Ostertag demands trade!

I've heard it all now! By the way, Polynice may not be available for the Jazz game against us, it's in this article as well:

<a HREF="http://www.sltrib.com/01152001/sports/62713.htm">Ostertag Requests A Trade</a>

Ostertag Requests A Trade

BY STEVE LUHM
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE

Jazz center Greg Ostertag was a no-show Sunday morning, skipping practice in the wake of his sideline confrontation with Coach Jerry Sloan during Utah's 111-103 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night.
Sloan confirmed Ostertag asked to be traded immediately following the game.
Prior to his team's practice at Franklin Covey, Sloan said, "I don't know where he is. We tried to call him and he wasn't home. And he's not here, either, so I don't know where he is."
Said Kevin O'Connor, the Jazz's vice president of basketball operations: "The proper term would be AWOL. Greg is absent without leave."
Attempts to contact Ostertag or his agent, Jeff Austin, were unsuccessful.
Asked if he was surprised by Ostertag's decision to forego practice and not get in touch with anyone in the organization, O'Connor said, "Surprised might not be the right word. Disappointed is probably the right word."
Hinting that Ostertag might face some type of disciplinary action when he returns to the team, O'Connor said, "This is not something that goes away. We will address it. . . . [But] the first conversation we need to have happen is between Greg and Coach, and then we'll take it from there."
O'Connor did not completely rule out trading Ostertag, though he called such talk "premature."
"If we feel we can improve our team -- physically or mentally -- we would explore all our options," O'Connor said.
Said Sloan: "Maybe he would like to be traded. But we aren't going to give players away. We can't afford to do that."
Perhaps Ostertag was reinforcing his trade demand by skipping practice? "Maybe that's what he's trying to do," Sloan said. "But it takes two [teams] to make a trade."
According to Sloan, his biggest disappointment with the situation involves Ostertag's decision to miss practice and not discuss the matter Sunday.
"We've had frustrations with each other before," Sloan said. "We all get frustrated from time-to-time. . . . But you've got to have some communication, especially a day later, when there are cooler heads."
Shrugging, Sloan said, "Maybe he needs a little more time."
The latest and loudest in a long series of Sloan-Ostertag explosions started in the final minute of the Jazz's emotional victory over the Lakers.
With 50 seconds remaining, Shaquille O'Neal received an inbound pass in the lane and dunked on Ostertag, cutting Utah's lead to 108-99.
"If I'm wrong, I will apologize," Sloan said. "But I don't owe anybody an apology for not playing a guy who's under the basket."
On the ensuing possession, Ostertag got the ball under the basket, but he missed a quick shot. The Lakers quickly changed ends and cut the Jazz's lead to 108-101 on Rick Fox's fastbreak layup with 29 seconds left.
That's when tempers boiled over.
"We thought Greg probably should have passed the ball out -- he's not a great free-throw shooter -- and then we would run some clock," Sloan said. "The game's not over at that point."
After Fox's basket, the Jazz called a timeout. As his players came off the floor, Sloan said one of his assistants told Ostertag "to pass the ball." Ostertag said something back to him, and Sloan intervened.
"I guess there was a misunderstanding," Sloan said. "What I saw happen and what he said he said are two different things."
Ostertag tore himself away from the Jazz huddle, knocking into assistant coach Kenny Natt in the process. He started up the tunnel toward the locker room, but suddenly stopped. It looked like he was coming back to confront Sloan when Olden Polynice and others intercepted him.
Ostertag spent the final seconds of the game standing at the far end of the bench. Sloan was seated in his normal spot. A wall of Jazz players including Polynice, Jacque Vaughn and Quincy Lewis stood between them, preventing eye contact or any more verbal exchanges.
Ostertag finished the game with three points, two rebounds and one blocked shot in 14 minutes. The Jazz have a team rule that, after the game, a player must ride an exercise bike if he does not play 20 minutes.
Ostertag did not ride the bike, however, forcing Sloan into the unwanted role of policeman.
"He was upset," Sloan said. " . . . [But] now I'm faced with the responsibility of enforcing the rules. I still have to have some kind of control over this thing."
According to O'Connor, the Jazz plan to see if Ostertag shows up for this morning's shootaround at the Delta Center before deciding on any sort of disciplinary action.
Meanwhile, Sloan admits he has replayed the situation over in his mind.
"You always question yourself when you have a problem with a player," he said. "You ask yourself, 'Should I have done things differently?' I've been wrong before and I might be wrong now. In his mind, I probably am."
Asked about possible sanctions against Ostertag, Sloan said he isn't keen on fining players: "I don't want their money." Instead, a suspension or limited playing time is more likely.
"I have no problem with Greg, other than what I see on the court sometimes," Sloan said.


Greg freaking Ostertag demanding a trade! Who does he think he is, Shaq? It's bad enough he's stealing money from the Jazz, but demanding a trade? Yeah, like Utah wasn't on the phone TWO SECONDS after he made that demand! To funny!

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[This message has been edited by RocksMillenium (edited January 15, 2001).]