[But in an era when so many players arrive in the NBA with an air of entitlement, Walton has earned the admiration of his elders.] It's a joy to see a young player do things the right way, ... Luke respects the game, respects the concept of team. He wants to learn, and he wants to get better. I like what he stands for. If he was one of those arrogant rookies, we'd kill him with the errands. But with Luke I don't have the heart to do it, because he's so nice. I think the world of him. We all do. |
[The Spurs have told Karl Malone they have a spot on their roster for him if, and when, he determines he would like it. The Lakers, Minnesota and Miami are also interested.] I know what I want to do, ... I'm just not ready to say yet. |
[Through it all, Malone said he and his men could not help but feel the joy begin to grow around them.] There are these American flags everywhere, and people have unbelievably big smiles, ... The feeling was a high that all the guys got. |
After 18 years, for them to stoop to that kind of level, that's no class. And that's something I'll never forget. |
But they didn't keep me up at night like Mike. You know how, when you go on road trips, the night before a game you like to check out the restaurants? Well, you couldn't do that in Chicago. You'd worry about Mike getting 60 (points). It was a good game if he only had 40. |
Everything about this just felt right. My mom died two years ago, and in our last conversation, she told me that one day I would have to step up on a grand scale and help people. I knew this was it. |
Give them credit. They won the game. |
He's fun to watch and listen to and I am thrilled about finally getting the opportunity to meet him personally. |
He's hard-nosed, ... He's great with his players, too. A lot of the things that I do come from him. If you've got a guy who can shoot, you bring him off screens. And if you've got a guy who can dribble, you do the pick and roll. |
How is a landowner who just lost everything going to pay $15,000 or $20,000 to have a lot cleared? I mean, there were two or three houses on top of one another in some places. |
I just realized that not only early in my career but, if I was going to play longer, guys foul you when they get tired. |
I just think we want to stay healthy, and I don't think we think about a sense of urgency. We realize how old we are, we realize we've been playing this game for a long time, but you know what? We're not done yet. |
I know what I want to do. I'm just not ready to say yet. |
I love it the way Terry always mentions Louisiana Tech, |
I think we're a deeper team, a better team, we still have work to do... nothing is guaranteed, but hopefully we got the mentality to play on the road, and we're starting to get our home thing back in order now-if we can do that we'll be just fine. |