Barkley, Malone Bash Bryant
As spring follows winter, after Kobe-mania comes the anti-Kobe backlash.
Nobody rides for free, nobody gets it the way they want it. It happened to Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal and it’s happening to Kobe Bryant, writes Mark Heisler of the Los Angeles Times.
Karl Malone and Charles Barkley grumbled about the league-and-network sponsored coronation at the All-Star game and Kobe’s shot-happy response. George Karl, who coached the West, has since suggested it was because of veterans’ grumbling he didn’t put Bryant back in to shoot it out with Jordan for the MVP.
Malone said his problems started when he set a screen for Bryant, who waved him out of the way to go one-on-one.
“I went to set a pick and the guy told me he’s got it,” Malone said later. “Like I told Coach Karl, ‘Hey, when younger guys are telling me, ‘Get out of the way,’ that’s a game I don’t need to be in.’ I was (upset).”
Barkley, watching on TV, said the problem started earlier than that, when NBC began thumping Kobe’s tub.
“Jim Gray almost made me (sick) last week, talking about passing torches and that sort of thing,” Barkley said. “Kobe Bryant is a nice kid and he’s got a lot of talent. He’s not a great player. He’s exciting. But he’s not near the player Eddie Jones is …
“I was embarrassed … I thought they already had passed that torch to Grant Hill three years ago.”
Seikaly tells his side of story
Rony Seikaly said his voided trade from Orlando to Utah was nullified because of a stress fracture to his right foot, not because of a contract disagreement.
Seikaly gave his side of the aborted trade one day after being dealt to New Jersey and almost 48 hours after Utah called off its deal with Orlando.
“It would have been an honor for me to play with Karl Malone and John Stockton and to play for Jerry Sloan and (Jeff) Hornacek and all those guys,” Seikaly said. “That’s why I was surprised, and Karl knows I wanted to play with him.”
After the deal fell apart, Malone called Seikaly a “con man” and Utah owner Larry Miller said Seikaly’s side was trying to get contractual concessions.
On the courts
Cliff Robinson scored a season-high 36 points and Jason Kidd had 16 assists, including a team record-tying 10 in a lopsided first quarter, as the Phoenix Suns defeated Charlotte 115-99 Friday night for their fourth consecutive victory.
At Portland, Ore., Allan Houston made 16 of 20 field-goal attempts and scored 34 points as the New York Knicks defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 98-89.
At Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 25 points and 17 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves posted a 100-95 overtime victory over the Houston Rockets. Before the game, Minnesota learned that Tom Gugliotta would be lost for the rest of the season because he needs surgery to remove bone chips and bone spurs from his right ankle.