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Ailene Voisin: We haven't had our Phil of this coach
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, November 12, 2004
One of my major issues with the NBA these days is that too many of its players and coaches conform to the buttoned-down, do-the-hustle, on-the-cell phone corporate mentality.
The game needs characters.
OAS_AD('Button20');The game needs more loose lips.
But the good news for those who appreciate the offbeat elements in professional sports, including the occasional musings of one celebrated aging hippie, is that Phil Jackson is only on sabbatical.
When the right opportunity presents itself, Our Friend Phil will climb down from his Montana mountaintop, return to the sidelines and resume his entertaining rants on semi-civilization and assorted topics.
Meantime, the former Lakers coach has left his fans/critics with "The Last Season," a 272-page journal that offers an intriguing, sometimes fascinating account of his final turbulent year in Los Angeles.
If not exactly a basketball "War and Peace" classic - the coach tends to ramble self-indulgently - Jackson's effort nonetheless ranks up there at No. 5 on the Wall Street Journal best-seller list, just a few spots below "He's Just Not Into You" (no, not Kobe Bryant's response), because of his characteristic candor about all that transpired inside the untidy confines of the locker room.
The anecdotes are interesting, particularly those pertaining to Kobe's legal ordeal, Jackson's unconventional and not always successful coping methods, and the astonishing pettiness of the Shaq-Kobe feud, including the childish tale of the tape: Sensing that longtime trainer Gary Vitti was aligned with Kobe, Shaq would only allow the team's other trainer, Chip Schaefer, to perform the honors before practices and games. Kobe consequently spurned Schaefer, whom he perceived as closer to Shaq and Jackson. (And you thought the Kings had locker-room issues?)
But Jackson also saves plenty of energy and space for the Kings, just can't resist tweaking them a final time. He chides his old rivals for their repeated playoff failings, scolds Mike Bibby for boisterously celebrating a regular-season victory and offers an unflattering comparison between Kobe and Chris Webber, whom he says, "tends to hold onto the ball longer than necessary, causing the offense to stagnate."
Asked about his parting shots during a 45-minute telephone conversation Wednesday, Jackson laughed.
"Sacramento is one of my favorite cities," he said. "It's a great place to be centered in. And the Maloofs do a great job in a booming, growing community. Seriously, that (Kings-Lakers) rivalry was as good as any I've participated in. It was as tight as New York-Chicago or Boston-New York, only like two cousins fighting it out in the same state.
"(The conference finals) in 2002 is maybe the best seven-game series I've ever seen. Those last three games ... I think they had the best talent, but I thought we were going to win."
While Jackson can be as self-absorbed as any of his players, at times every bit a control freak, he invariably returns to his roots and has something insightful, often provocative to say. This was always his charm. He never stopped pondering how to improve the game, or as some would say, restore a more free-flowing style. And in contrast to most NBA coaches who struggle to communicate with their increasingly youthful players, Jackson acknowledges and aggressively addresses the psychological and sociological influences on team dynamics and relationships.
In his book, he reveals that he, too, sought counseling during his "psychological war" with the willful Bryant and says he remains mystified why few organizations retain therapists.
"Men have a difficult time with this," he said, "but the NBA has to get over it. Teams pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to specialists who train our muscles, yet are not willing to spend a dime on people who can assist those of us in the unique world of sports."
As for his relationship with Jeanie Buss and the perils of pursuing pleasure in the workplace? His final meeting with Lakers owner Jerry Buss? His degree of surprise upon learning Kobe had been charged with rape? His often-heated, in solicited, debates with trusted assistant Tex Winter. His battles with Shaq, who resisted almost always, only to relent?
Read on. And for those who have complained that he breached the sanctity of the locker room, Jackson provides his own perspective.
"It's not the Oval Office," he replies. "I knew it was going to have repercussions, and while I didn't want this to be a tell-all book, there has to be some intrigue in there. I wanted to show what goes on inside a team and how things have to be dealt with. I think this has some value for conflict resolution." The sequel awaits. The man clearly has more chapters to write and more games to coach. The only questions are when and where.
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, November 12, 2004
One of my major issues with the NBA these days is that too many of its players and coaches conform to the buttoned-down, do-the-hustle, on-the-cell phone corporate mentality.
The game needs characters.
OAS_AD('Button20');The game needs more loose lips.
But the good news for those who appreciate the offbeat elements in professional sports, including the occasional musings of one celebrated aging hippie, is that Phil Jackson is only on sabbatical.
When the right opportunity presents itself, Our Friend Phil will climb down from his Montana mountaintop, return to the sidelines and resume his entertaining rants on semi-civilization and assorted topics.
Meantime, the former Lakers coach has left his fans/critics with "The Last Season," a 272-page journal that offers an intriguing, sometimes fascinating account of his final turbulent year in Los Angeles.
If not exactly a basketball "War and Peace" classic - the coach tends to ramble self-indulgently - Jackson's effort nonetheless ranks up there at No. 5 on the Wall Street Journal best-seller list, just a few spots below "He's Just Not Into You" (no, not Kobe Bryant's response), because of his characteristic candor about all that transpired inside the untidy confines of the locker room.
The anecdotes are interesting, particularly those pertaining to Kobe's legal ordeal, Jackson's unconventional and not always successful coping methods, and the astonishing pettiness of the Shaq-Kobe feud, including the childish tale of the tape: Sensing that longtime trainer Gary Vitti was aligned with Kobe, Shaq would only allow the team's other trainer, Chip Schaefer, to perform the honors before practices and games. Kobe consequently spurned Schaefer, whom he perceived as closer to Shaq and Jackson. (And you thought the Kings had locker-room issues?)
But Jackson also saves plenty of energy and space for the Kings, just can't resist tweaking them a final time. He chides his old rivals for their repeated playoff failings, scolds Mike Bibby for boisterously celebrating a regular-season victory and offers an unflattering comparison between Kobe and Chris Webber, whom he says, "tends to hold onto the ball longer than necessary, causing the offense to stagnate."
Asked about his parting shots during a 45-minute telephone conversation Wednesday, Jackson laughed.
"Sacramento is one of my favorite cities," he said. "It's a great place to be centered in. And the Maloofs do a great job in a booming, growing community. Seriously, that (Kings-Lakers) rivalry was as good as any I've participated in. It was as tight as New York-Chicago or Boston-New York, only like two cousins fighting it out in the same state.
"(The conference finals) in 2002 is maybe the best seven-game series I've ever seen. Those last three games ... I think they had the best talent, but I thought we were going to win."
While Jackson can be as self-absorbed as any of his players, at times every bit a control freak, he invariably returns to his roots and has something insightful, often provocative to say. This was always his charm. He never stopped pondering how to improve the game, or as some would say, restore a more free-flowing style. And in contrast to most NBA coaches who struggle to communicate with their increasingly youthful players, Jackson acknowledges and aggressively addresses the psychological and sociological influences on team dynamics and relationships.
In his book, he reveals that he, too, sought counseling during his "psychological war" with the willful Bryant and says he remains mystified why few organizations retain therapists.
"Men have a difficult time with this," he said, "but the NBA has to get over it. Teams pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to specialists who train our muscles, yet are not willing to spend a dime on people who can assist those of us in the unique world of sports."
As for his relationship with Jeanie Buss and the perils of pursuing pleasure in the workplace? His final meeting with Lakers owner Jerry Buss? His degree of surprise upon learning Kobe had been charged with rape? His often-heated, in solicited, debates with trusted assistant Tex Winter. His battles with Shaq, who resisted almost always, only to relent?
Read on. And for those who have complained that he breached the sanctity of the locker room, Jackson provides his own perspective.
"It's not the Oval Office," he replies. "I knew it was going to have repercussions, and while I didn't want this to be a tell-all book, there has to be some intrigue in there. I wanted to show what goes on inside a team and how things have to be dealt with. I think this has some value for conflict resolution." The sequel awaits. The man clearly has more chapters to write and more games to coach. The only questions are when and where.
