Kori Ellis
12-14-2004, 04:04 AM
Harvey: Spurs' edge: Malone needs a happy ending
Web Posted: 12/14/2004 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA121404.1F.harvey.4cfe660.html
If I'm the Spurs, I wince.
Karl Malone wouldn't have been easy to sell to Spurs fans anyway. His "I'm hunting for little, Mexican girls" just made it impossible
But if I'm the Spurs, I consider the source of this story, as well as how this would alter Malone if he plays in San Antonio.
A seamy exit from Los Angeles would have followed a sour one from Salt Lake City. Malone won't like the pattern, and what it says about him, and he will be determined to have a happy ending.
If I'm the Spurs, I see this as helpful — when Gregg Popovich tries to coach Malone.
Some fans will howl at the thought of Malone in a Spurs uniform, especially after the recent installment of the L.A. soap opera. It wasn't enough that Malone once decked David Robinson with an elbow or that he eliminated the Spurs several times from the playoffs. He had to try to join the happy Bryant family.
Vanessa Bryant's version doesn't describe either a good teammate or a good husband. Malone, she said through an agent, came on to her.
It's happened before. A Spurs locker room, years ago, went through the same, sad tension.
No one really knows what athletes are like, just as no one really knew about Kobe before the summer of 2003. But this goes against Malone's track record. He fathered two kids out of wedlock when he was a kid himself, but those who have known him in the NBA never saw this side.
The details don't make much sense, either. Malone chose to make a pass at Vanessa with a child in tow, in an arena, knowing the history of this family?
Vanessa, part Hispanic, says Malone used the "little, Mexican girls" phrase, and she also said Malone asked if she would come give him a big hug during a game. "If you do that," Malone told her, "it will be on the cover of every magazine in the country."
Was Malone being serious? Or playful? As Kobe himself described the relationship between the Bryants and the Malones: "We've been out to their house, just joking around, giving each other a hard time, just clowning, being sarcastic with one another, baby-sitting kids and all that."
That sounds like two couples who can say almost anything to each other. The issue, then, might be Vanessa, married at 17, sheltered by fame and still reeling from her own relationship trauma.
She has shown signs of instability before. Last season, with her husband awaiting a sexual assault trial, Vanessa wore a shirt to a Lakers game that featured two words.
One word can be printed in a newspaper ("fashionable"), and one cannot. The obscenity was more offensive than anything Malone reportedly said.
As for Kobe being outraged someone would flirt with his wife: There's a family in Colorado that doesn't empathize.
Either way, none of it does much for Malone's reputation, especially in South Texas where's he long been a villain. But everyone in San Antonio should understand the hoop reality, that signing Malone is a no-brainer for the Spurs.
The money would be miniscule by NBA standards, with the league itself picking up a portion. And if Malone is anything like he was a year ago, he would add something.
Remember the defense he played on Tim Duncan? He did the same against Kevin Garnett. It's no coincidence the Lakers fell apart after Malone hurt his knee in the Finals.
Malone would contribute without scoring, and there also would be nights when his jumper would make a difference. His 30 points in a playoff game last spring against Houston were just that.
But everything wouldn't be good. There would be nights when Popovich would yell at him, as Popovich yells at everyone. There are no guarantees Malone would fit with Popovich's defensive schemes.
There also would be nights when Robert Horry or Malik Rose would be better. Malone took less money and less of the stage last season with the Lakers, but he's never had to deal with sitting.
There could be flashes of anger no matter what. But if there's an incentive for Malone to calm down — to accept his role on a deep team that could win a championship without him — it stems from disappointments elsewhere.
If I'm the Spurs, I see this.
Malone would want a ring. But he will need to leave a city without a sour taste, with good feelings, for once.
Web Posted: 12/14/2004 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA121404.1F.harvey.4cfe660.html
If I'm the Spurs, I wince.
Karl Malone wouldn't have been easy to sell to Spurs fans anyway. His "I'm hunting for little, Mexican girls" just made it impossible
But if I'm the Spurs, I consider the source of this story, as well as how this would alter Malone if he plays in San Antonio.
A seamy exit from Los Angeles would have followed a sour one from Salt Lake City. Malone won't like the pattern, and what it says about him, and he will be determined to have a happy ending.
If I'm the Spurs, I see this as helpful — when Gregg Popovich tries to coach Malone.
Some fans will howl at the thought of Malone in a Spurs uniform, especially after the recent installment of the L.A. soap opera. It wasn't enough that Malone once decked David Robinson with an elbow or that he eliminated the Spurs several times from the playoffs. He had to try to join the happy Bryant family.
Vanessa Bryant's version doesn't describe either a good teammate or a good husband. Malone, she said through an agent, came on to her.
It's happened before. A Spurs locker room, years ago, went through the same, sad tension.
No one really knows what athletes are like, just as no one really knew about Kobe before the summer of 2003. But this goes against Malone's track record. He fathered two kids out of wedlock when he was a kid himself, but those who have known him in the NBA never saw this side.
The details don't make much sense, either. Malone chose to make a pass at Vanessa with a child in tow, in an arena, knowing the history of this family?
Vanessa, part Hispanic, says Malone used the "little, Mexican girls" phrase, and she also said Malone asked if she would come give him a big hug during a game. "If you do that," Malone told her, "it will be on the cover of every magazine in the country."
Was Malone being serious? Or playful? As Kobe himself described the relationship between the Bryants and the Malones: "We've been out to their house, just joking around, giving each other a hard time, just clowning, being sarcastic with one another, baby-sitting kids and all that."
That sounds like two couples who can say almost anything to each other. The issue, then, might be Vanessa, married at 17, sheltered by fame and still reeling from her own relationship trauma.
She has shown signs of instability before. Last season, with her husband awaiting a sexual assault trial, Vanessa wore a shirt to a Lakers game that featured two words.
One word can be printed in a newspaper ("fashionable"), and one cannot. The obscenity was more offensive than anything Malone reportedly said.
As for Kobe being outraged someone would flirt with his wife: There's a family in Colorado that doesn't empathize.
Either way, none of it does much for Malone's reputation, especially in South Texas where's he long been a villain. But everyone in San Antonio should understand the hoop reality, that signing Malone is a no-brainer for the Spurs.
The money would be miniscule by NBA standards, with the league itself picking up a portion. And if Malone is anything like he was a year ago, he would add something.
Remember the defense he played on Tim Duncan? He did the same against Kevin Garnett. It's no coincidence the Lakers fell apart after Malone hurt his knee in the Finals.
Malone would contribute without scoring, and there also would be nights when his jumper would make a difference. His 30 points in a playoff game last spring against Houston were just that.
But everything wouldn't be good. There would be nights when Popovich would yell at him, as Popovich yells at everyone. There are no guarantees Malone would fit with Popovich's defensive schemes.
There also would be nights when Robert Horry or Malik Rose would be better. Malone took less money and less of the stage last season with the Lakers, but he's never had to deal with sitting.
There could be flashes of anger no matter what. But if there's an incentive for Malone to calm down — to accept his role on a deep team that could win a championship without him — it stems from disappointments elsewhere.
If I'm the Spurs, I see this.
Malone would want a ring. But he will need to leave a city without a sour taste, with good feelings, for once.