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Shaquille O'Neal: "I'm like President Bush. You may not like me, you may not respect me, but you voted me in." |
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HoopsHype.com Columns Jax
should set sights on Big Apple
Rudy Tomjanovich walked away from one of the best jobs in sports when he stepped down as the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers. He walked away from a 30 million dollar contract too. He stated that the pressures of the job caused him to step down, but we are left to wonder if that was that the only reason why Rudy T said "no more." I have been around this game too long to always believe everything that comes out of a person's mouth – especially with $30 million involved. I truly believe that health was an issue, but all we have to do is wait a little longer because the one thing I know about the NBA is that sooner or later a player or executive in the Laker organization will give us a behind-the-scenes look at some of the other reasons why Rudy resigned. Lenny
Wilkens stepped down in New York citing similar reasons
after his After thinking about
it and laughing a little, and then thinking some more, it started to make
some sense. But if the Zen Master is smart – and I assume Why go back to the place that got rid of you in the first place? That is probably what Phil is thinking about when it comes to coaching the Lakers again so soon. He was let go because he sided with Shaquille O'Neal instead of Kobe Bryant. He has nothing to prove in Los Angeles after taking them to the Finals four times and winning three championships in five years. Plus the talent level in LA stops at Kobe and Lamar Odom. After that, they are a team of journeymen. On the other hand, New York is the challenge Jackson needs. This is the only way for him to shut up Red Auerbach and make a bad team great. It will not be easy, but the Knicks at least have talented players that, if convinced to play as a team, would have a better chance to succeed than the Lakers. Besides, if Phil is able win a title with the Knicks, he would have led the three largest markets to NBA championships. Now, how would that sit with old Red? With Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford, Tim Thomas and a healthy Allan Houston, New York would be a more potent scenario than Los Angeles. The major hurdle would be convincing Marbury to play without the basketball. Marbury might be willing to listen after watching every team he left flourish. I am sure Jackson would remind him of that every time he starts to dominate the ball. Jackson also would feel good knowing that he coaches a team that is willing to trade and spend money to get the players that would fit in his system. And finally, Jackson can sleep better at night knowing that he coaches in the Eastern Conference, where everybody has a chance to win. Eddie Johnson is a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com Tell us what you think about this column. E-mail us at HoopsHype@HoopsHype.com _____________________ |
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Played 17 years in the NBA for the Kings, Suns, SuperSonics, Hornets,
Pacers, Nuggets and Rockets.