Walton weighs in on the Malone situation

As everyone who frequents this website knows, the Karl Malone-to-the-Spurs saga has been going on since early July. Speculation of Malone retiring alongside Tim Duncan has Spurs fans pretty much divided down the middle on an issue that likely will not be put to bed until training camp gets underway next month. This morning, San Antonio Express News writer Mike Monroe's laughable attempt at journalism has swung the Malone debate into high gear and rustled a few feathers along the way. I'm going to quote two individuals whose opinions I respect around here. Let's start with timvp;

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Get a grip Spurs fans, this is Karl Freaking Malone we are talking about. You don't see the Houston Oilers going out and signing Frank Reich. You don't see the Buffalo Sabres going out and signing Brett Hull. You don't see the Boston Red Sox going out and signing Bucky Dent.

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And now TwoHandJam;

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Is this guy four years old or what? If you've made a decision, what earthly reason could you have for not making it public at this point?

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Both of you are dead wrong on this issue and are failing to see the forest through the mailman.

Without Karl Malone, the Lakers lose to the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs last year, which makes his eventual involvement in the ensuing Spurs-Lakers series a moot point. Without the presence of Karl Malone, Shaquille O'Neal pops Kobe Bryant like a zit and drinks his puss after the 'fat' comments. Without Malone, the Lakers already fragile chemistry disappears faster than the Taliban after 9/11.

I've been a Spurs fan for fifteen years, trust me, I'm no Karl Malone fan. There have been times where I punched brick walls till by knuckles bled because of his bullshit defense and questionable sportsmanship. But to say Malone wouldn't make the Spurs better is based solely on emotional trigger and not on rational deliberation. To insinuate Karl Malone is a locker-room cancer is ridiculous. In a Lakers dressing room where egos are literally and figuratively checked at the door, Malone never once exhibited half the candy-ass attitude expressed by the likes of O'Neal, Bryant and the ultra-insignificant Rick Fox on a seemingly daily basis. To say Malone is not a winner means you have absolutely no grasp of what it means to truly be a competitor, night-in, night-out which is sorely lacking in today's Stern-made superstars. Karl Malone doesn't take possessions off, let alone entire games. Karl Malone never avoids media dissection and has consistently owned up to his sub par performances.

When you compete against a guy like Karl Malone for as long as the Spurs and their fans have, two things happen; you hate him intensely and then your brain takes over and you respect the **** out of him. Thankfully, Gregg Popovich isn't as short sighted on this issue and the two aforementioned posters- prominent, intelligent posters at that.

The sheer prospect of Malone to the Spurs playing with Tim Duncan, roughing up the likes of Garnett, Webber and Rasheed makes me salivate.

Make it happen Pop!

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To say Malone is not a winner means you have absolutely no grasp of what it means to truly be a competitor, night-in, night-out which is sorely lacking in today's Stern-made superstars.

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What has Malone won? He played with the best point guard of all-time and for one of the best coaches of all-time. Result?

0.

Okay, valid point. But, to veer off-topic some, why does Malone get all the blame?

Why do "the best point guard of all time" (not as long as there was a guy named Magic) and "one of the best coaches of all-time" get a free pass?

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What has Malone won? He played with the best point guard of all-time and for one of the best coaches of all-time. Result?

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Result you ask?

You might have forgotten, maybe you were too young, who knows. Anyways, at that time, there was also a guy in the NBA that was kinda good- his name was Michael Jordan. Ever hear of him?

Does losing to Michael Jordan make people like Karl Malone and Charles Barkley losers? If so, then the entire NBA in that time frame are also losers. In the two years Jordan left the league, Hakeem Olajuwon and the Houston Rockets won back-to-back NBA championships. Would that have happened with Jordan around? Maybe.

If we use your argument timvp, is David Robinson a loser because in a playoff series, he has never defeated Karl Malone.

What's your point?

it would be like Spike Lee signing Byron de la Beckwith, Anne Coulter, and Adolf Eichmann to do an off broadway play about Tommie Smith and John Carlos


http://www.contrasto.it/img/BE002447...6ViY10_img.jpg

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Springtime
for Hilter
and Germany . . .

I see your side of the issue but I'm not sure what I'm "dead wrong" about. I simply said that Malone is being completely infantile about revealing his decision to the world. His claims that he isn't "stringing people along" is just laughable and his lust for media attention is bordering on the absurd. I've no doubt that Malone could help the Spurs but I also have no illusions that the Spurs need him to win a title.

I hate Malone intensely but would accept his presence on the team simply because I won't sacrifice my support for the team due to one bad apple. The Spurs deserve to win a championship whether a piece of shit is on the roster or not. I must say that my I'm surprised that someone like Duncan would condone someone like Malone being on the team given his history of unacceptable unsportmanlike conduct.

Malone is coming, get used to it.

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Why do "the best point guard of all time" (not as long as there was a guy named Magic) and "one of the best coaches of all-time" get a free pass?

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Because Stockton was one of the greatest big-game player in NBA history. Remember his 3 with 41 seconds left in game 6 of the 98 Finals that came oh-so-close to icing Jordan for good? Then do you remember Malone not paying attention and getting the ball stolen from him while he looked away 15 seconds later, thus handing MJ ring #6? How about Stockton beating the Rockets in 1997? What about Malone getting his ass handed to him by Kemp in game 7 of the 96 WCF? Anyone remember Stockton saving Utah's asses from going out in 4 in the first round in Sacramento in 1999? If you don't, at least you should remember Malone scoring 8 points in the game they were eliminated in vs. Portland and then doing the exact same thing in 2000.

Was anyone even scared when Malone took that last shot of regulation in the 120-117 game?

Sloan gets mad props for taking the worst roster in the league to within a game of the playoffs in the most competitive conference in NBA history.... tell me 42-40 with the crap they had wasn't impressive as hell.

BTW, you don't see Israel electing Hitler Prime Minister.

Bum, Hitler is dead, FYI.

Malone's old and will die soon too.

He'd be a hired gun. Just like noted Spurs Killers Mario Elie, Jerome Kersey, Robert Horry, Terry Porter, etc...I can't say I really cared for any of those guys in the prime of their careers.

I am not comfortable with the Spurs' frontcourt if Pop decides not to play Rose. Evil is the type of physical player that TD needs playing alongside him. If you land Evil then you have the added benefit of keeping him away from Minnesota, who could definitely use a player like Evil up front given how little of an interior game Garnett gives them, for example.

To me it's a question of alternatives. If it's either Evil or some CBA reject then Evil makes sense. If it's Javtokas or Evil (with Javtokas being locked up long term in Europe) then you think about it.

Evil was not a problem when he was with the Lakers last season. It was Payton who caused the problems. If Evil was willing to join the Spurs and take a reserve role then yes, you sign him.

Put him in Silver & Black. There aren't any kinds of formulae that anyone can put together that says that what is already here behind Tim & Rasho DOES NOT IMPROVE if you bring in Malone. That man is fierce and everything that he'll do will be with TEAM in mind. :brotha

Malone's right nut > Rasho + Slovenia.

People hate on him but dude has 36,000 points (2nd to Kareem), over 14,000 rebounds (7th all-time), and nobody has shot more free throws than him.

He knows all the tricks. He has the refs all trained on his slaps and flops. He knows how to stymie Tim Duncan.

Somebody's going to get a bargain.

Jordan-Pippen-Rodman/Grant > Malone-Stockton.

Haters, please, step away from the hate. Focus. There's a championship to be won.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: If you have a chance to have the best power forward in the history of the game mentor his successor, you don't think about it. You do it.

Now.

Crunch time lineup:

Frontcourt: Malone, Duncan

Backcourt: Parker, Ginobilli, Barry

nuf said...no weak links, balls as big as grapefruits across the board and scoring/defence from top to bottom...

you wanna be the coach that has to draw up the gameplan against this team in the last 45 seconds of a close game?

Exactly, CCXXX...

"Screw having more weapons and an even tougher defense, we have a grudge to hold on to!"

Give me a break, get over it. I say put it in front of David Robinson. If he gives it his ok (which he would), I give it mine.

You're kidding yourself if you say he's not a winner. He wasn't on winning teams, but there's no one in the league that can compare with his basketball character. DR wasn't on winning teams before Tim got here, either. Did that make him a loser? HELL NO. I'll never stop hating Malone, either, but I put the good of the team above all.

Do we have a better chance of winning if we stay with what we have? What's more important than winning? Character, and that's about it. Is Malone a character guy? Absolutely. The man works. Hard. and he plays defense. Well. He's a leader. No one gives more of himself to the game. You don't have to like him, I sure as hell don't. But you do have to sign him.

Karl may end up staying in L.A. but South Texas does have some advantages.

Past quotes from Karl Malone, who has a ranch in Arkansas where he likes to go in his off time and enjoy bailing hay and branding cattle:

"About the only thing I'd rather do than play basketball is hunt. There's nothing like enjoying the great outdoors with my friends and family. Plus the challenge posed by the superior senses of your game. I grew up hunting in Louisiana and I think it's a tradition we should pass on." -- Karl Malone

"...You can take away a lot of things from Karl Malone, but his guns, that's not one of them..." -- Karl Malone

and for those that still want to bitch about 4 down...it was a mater of using the weapons Pop had...you really think with three reliable crunch time players in the backcourt you won't see Malone setting picks to break out Parker/Ginobilli/Barry as a major weapon in the arsenal? Malone still sets the most devastating picks in the NBA and the refs consistently let him get away with holding/grabbing the defender...give any of those guys two steps on their defender in the open court and GOOD things are gonna happen...

Outstanding post Walton, great stuff. Somehow that little Jordan thing gets overlooked when speaking of all time greats and who won what. The anti-Malone sentiment, even from the most knowledgeable fans, is almost always an emotional response as opposed to what makes the most sense basketball-wise. Karl Malone makes the Spurs a better team, period. Obviously the Spurs organization agrees, which is why signing him remains a possibility-if he wants to come, you bring him in.

I would be amazed if I'm the only person that feels this way, but I haven't heard anyone articulate it yet, so here goes:
I have no doubt that Malone would help the Spurs win, but the problem is that I'm not sure I would WANT any team with Malone on it to win . . . even the Spurs. Sign Malone, I'll see who else I can follow until he retires.

You're not the only one, on many levels.

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I'm not sure I would WANT any team with Malone on it to win . . . even the Spurs

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I understand the sentiment, as I've hated Malone almost as long as I've been watching basketball...especially that stupid fucking hand-behind-his-head dunk he used to do:vomit ...remember that weak shit? ugh...

but again, I have to ask myself: is my hatred for Malone stronger than my love for the Spurs?

It's not even close.

Give the man a pen, and let's get him a ring.

Drexler used to kill the Rockets, but getting him a ring became a great motivational tool for their championship run. Imagine the intensity Karl would bring to the locker room during the playoffs. Real fire, like we haven't seen since the days of Mario Elie...and it'll be on a team that will be open to his leadership.

Plus, our biggest problem in the playoffs is execution. When it gets hot, our gameplan falls apart, players get intimidated by the moment and forget their roles...Karl Malone is all about execution. Especially on the p&r...Tony could sure use that kind of experience, but imagine this:

Manu Ginobili and Karl Malone playing the pick and roll. :salivate

If that doesn't make you want to see him in the Silver and Black, you don't want to see the Spurs win. It would be freaking awesome. Two passers of that calibur would be unstoppable, and with Tim waiting on the other block, Tony on the other wing, and Brent Freaking Barry at the top of the key....How can you defend that? You can't.

Spurs win. Raise the banner.