The Last Season by Phil Jackson

Exerctps from Phil Jackson's book, "The Last Season". Very interesting ideas portrayed here from the 2004 season. Analysis by the Sports Guy.

1. "Last spring, during a particularly acrimonious team meeting, Rick Fox complained to Kobe and Shaq. 'The thing that hurts about this season,' Fox said, 'is that you have both acted like you're apart from us, and that we're not any good.' ... Shaq, clearly affected, began to respond when Kobe cut him off. 'Quit your crying,' Kobe said. I then jumped in. 'Kobe, you're as much to blame as Shaq is, if not more.' "
2. "After the gun sounded, Kobe went over to Devean, berating him for not calling timeout when the play broke down. Kobe was right, but he was wrong to reprimand his teammate on the court, in front of the crowd and cameras."
3. "The woman who answered the phone at [Kobe's] home in Newport Beach said he was resting. Privately, the Laker organization, which includes myself, was furious. This was not the way for a professional athlete to behave."
4. "Despite our recurring conflicts over our four years together, I was genuinely concerned for [Kobe], concerned about how this young man could, in the soul-consuming NBA world, become a mature adult. "
5. "I recognized how easily the whole situation could escalate. [Kobe] rebels against authority. With the new, powerful authority figures in his life -- the police, the prosecutors, etc. -- I was quite certain he would look for a way to rebel more than ever, doing and saying things that would not be in his interest."
6. "[Trainer Gary] Vitti told us that Kobe has been threatening again to opt out of his contract, vowing 'to take Slava with me.' Slava. Was this an indication of Kobe's being totally out of touch with reality?"
7. "'You're not gonna believe this,' [Mitch Kupchak] said, telling me about Kobe and the rape allegations in Colorado. Was I surprised? Yes, but not entirely. Kobe can be consumed with surprising anger, which he's displayed toward me and his teammates."
8. "'You can't make that pass,' I told Kobe when he came off the court on the next timeout. 'Well, you better teach those motherf------ how to run the offense,' he said. I sat him down on the spot. 'Watch your mouth,' I said."
9. "The fact that the alleged incident took place in Colorado heightened my level of concern. Here was one state in the union where 'no' definitely meant 'no.'"
10. "Why don't the two get along? I have my theories, one of which is that Shaquille is making the type of money -- about $25 million a year -- that Kobe will never earn due to the changes in the league's collective bargaining agreement. No matter how many MVP trophies he might collect in the decade ahead, there is nothing he can do about this discrepancy. In fact, the word I got was that Kobe was the only player in the entire league who voted against the agreement because of the cap it puts on salaries."
11. "'I'm not afraid to go against Shaq this year,' Kobe blurted out. 'If he started saying things in the press, I'll fire back. I'm not afraid to go against him. I've had it.'"
12. "We convened in the locker room, everyone on time except for Kobe, who, when he did arrive, began to fiddle with the mobile phone in his locker. ... When I asked Kobe to stop his habit of screaming at his teammates on the court because it creates insecurity, he came right back at me. 'That's bulls---,' he said. 'You're the one that's causing them to be anxious.'"
13. "If a player tries to score every time he touches the ball, the system will break down. Success depends on everyone, at one time or another, accepting, if not embracing, the role of playmaker."
14. "Granted, every player would like to win a title, but only if it doesn't threaten his more pressing individual needs. In the 1960s and '70s, players asked: 'Where do I fit in? How can I help this team win?' Now they ask: 'How can I get what I want?' Given this selfish mindset, it's remarkable, actually, that teams play with any cohesiveness."
15. "I still sense a lack of cohesiveness, the oneness every team requires to win a title. There are always signs -- anticipating when a teammate will be beat on defense, trusting someone will be in a designated spot, displaying an unwillingness to lose. So far, I haven't seen any of these, and time is running out. Achieving oneness does not guarantee success, but it greatly increases a team's chances."
16. "We have agreed ... to cover a percentage of [Kobe's] private plane expenses to and from Colorado for court hearings. This will cost thousands of dollars. Kobe was unhappy with the type of plane that was selected; he wanted one with higher status. He should feel fortunate he's not footing the whole bill himself."
17. "This is another example of the basic difference between [Shaq] and Kobe. Ask Shaq to do something and he'll say: 'No, I don't want to do that.' But after a little pouting, he will do it. Ask Kobe and he'll say, 'OK,' and then he will do whatever he wants."
18. "A part of Kobe desperately wants to be in the group, to enjoy the camaraderie of his teammates, basketball serving as his only true escape. But there is another part of Kobe which often wins out, a part that wants, perhaps needs, to be isolated from the group. To have it both ways is simply impossible. One can be the leader of the group but one must be inside the circle."
19. "Kobe knows how to [play basketball] the right way. So why does he insist on playing the game his way? My theory is that every time a fearless defender, such as Ruben Patterson or Bruce Bowen, vows to shut him down, Kobe needs to prove him wrong, as if his manhood was on the line."
20. "The subject changed to one that could not be avoided, Kobe Bryant. 'You gave the kid a lot of room the last couple of years,' [Shaq] said. 'You stayed off his back and let him try to work things out for himself. I just don't understand why he didn't recognize that. I don't understand why he was unhappy.'"
21. "Kobe scored 25, but needed 27 field-goal attempts. Instead of driving to the hoop, Kobe settled for difficult shots with Prince in his face. He simply didn't know how to attack the kid."
22. "'Are you feeling like you're coming back to the team next season?' Jeanie asked me. 'Well, not if Kobe Bryant is on the team next year,' I told her. 'He's too complex of a person. I don't need this.'"
23. "I did hear of one meeting that made quite an impression on players. During a West Coast trip, Jack McMahon, who coached the Cincinnati Royals in the 1960s, called a meeting in his hotel to restore order. The players dreaded it, but according to my former Knicks teammate, Jerry Lucas, they were greeted with two cases of beer, four quarts of whiskey and three hookers. 'Guys, you figure this out,' McMahon said before leaving the room. The Royals figured it out, all right, going on a long winning streak.
24. "Now I was the one who was angry. I went upstairs to see Mitch in his office. Wasting no time, I went off on a tirade about the need to deal Kobe before the trading deadline in mid-February. 'I won't coach this team next year if he's still here,' I said emphatically. 'He won't listen to anyone. I've had it with this kid.'"
25. "I knew precisely what I would say: 'Kobe, you're not a positive element with the team anymore. You can't have these kinds of anger situations in front of your teammates because it's destructive to the balance that needs to be maintained.'"
26. "[Kobe] was angry about the allowances the Lakers afford Shaq, failing to note the hypocrisy in his accusation. Nobody this year, or any year I've coached, has received more 'allowances' than Kobe Bryant."
27. "Kobe finished with eight points, his lowest total ever in a game in which he played at least 40 minutes. The theory being tossed around is that Kobe, stung by criticism for his shot selection in recent games, decided to show the Lakers how stagnant the offense can become when he doesn't asset himself. 'I don't know how we can forgive him,' one anonymous teammate was quoted as saying in today's Times."
28. "Moments later a cell phone went off, a clear violation of team policy. ... The phone that was ringing belonged to Kobe. I couldn't believe it. Worse yet I couldn't believe he answered it and started talking in a hushed voice. We were about to go on the court for our most important game of the year, and Kobe was allowing himself to be distracted by a phone call. I didn't ask who he was talking to and I didn't care. He shouldn't have been talking to anyone."
29. "'Will Shaq's presence on this team color your decision to come back or not?'" I asked him.
'Yes, it does,' he said.
'I meant what I said the other night after the [final] game, that the two of you could co-exist and play well together,' I went on.
'There's no doubt about that,' he said. 'I've done that for eight years with him, but I'm tired of being a sidekick.'"
30. "Today at practice, Kobe went from player to player, shoving the article with the anonymous quote in their faces. I have rarely seen him that incensed. 'Did you say this?' he demanded of each player. ... Nobody said a word, until Karl [Malone] finally broke the silence. 'Obviously, Kobe, no one said it or wants to admit they said it,' Karl said. 'You've just got to let it go now.' Karl and Kobe, who have become buddies, launched into a shouting match that I had to stop."
31. "'It's not that I'm enamored with Kobe's character,' [Dr. Jerry Buss] said. 'But he is 26 in August. The seven years ahead are the prime years of his career.' Of course, neither of us brought up the possibility of those years being spent in prison. 'Besides,' Dr. Buss added, 'aren't all superstars like that?'
'No,' I told him. 'Not all of them.'"
32. "Kobe is missing out by not finding a way to become part of a system that involves giving something larger than himself. He could have been heir apparent to MJ and maybe won as many championships. He may still win a championship or two, but the boyish hero image has been replaced by that of a callous gunslinger."
33. "Tex [Winter], who is definitely no Buddhist, has a saying that I've grown to love: 'You are only a success at the moment that you do a successful act.' You can't be a success the next moment because you have already moved onto something else, even if it's accepting an award for the successful moment that just passed. That is why I've always told my players the glorification comes from the journey, not the outcome."