Jahlil Okafor knocks out heckler outside club

Frustration clearly boiling over there, but you need to have more sense and self-control than that. He and the Sixers are having a hard enough time on the court; they don't need distractions like this, with the possibility of serious ramifications.

I think not having solid vets (like a Garnett or a Pierce) to show these young cats how to deal with NBA life really hurts them, which is an indictment of Philly's GM. He makes Dolan look competent. Check out this article:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baske ... -1.2449914

That's a great point. While there's merit in a youth movement and not overpaying for washed up veterans, a complete lack of more experienced players does leave the 76ers without mentors. They could stand to bring in a couple of affordable, level-headed veterans; no need to break the bank, just players who can help out the young guys, make some kind of contribution, and be unofficial additional assistant coaches out there.

For all of the money they throw at unknown bench warmers, they couldn't throw a million at Chuck Hayes or someone to do that for them?

Frustration clearly boiling over there, but you need to have more sense and self-control than that. He and the Sixers are having a hard enough time on the court; they don't need distractions like this, with the possibility of serious ramifications.

I think not having solid vets (like a Garnett or a Pierce) to show these young cats how to deal with NBA life really hurts them, which is an indictment of Philly's GM. He makes Dolan look competent. Check out this article:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baske ... -1.2449914

The Cruel Tutelage of the Wolves' Kevin Garnett

Kevin Garnett is great as a mentor. Ofc it comes with risk but his intention is pure and straight forward, it's all about team. Much respect to KG embracing his new role. This makes me realize how unselfish he really has been throughout his career and even more now. Watch Kobe jacking up 20 ill advised shots with 3 air balls per game and talking down on his teammates while he says he's mentoring young players. See the contrast? The Wolves Karl Towns is lucky to have KG and it's not too surprising Okafor envies his fellow rookies like KAT and Winslow who have KG, Wade, and Bosh.

"You can't teach the beast. It's either in you or it isn't. You can't just go to the store and buy a six-pack of beast."

hilarious. i think KG is crazy. i think a lot of greats were crazy. his bully tactics are questionable but those who crumbled under the pressure didn't really amount to anything anyway

"You can't teach the beast. It's either in you or it isn't. You can't just go to the store and buy a six-pack of beast."

hilarious. i think KG is crazy. i think a lot of greats were crazy. his bully tactics are questionable but those who crumbled under the pressure didn't really amount to anything anyway

Michael Jordan was brutal to his guys too, and we've all seen Tom Brady screaming at teammates on the sidelines. Pro sports isn't for the faint of heart or the thin-skinned - you want to win at the highest level, be prepared to pay the cost. The truly great players understand that.

Mind you, MJ does tend to be condemned for the approach. Jackie MacMullan kind of does that here, when she alludes to Kwame Brown's shortcomings. It's a double standard to criticise one player for it, while lauding another.

For my part, I think they and other players who believe in that approach probably do go too far at times and cross some line, but there's also merit in what they're doing and it's well-intentioned, driven by competitiveness. It's old school and therefore could be seen as archaic, but when someone on a team isn't pulling their weight, coddling them isn't going to help matters.

Last night during the game, he wasn't involved in the fight for a change

I am not entirely sure which is the usual way but I thought the league would suspend him.

those who crumbled under the pressure didn't really amount to anything anyway

Karl Malone had a great career tho.

What's next, saying LeBron's had a great career?

You can't have a great career without winning a title on your own. FACT.

[ Image ]

I am not entirely sure which is the usual way but I thought the league would suspend him.

Anyone can suspend a player, with the apparent exception of George Karl.

Quite often the league will step in and take action, though that's usually after the matter has been through the courts. Teams can also hand out suspensions like that, to take their own disciplinary action.

He's been suspended for 2 games by the Sixers, by the way.

those who crumbled under the pressure didn't really amount to anything anyway

Karl Malone had a great career tho.

I was referring to the players kg was bullying

Jordan is the classic asshole teammate. Punched out Kerr and probably others that did not go on record. Then during the game he drops 30+ and some big baskets. A lot of guys made a lot money and rings when they were on the Bulls

Gordie is 100% right about Jordan being a bully and asshole. Credits to Gordie for being able to say something that most of MJ/Bulls fans want to avoid acknowledging.

Punching Kerr was nothing. Most of you are probably familiar but I thought Stacey King story was funnier. MJ repeatedly called him a fat ass, threw chips in his face, knocked chips out of his hand while telling him such a fat ass only had 2 boards. MJ also made fun of him while all teammates were around repeatedly saying fatass, King had enough and left the practice saying "FUCK YOU". Ofc King was nobody to fight back just like Kerr. If anyone ever fought back, probably would have been shipped to Cleveland for mysterious 'detrimental attitude' reasons.

And yeah, I think KG is crazy too but I think Jordan was closer to being 'mean' than 'crazy' for this discussion of mentor/teammate/support. Kobe? I personally think he's a tweener between 'whiner' and 'meanie' while LBJ is definitely a 'whiner'.

Gordie is 100% right about Jordan being a bully and asshole. Credits to Gordie for being able to say something that most of MJ/Bulls fans want to avoid acknowledging.

Punching Kerr was nothing. Most of you are probably familiar but I thought Stacey King story was funnier. MJ repeatedly called him a fat ass, threw chips in his face, knocked chips out of his hand while telling him such a fat ass only had 2 boards. MJ also made fun of him while all teammates were around repeatedly saying fatass, King had enough and left the practice saying "FUCK YOU". Ofc King was nobody to fight back just like Kerr. If anyone ever fought back, probably would have been shipped to Cleveland for mysterious 'detrimental attitude' reasons.

And yeah, I think KG is crazy too but I think Jordan was closer to being 'mean' than 'crazy' for this discussion of mentor/teammate/support. Kobe? I personally think he's a tweener between 'whiner' and 'meanie' while LBJ is definitely a 'whiner'.

I've ready 2 or 3 biography's about Jordan, and yeah, he was an ashole with his teammates and with the Bulls organitzation, just like Kobe when he said he wanted out. But Jordan attitude was horrendous, much worse than Bron or Kobe. Extremely selfish and arrogant

Jordan wasn't as selfish and arrogant as Kobe. Kobe took the wrong lesson from Jordan. Jordan was demanding and expected others to put in an effort close to his. Not to the extent of the insane KG, but arguably higher than everyone else. And he felt mistreated by the team management.

Bird was also demanding but I believe he would give the silent treatment to show his disapproval. It was why people were shocked at how gregarious he was on the Dream Team and later as coach.

Bird was also demanding but I believe he would give the silent treatment to show his disapproval.

Except for Kevin McHale, who tended to get some passive-aggressive backhanded compliments when Bird felt he needed to make his point.

Jordan wasn't as selfish and arrogant as Kobe. Kobe took the wrong lesson from Jordan. Jordan was demanding and expected others to put in an effort close to his. Not to the extent of the insane KG, but arguably higher than everyone else. And he felt mistreated by the team management.

That doesn't justify punching a teammate in a training session, neither shouting to every one how much they sucked till the Pippen arrived.

Lol no response to the MJ comments by Andrew
I think MJ could be a jerk but King was a fat ass and deserved his ass chiding. He was a bust and now he's tipping the scales at 300+. If I'm Neil funk I'm scared kings going to eat me

In the books wrote about MJ (some funny stories indeed) how about the story of taking Pip under his wing?

That probably explains why he sounds nervous whenever King says "hot sauce".

As for MJ, there's not much to say that hasn't already been said, and to be completely honest, I didn't really feel like rehashing it all again. But if you insist, here's my take.

From all accounts, MJ could be very difficult to say the least, and an absolute jerk at his worst. It's not really news, and I don't think a lot of people would deny it at this point. Having said that, I'm not sure what criteria makes his toughness on teammates bad, and someone like KG's good; that seems kind of arbitrary. I mean, if we're going by success, MJ's teams had more. If we're going by maturity...well, KG has literally gotten down on all fours and barked like a dog at an opponent, and has a tendency to throw dirty elbows then act all innocent; much as I like KG, that's a punk move. Bottom line, I don't agree with all their methods, or condone everything they've done, but they and other highly competitive athletes are in situations where tempers flare, tensions boil over, and things aren't always rosy, whether it's with opponents or teammates. It's not necessarily a justification, just an example of how they are still human and can make bad choices like anyone else.

While these incidents and elements of their character are worth noting, I do think there is a tendency to focus on the negative. Unless MJ was punching a teammate in every single practice, there were significantly more practices without blow-ups than ones where there were dust-ups. As you noted, there are also stories of him taking Pip under his wing, and showing support and kindness to Scott Williams after Williams' father passed away. Even in The Jordan Rules, it's noted that the team would socialise after games, and MJ reportedly got along with pretty much everyone in that setting. On the court and in practice however, as benji said, he was demanding and had high expectations. Unfortunately, that manifested itself in some ugly ways, and it's not something that I personally admire or condone, but it does seem to be a trait of many great and competitive players, in one way or another. Unfortunate, but I think to some extent, it's a product of the environment. In sport, things often get heated, only for everything to be cool when it's over and everybody shakes hands. Incidents happen and they can be ugly, but I don't think they should overshadow everything else.