The real reasons Hubie Brown bailed on the Grizzlies: "stress related to player insubordination and a perceived lack of management support," according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. The troublesome players (no surprise) were Jason Williams and Bonzi Wells; the management problems were with Jerry West, who reportedly second-guessed Brown often.
Brown also felt an assistant trainer was acting as an informer for management, and when he demanded the guy be fired, West not only refused that, he declined to remove him from the bench area.
Spurs' Malik Rose, a Philly native, on whether the ruckus in Detroit could have happened in his hometown: "We may boo Santa Claus and throw frozen batteries in the end zone, but we don't throw $7 beers. We don't waste those."
Raptors coach Sam Mitchell sounds like Jerry Sloan in explaining why he isn't reluctant to bench a struggling starter. "If you're not playing well, I don't think you should play," he said. "That's not rocket science. Is that something new?"
Mitchell is also realizing just how unmotivated some players are. "Somewhere, we've got to find some men that want to play basketball to where this means more than just something to do," he said. "And for the ones who don't want to play, do everybody a favor. Quit. The ones who I'm talking about know who they are."
The subject came up because Mitchell benched New York native Rafer Alston in the Big Apple. "A different night somebody is always upset," Mitchell said. "Pick a number. Do you think there'll ever be a day where I can walk into the locker room after a game and someone is not mad?"
In a rare chat with the media, Lakers owner Jerry Buss said his team would have beaten the Pistons if Karl Malone had stayed healthy, and if L.A. had won the title, he could have kept the team intact. "I do think I could've talked to Shaq and Kobe and got them on the same page," Buss said.
Shaquille O'Neal's reaction to Buss' comments? "That's got to be some of the dumbest crock of animal droppings I've ever heard in my life."
Buss also predicted a worsening labor situation. "The problem is . . . every time a collective bargaining agreement came up, the players were able to win additional monies, additional favors, additional perks," he said. "They got in the habit of feeling that was an endless barrel. But what they don't understand . . . is it's not. It's over."
Ron Artest wants a little slack. "People say I'm a thug or whatever," he said. "But my cousin got life for killing someone. I have other cousins who sold cocaine or drugs . . . Don't I deserve some credit for overcoming that?"
Artest laughed when told that two teammates saw him performing pushups in the nude in the locker room. "Naked pushups?" he said. "I don't remember that one. But put it in there. That's really going to sell my album."
The New York Daily News reported that Philly coach Jim O'Brien is getting tired of Allen Iverson's tardiness and reluctance to practice, but O'Brien said that is fiction. "I don't know what they could be referring to," he said.
Rockets got booed in the first quarter at home for a dismal effort against the Pistons. "Right now our effort collectively is pitiful," said Jim Jackson. "It has nothing to do with talent and nothing to do with other teams being better."
Tracy McGrady is one of the unhappy campers in Houston. "I'm seeing a lot of double teams, which I didn't expect to see coming here with Yao," he said.
The Pistons-Pacers brawl generated speculation that Detroit coach Larry Brown might quit, but he denies having such thoughts — sort of. "I am not thinking about (quitting)," he said. "Did it leave a sour taste in my mouth and make me want to re-evaluate things over the summer? Yeah, definitely."
Scot Pollard explained how the Pacers were able to win three straight games without their three best players: "It was kind of like when John Wayne got cancer, and they had to take out both of his lungs. He said, 'Take 'em both out, Doc, I don't need 'em. I'll grow gills and breathe like a fish.' Take away our three best players, and we'll just play."
A fan in Dallas said something to injured Michael Finley after a game, causing Finley to step back out of the tunnel and ask the fan to repeat what he said. The fan said he wanted Finley to "hurry back and get in uniform, because we need you." When Finley asked what he said after that, the fan said, 'I said, 'Stop being a wimp.' "
Kevin Garnett had this advice for impatient young teammate Eddie Griffin: "I told Eddie . . . I can get y'all this government cheese if y'all just be patient. I make it easy on everybody."
After a high-flying dunk, LeBron James said: "I told you I can fly. I can fly for 1.6 seconds . . . I like it up there. Not too many people up there with me."