Phil Takes Shots At Shaq
The Zen Master Phil Jackson appears very cool in the heat of even the closest games but you’d think that with all those techniques for attaining a peace of mind he’d keep the locker room happenings to himself. But alas he hasn’t and it’s not the first time either.
”The only person I ever had that hasn’t been a worker the fortunate time I’ve been coaching is probably Shaq,” Jackson said. “He’s the one guy that didn’t like to work. I know Pat [Riley] got him working in Miami, but we had a hard time getting him to work. All the other players, Michael [Jordan], Scottie [Pippen], Dennis Rodman, all those guys that we had, Horace Grant, they were all hard workers in practice. And I’ve had some more players. I think Kobe has just picked up from that type of energy we like to demonstrate as a team. He wants to lead.”
Where did that come from?! Shaq hasn’t been a Laker in a pretty long time and Phil hasn’t coached him in a long time. Why bring this up now? Why bring this up at all? Apparently Jackson can’t keep the locker room happenings to himself - something a respectable coach should know how to do. What happens in the locker room stays in the locker is what I remember former coach Paul Silas saying when Jackson openly criticized Kobe Bryant in his book The Last Season: A Team In Search Of Its Soul
It’s no surprise that Shaq fired back:
‘How can Benedict Arnold be reliable in what he says?” O’Neal said after the Heat’s 101-85 victory over the Lakers on Monday.
O’Neal’s turncoat statement was in reference of Jackson leaving Los Angeles the same season as O’Neal, only to return a year later and coach the Bryant-led Lakers.
If you ask me, Phil should just shut his yap. It’s bad for his image as a 9 time championship coach.
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