Former Cleveland Cavaliers forward Richard Jefferson recently took exception to comments from Brandon Jennings.
Jennings cited Chris Paul and LeBron James as reasons why the NBA has turned into a players’ league.
Lots of love for @Tuff__Crowd but ITS NOT THE PLAYERS. Each team is paying lots of money to these Sports Science teams. Can’t put it in contracts if teams are holding players out 🤷🏾‍♂️ https://t.co/wJ29cJtPC5
— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) August 13, 2022
Controversy over teams not using players who are healthy has been a hot topic in recent years. That concept, which is often known as load management, has been a strategy in part to keep some players fresh for the playoffs.
Many players feel that load management is very important.
Jennings last played in the NBA during the 2017-18 season and spent his last few seasons in a reserve capacity. That part of his career came after he suffered a ruptured Achilles in January of 2015.
The 42-year-old Jefferson competed against Paul for years and was a teammate of James during his career.
As noted by Jefferson, the effort by Jennings to focus his blame on players seems unfair when teams have played a large role in the rise of load management.
Teams that have star players under contract no doubt want to make sure that the players are fully rested and ready for the postseason in any given year. If that means sitting out the stars for a game or two during the regular season to stay fresh, the teams obviously have no problem with the decision.
Both Paul and James are still in the league after countless years of rigorous play on the court. In contrast, Jennings is a former player whose take on this issue figures to quickly fade.
