Looking at how much negativity there is around in this world, how do you cope with all the negativity?
I have kids and people who love me and people that I love. And I know that there’s a lot of love in this world too. It’s an awful thing to say … but I think that hate is overrulin’ love now – in this day of age. It’s a bad thing, but I gotta be honest with how I view the world and how I look at things. And that’s just the way it is. Nobody wants to hear about anything positive. People want to hear something negative. People want to hear about somebody gettin’ killed or somethin’ bad happenin’. That’s what catches somebody’s eye.
Looking at athletes being role models, the baseball player Alex Rodriguez said he felt the pressure to take performance enhancing drugs. Do you understand at all where he’s coming from?
I just want to choose my words right because that’s a touchy situation because I love Alex Rodriguez as a player. Um … I don’t know. I don’t know how you get … I don’t understand how somebody can do that to themselves and to the game in general and to the fans. I mean, if God didn’t give it to you, you don’t need it.
And this coming from you – a guy who has been criticized for a lot of things over the years. You have always been known as 100 percent natural – what you see is what you get.
And then … a lot of it can be immaturity, being young. Basically that was my problem. Probably 99 percent of my problem was just being young and not knowing and not being mature enough to do it the right way. I just didn’t know. Being young, you always think your way is the right way. But your way is not always the right way.
Let’s look at some of the NBA awards, who do you think is the forerunner for the MVP?
I don’t know. Anybody can get it. You look at all the rosters and the guys on these squads, anybody can get it. I have no idea. I couldn’t even begin to guess who could be the MVP.
One of the top candidates for the Rookie of the Year award is Bulls guard Derrick Rose. What do you think about him?
Instant impact, he’s doing a great job handling everything he has to go through as far as having that spotlight on him. I think he’s doing a beautiful job and he’s only gonna get better. I always say with young guys the most important thing is for people to let them grow. Don’t rush him into being some superstar. Let him come into his own. Help him, coach him. Tell him when he’s right, tell him when he’s wrong. Definitely pat him on the back when he’s right and kick him in the ass when he does wrong. But believe in him, trust in him, and everything will be fine.
What is your advice to some of the younger player in dealing with the ball?
Take care of it. Don’t do what I did. Young guys are always trying to make something happen. That was my thing. I’m always trying to make something happen – trying to make something happen for myself, my teammates and my team. But you can get in trouble.
My whole thing was when I was younger I was at one pace all the time. I was fast, fast, fast all the time. That was the only thing I knew, to be faster than everybody else. Then I started watching John Stockton. You don’t have to be the fastest guy in the world. You just need to know when to be fast and when to pull it back, know when to go, when to stop. He was just A+ at thinking about the basketball game.
That’s what young players don’t know because they rely on their athletic ability so much. Once they get to this level they think that they can. But there are guys who are so much slower than you but know so much more about the basketball game. And that’s what I try to concentrate on every day now. I find myself just watching games and watching tape and trying to be a smarter basketball player instead of being more athletic than everybody else.
In Philadelphia you carried the team for so long. In Denver you had Carmelo Anthony. And now in Detroit the main thing is seeing how you fit in there. After all these years, are you past the idea of It’s on me for this team to be better?
No. Because I’m me. That’s the person that I know. That’s the player I am. That’s the responsibility I have from the person who gave me the talent. I just rather have the pressure on me than anybody else. I think I’m gifted enough to handle that responsibility. That’s just the way that I am.
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