October 1999: Master P auditions for Raptors
Pity poor Cezary Trybanski. He only made $1500 a week futilely trying out for the Raptors this October. I'm not sure how the franchise can live with themselves knowing that they put this poor hard-working Polish immigrant out on the street. But there was once a time when the Raptors had integrity, in order to avoid the blow to their collective conscience they only allowed multi-millionaires to try-out for the team. That way, the franchise knew that when the player got cut he was still going to end up okay.
At least that's the only assumption I can make for the Raptors adding Percy Miller, a.k.a. Master P, to their preseason roster. At the time his basketball resume consisted of being an all-state Louisiana high school player and a brief stint on the roster of the Fort Wayne Fury. So it must have been his $400 millon fortune that got him a tryout with the Raptors. Oh yeah, he was also described as "an acquaintance of Raptor Coach Butch Carter."
I don't remember if Miller played with just a "P" on the back of his jersey but here is some commentary from his 1999 preseason efforts...
"...he often seemed overmatched against the best basketball players in the world..."
"...hit the side of the backboard on a driving layup..."
"[against Master P] Robert Pack scored nine of his 19 points in a 15-2 run -- including a 15-foot jumper as time expired -- to give Dallas the win."
"...two of his shots blocked on ill-advised one-on-one moves."
Needless to say, Master P's best preseason game came against the Vancouver Grizzlies. So now as Master P fades into obscurity he can always tell his grandkids about the time he hit 2 3-pointers in Edmonton against the worst team the NBA had to offer.
I'm not sure what the Raptor franchise got out of giving Master P a chance other than to have the name of the franchise mentioned in every Master P bio on the web. By attempting to cash in on Master P's fame, the franchise discredited themselves and made Raptor fans say "Ugh!" Not coincidentally, Master P hasn't had a hit since and his business declared bankruptcy. Thus it was a perfect lose-lose situation.
Raptors are gonna sign P's kid Lil Romeo
Posted by: eddiebaseball | October 24, 2006 at 01:20 PM
Also, what made this moment even more dubious, was the post game show on the Fan where Toronto had the displeasure of Chuck Swirsky and Leo Rautins singing "makem say UUGGGHHH"
Posted by: eddiebaseball | October 24, 2006 at 01:23 PM
Yet another reason not to listen to the radio.
Posted by: B-Huge | October 24, 2006 at 03:17 PM
It's getting SAAAAAD...like watching a crack-whore strutt her stuff...used and abused and uncared for...shiiiiiiiit.
Posted by: arsenal | October 24, 2006 at 03:22 PM
i heard he's coming out with a new single, entitled "Uggggggh! Y'all Don't Got Dis Footwork".. written for the Raps, and the producers of Dancing With The Stars.
think about that: his last two credentials are the Raptors, and Dancing With The Stars. OOOWWWEEE!
Posted by: rachello | October 24, 2006 at 11:28 PM
Management stated afterwards it was a ploy to get Vince out of the spotlight so much. It was an interesting strategy, very outside the box, but it was certainly worth trying if it would have made Vince be less of a wuss.
Posted by: | November 03, 2006 at 05:26 PM
What and no mention of the press conference P. held to complain about the coaches, the organization and the franchise/city.
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