I don't understand the premise of this article or at least I hope I don't understand it. Why waste ink on questioning whether an individual's strong religious convictions could hurt the team? The answer is obvious, it can't hurt and will probably help.
Now, a more appropriate topic would be, does the gangster lifestyle that so many of the NBA players have adopted as their spiritual foundation hurt the team. I guess that answer is obvious too. Probably best not to ask such inflammatory questions.
You're dead on target with that gangsta comment.