Respect

The whole Phil Jackson comeback got me thinking about this... about players and coaches who could, or even did, change my perception toward them, who either got my respect over the years where there was none, or the other way around.

I couldn't be more ecstatic about the Phil Jackson comeback... if the Lakers don't make an huge, huge splash in the offseason.

I want to see what Phil does with a mediocre roster. I want to see what he does with the same team that missed the playoffs this year.

If they don't make a huge acquisition and the Lakers go far, I can finally respect all his accomplishments. If not, my suspicions of him riding the coattails of ideal situations for his entire career will be confirmed. Either way, it's better than maintaining the latter, but having doubts about it; the doubts that Red Auerbach voiced, the doubts that Phil and Red sniped at each other over. Don't get me wrong, I sincerely do want to believe all his accomplishments are legit, but I just can't. Not yet.

And I know I will respect him if he succeeds. I did the same thing with Shaq. I loved Shaq when he came into the league, then hated him in the later LA years. He was too heavy, didn't care, didn't work enough to change it. Spat acid at guys like Kobe for no particular reason, sometimes days after praising the guy as "the best player in the league." He didn't give Hakeem his props anymore, calling himself perhaps the most dominant ever, where he used to qualify it with "well, I think Hakeem is the best," even in 1999-2000, when Hakeem was clearly well over the hill. He cared more about his contract than actually playing (remember him swatting a shot into the stands then yelling at Buss "gonna pay me now?"). Buss was right when he said that he wouldn't have traded Shaq if he knew he would lose 60 pounds, but also that he knew a trade would be the only thing that could motivate Shaq to actually get in shape.

I mean, how much money do you need to play your best? Maybe a billion dollars per year? If Shaq had kept his weight where it was supposed to be all that time, he could have been unreal. As it was, he was "merely" the most dominant player in the league over many seasons.

Makes me think of Rasheed Wallace. Rasheed could have been outmuscling Duncan, out-quicking Garnett, and out-passing the Webber of old to this day. If he had cared enough. Now instead of being one of the best ever, Sheed owns the title of NBA's Greatest Never-Was; the perpetual wildcard. And god knows his chances of being an NBA HOFer are about as good as yours or mine at this point.

Then, Shaq came to Miami. He worked so hard that he dropped the weight like nothing. Then, the first thing he did was tell the public "this is Wade's team." Before he even played an NBA with the guy. That's hard work, that's respect, that's earning your pay. IMO, only injuries kept the Heat from still being in the limelight against San Antonio at this very minute. I have a profound respect for Shaq now where I didn't only a year ago. That's a weird thought, isn't it? Just one year can change the entire way I perceive a player.

What Shaq did this past season was precisely what Michael Jordan never did, which is why I still strongly dislike Mike, much as I admit he had to be in with (at least) the top 20 players ever. But he treated most people with a profound lack of respect, and basically was the most arrogant athlete I've ever witnessed.

And it would be harder for me not to like the guy, if he hadn't had every chance. If he had stayed retired... different story. But he didn't. He came back in Washington. He said he would practice with the team, teach them, be a stabilizing influence off the bench. That he was going to get them on track for the long term, insisting that he was not there to make a last gasp with veterans, and have to blow things up again.

Then he did everything precisely the way he said he wouldn't. He rarely practiced with the team, because it was "too hard on his body." He preferred to ride his exercise bike. When he did practice, he was busy destroying the psyche of the future that he had chosen... Kwame Brown. Of course he had said he would be patient... but he wasn't. It was "what have you done for me lately." Kwame couldn't help him win now, so he was persecuted, ostracized.

Jordan got into an exceedlingly immature half-court shooting contest with Rip Hamilton, and kept the team bus waiting so he could get even with Rip over a game Rip had fairly won, modifying the rules until he was victorious, and could talk smack to the guy again. That is, while Rip was still around. The up-and-comer got traded for Jerry Stackhouse, a veteran. To win now. Jordan got himself put into the starting lineup too, of course, and ended up leading the team in shot attempts for the rest of the season. He actually publicly complained when young guys like Lue "shot too much." Stabilizing influence off the bench for the young guys... riiiight. And after trading his best young player in order to win now, which he said would not happen, he didn't even make the playoffs, when the East was still the Least.

So he made mistakes. What made it worse was he refused to admit them. Who's fault was it that the Wiz's #1 pick hadn't contributed? Brown being lazy, said Jordan, not me for first picking him and then having no patience with him. "What happened?" queried a reporter, after a loss to Dallas. "Doug Collins didn't use me right" was the reason, even though Jordan had by far led the team in shots, and had clearly been doing whatever he wanted on the court. Not so much as a hint that he had gone back on his word after the Stackhouse trade. No heartfelt protest at starting the all-star game over Vince Carter, despite the fact that it was against the fans' wishes.

Speaking of Vince Carter... well, I guess there isn't much to tell. He worked hard, he played the right way, he didn't complain about being in Canada, and he looked an awful lot like one of the best players in the world at those Olympics... oh man, those Olympics. Then after McGrady left, he used injuries to make himself look like less of a player, just to get out of Toronto, and decided he wuld shoot more jumpers to save his body, rather than less. Give me a break.

Gary Payton. He was absolutely one of the best point guards ever, but he was a trash-talker, a guy with a real mean streak. He looked like he was on his way to a very, very inauspicious exit when he was with the Lakers, complaining about his minutes and shots on a team that had three guys who were better scorers than him. Then he got to Boston... didn't wanna be there. Whined about it. Made threats.

Then the damndest thing happened. He turned himself into a mentor, a guy who taught the young Boston guards. I had figured that if it hadn't happened by the time Gary got to LA, it would never happen, but it did. It was a very abrupt change, from a guy who was about to be out of the league because he demanded to be treated as a superstar, to a guy who's contributing to future players, even when it's not particularly favorable to his legacy to stay.

For some reason, it seems like a lot of this kind of stuff has been happening recently. People really can change...

Anyone else's perceptions towards a player or coach changed drastically, especially recently?

 

Oh yeah, they're certainly not bad... any team that has Kobe Bryant can't be bottom-feeders. They have some talent, but aren't (or shouldn't be) contenders in the West.

I have to point out though that Miami (Wade, Odom etc.) and Orlando (McGrady, etc.) were in the East... the East still isn't that great today, and it was even worse then. I think everyone knows LA would have made the playoffs this season if they were in the East.

Heck, Washington is pretty much the Warriors moved east, after all (Hughes, Jamison, Arenas).

 

Honestly, my feelings on Shaq were the result of a buildup of a lot of things I didn't like about him, not just one or two. It was just the weight, or the contract stuff... it was the whole package. Hakeem wasn't perfect, but he always kept himself in peak physical condition, he didn't publicly shout at his team's owner, and he didn't toy with the media all the time about being "the most dominant ever," even though he sure was for awhile.

I sure see where you're coming from, though. You can't really argue feelings and perceptions, after all.

That's probably a more reasonable assessment than mine, but for some reason when I watch Sheed play, that frame, just the way he moves around, the way he gets that fadeaway so high... I just see a lot of things I think he could've been. I'm not sure what it is about him specifically.

EDIT: Actually, after thinking about it for a minute, I think I know why Sheed bugs me even more than, say, Kemp, as you suggest. I was a big fan of Kemp's game, he was an awesome player, a total superstar... for a little while. Coleman was awesome too, for a relatively short time. And they wasted their talent away. They had their limelight. Sheed though? I don't think he ever got close to his potential, even for one year. Yeah, he made all-star, but that doesn't mean he reached his potential. His frame, athleticism, the way he moves, shoots has superstar written all over it, and he just never got there.

See, now I'm really curious... did you see much of Payton this season? Am I the only one who thought he did a total 180 from a year ago? Maybe I'm seeing things, but it seems like that to me. I can't imagine what caused it.