Apart from being from the former Yugoslavia, Toni Kukoc and Vladimir Radmanovic have another thing in common-- they seem to be made of the same material that Phil Jackson looks for in a whipping boy.After routing the Sacramento Kings, where Vlad-Rad played pretty well (21 points with 5 3-pointers, 14 rebounds and 2 steals), Phil Jackson zinged Radmanovic, saying "We need him to play well, and we want to have some idea of what’s going to happen, and whether we can depend on him." Jackson even said that he has constantly called for regular meetings with the Lakers psychologist to "work on" Radmanovic's head.
Toni Kukoc fared in a familiar situation during his stint with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990's-- although he fared better as the Bull's third option behind Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Kukoc said of Phil Jackson in an interview in for Sports Illustrated in 2000: "He treated players very differently. I think he saw me and said, Here's another European guy. Let me shut him down as quickly as possible before he becomes a pain in the rear."
Does Phil Jackson have anything against European players?
Tags: Lakers
no way,Toni is one and only,no one can be compared with him
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm more like talking about how Phil Jackson is picking on him. :)
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