When he’s not asking where his statute is or lamenting over being ignored for all of his greatness, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is writing. Today he put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard as it were) for an article published on ESPN.com.
In his piece Cap comments on the current state of the NBA, giving some insight into what he feels plagues the modern game.
Never one to mince words, Kareem takes the NBA owners to task for their idiotic model for revenue sharing.
"Unless there can be some type of adjustment to the league’s revenue-sharing arrangement worked out by the franchise owners, this situation will continue to make it difficult on the small-market teams. For the most part, though, that’s an issue for the owners to work out on their own."
No secrets there as Abdul-Jabbar states what the rest of the world knows yet the league doesn’t practice. One need only examine the NFL’s revenue sharing model as a means to keep every franchise profitable.
But what good is it to have an article published on ESPN if all you’re going to do is attack the owners? As I’ve always said, whenever you get a chance you should always take a shot at Michael Olowokandi. Luckily Kareem lives by the same motto.
"When I coached for the Clippers, I had to deal with Michael Olowokandi, a player who perfectly fit the description “talented but uncoachable.” At practice, I would attempt to point out Mr. Olowokandi’s faults to him, ones he constantly repeated and resulted in lost possessions for the team or personal fouls that sent him to the bench. His reaction to my attempts to correct his bad habits was to take my input as a personal insult and embarrassment. He told me point-blank that he would not be criticized in front of the team. He stuck to his word and, as a result, had very few successful moments on the court playing the way he wanted to play. He took his place on the list of athletically gifted washouts who have been in and out of the league in the past 10 years."
Out of context it may seem as if Kareem was going Andrew Golota on the Kandi man. In his article Jabbar was attempting to show how the NBA’s system for player development needs an overhaul as well.
Overall Kareem made some very salient points and speaks from a position more NBA executives should take on. Still, you gotta love anybody that finds a way to mix in an “Olowokandi sucks” take in the middle of a diatribe on revenue sharing.
Classic Cap!