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Years ago, we had a sub(stitute) player in our section for about 1.5 years ('subs' are folks who haven't won a permanent job with the team, but are reliable role-fillers/pinch hitters/semi regulars). Dude was a local college teacher/instructor. He was insanely gifted- better than all of us. Only one problem: he played his own interpretations, instead of playing his role on the team. Our section was a mess that year. After this one particular concert, Sarah (our squad captain) took me aside.

"What's he like when you share a stand (2 players reading from the same music) ?"
"He stares at the music and plays it how he wants."
"Thanks. That's all I needed to hear. His az is toast."

Dude fell off the sub list like Wile E. Coyote on that rocket that sputtered out over the Grand Canyon [insert tiny 'poof' img here].
Sarah was for no bs.

And we sounded better the instant his az was gone. Immediate improvement. Addition by subtraction.
Sometimes, it happens. Some folks can only function as soloists. One-trick ponies. They can do amazing things by themselves, but they can't really function as a cog in a well-oiled machine.


Sometimes, I imagine OBJ's internal dialogue sounding something like this: "Oh, maaan... that juke I dropped was choice. And that 'route adjustment' I made was genius... wait, what- another dump-down? WTF?"

After all I've seen, read and heard, I really think it was a simple as this: OBJ could never effectively fit in an offense built to function as ours is. He will never fit in any other team that is built to function as ours is. I'm not sure what team could effectively use him at this point in the season. Every team has an actual play book that they rely upon, and this dude never seemed to learn the play book on a team that employed him for 3 seasons.

There comes a point when unrealized potential becomes dead weight.
CLE was right to drop him, and other teams should look hard and long at their own internal culture before taking a flyer on him.

risk/reward.