A lot of people in the NBA don't even take the game serious or take the same approach that I do.
I've only met LeBron casually. He's always been great to me. I think I've been great and cordial to him, but this notion that we have to be friends - we're never gonna be friends. And that's not a negative thing.
The NBA tries to be about flash. But real fans recognize the guy who makes things happen.
In the NBA, as in nowhere else in America, white people are utterly beholden to black people, and they're not about to let us off that easily. It's a kind of very mild payback for the last 500 years.
I'm a product of Pat Riley and his culture.
Whenever I hear people crying about Kobe yelling at people in practice or wondering whether or not LeBron is best friends with his teammates, I just roll my eyes. You know how many off-court conversations I had with the Zen-Master Phil Jackson in my entire time with the Lakers? One.
Coach Skiles is tough. He's been my only coach in the NBA, so I'm used to it. His rules are a little different at times. At the end of the day, he just wants you to play hard defense, and you can't fault him for that.
Say, Cuttino. What are those Godawful clothes you're wearing? Man, this ain't Rhode Island anymore. You're in the NBA. The girls have teeth here.
I'm not into jewelry. I've got some earrings but they're not too expensive. There are guys who drop a hundred grand for a chain. The public's got it right - a lot of NBA stars are arrogant and like to spend lots of money and have lots of girlfriends and all that.
The NBA needs more of that 'it's-about-us-against-them' mentality.
This ain't the Girl Scouts. This ain't the Boy Scouts. This is the NBA.
The NBA (National Basketball Association) is never just a business. It's always business. It's always personal. All good businesses are personal. The best businesses are very personal.
Where else but the NBA could people like Bill Russell, Spencer Haywood, Ricky Barry, Dennis Rodman, and Allen Iverson come in and be allowed to be who they are?
I am always amazed at how many guys in the NBA have never met an owner much less ever been to an owner's house. We bought the team so that we would be able to be a positive force, so that they in turn would be a positive force to young people everywhere.
Detroit Pistons basketball slogan: When the going gets tough, we fire the coach.
If LeBron doesn't care about the regular season, why should fans? The answer: Russell Westbrook. Where LeBron and others are content to rest and save themselves for games they feel are more important, Westbrook has gone a different way.
I learned this lesson very quickly when I came into the NBA: Almost all the media and accolades go to the No. 1 guy. But if you're building a team, the most important player is the No. 2 guy. Because if the No. 2 guy wants to be the No. 1 guy, you have a major problem.
