It's all about the money...I guess

Just when you thought that pro basketball couldn’t get any crazier, this tidbit from Chicago:

Chicago, IL (Sportsline.com) - The Chicago Bulls fined rookie forward Tyrus Thomas $10,000 on Tuesday for his comments after being selected to participate in the 2007 Sprite Slam Dunk competition to be held on February 17 of All-Star weekend. Instead of saying he was honored to be part of a NBA All-Star institution since the days of Julius Erving and Michael Jordan, Thomas noted he was excited for the "free money." Well, at least the kid was being honest.

This is what the slam-dunk contest has become to some of the NBA’s young stars: another money grab. You can rest assured that by the time you read this, the NBA’s spin doctors will have gotten to Thomas and he will be forced to hold another press conference to say, “I really didn’t mean what I said.”

"He has to mature more," Bulls coach Scott Skiles said. "These are the kinds of episodes we all can mature from. We've all said things we've regretted as soon as they came out of our mouth. You can be honest with the media and not guarded all the time ... if you have something bright to say."

Have something bright to say. Now there’s a novel idea. Join me February 22nd for our Communications skills discussion. We’ll talk more about this and cover one of my basic rules for good communication: Have something good to say.

Maybe Thomas will win the slam dunk competition. Have the NBA bring a big pile of money out to the free throw line and let him dunk over that. Hey, he’s just going for the money.

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