When Hughes signed with Cleveland in 2005, he was cast as the No. 2 scoring option behind LeBron James. But Hughes had trouble finding his niche in a James-dominated offense, and the Cavaliers moved him to point guard, a role he disdained.

Hughes further inflamed Cavaliers fans when he returned with the Bulls, telling a newspaper that he had been unhappy sacrificing his game, even though the Cavaliers improved with him at the point.

"Some people take this the wrong way," he told The Akron-Beacon Journal, "but winning a championship is not what I base everything on. I was given an opportunity to play basketball, travel around and have fun doing it, and that's what I want to do. I wouldn't take being unhappy and not being myself and winning."

As Hughes predicted, those remarks were taken the wrong way - as a sign that he cared more about personal gratification than team glory. He was excoriated by bloggers and columnists. But Hughes insists that he was trying to make a broader point, that happiness is not entirely dependent on N.B.A. titles.

"There's a lot of guys in this league that didn't win championships that gave something to the game," he said this week, "whether that's giving something to a younger player, giving something to a city, as far as community-wise.

"I think you can go in any locker room that I've been in and see that that's really not my attitude, as far as the basketball game. But it just got interpreted."

It was in Cleveland that Hughes enjoyed his greatest team success, making the finals in 2007. But his tenure with the Cavaliers was also marked by deep personal grief, including the loss of his younger brother Justin, who died of a heart ailment in May 2006.

The sorrow is permanently imprinted below Hughes's left eye, in a tattoo of two tears. Justin's name is inscribed on the left side of his chest. While in Cleveland, Hughes was also affected by the death of an aunt, and his wife had a brain aneurysm. He welcomed the trade to Chicago in February 2008.

"I had a lot of things happen to me while I was there, and I kind of needed to get away from that city," Hughes said of Cleveland. "It's tough when you have to drive down the same roads that you heard bad news on."

"If you put enough work in, you just build, you build to that level," Hughes said. "We got better every year in Cleveland. We got better every year in Washington. I'm not as young anymore. But I still feel like I want to put the work in. If I put the work in and we build something and we make it to the playoffs â€" first, second round, that's gratifying also."

Posted by sebstar:

Posted by arkrud:

Come on.
The guys are working and by the way are putting their healts on the line.
Plus not to many people in the world can do what they are doing.
Big $$$ are payed not for moving firniture in bulks; but for unique skills.

Naw, dont do that to me and misinterpret what I'm saying. I'm not saying that these guys dont deserve their money, like a lot of people do, just that winning a chip isnt that much of a priority.

They are the engine in a mulit-billion dollar operation...their paper is justified. They are the best athletes in the world. But you really think they thirst for the chip as much as player did 20 years ago. More Players defined their career through team success.

This is true but... chip is more of team/organization success that individual player.
They know the business and so they know that as good as you are you cannot do this alone.
And if player is a part of it; he cannot take all the glory, just a fraction of it.
So why they would bother for something that is mostly out of their control?
Greatness helping to get the chip but if you are scrub with the ring it means nothing.

Posted by PresIke:

i don't think that's what he meant.

i think he was implying that while winning matters, there are other ways players can make an impact on a team, in the world, or life.

ricky williams is someone who also committed some cardinal sins for hardcore sports fans who think it's win or you suck (sort of).

he talked about being involved in other things besides just being an "achiever" in athletics as important, including what i believe was social justice issues.

i think it might actually show how mature and intelligent hughes may be, rather than immature and selfish.

he seems to put it out there on the court so far, so maybe thus far he feels respected and comfortable in his role. he has been setting the tone for defense which we have lacked, through example.

plus, sometimes you just don't fit on a team or with certain people, even if the team is winning, and your own happiness or life-satistfaction matters more. in fact, wealth after basic needs are met does not = increased happiness anyway. it's more about being around people who you love, like, are in a community you feel connected to, and do what you love.

if that isn't happening, even if you are considered "successful" you may very well be miserable.


[Edited by - PresIke on 03-13-2009 3:30 PM]

[Edited by - PresIke on 03-13-2009 3:31 PM]

Posted by PresIke:

i don't think that's what he meant.

i think he was implying that while winning matters, there are other ways players can make an impact on a team, in the world, or life.

ricky williams is someone who also committed some cardinal sins for hardcore sports fans who think it's win or you suck (sort of).

he talked about being involved in other things besides just being an "achiever" in athletics as important, including what i believe was social justice issues.

i think it might actually show how mature and intelligent hughes may be, rather than immature and selfish.

he seems to put it out there on the court so far, so maybe thus far he feels respected and comfortable in his role. he has been setting the tone for defense which we have lacked, through example.

plus, sometimes you just don't fit on a team or with certain people, even if the team is winning, and your own happiness or life-satistfaction matters more. in fact, wealth after basic needs are met does not = increased happiness anyway. it's more about being around people who you love, like, are in a community you feel connected to, and do what you love.

if that isn't happening, even if you are considered "successful" you may very well be miserable.


[Edited by - PresIke on 03-13-2009 3:30 PM]

[Edited by - PresIke on 03-13-2009 3:31 PM]

Posted by PresIke:

seb, i hear you, but what about the comment he made:

"There's a lot of guys in this league that didn't win championships that gave something to the game," he said this week, "whether that's giving something to a younger player, giving something to a city, as far as community-wise.

i think his initial response sounded that way, but i think he felt it was taken out of context, and why he got the flack for it. reading this response sounds like either he didn't mean it that way, or he isn't that same person now, in some regard.

anyway, so far we've seen the good larry for the most part, and have thus far benefited.

Posted by TMS:

yeah, Pres, that was explained to me in the game thread, but thanks again for the update bro.

[Edited by - TMS on 03-13-2009 1:08 PM]

Posted by PresIke:

and TMS, here's an answer to your question (which I think someone else mentioned as well) about what's up with the teardrop tattoos under his eye:

It was in Cleveland that Hughes enjoyed his greatest team success, making the finals in 2007. But his tenure with the Cavaliers was also marked by deep personal grief, including the loss of his younger brother Justin, who died of a heart ailment in May 2006.

The sorrow is permanently imprinted below Hughes's left eye, in a tattoo of two tears. Justin's name is inscribed on the left side of his chest. While in Cleveland, Hughes was also affected by the death of an aunt, and his wife had a brain aneurysm. He welcomed the trade to Chicago in February 2008.

"I had a lot of things happen to me while I was there, and I kind of needed to get away from that city," Hughes said of Cleveland. "It's tough when you have to drive down the same roads that you heard bad news on."

"If you put enough work in, you just build, you build to that level," Hughes said. "We got better every year in Cleveland. We got better every year in Washington. I'm not as young anymore. But I still feel like I want to put the work in. If I put the work in and we build something and we make it to the playoffs â€" first, second round, that's gratifying also."

[Edited by - PresIke on 03-13-2009 1:36 PM]

[Edited by - PresIke on 03-13-2009 1:36 PM]