least Wiggins COULD have been something. He deserves making the bottom half of my most hated list just for his consistency in being inconsistent... and the feeling that it had more to do with effort than anything else.

[Monster]

Whoa. I just realized I omitted Andrew Wiggins.

I never really hated the guy... but several years of "mehness" and frustration toward him probably bumps him up this list quite a bit.

Maybe remove Ebi because it was less about him personally... and more about him being the only "plus" from the Joe Smith fiasco. He was entirely irrelevant as a player.

At least Wiggins COULD have been something. He deserves making the bottom half of my most hated list just for his consistency in being inconsistent... and the feeling that it had more to do with effort than anything else.

I guess you better consider Ricky Davis too.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Whoa. I just realized I omitted Andrew Wiggins.

I never really hated the guy... but several years of "mehness" and frustration toward him probably bumps him up this list quite a bit.

Maybe remove Ebi because it was less about him personally... and more about him being the only "plus" from the Joe Smith fiasco. He was entirely irrelevant as a player.

At least Wiggins COULD have been something. He deserves making the bottom half of my most hated list just for his consistency in being inconsistent... and the feeling that it had more to do with effort than anything else.

I guess you better consider Ricky Davis too.

Ricky almost made it, if for nothing else... his influence on a the Devil himself when he was a rookie, Rashad McCants.

[Lipoli390]

Whoa. I just realized I omitted Andrew Wiggins.

I never really hated the guy... but several years of "mehness" and frustration toward him probably bumps him up this list quite a bit.

Maybe remove Ebi because it was less about him personally... and more about him being the only "plus" from the Joe Smith fiasco. He was entirely irrelevant as a player.

At least Wiggins COULD have been something. He deserves making the bottom half of my most hated list just for his consistency in being inconsistent... and the feeling that it had more to do with effort than anything else.

I guess you better consider Ricky Davis too.

Oh, I totally forgot about Ricky Davis. He was horrible. That was back when I had good front office contacts. So I used to hear details about Ricky. One of my favorites was when he skipped pregame shoot-around to chat with his homies in the stands about the party they were planning that night. I'm going to replace Eddie Griffin with Davis. I can't dislike Eddie because of his obvious mental health issues. Ricky Davis was a jerk who preferred the NBA lifestyle to the NBA game. By the way, I heard those in the know use that same phrase in referring to Derrick Williams, which prompts me to put Williams on my list instead of Anthony Bennett. When I think about it, Bennett wasn't here long enough or prominent enough in the Wolves system for me to dislike him. He was really irrelevant. So here's my revised list of most disliked Wolves players. Note that I use the word dislike. I can't get myself to hate any of them. That word is too strong - eve for Wes Johnson :)

1. Darko Milicic - Only David Kahn wanted him by the time he came here. Poster-boy for not caring.
2. Wes Johnson - Still have nightmares about that smile. Darko narrowly beat Wes as my most disliked
3. JR Rider - Incredible waste of talent. Put drugs and partying way above the game. See Ricky D below.
4. McCants - Very strange, creepy dude. Talented, but not committed to the game or his teammates.
5. Ricky Davis - Another guy highly talented guy who didn't give a shit. Loved drugs more than the game
6. Kandiman - Runner up to Darko for big man making the least of his talent
7. Troy Hudson - Couldn't stay healthy. Couldn't stop shooting. Here only because KG liked him.
8. Wiggins - One of too many Wolves players who didn't care enough to make the most of their talent.
9. Joe Smith - He insisted on illegal deal to come here. Then failed to match production to his contract
10. Marbury - He almost made my favorite list. But he ends up on this list because his pathetic jealousy denied KG and this franchise what would have been a sustained run as a championship contender.

[Monster]

Whoa. I just realized I omitted Andrew Wiggins.

I never really hated the guy... but several years of "mehness" and frustration toward him probably bumps him up this list quite a bit.

Maybe remove Ebi because it was less about him personally... and more about him being the only "plus" from the Joe Smith fiasco. He was entirely irrelevant as a player.

At least Wiggins COULD have been something. He deserves making the bottom half of my most hated list just for his consistency in being inconsistent... and the feeling that it had more to do with effort than anything else.

I guess you better consider Ricky Davis too.

Oh, I totally forgot about Ricky Davis. He was horrible. That was back when I had good front office contacts. So I used to hear details about Ricky. One of my favorites was when he skipped pregame shoot-around to chat with his homies in the stands about the party they were planning that night. I'm going to replace Eddie Griffin with Davis. I can't dislike Eddie because of his obvious mental health issues. Ricky Davis was a jerk who preferred the NBA lifestyle to the NBA game. By the way, I heard those in the know use that same phrase in referring to Derrick Williams, which prompts me to put Williams on my list instead of Anthony Bennett. When I think about it, Bennett wasn't here long enough or prominent enough in the Wolves system for me to dislike him. He was really irrelevant. So here's my revised list of most disliked Wolves players. Note that I use the word dislike. I can't get myself to hate any of them. That word is too strong - eve for Wes Johnson :)

1. Darko Milicic - Only David Kahn wanted him by the time he came here. Poster-boy for not caring.
2. Wes Johnson - Still have nightmares about that smile. Darko narrowly beat Wes as my most disliked
3. JR Rider - Incredible waste of talent. Put drugs and partying way above the game. See Ricky D below.
4. McCants - Very strange, creepy dude. Talented, but not committed to the game or his teammates.
5. Ricky Davis - Another guy highly talented guy who didn't give a shit. Loved drugs more than the game
6. Kandiman - Runner up to Darko for big man making the least of his talent
7. Troy Hudson - Couldn't stay healthy. Couldn't stop shooting. Here only because KG liked him.
8. Wiggins - One of too many Wolves players who didn't care enough to make the most of their talent.
9. Joe Smith - He insisted on illegal deal to come here. Then failed to match production to his contract
10. Marbury - He almost made my favorite list. But he ends up on this list because his pathetic jealousy denied KG and this franchise what would have been a sustained run as a championship contender.

Honestly I think it wouldn't be hard to make an argument Ricky Davis wasted his talent more than any Wolf of all time. At Least Wiggins hasn't dropped off the face of the earth like Davis did. I haven't heard from players or coaches that Wiggins just doesn't care. The outcome is similar (With different levels of efficiency) but it feels different with the 2 players.

As for mental heath...we absolutely know that Eddie Griffin had some issues. I'd guess a bunch of guys do. I don't want this to just let guys off the hook or anything but being an athlete at that level is hard. Tons of pressure, hard work etc. We know some Of these human being have had some significant trauma in their life as well. I'm a regular averagish guy with nothing THAT difficult to do. I sometimes I have a hard time getting motivated to do my tasks imagine having people on Twitter yelling about how I'm an overpaid #%$&@!!!! Of course right now I'm not working and I have no idea when I will be doing that thing again but yeah. Lol

Like you said you have a strong dislike for these guys not hate which is where I usually land but not everyone. Speaking of pressure I've been thankful during this crisis I haven't had to be making bigger decisions than mostly just what we need to do in our household to stay safe. This crisis has added another layer of Appreciation for People that do various roles all around me and beyond. Athletes and team executives and CEOs etc etc often get paid handsomely for what they have to and get to do but...I'm more thankful now than ever not to have to deal with those things. Maybe some day I'll be more interested in that challenge. Not now.

[thedoper]

1. Randy Breuer - 1st Country Club move of many by the franchise - his hairy back was gross
2. Felton Spencer - 1st of many useless bigs drafted by this franchise
3. Luc Longley - Nice guy, the later career Jordan shine couldn't fix his tenure on the Wolves
4. Christian Laettner - This guy was a sure thing right? Ugh
5. Donyell Marshall - Let's keep drafting those bigs
6. Derrick Martin- That guy got way more playing time than he deserved
7. Anthony Peeler - Dellusional
8. Zach Lavine - Modern Anthony Peeler
9. Troy Hudson - Also another anthony peeler
10. Rashad Mccants - Another anthony peeler

[Lipoli390]

Whoa. I just realized I omitted Andrew Wiggins.

I never really hated the guy... but several years of "mehness" and frustration toward him probably bumps him up this list quite a bit.

Maybe remove Ebi because it was less about him personally... and more about him being the only "plus" from the Joe Smith fiasco. He was entirely irrelevant as a player.

At least Wiggins COULD have been something. He deserves making the bottom half of my most hated list just for his consistency in being inconsistent... and the feeling that it had more to do with effort than anything else.

I guess you better consider Ricky Davis too.

Oh, I totally forgot about Ricky Davis. He was horrible. That was back when I had good front office contacts. So I used to hear details about Ricky. One of my favorites was when he skipped pregame shoot-around to chat with his homies in the stands about the party they were planning that night. I'm going to replace Eddie Griffin with Davis. I can't dislike Eddie because of his obvious mental health issues. Ricky Davis was a jerk who preferred the NBA lifestyle to the NBA game. By the way, I heard those in the know use that same phrase in referring to Derrick Williams, which prompts me to put Williams on my list instead of Anthony Bennett. When I think about it, Bennett wasn't here long enough or prominent enough in the Wolves system for me to dislike him. He was really irrelevant. So here's my revised list of most disliked Wolves players. Note that I use the word dislike. I can't get myself to hate any of them. That word is too strong - eve for Wes Johnson :)

1. Darko Milicic - Only David Kahn wanted him by the time he came here. Poster-boy for not caring.
2. Wes Johnson - Still have nightmares about that smile. Darko narrowly beat Wes as my most disliked
3. JR Rider - Incredible waste of talent. Put drugs and partying way above the game. See Ricky D below.
4. McCants - Very strange, creepy dude. Talented, but not committed to the game or his teammates.
5. Ricky Davis - Another guy highly talented guy who didn't give a shit. Loved drugs more than the game
6. Kandiman - Runner up to Darko for big man making the least of his talent
7. Troy Hudson - Couldn't stay healthy. Couldn't stop shooting. Here only because KG liked him.
8. Wiggins - One of too many Wolves players who didn't care enough to make the most of their talent.
9. Joe Smith - He insisted on illegal deal to come here. Then failed to match production to his contract
10. Marbury - He almost made my favorite list. But he ends up on this list because his pathetic jealousy denied KG and this franchise what would have been a sustained run as a championship contender.

Honestly I think it wouldn't be hard to make an argument Ricky Davis wasted his talent more than any Wolf of all time. At Least Wiggins hasn't dropped off the face of the earth like Davis did. I haven't heard from players or coaches that Wiggins just doesn't care. The outcome is similar (With different levels of efficiency) but it feels different with the 2 players.

As for mental heath...we absolutely know that Eddie Griffin had some issues. I'd guess a bunch of guys do. I don't want this to just let guys off the hook or anything but being an athlete at that level is hard. Tons of pressure, hard work etc. We know some Of these human being have had some significant trauma in their life as well. I'm a regular averagish guy with nothing THAT difficult to do. I sometimes I have a hard time getting motivated to do my tasks imagine having people on Twitter yelling about how I'm an overpaid #%$&@!!!! Of course right now I'm not working and I have no idea when I will be doing that thing again but yeah. Lol

Like you said you have a strong dislike for these guys not hate which is where I usually land but not everyone. Speaking of pressure I've been thankful during this crisis I haven't had to be making bigger decisions than mostly just what we need to do in our household to stay safe. This crisis has added another layer of Appreciation for People that do various roles all around me and beyond. Athletes and team executives and CEOs etc etc often get paid handsomely for what they have to and get to do but...I'm more thankful now than ever not to have to deal with those things. Maybe some day I'll be more interested in that challenge. Not now.

Well said, Monster!!

And you're right about Wiggins. By all accounts, Wiggins is a good guy and good teammate. I used the phrase "didn't care enough" in reference to Wiggins. I think that distinguishes him from those like Ricky Davis who didn't care at all. Garnett said that Wiggins "has no heart." I think that's overstated as well. What Wiggins lacks is a true competitive fire that all the great players have. Butler referred to Wiggins as the "most talented" player on the team. With his talent, if Wiggins had that competitive fire he'd be a perennial all-star and one of the best players in the game.

[Lipoli390]

1. Randy Breuer - 1st Country Club move of many by the franchise - his hairy back was gross
2. Felton Spencer - 1st of many useless bigs drafted by this franchise
3. Luc Longley - Nice guy, the later career Jordan shine couldn't fix his tenure on the Wolves
4. Christian Laettner - This guy was a sure thing right? Ugh
5. Donyell Marshall - Let's keep drafting those bigs
6. Derrick Martin- That guy got way more playing time than he deserved
7. Anthony Peeler - Dellusional
8. Zach Lavine - Modern Anthony Peeler
9. Troy Hudson - Also another anthony peeler
10. Rashad Mccants - Another anthony peeler

Great list. I especially like the Anthony Peeler repeat theme. :)

How could I forget Christian Laettner. He may have had the biggest ego to talent ratio in Wolves history. I disliked him when he was at Duke and my view never changed after he arrived here. I can't dislike Felton Spencer, but he was a terrible player. He just didn't have any talent. I put him on that long list of front office blunders. A friend of mine created a stat back in the day called a Felton - 6 fouls and 0 points.

[thedoper]

1. Randy Breuer - 1st Country Club move of many by the franchise - his hairy back was gross
2. Felton Spencer - 1st of many useless bigs drafted by this franchise
3. Luc Longley - Nice guy, the later career Jordan shine couldn't fix his tenure on the Wolves
4. Christian Laettner - This guy was a sure thing right? Ugh
5. Donyell Marshall - Let's keep drafting those bigs
6. Derrick Martin- That guy got way more playing time than he deserved
7. Anthony Peeler - Dellusional
8. Zach Lavine - Modern Anthony Peeler
9. Troy Hudson - Also another anthony peeler
10. Rashad Mccants - Another anthony peeler

Great list. I especially like the Anthony Peeler repeat theme. :)

How could I forget Christian Laettner. He may have had the biggest ego to talent ratio in Wolves history. I disliked him when he was at Duke and my view never changed after he arrived here. I can't dislike Felton Spencer, but he was a terrible player. He just didn't have any talent. I put him on that long list of front office blunders. A friend of mine created a stat back in the day called a Felton - 6 fouls and 0 points.

I'm sure Randy Breuer, Spencer, and Luc Longley were all great people. This franchise had an uncanny ability to find players with little to no talent.