MJ's cold words as a cold reminder
Hunter Prichard
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Sports
Although the Bulls were beating most teams, there were few who believed that the team could win in the playoffs, especially against a powerhouse like Detroit.
Jackson was a young coach in the league with little respect for the inexperienced. His odd, flower child, political activist lifestyle made him an unfamiliar personality to the modern NBA athlete.
Not only did he feud with a young Jordan who wanted the ball in his hands at all times, but he also had to deal with complaints from other members of the team about playing time and their own shot selection.
NBA players learn early that although championships might come from team-ball, All-Star selections and max-contracts come from good personal statistics.
If you were part of the Bulls, and were neither Jordan nor Scottie Pippen, then any sort of pay raise was a foreign concept.
Jordan didn't help the cause much. He treated his teammates like co-workers; he thought they were all worthless players and openly demanded that the Bulls do more work in trying to bring in a championship-caliber supporting cast.
He began to wear out, began to think about an early retirement; basketball became a profession instead of a game.
As the season wore on, the Bulls began fielding offers for him, even seriously contemplating a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers for players and draft picks.
Jordan himself went to his agent to try to finagle a way to opt out of the final year in his contract.
Smith's reporting is informative, even if it's a bit random in its order. There is no withholding of information, but one has to sift through the uninteresting game-by-game statistics in order to grab the most interesting tidbits. Information is sometimes repeated, and Smith often goes on tangents about different players and situations that feel oddly placed together.
It's sometimes difficult to move from some significant detail about Jordan to a different story about Scottie Pippen to Bill Cartwright to John Paxson and back in only a couple pages.
However, for those interested in Michael Jordan and his true persona, this would be a fascinating read.
As someone who has turned into a large-than-life figure, a commercialized brand, it's hard to believe that Jordan went through so many struggles at an early age; that he was so disliked by teammates and others around the league.
Although his Hall of Fame speech might've been a shock to many people, it really shouldn't be when considering his life and career in pro basketball.
Jackson was a young coach in the league with little respect for the inexperienced. His odd, flower child, political activist lifestyle made him an unfamiliar personality to the modern NBA athlete.
Not only did he feud with a young Jordan who wanted the ball in his hands at all times, but he also had to deal with complaints from other members of the team about playing time and their own shot selection.
NBA players learn early that although championships might come from team-ball, All-Star selections and max-contracts come from good personal statistics.
If you were part of the Bulls, and were neither Jordan nor Scottie Pippen, then any sort of pay raise was a foreign concept.
Jordan didn't help the cause much. He treated his teammates like co-workers; he thought they were all worthless players and openly demanded that the Bulls do more work in trying to bring in a championship-caliber supporting cast.
He began to wear out, began to think about an early retirement; basketball became a profession instead of a game.
As the season wore on, the Bulls began fielding offers for him, even seriously contemplating a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers for players and draft picks.
Jordan himself went to his agent to try to finagle a way to opt out of the final year in his contract.
Smith's reporting is informative, even if it's a bit random in its order. There is no withholding of information, but one has to sift through the uninteresting game-by-game statistics in order to grab the most interesting tidbits. Information is sometimes repeated, and Smith often goes on tangents about different players and situations that feel oddly placed together.
It's sometimes difficult to move from some significant detail about Jordan to a different story about Scottie Pippen to Bill Cartwright to John Paxson and back in only a couple pages.
However, for those interested in Michael Jordan and his true persona, this would be a fascinating read.
As someone who has turned into a large-than-life figure, a commercialized brand, it's hard to believe that Jordan went through so many struggles at an early age; that he was so disliked by teammates and others around the league.
Although his Hall of Fame speech might've been a shock to many people, it really shouldn't be when considering his life and career in pro basketball.
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