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It is interesting that I have gone through the process of representing clients as an ex-athlete. I am certainly not naive to think that the possibility of corruption isn't there.
Michael Jordan was going to do whatever was ever necessary, and certainly I can say without question, he was going to achieve and stop playing whenever he wanted to stop playing.
When I played, I would never, ever try to run Reggie Miller off the line because I knew Reggie. If I ran at him, and I was trying to run him off the line, I was going to get kicked.
I played, but I never got a chance to see how the business worked. How the NBA offices and other teams worked. I learned that when I was an assistant General Manager for five years.
Somehow you get past languages. I don't speak Mandarin. I don't speak fluent Italian. I don't speak German. But it's amazing how when you need to get something done, it finds a way.
I was very fortunate to come into sports representation with Arn Tellem; he has helped me understand the business in the same way that we help out clients find solutions to their problems.
Guys are more apt to test me than they are to test a Charles Barkley. I think I have to go out and prove myself all the time, and that's fine, because I've had to prove myself my whole life.
In 1989-90 I became one of the group known as the Jordanaires, a.k.a. the Bulls. From the day I arrived in Chicago, I knew what everyone else on the team did: Michael Jordan was a phenomenal talent.
The one thing I didn't expect was to learn how much of a sense of humor Jerry Reinsdorf has. He's really funny. I never got a chance to see his sense of humor when I was working for him or playing for him.
Winning is the easiest thing that I ever did in the NBA, but being able to come to the realization of what it means to compete in this league no matter what - win, lose or draw - was the most difficult thing.
For all that Michael Jordan could run, jump and entertain, he is best known for one thing: He won. If you want to be a great player in this league, you have to focus on one thing - the bottom line, which is winning.
To point the finger at one guy, at each other or at the coaches, won't do any good. It's not supposed to be the coach. It's our team. The coaches can do a phenomenal job preparing you, but it has to come from within.
Winning covers a multitude of sins. If you play bad and you still win, everyone says that's the sign of a good ballclub. But when you play bad and you lose, all of a sudden you have problems and everyone wants to know why.
Tim Duncan was a marvelous player. He played the game from the four, the five position. He was one of the unique players, like a Michael Jordan, who could get to spaces on the floor you that you couldn't do anything about.
It's really the city of Detroit that I owe the thanks to and all the people along the way, so many people that played a role in my success in giving me the dreams and aspirations to go to college and do the things that I did.
One thing I can say about Michael Jordan, nothing was going to deny him to achieve what he wanted to achieve. That includes the Bulls' front office, the league, or whomever. The man just had an undeniable spirit about himself.
My previous experiences taught me my true passion was working with the players. I love the business. I love sports. I love everything about the team aspect. But I have this deep appreciation for the players and their perspective.
Tremendous teammate, that's what comes to mind when I think of Scottie Pippen. He was a very caring teammate who was always concerned about the team. The way he played and expressed himself on the floor exemplified who he was as a player.
I don't know what position Scottie was; he was just a basketball player. He could dribble, shoot, pass and rebound. Defensively, he was excellent. He had quick hands and quick feet with a great understanding of the game. He could do it all.
To me, that's the brilliance of Michael Jordan. He was an incredible, amazing individual player who matched his talents to the team, matched the team's talents to him, and he lived in the middle of those extremes. I don't know how you do that.
For every LeBron James that jumps onto the scene, or every Derrick Rose that does really well in year one, you have a lot of others that take time to transition. Those guys are just brilliant in their own way, but a lot of other guys need a little help along the way.
So much has been said about Michael Jordan as a basketball player, but when I played with him, the Michael I knew was just Michael. I guess more than anything is that I got to experience the human side of the so-called gladiators, warriors and heroes that we worship.
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.
Whether you're playing sports, starting a business or anything else in life, you need to identify your talents. Your responsibility is to find what you do better than anyone else. Once you identify what that is, you need to put yourself in the best position to succeed.
To me, the All-Star Game is just another step. I try to take all my experiences and put them together. To make the NBA was something, and then to be recognized as an All-Star - although I don't consider myself a star. I see myself as just trying to reach my potential as B. J.
He was so confident. But underneath that, behind the scenes, I knew Michael Jordan was a country kid from North Carolina, and it was that simple to him. He was a young man, at heart, who wanted to be one of the guys who loved to play and was willing to do whatever was necessary.
LeBron James has proven he can lead by example. My wish for LeBron is to understand the following: He's an exceptional leader because he leads by example. The next step on the road to Legend, which he's already on, is to trust he's the best player in the best system anywhere in basketball.
Scottie's game changed with where he was at physically. He wasn't the same player at 21 as he was at 30. Both he and Michael aged gracefully in this league and that's the beauty of being a professional player. You continue to grow and continue to change your game, but you do it to be just as effective.
Most players will tolerate their coach, just like the coach will tolerate that player to do what they got to do, but Steve Kerr is unique. Players want to play for Steve Kerr. Everyone who's played in this league, who's coached in this league, who's been a general manager understands exactly what I'm saying - he's one of them.
All the other things that happen, they don't resonate with him other than winning the basketball game. That's just who he is. He's just a humble kid and he's just trying to go out there and do his thing. I wish I could say some secret formula or training method, but sometimes you got to let things be. That's who Derrick Rose is.
I wanted to learn how the business worked. I wanted to see how people got drafted, how players got traded, how they got picked up in free agency, how the salary cap worked, how do you manage an organization, how do you negotiate contracts. The Bulls gave me an excellent opportunity to answer all the questions that I wanted to ask.
The fact that Phil Jackson asked a young kid when he didn't have to and said, 'Hey, do I have permission to coach you?' Those are very powerful lessons that you learn. That's only happened to me a couple times in my entire career, that coaches would actually ask me that question. That just lets me know that he saw me for who I was.
Tremendous teammate, that's what comes to mind when I think of Scottie Pippen. He was a very caring teammate who was always concerned about the team, always concerned about it. He just had a great understanding of the team concept. Everyone talks about a great teammate, but he really was a great guy to play with. He may have been having a 25 or 30-point game, but if he knew you were struggling, he'd find a way to get you going as well. He's that type of guy.