Yao and Brad are damn funny!
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Kobe Bryant, G, L.A. Lakers
Q: If you had a choice, where would you play -- New York or Philadelphia?
A: Well, for me, it doesn't matter to me what place I get traded to.
Insider Translation: Kobe sure didn't hesitate when given the chance to end speculation that he wants out of Los Angeles as soon as possible. One minute he claims he wants to be a "Laker for life," and the next he's talking trade. Trading Kobe? Can you imagine him saying that at this time last season? With the Lakers literally falling apart before our eyes, Kobe (who started the downward spiral, by the way) sure sounds like he's the first to jump ship.
Maybe Kobe means he'll be a Laker for life the same way Karl Malone will always be a member of the Jazz, even though he now wears the gold and purple. There's no way the Lakers will be able to trade Kobe until his legal situation is worked out. But this summer? You might as well add Los Angeles (the other one), Phoenix, Denver, San Antonio, Detroit and even Utah to the list, while you're at it. There's only one place Kobe doesn't want to be right now, and that appears to be in the same Staples Center locker room with Shaq and Phil Jackson.
More Kobe ...
Q: Is Byron Scott a guy that you would like to play for at some point?
A: Yeah, he's one of my favorite coaches in the league ... he's been my mentor. It's a shame how the situation turned out for him, but I'm sure something will happen for him. ... I love Larry Brown. I love Byron Scott, (Rick) Carlisle. A lot of the coaches, I admire how they run their team. Just certain things that coaches do, I admire.
Insider Translation: Memo to any NBA team with enough cap room to make a run at Kobe -- Hire Scott. Now. Bryant couldn't stop talking about him. With his well documented problems with Jackson, it's no wonder that Dr. Phil didn't make the short list of Scott, Brown and Carlisle.
Personally, Kobe would probably find that Brown and Carlisle would also give him a few fits. Scott, on the other hand, might be the perfect coach for Kobe. Scott will sit back and let Kobe do his thing, and sadly, that seems to be the biggest factor in his planned flirtation with free agency this summer.
Shaquille O'Neal, C, Lakers
Q: Another crazy week in Lakerland. What's your take regarding Kobe and Phil Jackson?
A: I really haven't been paying much attention. I know that this is a sport first and a business second, and people have to do what's right for them. [ed. note: I think he meant business first and sport second, but what do I know?] There are a lot of guys with a lot of different feelings -- if they want to stay or if they want to leave.
Insider Translation: The Lakers are screwed. There are a lot of guys with feelings, but different ones? Maybe not. Sounds like Kobe isn't the only one tired of the circus in L.A. Both Karl Malone and Gary Payton have made statements that, through the Insider-translation lens at least, sound a lot like they're coming from people who are fed up and want to get out of there.
Wasn't it just six months ago that we were all, Insider included, ready to hand over the NBA Championship to the Lakers? Distractions and injuries have tarnished that vision beyond recognition. How long will it be before Shaq decides that if Kobe, Jackson, Payton and Malone are gone next season, L.A. life will be awfully lonely?
More Shaq ...
Q: You said, like Michael, that you didn't want to play for another coach. Do you still hold to that?
A: I said that. That's what I said, and my statement still stands.
Insider Translation: Well, that answers my question ...
Steve Francis, G, Rockets
Q: Is there any conflict between you and Coach Van Gundy or you and Yao Ming?
A: Not at all. There has been no conflict about that ... even though people want to make a big deal about who gets touches or shots in our offense. I mean, Yao leads the league in field goal percentage, so any chance you get to dump the ball into him, you have to take it.
Insider Translation: Get me the hell out of here. Francis, for all of his wonderful attributes, isn't really a point guard. What's ironic is that one of the reasons he forced a trade from the Grizzlies was that, with Mike Bibby then on the team, he didn't want to play shooting guard. Francis got his wish, but he has struggled to play second fiddle to the 7-foot-5 Yao. Francis is still the most popular athlete in Houston, but with Van Gundy working his PR and Yao slowly taking away the shots and stats, that's going to change soon. Francis wants out, and at least some of the Rockets want him out, before that notion catches on throughout the NBA.
Shortly after this question, someone asked Francis if he was surprised he made the All-Star team given his poor stats this season. His reply? "Fans know basketball. I've always said this, regardless of how many points I have been scoring, the fans know it isn't always about points. I just go out and work hard, and I think people appreciate that." Memo to Stevie Franchise: The best point guard in the league doesn't believe you ... read on.
Jason Kidd, G, Nets
Q: Does it bother you not to be voted in by the fans?
A: Well, I'm going to work this summer on my dunking, and I'm going to try not to pass as much and become more of a scorer. Maybe that would get me in as a starter (laughs). If I have to change my game, then I have to change my game.
Insider Translation: Maybe I'll be voted in as Eastern Conference head coach next season.
Sam Cassell, G, Timberwolves
Q: How does it feel to finally make an All-Star team?
A: Well, I don't know why it took this long. I mean, I'm not a bad guy, but I knew for a fact that I wouldn't be voted in. It's all a political thing nowadays to make an All-Star team. It's not like the old days, when they knew what they were working with. I sort of feel like a new-age version of Rod Strickland. I never understood why he didn't make it. I consider myself a student of the game, and there's no way you can tell me back in 1993 Rod Strickland wasn't one of the two or three best point guards in basketball. Rod Strickland was the top guard in the game of basketball.
Insider Translation: Let's see ... how do we phrase this ... "It's about bleeping time people recognized Sam for what he really is -- one of the two or three best point guards in basketball. No, scratch that -- the top guard in the game of basketball." Look, Sam's having a career season and deserved to be starting on the West All-Star team this season, but I think he just gave us a pretty good taste of why he's never been there before.
Ray Allen, G, Sonics
Q: Is it more rewarding to be selected for the West All-Star team?
A: Not really. I would have to say that at this point in my career, the Western Conference is much tougher to play in night-in and night-out, but the players are all talented throughout the league. I don't look at it like it is tougher here, or more of an honor because it goes either way at times. One year, we had six two-guards on the team. So, when the Eastern Conference had to pick its seven reserves, six of them were two-guards.
Insider Translation: Can you believe how bad the guard play is in the West? Allen can miss more than half the season and still make this team? Who was going to get in ahead of him? Michael Finley? Emanuel Ginobili? Quentin Richardson? All decent players, no doubt, but All-Stars this year?
Yao Ming, C, Rockets
Q: What kind of American music do you listen to?
A: I like the National Anthem. I listen to it at least 82 times a year.
Insider Translation: I'm not sure what that means, but it was my favorite answer of the entire session. Well, with the possible exception of Brad Miller's testy exchange with the approximately three media members who actually bothered to come by his table and ask him a question ...
Brad Miller, C, Kings
Q: You played for the East last year and the West this year. What does that say about your game?
A: I got traded.
Q: What does that say about your development?
A: I didn't really expect it. I really expected to have this weekend off every year. It's a fun show. They've got to have another white American on the team. I took care of that last year, and I guess I'm holding it down again this year.
Insider Translation: Who says the NBA doesn't believe in affirmative action?
