Good article on ESPN.com about how Phil shot himself in the foot on this one: I love the last line! Rider has game, but watch out By Jeffrey Denberg Special to ESPN.com Phil Jackson Head coach L.A. Lakers 555 Nash St. El Segundo, Ca. Hi, Phil, Well, I see you signed J.R. Rider, so I don't have to ask how your summer's going, eh? I bet you can hear 'em laughing all weekend up there at the Blazers offices in Portland. They haven't had such a good time Bob Whitsitt dumped J.R. on Atlanta. They actually had a party that day, Phil. Listen, Phil I want you to know I respect your skills as a coach and your knack of dealing with the guys. But, Phil, I've got to tell you it was a big mistake talking poor Mitch Kupchak into this one, it being his first deal as Lakers general manager. Phil, you and Mitch as good as surrendered your title when you signed my guy J.R. You poisoned the well. You let this charming snake oil salesman of a player win you over and he is going to damage your team both on the court and in the locker room and in ways you can't imagine. I know what I'm talking about Phil. I've seen J.R. in action. That smile's a winner, isn't it? And he only wants to win. He's told you that. Willing to do anything you want, eh, Phil? Team guy to the hilt. He give you that speech? So, tell me, Phil, after your guys ran their little background check -- Phil, you did a background check, right -- you decided that the Hawks, Blazers and T-Wolves didn't know what they were talking about? Combined, how many championships have they won the past 20 years? That's right, you've got them 7-0. That makes you seven times smarter. But all those titles can't help you now, Phil. Signing J.R. is going to be a disaster, even at $723,000. Especially at that low salary number because now Jay (that's what we all call him) has absolutely nothing to lose. At some point, he's going to decide that this isn't enough money to motivate him. Let me tell you how this thing is going to happen, Phil: First thing to know, Jay will go south when you least expect it. Might happen after you make him a starter or after you design some plays for him. Might happen after he's had a big game or a solid practice or after you've said something nice about him. Here's a particularly dangerous one, Phil: "J.R. has performed even beyond our expectations." Here's another dangerous statement: "J.R. has fit right in with this teammates." See, Jay will fit in, especially with the younger players because he's a very likable guy, likes to talk the talk with the kids, introduce them to his craps-shooting homeys. What's going to happen is one day Jay will show up very late for a practice. And then he will do it again. You will have the entire squad onboard the charter plane and Jay will phone to say he's in traffic. You'll leave him and you'll lose him. You don't leave him, you lose the rest of them. On the court, pal, you're gonna see that triangle turn into a circle soon as Jay gets the ball, backs and fills, looks and dribbles and dribbles and dribbles. Watch Shaq's face when that happens. Look at Kobe. They won't be happy. Phil, you won't be happy. Jay will decide on a Tuesday he isn't making enough money to start, that he wants to play off the bench. On Thursday, he will conduct one of his spontaneous press conferences and tell the writers he's not going to shoot more than five, six times a game, not for what he's making. A little story for you: One day Lenny Wilkens tells Jay he wants him to come off that pick on a catch-and-shoot. "You're our best shooter," Lenny says. "We don't want you to hesitate. Jay shakes his head, no. 'Can't do it. Got to look for my teammates. If I'm drawing the double somebody's open...' " This is a few weeks after Jay announced he needed to be The Man. This was a few days after he refused to start a game because another player was in the lineup during shootaround. This was a few days after he told Wilkens he had no interest in filling that Fred Brown sixth man role -- and who was Fred Brown, anyway? Phil you're not the only guy with an ego who says he can change a guy. Pat Riley was interested in Jay. I'd have paid to watch that. But Riles isn't a big fan of Lenny, figures he can do it better. Lenny thought he could change Jay with kindness and respect. He wasn't going to yell like Mike Dunleavy or P.J. Carlesimo. Pete Babcock, GM of the Hawks, was warned by his brother Rob, the Wolves personnel director, but he took a chance with Jay, anyway. And you're right, Phil, when you say that Jay's no Dennis Rodman, but your wrong about the differences. Winning was important to Dennis and he respected Mike and Scottie enough to behave some of the time. Jay won't be influenced. He isn't coachable. He won't change. He respects no one. He is smart, very smart and he will con you every day. And finally, Phil, that notion Jay will behave on a winning team ... he was suspended three games with Portland in '98-99, three games the previous year, two last season, plus three more that were never enforced because the Hawks cut him March 17. He was busted by county cops when they caught him in the back seat of a car, smoking pot out of a modified coke can, and he was pushed into counseling by the league after evidence he smoked heavily in an Orlando hotel room. He's gone to practice at the wrong gym, gone to the press table in the middle of a game to ask about his stats and gone on a profane rampage because unnamed teammates allegedly were laughing during a bad loss. During a game in Milwaukee one night, he argued with a fan about who was worth more money. In Oakland he left the bench and went into the stands to defend his brother in an argument. Learn from this, Phil. You'll be vacationing in Montana when the Blazers and Spurs play for the Western title. Sincerely, Jeffrey D. Jeffrey Denberg, who covers the NBA for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. ------------------
Manal, if that happens to be the case, the Lakers can cut him and risk nothing. Basically they got all star talent for chump change, not even the exception, which they should use to get the big man... Rickem, read that ESPN article posted by wrath_of_khan. Team chemistry is the buzzword. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
Manal, i think that article can't be taken at face value. Denburg is obviously more than a little bias after Rider jetisoned his Hawks and they got nothing in return. I've read the Laker fans thoughts and basically they feel this is a perfect situation, versus Atlanta which had Deke and a bunch of scrubs. Just put Rider into that 6th man role until he learns the O...if its your last chance in life, i'm sure everyone would do their damnedest not to fail. ------------------
Rickem so I guess the Hawks people, Blazers people and Wolves people are all biased, but the Lakers fans who are known for their basketball intelligence know for a fact that Rider will fit the triangle when his game clashes with Kobe and Shaq's. I suppose Rider will be thrilled coming off the bench in a limited role. I'll believe it when I see it; this is a major reach, horrible acquisition and potential chemistry disaster. You and Lakers fans are underrating the importance of chemistry in team sports. This is not some fantasy league where you just acquire a bunch of players w/o regard to how and where they fit. A major chemistry implosion could really hurt the Lakers season and is the last thing a defending champion team needs. ------------------ Check out the Best Source for Draft Info Draftsource.net
The thing about signing Rider that concerns me it that if I take a huge paycut, reflection has to occur. He knows what got him in the position and he doesn't strike me as someone who will continually self destruct (aka Rodman). I think he will take his role and pad it a little. But pride will make him want to be on top not outside looking in. Besides, there are plenty of big planes at LAX. ------------------
In my mind, teams that should be acquiring a guy like Rider are teams that are desparate for scoring, and are in need to make changes, no matter how stupid it could be. The Lakers are definatley not in that situation. They have everything to lose. Best-case scenario: They are unaffected and Rider just replaces Rice's spot, and go on to win another ring. Worse-case scenario: The team crumbles both on and off the court. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. (my apologies if I misquoted that line, but you catch my drift) Azim da Dream ------------------ We don't live for the destination. We live for the journey. http://www.clutchtown.com
I don't think it's a bad acquisition at all. The upside outweighs the downside by a mile, IMO. Like many have pointed out, if it doesn't work out, you simply cut him. I see him and Bryant starting in the backcourt, with either Rice (if he's around), Fox or Horry playing the 3. Basically, you're replacing Brian Shaw with JR Rider. I just don't see how this hurts LA one bit. ------------------ "I am NOT ****ing Kip Winger, okay? You want to talk about rock & roll, I'll sit there all day, as long as someone's buying the drinks. But don't expect me to be like everybody else. If you want an amusing anecdote, talk to Mark Slaughter. I'm sure he'll say something like, 'Yeah, we had a couple of lite beers and ran down the hall in our underwear. Whoooooo!'" - Chris Robinson, Black Crowes, Rolling Stone, January 24, 1991 Metal Sludge
Shandon Anderson's take on Rider playing in LaLa-Land Rider is "a good guy" who should fit in with the Lakers with no difficulty. "He's going to be a very important part of their offense," Anderson said. "When you look at how Brian Shaw and Ron Harper played at guard last year, they played big. And Rider's going to be that type of guy. He can easily average between 16 and 20 points in that offense. There's enough ball out there for everybody to be happy."
