Hawk Finn":3sxsqim8 said:
Interesting reading the comments here. I got a completely different impression listening to that interview. It seems like he was saying that they were not shipped off for anything but financial reasons. Perhaps people interpret commentary in a manner that fits their narrative – myself included.
There's two things going on here, what Pete says to his players and to the press about being supportive of their player's personalities, and activism............and then there's what goes on behind closed doors when it comes to injecting this team with youth, enthusiasm and a roster full of players who want to be here, and not be a distraction.
I do think Pete's supportive of his players, but I also think he knows there was some distractions that hurt his teams focus.
No one will be able to tell me when Pete, John and Paul Allen met after the season, that there wasn't a concerted effort to circle the wagons on the distraction factor, and that contributed to both Bennett and Sherman leaving.
There wasn't a HUGE financial cap relief for trading Bennett, he actually had a pretty decent team friendly contract for another year or two. Can't tell me the distraction factor didn't come into play.