Some Quotes from 2003 in the NBA

taken from slamonline.com
http://slamonline.com/links/

"You've got idiots in the office running things; that's the problem." -- Reggie Miller, on a suspension of Ron Artest.

"It was one, a lack of experience in a situation like that, and two, they were bombing on Betty." -- Steve Francis, on the Mavs blowing out the Rockets.

"I'm 250 [pounds] -- I should be able to flex my muscles when I want to." -- Ron Artest, on flexing to the Miami bench.

"I don't have the first clue who he is talking about, because all I worry about is Jerome." -- Jerome James, on Nate McMillan's comments about players on Seattle being selfish.

"It's all right. It sort of looks like Terry Porter, but that's OK. TP's my man. It's not an insult or anything like that. TP has a good smile and everything, so I'm rolling with that." -- Kevin Garnett, upon seeing his Celebriduck, which was handed out at a T-Wolves game.

"It looks like my grandfather's rug." -- Bimbo Coles, on a sweater worn by Smush Parker.

"Name 12 players better than me." -- Jalen Rose, on whether or not he should make the All-Star team.

"I would compare Rod to classical music -- it just flows, a steady stream of melody, real free-flowing, something mixed up with a lot of tempo. Troy's like rock and roll, or rap. He comes out energetic, keeps you on your feet. At certain times you need that, and at certain times you need the classical music." -- Kevin Garnett, comparing Rod Strickland to Troy Hudson.

"Winning is the best deodorant." -- Jason Kidd.

"I played football for one day. I gave my equipment to the coach and said 'Thank you, this is a bit to stressful for me.'" -- Charles Barkley, on playing high school football.

"Oh...and you never like to see this." -- Marv Albert, when Rodney White vomited on the court at Madison Square Garden.

"I am a rookie, so if I hit the rookie wall, I don't really know." -- Yao Ming, asked if he had hit the rookie wall.

"He was like the guinea pig for Rogaine for black men." -- Charles Barkley, on Karl Malone.

"Just put the ball in the basket. All of this french pastry is not necessary." -- John Thompson, on Utah's Greg Ostertag after a poorly executed play.

"The most underrated player in NBA history is Dominique Wilkins. Right behind him is Gary Payton. He never has gotten the respect he deserves. If he doesn't spend the rest of his days in Seattle, I hope he goes someplace where he has a chance to win a title." -- Charles Barkley.

"Gary Payton, in his first year, was no great shakes." -- Bill Cartwright.

"It's a lot better. I'm not medically inclined to give an opinion." -- Grant Long, on his sore hand.

"I don't know who is calling the shots, who is pulling the switches on and off but this team has gone downhill ever since. The team was broken up and there was no reason for them breaking it up." -- Charles Oakley, always reliable, on the Raptors.

"I've never taken medication (to control moods) in my life. Doctors have suggested it and I say, 'OK, give it to me.' But I throw it in the garbage immediately." -- Ron Artest.

"They don't know polo from lolo." -- Charles Oakley, on Canadian fans.

"He'll land some good middle-school job; you've got to start somewhere." -- Oak, on former Bulls coach Tim Floyd.

"I'd like to see him exert himself a little bit more." -- Phil Jackson, on Shaq posting a four rebound game.

"I speak a little Spanish, so I'm able to communicate." -- Marcus Camby, on communicating with teammate Nene Hilario, who speaks Portuguese and not Spanish.

"I was 19, but when I didn't get drafted by the Knicks, I had to go get a drink. They still put minibars in 19-year-olds' [hotel] rooms." -- Ron Artest.

NEW YORK KNICKS FAN: "Hey, Damon...you can come here and live in my house."
DAMON STOUDAMIRE: "I'd live in your doghouse to get out of this sh*t."

"I don't bet. How about a hamburger?" -- Dick Bavetta, in response to Tim Duncan after Duncan offered to bet him money that he missed a call.

"Half Man, Half Sit-Out-The-Season." -- Barkley, talking about Vince Carter.

"The last time we won here, Snoop Dogg was still a pup." -- Rudy Tomjanovic, on the Rockets playing in Orlando.

"When I hit it I heard the crowd going crazy and I was like, 'Wow, that was a sweet jumper, they must have liked that one.' I had no clue." -- Matt Harpring, on receiving a pass from Mark Jackson and making the jumper that gave Jackson his 10,000th career assist.

"I think he's the only guy that didn't know. But that's Matt." -- Jackson's response.

"They better not put me in the All-Star Game. I won't shoot, but I'll dominate that easy game. I'll be playing hard defense. I'll be foulin'. I'll be flagrant fouling. Everyone will be like, 'What are you doing?'" -- Ron Artest.

"To make that type of analogy actually just shows stupidity. You've got to realize, this is the same guy who said he wanted to play in Madison Square Garden because of the aroma. He meant 'aura' but he said 'aroma.' So you've got to put everything in perspective." -- Flip Saunders, on Stephon Marbury saying that Amare Stoudemire is better than Kevin Garnett.

"This is news?" -- Latrell Sprewell, to a photographer waiting outside the police precinct where Spree was paying an overdue parking ticket.

Barkley: "I can not believe that Dan Rather didn't just kill Saddam Hussein when he was interviewing him, and that would have saved us all that money going to war."
Ernie Johnson: "How do you reckon Dan Rather would have pulled that off?"
Barkley: "He could have said 'Hey Saddam, let's go get something to eat' and then stabbed him in the neck with a fork. That could have saved us $26 billion dollars we're giving to Turkey. We could have used that money to fix the public school system here in America...You think a real fork or a salad fork?"
EJ: "I don't think a salad fork is getting it done."

"Let me put it this way: One day, when we go on and play the game up in the big sky, I'm coming off the bench. I'm backing him up. I believe that in all my heart" -- Willis Reed, on Patrick Ewing's place among Knicks all-time centers.

"I'd take Willis ahead of Patrick, no question." -- Walt "Clyde" Frazier, on Patrick Ewing's place among all-time Knicks centers.

"I think he should have got the surgery before at the beginning of the year instead of waiting." -- Shaq, on Phil Jackson's kidney stone problem.

"I've been patient with everything -- management, coaches, players -- but I want to play. I think I took my time eating my soup, the soup is gone. Now it's time for the main course. The appetizers, throw them out the window." -- Charles Oakley.

"Well, my translator is still here." -- Yao, on how well his English is improving.

"I like doing other things. I like getting high, hanging out with my kids. I like drinking. I have so many demons." -- Mike Tyson.

"The whole thing is great for my situation." -- Kenny Anderson, on being traded to New Orleans.

"You know what Ernie? Damn! I mean the good damn. There are different kinds of damn. This is not the kind of damn that you use to describe Mike Tyson." -- Charles Barkley, on the picture of Serena Williams in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

"I feel like Bill Walton -- old and sh*tty." -- Shaq.

"It wasn't a big deal, like somebody asking me to go fishing." -- Greg Ostertag, on being asked to donate a kidney to his sister.

"I don't know. The guy doesn't talk about it to me. I don't know anything that's going on with the guy." -- Alvin Gentry, on Andre Miller's mental state in the wake of the death of his stepfather.

"I wanted to ask if he planned to expand NBA basketball to the moon." -- Yao Ming, on his meeting with the David Stern.

"I make big shots everywhere. I get accustomed to it. I'm not afraid to be the goat. I don't worry about what you (reporters) say about me in the papers. In fact, I like it. It tickles me." -- Sam Cassell.

"He already has a pro body." -- Kendall Gill, on LeBron James.

"It's beyond explanation. It's mind-boggling. There are some things you can't understand -- the Kennedy assassination, where the aliens are hiding and our ups and downs. Oh, and Stonehenge." -- Troy Murphy, on Golden State's inconsistency.

"Jerome James tried to jump on me and he was not successful. Both parties are usually suspended, but that didn't happen. That tells me that they give me special treatment in a negative way. It's the same reason why I'm not playing...But I'm not going to be the Sonics basher. Basically, I got suspended because I got into a fight with a 7-foot guy who attacked me." -- Joseph Forte, on why he was given a suspension by the Sonics.

"I don't know anything. I'm just a mute around here." -- Tim Thomas.

"No, they got a chance to see me." -- Steve Francis, when asked if he'd had a chance to see the Maryland players before they're NCAA Tourney game.

"That didn't bother me. I am not going to worry about a guy trying to be tough with a pink tie on." -- Ben Wallace, on the injured Marcus Fizer acting like he was going to come off the Bulls bench and fight.

"He is one of the best power forwards ever, always in shape, plays hard. I also think he's one of the dirtiest players of all time. And he's really into himself, with all his contracts and renegotiations and renegotiations. Great power forward. Selfish. Dirty...I wouldn't want to play with him." -- Joe Klein, on Karl Malone.

"I'm not embarrassed by America. I'm embarrassed by humanity. More than embarrassed, I think it's really unfortunate in the year 2003 that we're still using violence as a means of conflict resolution. That's what I'm speaking out against." -- Steve Nash.

"I saw Charles Manson do an interview once and he sounded normal too...Ron Artest has cost that team homecourt advantage." -- Barkley.

"We try to treat the road like it's a home game. We ain't got no fans at home, neither." -- Dion Glover, on the Hawks.

"We also have a war we have to fight, too. The Washington Wizards are trying to make the playoffs...It's pretty much the same thing." -- Tyronn Lue, my Dad's favorite player, on the US war against Iraq.

"We don't pay Chauncey any mind. We let him gossip all he wants. Colorado hasn't done anything since he left. He's still the all-time leading scorer and he only played there two years." -- Rip Hamilton, on Chauncey Billups' claims that Colorado will knock off Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament.

"I was proud of DeShawn and I would have knocked him down harder. They can put me in jail for saying that, but that's the way it is." -- Jerry Sloan, on DeShawn fouling Ricky Davis after he shot on the wrong goal attempting to get a triple-double.

"For our team, every game is the key to opening the door to the playoffs." -- Yao Ming.

"Any Cub Scout with Boy Scouts can do Boy Scout-ish things. When the (expletive) was in the Cub Scouts, he was a Cub Scout. When the (expletive) was with Vancouver, nobody heard about his (expletive) punk-(expletive). Now that he's with Sacramento, that's some (expletive) that he's on the (U.S.) team. I ain't goin'." -- Shaq, on Mike Bibby.

"If this is not micromanaging, I need to look up the [word] again." -- Kwame, on Doug Collins' handling of him.

"Just too much Chauncey Billups tonight. He made me want to throw up." -- Phil Jackson.

"He did interview me once, in New Jersey. He comes across as a bitter person. Someone who does not like life. Like Gerry Fraley from the Dallas Morning News, who never seems to have anything positive to say about anything. Kinda sad." -- Mark Cuban, on ESPN.com's Charley Rosen.

"I would tell any free agent not to sign with them because you can't trust anyone in upper management. If you're in the room with them and you plan to walk out, you better face them backing out so you won't get stabbed in the back." -- Bimbo Coles, on the Cavaliers organization.

"It would be an honor. With my luck, though, I might not get the chance. They'll probably ask Andre Miller." -- Stephon Marbury, on the possibility of being asked to play on the Olympic team.

"He's white normally, but he's really white now." -- Larry Brown, on Keith Van Horn being sick.

"Maybe I'm just always thinking." -- Troy Hudson, on why he rarely talks.

"It'll never happen. I might push one of my guys down there to help her out, but it won't be me." -- Byron Scott, on whether or not he would help out if someone forgot the words to the national anthem at a Nets game.

"What are you doing here? Why aren't you going to Kansas University? The girls down there are much hotter. You belong there." -- Larry Eustachy, Iowa State basketball coach, to a female student at Kansas State University.

"Both teams played hard." -- Rasheed Wallace.

"He already kissed an animal." -- Kenny Smith, on Barkley losing the Yao Ming bet, forcing him to kiss a donkey to pay his bet.

"Let's not talk about your girl now." -- Charles Barkley.

"We don't make up names, 'The Warriors' or 'Alternatorz' or any of that sh*t. We just go out and play." -- Shawn Kemp, on the Magic bench.

"Red Auerbach taught me a long time ago you never make your enemy comfortable, so I was out there with a screwdriver. Evidently, I was successful." -- Don Nelson, on the Trailblazers plane breaking down in Dallas after game one in the first round of the playoffs.

"I'm a very smart man. I speak when it's time to speak." -- Doug Collins.

"You've gone plum damn goofy on the first night." -- Barkley, after Kenny Smith said that Yao Ming is the best player in Houston.

"That guy's got hot breath just like Kenny." -- Barkley, after TNT aired a shot of a male Hawaiian dancer with fire in his mouth.

"I'm not Nostradamus or anybody, so I don't know. Luckily, this is the worst injury I've had in my career so far." -- Drew Gooden, on the severity of his toe injury.

"We buried the hatchet a couple of years ago, and if I ran into him, I'd offer him a beer." -- Scottie Pippen, on his relationship with Jerry Krause.

"I forgive him. He's my teammate, he made a mistake, and I can't retaliate, trying to fight him or beat him up, because I'm on probation, so I would get in trouble." -- Ruben Patterson, forgiving, sort of, Zach Randolph.

"Me as a backup center? Hell no." -- Dikembe Mutombo, on possibly coming off the bench for the Nets during the playoffs.

"I still have my quickness, but I turn it on and off. I don't want to fail in anything I do and that's why I'm hard on myself." -- Kenny Anderson.

"It's very hard. You have to prepare for it. A lot of people say, 'I can do this, I can do that.' But that's hard. You're looking into a camera and you're not seeing anybody. You've got to talk to people that you can't see. That's the toughest part." -- Tim Hardaway, on his work as an ESPN studio analyst.

"If it was a statement from Michael Jordan or Larry Bird, you take it seriously. But you're talking about Chucky Atkins. It doesn't carry any weight." -- Jason Kidd, after Chucky Atkins said the Nets would always be second fiddle to the Knicks.

"I never said that San Antonio had all these fat women. That has been bothering me. All these women who think I said they were fat, I apologize. Then when I go to Dallas people tell me that I have nothing good to say about Dallas. First of all I think Dallas has a good team. I feel bad they think that. You think LA has the best-looking women in the crowd... they do, but they are not real ... they are made out of plastic. For normal women, who have their own God given bodies, Dallas has the best looking women in the NBA. Unfortunately, I am not going to get to see anymore of them in Dallas." -- Barkley.

"Look at my teeth. While I was growing up, I was unable to get the work on my teeth done that I needed. So the goal is to take care of kids who can't afford to go to the dentist." -- Eric Williams, on why he's starting a charity foundation.

"It was fabricated by someone in the media. It was very convenient it came out the day of the game. It was a...comment started by someone in the Pistons' organization to get them fired up. I heard I said it on TV. I heard I said it on the radio. I heard I said it in a Houston newspaper. There hasn't been anybody that can tell me where it came from." -- Richard Jefferson, after being played a tape of him saying that Detroit is the most overrated team in the Eastern Conference.

"Nothing. I was confused for two years. I didn't understand anything and I'm still confused." -- Gregg Popovich, on what he learned in his two years as an assistant to Don Nelson.

"In Turkey, the media wait for you outside. You go down to them, in tunnel, and sometimes, people are yelling and throwing things. They throw coins. I get hit in the head -- bleeding. There is blood." -- Mehmet Okur.

"I got theories with this woman, this Joumana Kidd who wants to be a TV star. She wants face time on camera. The great way to get face time is to bring the cute, little precocious kid. Oh, great. I'd like to smack her." -- Bob Ryan, sports columnist for the Boston Globe.

"Not being able to rebound better was a thorn in our foot." -- Gary Payton.

"Meet me in the parking lot, I will kick your ass." -- Scottie Pippen, to a Blazers season ticket holder.

"We could use a little more strength at the five position, the four position and shooting and point guard position." -- Danny Ainge.

"When Boston and Orlando told me they were going to pick me at 21 and 22, I figured I don't need to do a workout for a second-round team. Boston and Orlando never drafted me because they said I was too skinny and no European point guard will make it in the League." -- Tony Parker.

"I kind of knew Cleveland was going to get the No. 1 pick. I think they rigged it. No, don't quote me on that." -- Carmelo Anthony.

"Sometimes I look like I was under interrogation. Some people just don't look good in clothes. In New York, Armani and all those clothing people used to call me up and tried to pay me not to wear their clothes. This is as good as it's going to get...and then it's all downhill. I'll be fine. I never feel as bad as I look." -- Jeff Van Gundy.

"You hate white people, you hate Americans and you think you're smarter than everyone else." -- Jerry Sloan, to Jon Amaechi, according to Amaechi.

"To behold the unexpected amount of Spurs fans in the stands of the SBC Center, wearing black-and-white shirts with the No. 20, seems like a dream," -- Miguel Romano, columnist for Argentinian newspaper La Nación.

"The best day of my life was when I turned 25. That's the day my car insurance went down. Yeah, boy, I saved $1,200 that day." -- Stephen Jackson.

"[LeBron] was banging those little boys around in high school, but once he goes against the men, they're going to beat his butt and make him cry." -- ESPN's Charley Rosen.


Enjoy and Happy New year

 

I dont recall the Stephon Marbury levels one, maybe not from last year.

My favourites are the ones in my sig. and ofcoures the aroma one

 

And here are some more great quotes by our very own NBA players
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"From a business perspective, it's great for the NBA. It's reality television, people love train-wreck television and you hate to admit it, but that is the truth, that's the reality today." -- Mark Cuban, on Kobe Bryant being on trial.

"I'd probably hire me." -- George Karl, on who he'd hire to replace him in Milwaukee.

"Anybody who plays in this league and hasn't won a championship is the same. Charles Barkley? He's the same player as I am, because he didn't win it all. The guys who have won it all, and I don't care who they are, are two steps above the rest of us." -- Grant Long.

"I make teams win." -- Scot Pollard.

"We call those people player-haters." -- Jalen Rose, on critics who say that he and Scottie Pippen can't co-exist.

"I wouldn't have been scared to go to the West. Nobody scares me." -- Jason Kidd, who decided not to go to the West.

"He was in a golf outfit, but I think he looks very lean." -- Jim O'Brien, Celtics coach, on seeing Vin Baker over the summer.

"Have you seen the And 1 Tour on TV? That's ruining the game for a generation of kids by convincing them that's basketball. It's not basketball. It's pure entertainment. It's not bad for what it is. But it's not going to help the U.S. reclaim its spot at the top of the basketball world. It's not going to help advance the game." -- Calvin Murphy, Hall of Famer.

"I wasn't like, I really want to stop this guy. There are some guys on my team that said, 'I want to guard him. I want to guard him.' I let them if they wanted to do it." -- Boris Diaw, Hawks guard, on playing against LeBron James in a summer league game.

"None" -- Gary Payton, on his experience running the triangle offense.

"You need me, I need you. You come to L.A., we rule that world." -- Shaq, to Karl Malone, convincing him to sign with the Lakers.

"Why did you have to dunk on me so hard?" -- Maciej Lampe, Knicks rookie, to Jarvis Hayes, after Hayes windmilled on him in a summer league game.

"Even if you score 57 points against the Sisters of the Poor, you're still doing pretty good. I'm happy Ricky is playing, and I'm looking forward to him come back and being a part of this thing." -- Paul Silas, after Ricky Davis went off while playing for the SLAM team in the LA Summer Pro League.

"I didn't want to be like some of these other guys to jump on another team's bandwagon just to get a ring. That's never been my style." -- Reggie Miller, on re-signing with the Indiana Pacers.

"If I was coming in here and playing 10 minutes a night, that's riding a coattail. I'll tell you what, I wasn't pulling against the Lakers, but it made my decision a lot easier when they didn't win. When I heard Reggie make his decision, I like Reggie and I won't elaborate, but I'll say this: He had opportunity to do what I did and take less money. But he chose to make more money and stay where he was at. So, God bless him and God bless me. At some point, somebody had to make some statement to say it's not all about the money all the time. Now, I don't want to hide the fact it wouldn't have been nice to make $10 million a year. Don't get me wrong. But how is that to the regular fan now? But, Reggie, Reggie stayed in Indiana for the money. He stayed for the money, I didn't. So let him keep talking. I did hear, 'I'm just glad to end my career where I started.' Reggie, just say you stayed for the money." -- Karl Malone, responding to Reggie Miller's claim that he was riding Shaq's coattails in L.A.

"Myself first. But that will change. Derrick Coleman maybe. And John Starks just because, when you are in Game 7 of the championship and you can't hit from the outside, just take it to the basket, man. Come on." -- Lamar Odom, on three NBA players who haven't done enough with their talent.

"When people talk about Katharine Hepburn, she's called an icon. She had an affair for 20 years, but Kobe is called a slut. And what about Rudolph Giuliani? He had two women fighting to get into the (New York) mayor's mansion. But Kobe is a slut." -- Charles Barkley.

"I didn't know I had this many fans in Puerto Rico. I'm going to carry this memory to my grave." -- Allen Iverson.

"Take that juice and you're clear." -- Lamar Odom, on how to beat the NBA's drug tests.

"I love Lamar. But at some point in time he's got to make the decision over what's more important, getting high or his career that's going to get him a $70 million contract." -- Alvin Gentry, former Clippers coach, on Lamar Odom.

"That's my peripheral." -- Vince Carter, after narrowly ducking out of the way of a mini-basketball fired at his head by a kid in the stands in Puerto Rico during Olympic qualifying.

"It was hot, and when I got my ice cream, I had a big cup that I couldn't wait to get to. But the first scoop tasted terrible. It spoiled my day." -- Allen Iverson, on how he endured the blackout in New York City.

"I tried to call the guys in the city to come out to my home, but cellphones weren't working. Yeah, I guess I had it good, sitting there with the A/C watching the flatscreen TV and taking a warm shower." -- Elton Brand, who stayed with his family in Westchester and had power within one hour of the blackout.

"I'm never compared to the Mailman -- but I can deliver." -- Keon Clark.

"I started despising him. We sat down a lot, but it always ended up being him talking and me listening." -- Ray Allen, on George Karl.

"It sucks. It really does." -- Doc Rivers, on the Nets signing Alonzo Mourning.

"It's good that I became a pro early, too, because I was doing some real stupid things as a kid growing up in Compton, Calif. I remember me and my cousins walking across a rusty metal pipe that spanned across a ditch that was 50 to 75 feet deep. Pipes like that ran from mountain to mountain. I walked part of the way, stopped because I'm scared of heights and crawled the rest of the way. The pipe was about 50 yards long and 24 inches in diameter. But if I had slipped and fallen off that pipe, I could have gotten killed. So maybe turning pro saved me because it took me away from doing silly, dangerous stuff like that." -- Tyson Chandler, on why it's good that he went pro after high school.

"If I had a player out of line, I would bench him. That's all you can do, bench him. You don't kiss nobody's rear end, because it stinks." -- Ron Artest.

KOBE: "I definitely don't need any advice on how to play my game."
SHAQ: "As we start this new season we want (stuff) done right, (stuff) has to get done right. If you don't like it then you can opt out next year. As long as it's my team I'll voice my opinion. If you don't like it, opt out. Yeah (it's my team). Everybody knows that. You guys [the media] may give it to (Bryant) like you've given him everything else his whole lifetime, but this is The Diesel's ship."

"(Kobe) and I didn't let it become so public. There is always a couple of guys always trying to the extra story. We were told not to say anything, but (ESPN's) Mr. Jim Gray, trying to be Mr. Enquirer, like he always does, got something that probably wasn't supposed to be repeated and he wanted to be a hero, so he printed it. But nothing is going to break me ... no one is going to break me. I'm going to be me and I'm going to do what I do. Right now we are 1-0 and we just want to stay focused and continue to win." -- Shaq, on the Kobe situation.

"I think the stuff that was said is a little personal, and let me say this, if y'all ever call me fat on the air I'm going to beat the hell out of you. There is going to be some hell breaking loose on this set." -- Charles Barkley, on the comments by Bryant and O'Neal.

"You're not paying me enough for this [stuff]." -- Karl Malone, on what he told Shaq and Kobe during their feud.

"I like my fish fried, died and laid to the side." -- Keyon Dooling, on eating sushi.

"They make teriyaki here?" -- Chris Kaman, on visiting Japan.

"Going through the whole process of negotiation was a little stressful. It goes back and forth, back and forth." -- Desmond Mason, telling us what we already know.

"If he had been at The Alamo, they might have won. He would have convinced them they were better than the other guys." -- Doc Rivers, on Drew Gooden's confidence.

"Like most American or foreign players, he understands about half of what I say." -- Jeff Van Gundy, on Yao Ming.

"I don't want to clarify. Listen, we've all been here seven years, I say sh*t. I'll never clarify it. That's your job to figure it out...I'm not going to elaborate why two plus two is four. That's just the answer. You figure out why two plus two is four." -- Shaq, after saying that Phil Jackson is no longer part of his life.

"Even last year I was watching the Celtics and I could see the offense was disheveled." -- Kenny Anderson.

"Can the Frenchman come in?" -- Gregg Popovich, to President George W. Bush, regarding Tony Parker, when the Spurs visited the White House.

"That's happens in practice all the time. He knows it, too. You can ask him." -- Boki Nachbar, after making a tough dunk while having to go around his teammate Yao Ming.

"I will make him shut up." -- Yao Ming.

"When he took the job, he said in the press conference that we could work together. Then he fired me after one phone call and one meeting because he said we could not work together. Is that telling the truth? I don't want to get into a tit-for-tat debate with Larry. But I have to defend my work ethic when somebody challenges it." -- Isiah Thomas, on Larry Bird.

"He's not bad." -- Ron Artest, on Carmelo Anthony.

"I don't like baseball, but I love Sammy Sosa, and he deserves a championship. Baseball's too boring. I went out one day when I was a kid to play baseball and never came back. I was in the outfield bored out of my mind. And I'll never let my kids play. It's too boring. I want something up and down, like football or track or basketball. Baseball guys sure get a lot of money for standing in the outfield." -- Bobby Jackson.

"The AI offense...get the ball to AI and clear out." -- Kevin Ollie, on the offense they ran when he was playing in Philly.

"I haven't returned a phone call since I've been in the league. Whether it's Mark Cuban or Jerry West." -- Nick Van Exel.

"Every year, when I'm with a new team, that's one less team that doesn't know that I can't play. There are 5,000 players in America better than me that aren't in the NBA." -- Mark Pope, Denver Nuggets.

"Nope. I saw the Eiffel Tower on the (bus ride) to the hotel." -- Lorenzen Wright, on the chances of sightseeing while in Paris.

"My thought on Rodman is this: I will keep an open mind, but I have concerns. Will a 42-year-old player be an asset or an asset without the 'e-t'?" -- Jeff Bzdelik, Denver coach.

"I like him like that." -- Kevin Garnett, on Mark Madsen.

"He told me he'd been playing halfcourt with Garry Shandling. I told him, 'That's not really the proper way to get ready for training camp.'" -- Flip Saunders, on Craig Kilborn playing with the T-Wolves.

"I just cut the hair to get off to a fresh start, to start over. We're going into a new arena. We have a new coach. I wanted to start over and just be done with last year. I just thought cutting my hair off was just me changing." -- Moochie Norris, on cutting off his hair.

"Right now, he thinks he's Toni Kukoc. I want him to play like Bill Russell but I don't think he knows who Bill Russell is." -- Larry Brown, on Darko Milicic.

"Y'all nosy." -- LeBron James, after reporters insisted on asking him about Ricky Davis.

"And one thing I know we miss is his passing. He made some great passes. He hit guys who were open. He was a great passer." -- Don Chaney, waxing poetic about Latrell Sprewell.

"It's not like he is playing a blind man or a guy with an English accent. It should come naturally." -- Calvin Andrews, Carmelo Anthony's agent, on 'Melo making his acting debut playing a basketball star from a gritty background.

"[We're] running on bloody stumps because we are shooting ourselves in the foot repeatedly." -- Jeff Van Gundy, on the Rockets effort.

"He was basically like Ron Artest from last season. He's got his Super Bowl ring, right? They gave him all his money, right? Now he can use the time off to go get his attitude right." -- Ron Artest, on Keyshawn Johnson getting deactivated by the Buccaneers.

"I like that team. They have a lot of guys from New York City on their team. How come they get guys from New York and our whole team is from Utah? I don't get it." -- Spike Lee, on the differences between the Pacers and the Knicks.

"I don't give a [expletive] about trade rumors. As long as somebody CTC at the end of the day, I'm with them." -- Rasheed Wallace (CTC stands for "Cuts The Check").

"Before this year I knew he was one of the best centers in the NBA. Now I have to find out if he's a good teacher. We've only just started so I'll have to tell you later." -- Yao Ming, on Rockets assistant coach Patrick Ewing.

"You guys are driving me [bleeping] crazy. It's not about Dikembe. I'm coaching the team. I'm telling you if there's a matchup problem, and you still don't understand it. Why should I waste my breath?" -- Don Chaney, after the Knicks beat writers asked why he benched Mutombo in back-to-back games.

"I'm trying to help you guys out. You write about the game but evidently you don't know the game. You ask me questions. I'm trying to give you an idea of what it's about and you still don't listen to me. I don't like wasting my time. If you ask me something, you should listen to me or you should watch the game. That's all I want you to do." -- Don Chaney, again.

"Sometimes I screw up in the game, I miss a shot or I miss a rebound, and I fight myself. I am like, 'Why I miss that shot? Come on, what are you doing?' I am fighting myself." -- Mehmet Okur.

"I think I am upsetting the coach." -- Yao Ming, after Jeff Van Gundy told him that on a scale of 1 to 10, a recent performance was a 1.

"There are nights when I can see his warts, his deficiencies. Sometimes you want him to not take the gambles with the pass that he does. Maybe too many turnovers. Sometimes you say, 'What in the world is he thinking?' or 'Is he thinking at all?'" -- Don Nelson, on Antoine Walker.

"Now, if a player does not have an altercation on or off the court once each month, we fine him. I've tried to get this into the press, but people won't pay attention. And, the guys who are our top four scorers, each of them will be required once every two months to appear on MTV. And the guys who shoot the worst free throws over a one-month period, the next time we have a TV game, they are required to look into the camera and beat their chests after they make a good play. I think then we will have a little bit different reputation." -- Gregg Popovich.

"There's a whole lot of crunching numbers that, quote-unquote, me as an athlete and me as an NBA player should know. In my opinion, they just want to draft n*ggers who are dumb and dumber -- straight out of high school. That's why they're drafting all these high school cats, because they come into the league and they don't know no better. They don't know no better, and they don't know the real business, and they don't see behind the charade." -- Rasheed Wallace.

"He's keeping the fire at my back the whole time and I've got one glass of water. You have to understand, I've got one glass of water and he's got a whole lot of fire." -- Yao Ming, on Jeff Van Gundy.

"That must be an Ohio thing. They would laugh at me back home if I wore a mink coat. But LeBron looked good in it. It sure made him look like he has a lot of money." -- Darius Miles, on LeBron wearing a white mink coat on Monday Night football.

"I play using everybody, but most of the time I play with Atlanta [quarterback] Mike Vick. He's a Nike player. Make sure you note that." -- LeBron James, on playing Madden 2004.

"I don't care about that sucker anymore. He's a ball hog and becoming a cancer to this team. ... Just kidding. I wanted to see if you were awake." -- Darius Miles, on his friendship with LeBron.

"He was having a great game, and before that I told him that he was a gutsy player. But this time, I don't know what made me say it, but I just told him 'I love you.' I just said it to him. I don't know what makes me say those things, but I told him I love him, because I could see it in him that he was doing whatever it took for us to win that basketball game." -- Mo Cheeks, on Damon Stoudamire.

"Dennis Rodman may be incoherent for much of ESPN's reality side show about his life, but you still have a better chance of understanding him than Stephen A. Smith." -- Peter Vecsey.

"I'll bet that if you have a meal in the ESPN cafeteria it would feature stale rolls and two-day-old coffee." -- Dr. Z, Sports Illustrated columnist.

"They're not so happy because I don't find Krispy Kreme. They want Krispy Kreme. I like the Dunkin' Donuts. What's wrong with them? I don't know where the Krispy Kreme store is. I have to find one." -- Boris Diaw, on disappointing his Hawks teammates by not doing his rookie duties correctly.

"Those Europeans, they know how to negotiate." -- Donyell Marshall, on buying number 42 from new teammate Mengke "The Decepticon" Bateer, who is actually Mongolian.

"It's laughable, but it's not funny" -- Damon Stoudamire, on Zach Randolph getting arrested on mar1juana charges.

"Getting elbows in the face -- I've missed that." -- Elton Brand, after Melvin Ely busted his lip in his first practice back from injury.

"That was cold-blooded." -- Paul Pierce, on Kenyon Martin making fun of Alonzo Mourning's kidney disease.

"I wasn't impressed with the way he coached tonight, either." -- Jason Terry, after Hawks coach Terry Stotts said he wasn't impressed with the way JT had played.

 

And I have a new favorite

"Those Europeans, they know how to negotiate." -- Donyell Marshall, on buying number 42 from new teammate Mengke "The Decepticon" Bateer, who is actually Mongolian.

 

OHH, I remember what you're talking about. Ill go try and find that one.