Link I had heard that DRose was a Kirk fan, but just read this old (Oct 2012) quote today. Apparently Reggie Rose forgot about this solid that the Bulls' front office did for Li'l brother. It also addresses a comment i made in another thread about DRose not helping with recruiting. I apologize, Derrick.
That's funny. On a related topic, how much influence do you folks think a superstar player should have with player personnel decisions? I remember reports back in the dynasty days that Jordan was always pushing Krause to pick up Walter Davis and Krause kept pretending he had been struck deaf.
Well it was sort of a joke, but what makes it funny is it's probably true. There must be some clause in the contract that the player has to perform PR duties to the team's satisfaction along with a morals clause and one that forbids the player from riding motorcycles (Jay Williams). I think there's a tension between workers and management in many fields. Sports is no exception. The thing about the athletes is that they're actual talent - you can't outsource their jobs to slave workers in china for $.10 a day. That said, the owners put up capital at risk. In many cases, they are putting up their own money to pay for a team's red ink. The teams have historically mostly been toys of rich guys who'd lose money for the sake of the game. Reinsdorf is the outlier, not the norm. So I'd think the owner and the players really have significant reasons to collaborate on things related to the team, including headband rules and roster decisions, etc. I seem to remember that MJ and Pip didn't want any part of Kukoc and Krause went out and got him anyway. The Bulls stars routinely refused to pass to Kukoc, etc., in the early days. I seem to remember that Krause had a hard on to trade Pippen for... Joe Smith or Jerry Stackhouse or Clippers' draft picks or Eddie Jones ... And Jordan effectively nixed those deals. Walter Davis was a brilliant basketball player. A SF who shot over 50% from the field. He'd have fit in extremely well with MJ. Lastly, Krause should have been fired or moved up in the organization to make room for PJax as GM/Coach. The players loved PJax. I think those were his terms for staying.
For anyone interested in looking over the uniform NBA player's contract, here's a link. Additional clauses can be added with the agreement of the team, player and league. An example many Bulls' fans may remember is Jordan's "Love of the Game" clause that amended the "Prohibited Activities" section (section that Jay Williams specifically violated) of the contract so MJ could play basketball any damn time he wanted during the offseason. There's nothing in there about requiring a player to help the team recruit free agents or praise teammates, past, present or prospective. There are however, several proscriptions against conduct detrimental to the team and/or league.
Under section 2, Services: (g) promotional and commercial activities of the Team and the League as set forth in this Contract and the CBA Under section 5, Conduct: (b)(iv) not to do anything that is materially detrimental or materially prejudicial to the best interests of the Team or the League. (talking up the team, teammates, etc., is promotional and commercial activities of the Team).
OK, I'll play. Section 13 ("Promotional Activities") further defines what is required and proscribed under the contract. As I said, nothing in there about requiring a player to help the team recruit free agents or praise teammates. 5(b)(iv) is strictly about what the player can't do, not about what he must do. As much fun as all this paralegal stuff is, for the benefit of any young and impressionable posters or lurkers out there, when a NBA player compliments one of his teammates as DRose did Hinrich, he is not doing this pursuant to any contractual obligation. Don't say anything like that to your friends 'cause they're liable to think less of you.
The contract also requires him to give interviews. What do you expect him to answer? The truth? That would violate the "detrimental" clause. Reggie Rose doesn't form his opinions in a vacuum...
