Waiting For His Chance
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Having a DNP (Did Not Play) next to your name is a stat line no NBA player relishes.
Rodney Carney joined the Minnesota Timberwolves this past summer after a trade with Philadelphia. But he has not seen the floor with any regularity, drawing nine DNPs thus far this season. He registered only 12 last season with the Sixers.
As a competitor, it certainly isn't easy to sit and watch, and not be able to contribute to your team’s on-court success or help turn away its failure. “I’m at peace [because] my time will come,” said the 6-7, third-year forward. “When it does, I will be ready.”
The all-time leader in three-pointers and third in career scoring at the University of Memphis (2002-06), Carney said it was during his junior season, in which he was his team’s scoring leader and finished among the top five scorers in Conference USA, that it became apparent to him that he could be an NBA player.
“My name started getting out there and people started talking,” he recalled.
After being named his league’s top player in his senior season, Carney was selected in the first round (16th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls.
“When you are younger, it flashes across your mind (about playing in the NBA), but you never know if it will happen,” Carney said. “Sure enough, on draft night, I got drafted and my dream came true. It was a good feeling.”
However, that dream soon became cold reality, when the young man was traded to Philadelphia later on draft night.
“My rookie year I went through ups and downs,” Carney pointed out. He played in 67 contests in 2006-07, averaging six points in 35 starts. A stomach virus, a right shoulder injury and a left knee sprain caused him to miss 12 games that season. But he still finished 14th among NBA rookie scorers and fifth in shooting percentage.
“I played a little more in my second year (70 games) and I was getting into the system,” he said. “Then I got traded.”
Kevin Ollie, a 12-year veteran guard who signed with Minnesota prior to the season as a free agent, also was a teammate of Carney’s in Philadelphia. Ollie has seen Carney at his best and worst.
“I was with him in his rookie year,” recalls Ollie. “You’re up one day and you’re down the next, and you might not play one game but play the next game — it’s the fluctuation of the whole NBA.”
Although Carney had been traded once before, getting traded again was another cold shock into pro reality. “It was a mixture of emotions,” Carney said. “I’m sitting at home with my family, and I got the word (that he was traded) watching TV. Then I get a call, telling me that I was traded to this city and other stuff. [Afterwards] I am just sitting there with a mixed feeling. Am I mad or am I happy? It was a difficult situation because I didn’t know exactly what to feel or say.”
Getting traded virtually means starting over. After two seasons in Philly, Carney knew the landscape and felt that he had established himself. Now all that changed.
“It was a hard transition — moving, learning a new city, learning a new organization, new plays and new players. It is really difficult.”
It also hasn’t helped that his new team also changed leadership in midstream this season as well.
Wolves head coach Kevin McHale admits that he still is trying to find game situations in which to play Carney. “We got to get that second unit’s style laid in so that we can use his speed,” McHale said.
Carney can’t control these events. The only thing he can control is his attitude.
“[Ollie] called me when I was on the plane to Minneapolis,” Carney said. “He told me that God has a plan for you and keep your head focused. Stay humble and things will work out. He helped me with the move, the transition and everything. He told me about his experiences (of getting traded) and kept me leveled.”
Carney added that, in addition to being his teammate, Ollie has also been a spiritual mentor.
“Because of Kevin Ollie, my faith has gotten stronger,” Carney said. “I was hotheaded in my rookie year and wasn’t really going to chapel or praising God like I should have. When these things happened, I went to him, and he told me that I have to praise [God] through the good and the bad. Once you have peace of mind, things settle themselves out.”
“As Christians that is what our job is — to plant seeds whenever we can, and show the light of Christ through us,” Ollie said. “That is what I try to do each and every day, and hopefully he sees some of the things I’ve been through in my life, some of the things I’ve been through even in Philadelphia in not playing, and how I can stay at peace and still have joy.
“He (Carney) has matured a lot, grown up and understands that this is a business and to not take it too personal," Ollie continued. “Just having him content and being at peace of mind, no matter what the situation, he is doing a beautiful job.”
Carney may have come into the NBA with a scorer’s reputation, but he now feels that defense is where he often excels. “I’m not in the position right now to get out there and score, so I will use myself to help other people get better,“ he said. “When I am thrust into a position to guard one of the best players, I just try to bother them and make sure that I do my job. I try to stop him or bother him into missing a shot, to do something to throw him off his game. I love bothering people on defense.
“Then I can use my athleticism on transition, and once I run, it sucks the other guys in, so that other guys can get an open shot. Maybe it’s noticed or maybe it’s not, but that’s what I want to do when I’m out there. I take pride in defense and also in my athleticism.”
Finally, as the season progresses, Carney has a peace of mind that passes many people’s understanding.
“I’m settled here but the [playing] opportunity hasn’t come yet,” Carney said. “Hopefully, it will. [But] I still have peace of mind.”
Rodney Carney joined the Minnesota Timberwolves this past summer after a trade with Philadelphia. But he has not seen the floor with any regularity, drawing nine DNPs thus far this season. He registered only 12 last season with the Sixers.
As a competitor, it certainly isn't easy to sit and watch, and not be able to contribute to your team’s on-court success or help turn away its failure. “I’m at peace [because] my time will come,” said the 6-7, third-year forward. “When it does, I will be ready.”
The all-time leader in three-pointers and third in career scoring at the University of Memphis (2002-06), Carney said it was during his junior season, in which he was his team’s scoring leader and finished among the top five scorers in Conference USA, that it became apparent to him that he could be an NBA player.
“My name started getting out there and people started talking,” he recalled.
After being named his league’s top player in his senior season, Carney was selected in the first round (16th overall) of the 2006 NBA Draft by the Chicago Bulls.
“When you are younger, it flashes across your mind (about playing in the NBA), but you never know if it will happen,” Carney said. “Sure enough, on draft night, I got drafted and my dream came true. It was a good feeling.”
However, that dream soon became cold reality, when the young man was traded to Philadelphia later on draft night.
“My rookie year I went through ups and downs,” Carney pointed out. He played in 67 contests in 2006-07, averaging six points in 35 starts. A stomach virus, a right shoulder injury and a left knee sprain caused him to miss 12 games that season. But he still finished 14th among NBA rookie scorers and fifth in shooting percentage.
“I played a little more in my second year (70 games) and I was getting into the system,” he said. “Then I got traded.”
Kevin Ollie, a 12-year veteran guard who signed with Minnesota prior to the season as a free agent, also was a teammate of Carney’s in Philadelphia. Ollie has seen Carney at his best and worst.
“I was with him in his rookie year,” recalls Ollie. “You’re up one day and you’re down the next, and you might not play one game but play the next game — it’s the fluctuation of the whole NBA.”
Although Carney had been traded once before, getting traded again was another cold shock into pro reality. “It was a mixture of emotions,” Carney said. “I’m sitting at home with my family, and I got the word (that he was traded) watching TV. Then I get a call, telling me that I was traded to this city and other stuff. [Afterwards] I am just sitting there with a mixed feeling. Am I mad or am I happy? It was a difficult situation because I didn’t know exactly what to feel or say.”
Getting traded virtually means starting over. After two seasons in Philly, Carney knew the landscape and felt that he had established himself. Now all that changed.
“It was a hard transition — moving, learning a new city, learning a new organization, new plays and new players. It is really difficult.”
It also hasn’t helped that his new team also changed leadership in midstream this season as well.
Wolves head coach Kevin McHale admits that he still is trying to find game situations in which to play Carney. “We got to get that second unit’s style laid in so that we can use his speed,” McHale said.
Carney can’t control these events. The only thing he can control is his attitude.
“[Ollie] called me when I was on the plane to Minneapolis,” Carney said. “He told me that God has a plan for you and keep your head focused. Stay humble and things will work out. He helped me with the move, the transition and everything. He told me about his experiences (of getting traded) and kept me leveled.”
Carney added that, in addition to being his teammate, Ollie has also been a spiritual mentor.
“Because of Kevin Ollie, my faith has gotten stronger,” Carney said. “I was hotheaded in my rookie year and wasn’t really going to chapel or praising God like I should have. When these things happened, I went to him, and he told me that I have to praise [God] through the good and the bad. Once you have peace of mind, things settle themselves out.”
“As Christians that is what our job is — to plant seeds whenever we can, and show the light of Christ through us,” Ollie said. “That is what I try to do each and every day, and hopefully he sees some of the things I’ve been through in my life, some of the things I’ve been through even in Philadelphia in not playing, and how I can stay at peace and still have joy. “He (Carney) has matured a lot, grown up and understands that this is a business and to not take it too personal," Ollie continued. “Just having him content and being at peace of mind, no matter what the situation, he is doing a beautiful job.”
Carney may have come into the NBA with a scorer’s reputation, but he now feels that defense is where he often excels. “I’m not in the position right now to get out there and score, so I will use myself to help other people get better,“ he said. “When I am thrust into a position to guard one of the best players, I just try to bother them and make sure that I do my job. I try to stop him or bother him into missing a shot, to do something to throw him off his game. I love bothering people on defense.
“Then I can use my athleticism on transition, and once I run, it sucks the other guys in, so that other guys can get an open shot. Maybe it’s noticed or maybe it’s not, but that’s what I want to do when I’m out there. I take pride in defense and also in my athleticism.”
Finally, as the season progresses, Carney has a peace of mind that passes many people’s understanding.
“I’m settled here but the [playing] opportunity hasn’t come yet,” Carney said. “Hopefully, it will. [But] I still have peace of mind.”
