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djsunyc
Posts: 44929
Alba Posts: 42
Joined: 1/16/2004
Member: #536
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December 2002:
It ain't the coach; it's the players. They're softer. They don't want to compete, don't want to suck it up. You've got to buy into what the coach wants to do.
Referring to the Knicks' $91-million payroll: They're a max-out team. They've got the top salaries in the league. There's no excuses. It's bad management and bad deals. It's hard to recoup in this league. You've got to have trade bait."
June 2002:
I personally feel that his coming back in the first place and even playing hurt the way he did just shows even more that he is the greatest. It shows his love for the game is second to none and I admire him for taking a chance. He showed that when he was healthy he could still dominate and make his teammates better.
Oak on Jordan.
May 2002:
He's a lawyer, not a GM. You can't spend $250 million on contracts and not make the playoffs. Vince Carter's mom runs that team. She's the GM.
Oakley on Toronto GM Glen Grunwald.
April 2002:
"You got to know when enough's enough. You want to rob the bank, but you better not be complainin when you get caught. In my day, a guy who jumps that high with that many tatoos, he would've wound up sitting on the floor at least once. It's just the kind of player (Martin) is. And the kind of guy I am."
Oakley, on Kenyon Martin and his flagrant foul reputation.
March 2002:
"I'm cool with whatever. I'll just keep eating my bread, sipping my soup and serving my time. But the chicken is going to lay some more eggs one day."
Oak, on being benched in favor of teenagers.
February 2002:
"They're like contracts. Everybody's got one. Some are just bigger than others."
Oakley on the entourages of NBA players.
January 2002:
"Anything purple and gold coming down the street has a chance to come by my house. I wouldn't mind coming off the bench and playing 15 minutes, backing up Shaq. It's an investment not for the money, but for the ring, something you play your whole career for. I'm just like that guy who plays hockey and played years in Boston, then went to Denver and first year, bam. Right place at right time... You'd know you have a chance to win a ring. I'm not trying to go out on the bottom. I don't want to be here. It's not good for no one—coach, players. You pick up bad habits losing. I haven't had bad habits in 17 years. It's like a lot of rock stars—a lot of them go to drugs or alcohol."
Oakley, on signing with the Lakers as a free agent after this season.
December 2001:
"If you have a horse that isn't winning any races, sooner or later you have to get a new jockey."
Oakley, on Tim Floyd.
November 2001:
"We're going to surprise some people. We're young, and we have a lot of growing up to do. But I knew we were not going to lay down and play dead for the Knicks. The Knicks have a great coach in Jeff Van Gundy. Some of his guys play hard for him, and some of them aren't playing with heart. But tonight we played better."
Oakley, on beating the Knicks for the first win of the Bulls' season.
October 2001:
"Look at the Seattle Mariners. They traded three superstars and have the best team in the league. Nobody expected them to win anything, so it can happen."
Oakley, on the Chicago Bulls' 2001-2002 season playoff chances.
September 2001:
"I'm not a high jumper, but you don't see guys intimidating me or posting me up. I've got too much heart and pride for the game. You have to find people with dignity for the game."
Oakley, on himself.
August 2001:
"We could have gone to the NBA final, but sometimes I was the best coach on the bench. I've been real with everybody--too real for some people. [The Raptors] shouldn't be sitting there and waiting for me to question anyone. That shouldn't be my job to do it. But no one else will."
Oakley, on management's lack of support when he challenged Carter and Wilkins during the 2000-2001 playoffs.
July 2001:
"There are people who get up at 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning and work five straight days. We don't have it bad, do we?"
Oakley, after hearing of numerous complaints from other NBA players about playing games on three consecutive nights.
June 2001:
"Philly might be the hardest playing team in the league. They play like New York used to play. "
Oakley, when asked mid-season about the 76ers.
May 2001:
"I think they're going to be ready, but we'll see. We're not going to go there and lay an egg because we already had the chicken."
Oakley, on whether the Raptors would be ready for series-deciding game 5 vs the Knicks.
April 2001:
"I wouldn't do business with a clown like that."
Oakley, on allegations that his tiff with Tyrone Hill was over a failed business venture.
March 2001:
"Oh well, that's basketball. It used to be basketball. I don't know what it is now."
-Oakley, on the flagrant foul he was assessed for flattening the Nets' Kenyon Martin.
February 2001:
"It was like the police trying to stop a shootout: You gotta have your gun out. Don't go out there with your hands down."
-Oakley, on Jeff Van Gundy getting headbutted while trying to stop Marcus Camby from suckerpunching Danny Ferry.
January 2001:
"Hey, the Leafs lost four in a row to bad teams (before last night). We've lost just one. There's no need to panic."
-Oakley, on losing to the lowly Atlanta Hawks.
December 2000:
"I can't really respect a lot of these younger guys because, you know, I'm 36 years old and they're 23 and I'm still locking them up on a regular basis. That just shows you it's all about the hype."
-Oakley, on some of the younger players in the NBA.
November 2000:
"There ain't nothing left but to win a ring. We're searching for the same thing and hopefully we'll get it before we retire. We still got some legs, they ain't jumping legs, but we got legs."
-Oakley, on his career, and what he has in common with Karl Malone.
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6/2/2006 12:14 PM
