The NBA has become one of the most popular sports in the entire world. Over the years, the NBA has gotten more interesting as each day passes. Many people love the NBA so much, they forget the NBA is still considered a business.
Jobs are at stake each and every day, people’s livelihoods are on the line, and money along with team success is one of the main driving forces of this league.
Richard “Rip” Hamilton was drafted by the Washington Wizards in the 1999 NBA Draft. Rip was drafted #7 overall so it was evident that he was going to be a star in the league.
After three seasons, the Wizards traded Rip to acquire Jerry Stackhouse. This trade certainly shook the landscape of the league as Stackhouse was already an All-Star.
When asked in an interview with NBC Sports Washington’s Chris Miller and Drew Gooden, Rip went on the record to say “I didn’t want to leave though. I did not want to leave Washington, D.C. I didn’t. It was home. It was the place that drafted me, was the first place that believed in me. I love the fans, I love the city.“
“I was bought in, I just loved everything about it,” Hamilton continued. “I went to my first Go-Go spot a couple times…I just loved the culture of Washington, D.C. so it wasn’t a place that I wanted to leave.”
Despite his short tenure with the Washington Wizards, Hamilton is surely one of the most memorable Wizards of all time. It’s easy to fall in love and appreciate having a player in town. But the reality is, the NBA is first and foremost a business and a trade or firing can happen at any given time.
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