Marko Jaric: Give me a trade or a chance

[DC4]

If only the Memphis Grizzlies could lend Marko Jaric to some other team, things would be better. That is what teams often do in his native Europe when there simply aren't enough minutes to go around.

After six years in the NBA, the guard from Serbia understands the intricate balance between business, basketball and politics that shape the pecking order during a game. But the 61 minutes that Marko Jaric had played so far this season seems extraordinarily unbalanced.

Especially for a basketball resume like Marko's. He comes from the proud Yugoslavian school of basketball which has produced many recent World and European champions. Marko has one of each under his belt, with the '02 World Championships in Indianapolis helping propel him into the NBA a few months later. The pressure he remembers from Conseco Fieldhouse that summer seems in some ways easier than the situation he is in right now.

"We have a very good, young and talented team but I didn't deserve to be in this situation. Since I got here the team is unfortunately not treating me the right way, not giving me the right explanation for what is going on with my playing time. I just wish I had a chance to show what I can do, but so far I had very little chance to play. I think I am trying to be positive. When I talked to the coach I was told I would have an important role with the team but now I am in a situation where the club decided to do a total rebuilding."

Staying positive means boarding the first bus -- sometimes three and half hours before the game -- from the hotel to the arena and working out ahead of everybody else. Or locking yourself up in a Belgrade gym through the summer with weights, bars and a basketball court, all in preparation for reporting to the Grizzlies.

"I have to stay professional and work hard so I have to come to the arena early. It is hard to stay ready to play if you don't actually play so I have to put in the extra hours to work out. I know the right time will come and I have to be ready for it. I have no doubt that I will continue to get a chance to play in the NBA but the question is when and where that opportunity will come."

Jaric often says that the biggest lesson he learned in the NBA is having to wait for your opportunity. That probably held true for all basketball squads he played for in his career, but here in the NBA opportunities are often tied to the trade deadline, coming up in less then two months, on February 19th.

"It would be acceptable for me to continue in some other club. It is hard to say if this team respects me as a player. If there was another team where I could play, I am sure I would feel better. My thought was always to give everything I have to my team and not worry about what might happen in the future. I want to be with my current team a 100% with my heart and my soul. As long as I am with the Memphis Grizzlies, I will give my 100% on the court."

Or, more precisely, he will give his 100% on the bench. Those are his words, of course, and his way of staying positive. The way Jaric see it, there is a thin line between being negative and being positive when you have to fight really hard for yourself.

"When I got here I maybe made a mistake in asking for a trade to a winning team. I told them that I would like to be on a team that will have a chance to win immediately. Maybe my lack of playing time is their way of reacting to that request."

If that is the case, perhaps this is a good time of the year to forgive and forget. A young talented team like the Grizzlies can benefit from Marko's veteran presence, considering that he is the second-most experienced player on their roster.

After all, wasn't it a few year ago during Christmas that Shaq and Kobe ironed out their differences, too?

LINK

 

[DC4]

Trade him, to many distractions..

 

[.s31t]

Eh, Luke is on the block and LA needs a PG.
Very interesting since he might be available.
IDK who would like Jaric... He's overpaid trash.

 

[Pugz]

He's not trash,
But he is highly overpaid.
Big guard and can shoot, if anyone wants the contract I could see him being traded.