By Ken Berger
Tonight’s blog entry comes to you from Continental Airlines Arena, where I caught up with Richard Jefferson and his walking boot, and also tried to clear up what’s going on between Pistons coach Flip Saunders and his tempestuous star, Rasheed Wallace.
Both Saunders and ‘Sheed were aggravated by a recent online report that Wallace “hates” his coach. Not so, said Saunders, but he also didn’t make it seem like he and ‘Sheed were ready to sit down for lunch and enjoy one of the fine, underrated hot dogs Detroit has to offer any time soon.
“We’ve got a coach-player relationship,” Saunders said. “We have a good relationship. That’s it.”
When asked if there’s anything to the report, which came after a sulking Wallace walked away from a huddle prematurely during a timeout in Chris Webber’s debut with the Pistons against the Jazz on Jan. 17, Saunders said, somewhat curtly, “Not at all. Nope. Not at all.”
Wallace wanted to wait until after the Pistons blew out the Nets, 113-89, before weighing in on the subject.
“None of that was true,” Wallace said of the report about his alleged hatred for Saunders, which obviously struck a nerve.
In this business, the reports that get people the most riled up often are the ones with a ring of truth to them. Then again, when presenting the world according to Rasheed, it’s always good to have a few grains of salt handy.
“It was all hearsay,” Wallace said. “The snake trying to start something in the Garden of Eden. Yeah, me and Flip, we’re cool.”
The Pistons certainly seemed all right tonight in their eighth game with Webber in the lineup. Webber had 17 points, made 6 of 7 shots from the field, and had five assists. The Pistons, who are 5-0 when Webber scores at least 10 points and 0-3 when he doesn’t, seem to be getting their swagger back for the first time since Ben Wallace left to sign with the Bulls last summer.
“We haven’t had him very long, so it’s going to take him time,” Saunders said of Webber. “Part of that, too, is in the games he hasn’t scored 10 or more, he hasn’t had lively legs.”
The Pistons are waiting to hear how many players they’ll send to the All-Star game as reserves – probably only Chauncey Billups. But if Wallace had his way, no one on his team would go. The Pistons sent four to the game last year, and both Wallace and Saunders said it was draining.
“I would have rather been at home or somewhere else just relaxing,” Wallace said. “If someone does make it, then good for them. But I wouldn’t want to risk no injuries playing in that B.S. game. That’s just on a personal level. Some guys do deserve it, and if they make it, as a friend I’ll be happy. But as a teammate, I’ll just tell them to be careful.”
As for Jefferson, the Nets’ forward said he wants to take it slow in his comeback from Jan. 22 arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle. He’s been told that he faces a timetable of 1-2 months, but is likely looking at more like six weeks.
“You don’t want to be dumb about it,” Jefferson said. “You want to be smart. There’s no need in coming back too early, hurting yourself and missing more time.”
Jefferson is supposed to be in his walking boot for a few more days before he can begin rehab. The Nets lost the first three games without Jefferson – each by one point on a West Coast trip – but rallied to close out the trip with victories at Denver and Utah.
“They had a tough road trip and played well, and I’m just looking for them to continue that,” Jefferson said.
Comments (1)
Wallace just seems like one of those guys who has forgotten that they play hoops for a living. And that it's a charmed life they live. And that it's a really fun way to make a very good living. Wallace is another addition to the likes of Sprewell, Sampson, Rodman, etc that think that they're much more important than they really are. Eventually they fade away and they're never heard from again. Unless it's bad news like what Sprewell is going through right now with that $200m lawsuit filed by his gal. I'll bet PJ had a fitful night sleep when he heard about that.