We give athletes a lot more unwarranted praise and commercial relevance nowadays at what is still an uncomfortably impressionable young age, people like Felipe Lopez or Yinka Dead come to mind. I also think the re-emergence of black cultural identity in the early '90s combined with the explosion of professional and elite college athlete celebrity created a completely different environment and social model for Bryant; I think Jordan living lower-middle class in the South very much in the wake of the Civil Rights movement allowed him to see himself as more of a Jackie Robinson-type who still had to prove himself to everyone, everywhere.
The Jordan Rules' account on some events that happened are not 100% inaccurate. Halberstam's book does not entirely disagree or refute what was in it. On the other hand, Halberstam's obtuse and abbreviated opinion on Bill Laimbeer reeks of hating. I am not Laimbeer fan and he sure was dirty as a player but I don't think he was that bad he was made out to be by Halberstam.
Aging Kobe still can't find a way to be gracious. He should have said, "Just to be mentioned in the same breath as Jordan is already an honor ..." Probably shows the respect (or lack of) that PJ has for Kobe, to still bring up the sexual assault case
Umm, it was just another example of poor European scouting by the nba. He was an 18 yo center, that was the leading candidate for the mvp (which he won) in the spanish league (the spanish league is harder than the ncaa). In other words, if he had played college ball and nominated for the draft at the time of Memphis acquired his rights, he would have probably been picked #2 to Rose.
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Some of part two: If you were coaching right now, what are you doing? You have to play into Dwight Howard. You have to get back and re-establish him as the center he potentially was going to be. This year, I don't know, 4-5 less touches, most were on the move. That's not Mike's style. I don't blame Mike for that. That's the ownership or management decision. Now that it's the critical time, is Dwight gonna stay or leave? Are we gonna use him in the best possible form and support him... Do you think he's gonna stay? Would you? If you felt like you're game wasn't gonna be featured? ... He's gotta be they keystone of what that team's future is about. Is he gonna win a title with that lineup? I don't know about that. They can't run. They gotta be in the half-court where they pound the ball and slow it down. But you also have to play defense. Then it becomes a priority to have defensive players at certain positions. What can LeBron do to do be recognized better than Michael? I think a lot of people think he's right there. Could he be better than Michael? If better is only about championships, that's the only measurement left for LeBron that will say, he was a better ball player than Michael is the number of championships you win. That's proof in the pudding. His game is incredible. I think it's incredible he can play without fouling, can play defense on almost everybody on the floor. He's unselfish. Doesn't lust to score like Michael or Kobe. When need is there, he definitely finds a way to score. His game continues to improve. We don't see what the limitations will be. Are you done coaching? I am. This is it? Uh huh. Absolutely? Right. (Seattle group) I had an agreement with the guy who put the deal together. I thought he was dynamic and had great ideas. He did everything right except win the franchise. His vision, I could buy into it. He had the right vision. He made the offer of take what you want to take - owner, consultant, basketball side or coach, didn't matter to him. We talked about a number of things that would progress the team that was going to move, which was Sacramento, which is a team that has to improve if it's going to stay in Sacramento. Clippers ever reach out to you? No. Best job offer you've had recently? The Brooklyn situation is a good situation. That was coaching. Knicks? No. Disappointed in that? No, I'm not. They're locked in with the people they got there. That's solid. Would you want to coach Carmelo? Carmelo is a terrific player. Is he your kind of player? I don't know what that means. Yes, he could play in the system that I would coach.
Phil on Mike & Mike: Under what circumstances could you ever see yourself being a Head Coach again? I don't see myself coaching again. I really don't. When I discussed this with Jeanie Buss, she said make sure you tell them Jeanie still thinks you can coach even though you might say you're not going to coach again so that's my message: Jeanie still think I can coach but I'm not gonna go there. Many of our insiders talk about the Lakers and who will end up running day to day operations, if it is Jeanie, and I'm sure she knows how to get a hold of you, says, "Phil, I know you can coach, I'm really running the show here now, and I want you to coach the Lakers", what's your answer going to be? We have people who can do this job quite well and convince her of that because I think that's the real truth. The Lakers need do a few things. They need to sign Howard, and need to get their monetary system in order so they can move forward. That's their biggest challenge right now - management basically and how to do it in a way that is successful. Kobe is coming back from a devastating injury and a number of situations that create problems for the organization as far as the structure of the salary cap and how to deal with it. There are a number of issues there. Now you go to the team and how the team is gonna play and what style of ball they're gonna play and that's the next issue that comes to mind. If you are in good health, why would you close that door? It's part of it. The health issue. It's the issue of getting back on the road, getting in at 3 in the morning, back to backs, 4 games in 5 nights on the road in the middle of winter time and not being there physically with the energy you have to have to drive a team. This was an issue coming back in '04-'05 - was that to be on the court as an active coach, I needed the whistle in my mouth and move between the top of they keys, and monitor practice. Actually whistle the fouls and do all the stuff required in a practice to keep guys on Q. ... I ended up, at the end of my career, sitting in a stool or high chair that I had that was transferred down to the court and working with the basketball team from a distance of 40-50 feet all the time. I felt it detracted from what my basic strengths were as a coach. I don't think I'm able to go back on the court and be that active again and I don't want to compromise how I would coach. What is the probability you join a front office? I don't feel the ultimate urge to go back and be in management either. Mentoring is something I feel is good. ... There are things I can do that can convey the philosophy I believe in and convey some things I think are important. ...I've had an opportunity to stay active in the sports world and talk about the philosophy I believe in and how it could work. Why didn't that happen (with the Lakers)? It didn't happen because there is some concern - the concern was how would we move in the right direction for this ball club? When Mitch gave me the call close to midnight on Sunday night, right before I was going to give them an answer Monday morning, and said we made a choice, we're going to hire Mike D'Antoni. He said they think he's the best coach for this group of guys. My answer was for Steve Nash, yes. For Dwight Howard, I'm not so sure. In the process, they thought first about how Nash would fit in a offensive system I coach. ... Steve is probably curious as to how we would execute with his talents on the floor. That was a concern with them. They wanted to move into a quicker, 3 point oriented game, which is the rage in the NBA right now. I felt like with Gasol and Howard, we could emulate a lot of what we did with Pau and Bynum and have a strong interior game. That was their choice. I was okay with that. A little part of me felt relieved for not having to make that decision and get on the road. We still had 77-78 games left in the season. Part of you upset? I laughed. It was humorous when Mitch said "We think Mike is a better coach for these guys" but they were looking long-term. Lakers have always hoped to have Showtime again. ... That flowing game when Magic was handling the ball and guys were running the wings and scoring 110-115 a game. Is Michael Jordan the greatest you ever saw? I have to say that but many times I marveled many times at Kobe Bryant. People have tried to stretch this. The idea that to say one person is better than the other immediately diminishes the other person. I hate to diminish Kobe Bryant. If choice came to shove, I think Michael had a certain sense about the game. Kobe had a fire in him that was amazing because of the runs and hot streaks he could go on, the 81 points, winning was important. Those are things I can remember about Kobe that were amazing moments. How do you view LeBron? He's terrific. Unstoppable force. He really is. ... He's such a force that it takes nerve to stand in front of him and take the charge. ... This guy is a train. Fast moving powerful body who has tremendous control. He doesn't lust to score like Kobe & Michael. He's willing to pass as well as he is to score. Thoughts on the Rose situation? Leave him alone. This is a guy who hopefully, 23 now?, has another 10 years to play. Lets not put him under duress. He needs to have a training camp and gear up for another season the right way. ... The secret to getting enormous egos work together for a common goal? There is a statement in the book that is kind of funny, Tex Winters, my long time assistant use to use the old "There is no I in team." He would spell it out and Mike would say "There is an I in win." We would get a laugh out of it. A team sport like basketball, there has to be a commitment to giving that has to go first. The idea is the more you give, the more you get back. ... This idea that if you're sharing, giving, you'll have as much back in return. We try to preach that. That this is the most important thing. If players don't conform to that, they have to come sit next to us on the bench until they get their heads straight. ... You have to share the ball, read the situation, you can't always be looking to yourself. That was a principle that works with people who want to win. ...
