E:60 Special: TC the Team Crusher
Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2017 4:07 pm
Schaap: Hi, I’m ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap and this is E:60. Every week we talk about the side of sports you won’t see on a court or a field. In today’s episode, we explore a phenomenon that has devastated a professional basketball league time and time again. Before the 90s there was no word for it, but in recent decades two letters have come to inspire players, general managers, and fans alike with fear.
Welcome to today’s episode “TC: The Team Crusher.”
Meet CJ Miles. CJ was a teenager from Dallas when people started to think he had a decent shot of playing in the People’s Basketball Sim League.
CJ: I had just scored 37 in a high school game and my mom told me there were scouts everywhere. I said, “oh, cool, college scouts.” She said, “no baby, not college scouts. Pro scouts.” And I was just like, “wow.”
Schaap: CJ completed his senior season and was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 17th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. And for a few years it appeared that CJ was going to be a decent player and not much more. But after he signed with the Utah Jazz, he started to work harder and the results showed.
CJ: I went from 11 points my first year in Utah to 21, and then I started noticing my game improve in all areas. I was pretty surprised, so I did some research to find out how I got so unexpectedly good so fast.
Schaap: It turns out the answer was called TC, two letters that some say stand for “training camp.” In a matter of two seasons, CJ was somehow transformed from a decent scorer to a number one option. In the final year of his contract, he scored almost 24 points a game and was named to the All Star team. A far cry away from that kid in a half full gym in Dallas.
CJ: I was like “Thank TC for everything you gave to me.” I didn’t think it could get any better.
Schaap: He was right. The following offseason CJ signed a five year, 148 million dollar deal. And then he discovered that TC can give, but it can also take away.
CJ: I walked into the gym and shot a basketball and it missed by about four feet. I thought it was strange, so I shot another, and another. I missed 14 three pointers in a row. It was like the Monstars stole my talent.
Schaap: CJ went from a budding star to a mockery overnight.
CJ: I wasn’t a player anymore. I was a contract. People looked at me and said “when are the Jazz going to get rid of that deal?” No one cared that I scored 22 points a game that year. It was all about the money I was making.
Schaap: But soon he wouldn’t be scoring 22 points a game. Soon TC would continue to wreak havoc until he was considered the worst contract in the league. In 2015 when the Charlotte Bobcats entered the league, the Bobcats were paid in draft picks to take on CJ’s contract. Last year CJ played in 71 games for the Bobcats, only scoring 16 points a game. The Bobcats won 7 games.
CJ: It’s a nightmare. I’m barely even regarded a person at this point. And at some point along the way, my entire face changed. I went from looking like me to looking like Rafael Araújo.
Schaap: CJ is set to make 67 million dollars over the next two years and also make a ton of criticism while doing it. But to some players afflicted by TC, CJ is considered lucky.
Conley: At least CJ got paid big bucks. I got a middling contract before TC decided I wasn’t worth even that.
Schaap: Mike Conley looked to be a promising young point guard when he came into the league from Ohio State. He continued to improve until the end of his rookie deal, and then based on his potential he signed a deal worth 55 million dollars over 4 years – a far cry from the money CJ Miles made. But just like CJ, as soon as he signed on the dotted line, something felt off.
Conley: I’m not sure if I broke my finger signing the contract or what, but things weren’t the same after that contract. Maybe that’s part of this disease.
Schaap: Conley had one year of decent play after the contract, but he no longer felt his career on a positive trajectory. And then it happened – TC struck.
Conley: I just woke up one day and knew I was different. I tried to dribble a basketball and I accidentally kicked it over the bleachers. And everyone looked at me like I was dying. I guess I was in some ways.
Schaap: For Conley, the bad luck continued. He got worse every year, and before he could find a way to improve, he broke his leg – twice. Now he’s playing for the Phoenix Suns on a minimum contract, unsure if today is the final day of his PBSL journey.
Conley: I was supposed to be something. My family is famous for producing successful people. I know I’ve let everyone in my family down. Someone already deleted my Wikipedia page, and it’s really upsetting.
Schaap: Not everyone is doomed after TC strikes. One of the most curious cases is Andrew Bynum.
Bynum: Some people call it a disease. I call it life, man.
Schaap: Bynum was afflicted with TC as soon as he came into the league. And then, for a few years, TC went well for him.
Bynum: I was playing well, feeling well. I made a lot of money, and I felt like the bad part of TC left me behind.
Schaap: But it didn’t. As soon as he signed another lucrative contract with the 76ers, TC decided it wasn’t finished with him yet.
Bynum: It happened again, but I wasn’t upset this time. I remembered the feeling, so I’ve dealt with it pretty well.
Schaap: Bynum has been able to carve out a decent career despite TC. And when you ask him if it gets him down, he doesn’t show the same depression that CJ and Conley show.
Bynum: Why would I hang my head? I have money, I play a sport I kind of like, and I can bowl any time I want. This life is awesome!
Schaap: There are tons of names that we don’t have time to cover. Cousins. Larry Johnson. Derrick Coleman. Michael Redd. But the evidence speaks for itself. TC has given fruitful gains to some players, but it has ruined the careers of so many others. And the science still has not caught up with us. It’s impossible to know what causes TC, and whether it will be good or bad for each player.
Schaap: We end our show with a glimpse of the future: Nets forward Buddy Pedraza. Part of the first draft class from the startup college athletic league, Buddy didn’t look special coming out of college. But he was inflicted with TC, and the results were great.
Pedraza: My family tells me “I never thought you would amount to shit in the league.” I can’t get mad, I agreed with them.
Schaap: He’s had two offseasons, and both times he has looked impressive. But rather than be happy with how his career has progressed, he looks to the past and is wary.
Pedraza: It could all turn around tomorrow. TC can strike any time, but especially if you sign a big contract, and especially if you play for the Lakers, so I’m not going there any time soon.
Schaap: Will TC strike Buddy? It’s anyone’s guess. But for every player who eludes the pain of TC, there are handfuls that can’t escape the team crusher. This is Jeremy Schaap for ESPN. Be safe and insure your players.
Welcome to today’s episode “TC: The Team Crusher.”
Meet CJ Miles. CJ was a teenager from Dallas when people started to think he had a decent shot of playing in the People’s Basketball Sim League.
CJ: I had just scored 37 in a high school game and my mom told me there were scouts everywhere. I said, “oh, cool, college scouts.” She said, “no baby, not college scouts. Pro scouts.” And I was just like, “wow.”
Schaap: CJ completed his senior season and was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 17th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft. And for a few years it appeared that CJ was going to be a decent player and not much more. But after he signed with the Utah Jazz, he started to work harder and the results showed.
CJ: I went from 11 points my first year in Utah to 21, and then I started noticing my game improve in all areas. I was pretty surprised, so I did some research to find out how I got so unexpectedly good so fast.
Schaap: It turns out the answer was called TC, two letters that some say stand for “training camp.” In a matter of two seasons, CJ was somehow transformed from a decent scorer to a number one option. In the final year of his contract, he scored almost 24 points a game and was named to the All Star team. A far cry away from that kid in a half full gym in Dallas.
CJ: I was like “Thank TC for everything you gave to me.” I didn’t think it could get any better.
Schaap: He was right. The following offseason CJ signed a five year, 148 million dollar deal. And then he discovered that TC can give, but it can also take away.
CJ: I walked into the gym and shot a basketball and it missed by about four feet. I thought it was strange, so I shot another, and another. I missed 14 three pointers in a row. It was like the Monstars stole my talent.
Schaap: CJ went from a budding star to a mockery overnight.
CJ: I wasn’t a player anymore. I was a contract. People looked at me and said “when are the Jazz going to get rid of that deal?” No one cared that I scored 22 points a game that year. It was all about the money I was making.
Schaap: But soon he wouldn’t be scoring 22 points a game. Soon TC would continue to wreak havoc until he was considered the worst contract in the league. In 2015 when the Charlotte Bobcats entered the league, the Bobcats were paid in draft picks to take on CJ’s contract. Last year CJ played in 71 games for the Bobcats, only scoring 16 points a game. The Bobcats won 7 games.
CJ: It’s a nightmare. I’m barely even regarded a person at this point. And at some point along the way, my entire face changed. I went from looking like me to looking like Rafael Araújo.
Schaap: CJ is set to make 67 million dollars over the next two years and also make a ton of criticism while doing it. But to some players afflicted by TC, CJ is considered lucky.
Conley: At least CJ got paid big bucks. I got a middling contract before TC decided I wasn’t worth even that.
Schaap: Mike Conley looked to be a promising young point guard when he came into the league from Ohio State. He continued to improve until the end of his rookie deal, and then based on his potential he signed a deal worth 55 million dollars over 4 years – a far cry from the money CJ Miles made. But just like CJ, as soon as he signed on the dotted line, something felt off.
Conley: I’m not sure if I broke my finger signing the contract or what, but things weren’t the same after that contract. Maybe that’s part of this disease.
Schaap: Conley had one year of decent play after the contract, but he no longer felt his career on a positive trajectory. And then it happened – TC struck.
Conley: I just woke up one day and knew I was different. I tried to dribble a basketball and I accidentally kicked it over the bleachers. And everyone looked at me like I was dying. I guess I was in some ways.
Schaap: For Conley, the bad luck continued. He got worse every year, and before he could find a way to improve, he broke his leg – twice. Now he’s playing for the Phoenix Suns on a minimum contract, unsure if today is the final day of his PBSL journey.
Conley: I was supposed to be something. My family is famous for producing successful people. I know I’ve let everyone in my family down. Someone already deleted my Wikipedia page, and it’s really upsetting.
Schaap: Not everyone is doomed after TC strikes. One of the most curious cases is Andrew Bynum.
Bynum: Some people call it a disease. I call it life, man.
Schaap: Bynum was afflicted with TC as soon as he came into the league. And then, for a few years, TC went well for him.
Bynum: I was playing well, feeling well. I made a lot of money, and I felt like the bad part of TC left me behind.
Schaap: But it didn’t. As soon as he signed another lucrative contract with the 76ers, TC decided it wasn’t finished with him yet.
Bynum: It happened again, but I wasn’t upset this time. I remembered the feeling, so I’ve dealt with it pretty well.
Schaap: Bynum has been able to carve out a decent career despite TC. And when you ask him if it gets him down, he doesn’t show the same depression that CJ and Conley show.
Bynum: Why would I hang my head? I have money, I play a sport I kind of like, and I can bowl any time I want. This life is awesome!
Schaap: There are tons of names that we don’t have time to cover. Cousins. Larry Johnson. Derrick Coleman. Michael Redd. But the evidence speaks for itself. TC has given fruitful gains to some players, but it has ruined the careers of so many others. And the science still has not caught up with us. It’s impossible to know what causes TC, and whether it will be good or bad for each player.
Schaap: We end our show with a glimpse of the future: Nets forward Buddy Pedraza. Part of the first draft class from the startup college athletic league, Buddy didn’t look special coming out of college. But he was inflicted with TC, and the results were great.
Pedraza: My family tells me “I never thought you would amount to shit in the league.” I can’t get mad, I agreed with them.
Schaap: He’s had two offseasons, and both times he has looked impressive. But rather than be happy with how his career has progressed, he looks to the past and is wary.
Pedraza: It could all turn around tomorrow. TC can strike any time, but especially if you sign a big contract, and especially if you play for the Lakers, so I’m not going there any time soon.
Schaap: Will TC strike Buddy? It’s anyone’s guess. But for every player who eludes the pain of TC, there are handfuls that can’t escape the team crusher. This is Jeremy Schaap for ESPN. Be safe and insure your players.
