Rip Hamilton Is Getting A Raw Deal

Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace led the Pistons back to its glory days from the 2000-2008 seasons.

In that time period, they went to the Eastern Conference Championship game 6 straight years, which sits second most of all time only behind the Los Angeles Lakers 8.

They won the 2004 NBA finals against a heavily favored Lakers team.

Fast forward to the 2010-2011 season, the leader of their offense – Billups — is gone, and their dominant big man, Rasheed Wallace, went his way.

No more dominant defense that keyed their success, and every game they have to scrap just to give themselves a chance to win.

Richard Hamilton was once a top playmaker that was known to run exceptionally well off of screens, and do his famous catch-shoot.

His famous nickname “RIP” was defined as daggers as his consistent mid-range shooting that would decimate a team whenever they had something going.

Now he is known for sitting on the bench, literally, and his “RIP” should be read as “Rest In Peace” as his coach leaves him on the bench to rot.

After sharing the leadership role and giving everything he had to the Detroit Pistons, is this anyway for a 12-year veteran who has had a successful career to be treated?

“It’s one of those things, you give to your team for the last nine years your blood, sweat and tears and you never expect nothing like that to happen. But it happened,” Hamilton says to reporters on his diminished role, if that.

He has been a good team player, hard worker, and a player that has been loyal to his team and not once causes any distractions on or off the court. He has been given the cold treatment, something that he certainly doesn’t deserve.

He isn’t a drama queen like LBJ, and most recently Carmelo. He isn’t a bust like Kwame Brown.

He doesn’t get into trouble with the law like LT. Heck, he doesn’t even Chris Brown his girlfriend.

Instead of RIP getting the respect he is due, he gets a slap in the face by coach John Kuester – who not only refuses to start him, but hasn’t even played him in the last 5 games!

Rip Hamilton doesn’t deserve this atrocity.