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Wes Unseld Interview - Washington Post
Note to HR: No ML Carr = No Antoine or Mercer; Paul Pierce too.
Washington Post
Transcript of Sports Chat With Wes Unseld
Our guest for the Sept. 14 edition of Sports Chat was
Wes Unseld, the general manager of the NBA's Washington
Wizards and the WNBA's Washington Mystics.
Unseld has been an integral part of the Washington
sports scene for nearly 20 years. He joined the
then-Washington Bullets in 1969 after playing his
college ball at the University of Louisville. In his
debut season, Unseld earned Rookie of the Year and MVP
honors, after being drafted with the second overall
pick.
The 6-7, 245-pound center played for the Bullets for 13
years, where he became an excellent position rebounder
known for crisp outlet passes. He retired as the NBA's
seventh all-time leading rebounder with 13,769 rebounds
for an average of 14.0 per game. He is one of only 20
players in NBA history to score more than 10,000 points
and grab more than 10,000 rebounds.
In 1978, he and fellow Hall-of-Famer Elvin Hayes led
Washington past Seattle for the NBA championship and
was named MVP for the series. In 1987, Unseld became
head coach of the Bullets, a position he held for seven
seasons. In 1997, Unseld was named one of the "50
Greatest Players In NBA History."
A transcript of the discussion follows:
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Arlington, Va: What kind of a chance do the Mystics
have at getting Chamique Holdsclaw?
Wes Unseld: Well, I think our chances should be very
good because of the way the draft, as of right now, is
set up. We don't know exactly how it is going to be
done, but by all rights we should get the first pick.
If we feel that Holdsclaw is the best person to help
our team, that's what we'll do. We'll have our scouts
out checking whether that's a wise decision.
--------------------------------------------------------
Hyde Ctm N.C.: who was the greatest center of all
times?
Wes Unseld: I'm going to have to say in my time,
because that's what I can really base my answer on.
That has to be Kareem. I had a chance to play against
Wilt and Bill Russell but I played against them on the
down side of their careers. I played against Kareem
during the height of his career and he is the best
center I played against, perhaps the best player of all
time.
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Bowie, MD: Do you find the sense of ethics, maturity
and code of honor lacking in today's players as
compared to when you were playing?
Wes Unseld: Well, I will have to get philosophical to
answer that question. I don't know whether it's a code
of ethics or an understanding as to what is most
important about the game today, as it was years ago. I
think players understood in the past, that the game was
the most important thing. Today, for a whole lot of
reasons, players think they are the most important
aspect of what is going on in the game.
--------------------------------------------------------
Stamford, Connecticut: Wes,
Do you feel that the current NBA lockout has hurt or
helped you chances to sign free-agent Rod Strickland?
Is signing Strickland still a top priority if and when
he CBA dispute is settled?
Wes Unseld: Beause of the lockout and the rules that
govern it, I am unable to discuss players, transactions
or any aspect that involves those two things.
--------------------------------------------------------
Richmond, KY: Mr. Unseld,
Is it true that at one time you could stand in front of
the backboard, toss the ball off of the board, catch it
in mid-air turn and hit the backboard at the other end
of the court before your feet hit the ground?
Wes Unseld: Yeah, I used to do that quite often. I used
to do it at camps to impress people -- I also used to
make baskets at the other end. I made a lot of money
doing it because people didn't believe I could do it.
It was more trickery than anything, but I didn't let
on.
--------------------------------------------------------
Washington, D.C.: Wes - in your tenure as a coach or
GM, the Wizards have been mediocre at best. Never
winning one playoff game. How many years do you think
you deserve to make this team relevant? Do you think
people should keep their jobs despite being
ineffective, just because they are good friends with
the owner?
Wes Unseld: Well, that's very difficult to answer. When
I was a coach, if you're going to use those standards,
do I take the responsibiltiy of getting the plaeyrs
that played? As a general manager, I take the
responsibility of getting the players here for the
coach, that's my job. What I have to judge is: Did I
provide enough players to make the playoffs. I think
those are the type of judgment calls that need to be
made.
Don't believe under any circumnstances that my
friendship with the owner will get in the way of the
team being successful.
--------------------------------------------------------
York, PA: I feel that when you were a player you got
the most out of your abilities and when you were a
coach, your players displayed that same attitude. Would
you ever consider coming back to coaching the Wizards
or any other team ever again?
Wes Unseld: I cannot see that ever happening. Coaching,
I enjoyed the players I had at the time that allowed me
to coach them. I don't think I did them any favors and
even though I enjoyed the players, I did not enjoy the
process.
--------------------------------------------------------
Arlington, Virginia: Do you think that ticket prices
for the Mystics next year will go up, down, or stay the
same?
Wes Unseld: You're asking me to comment on one aspect
of the team that I have had very little to do with. It
is very difficult when you start up a franchise to get
it up and running. I do have some responsiblity in that
aspect but it was not one I have given proper time and
consideration.
Whether I will get involved in that aspect this year,
I'm not so sure. What we want to do is make it
successful. I don't know what that decision is going to
be, but I will probably have some input into it.
--------------------------------------------------------
Washington, DC: Coach Kathy Parsons is a dynamic coach
with a proven track record and her ability to motivate
the team was phenominal towards the end of the season.
When will you announce her as next year's head coach?
Wes Unseld: I will meet and I have met with Kathy, and
others. There is no timetable as to when that decision
is going to be made, but it will be done in a fashion
to allow whoever it is to get ready and be prepared and
be ready to make the decisions on player selections and
the other dynamics needed for us to be ready for next
year.
--------------------------------------------------------
Hyattsville, MD: Wes, how did you evaluate Murriel Page
as a better player for the Mystics than Tracy Reid in
the 1st round?
Wes Unseld: It was done the same way we evaluate any
player. You look at a player, their abilities, you
assess what your needs are and you make a decision.
If you put Murriel Page on Charlotte's team, do you ask
that question? If you look at her individiual numbers,
you would see that they are better in most cases than
Tracy Reid's.
--------------------------------------------------------
Clinton MD: What you have learned to better yourself as
a GM from the events of this past season? And do you
feel you have a connection with the younger generation
of players today?
Thank you
Wes Unseld: Just sitting here, I can't tell you what I
learned or needed to learn but I will say that there is
always room for improvement.
I would like to think so. But, whether it is the
younger generation or anybody, there has to be certain
ethics that that person brings to the table. It's too
easy to say this is a generational thing, to say it is
one generation against another. Working hard transcends
generations.
--------------------------------------------------------
Baltimore, MD: Are you going after Dawn Staley for next
season and what are our chances of getting her to play
for the Mystics?
Wes Unseld: Right now, my understanding is that Dawn
Staley will be one of the allocated players -- a player
that the league gives you. I don't know exactly, at
this time, until we decide who is going to lead this
team -- once that person is named, then they will
figure into making these kinds of decisions.
--------------------------------------------------------
Bowie, MD: Do you think that Michael Jordan will
return? And if not, what effect will this have on
basketball?
Wes Unseld: I don't know any more about that situation
other than what I read in the papers, like everyone
else. I certainly hope he does because he gives the
whole game a good name.
--------------------------------------------------------
WEST SPRINGFIELD, VA.: I thought that the open letter
to the fans, criticizing the actions of the team, was
good. But don't you think it would have been more
effective during the season?
Wes Unseld: Possibly, in hindsight, maybe it should
have been something during the middle of the season,
but when you do something like that it is dealing with
the emotions of the time. I wanted to step back and let
the emotions subside. I knew how frustrated I was and I
knew how frustrated our fans were, but it wasn't
something I thought about doing during the season.
--------------------------------------------------------
Sterling, VA: What's on the horizon for the Mystics as
an organization?
Wes Unseld: To put a better product on the floor. Very
simple. Every other aspect of the Mystics exceeded
everyone's expectations. All that's left is getting a
better team.
--------------------------------------------------------
Herndon, VA: It seems to me that a lot of the maturity
and discipline problems in the NBA could be avoided if
the players didn't enter the league at such young ages.
What do you think? Also, how much do you think this
practice is taking away from the college game?
Wes Unseld: I agree with that, to a degree. I tend to
think, though that it is not so much youth as it is
actions of certain players. I think it also has to do
with the abundance of media -- every incident is
covered and is out there. That wasn't the case in the
past, but there also weren't that many incidents in the
past.
I also think that some of us in positions of authority
and responsibility have not done the best job in
handling these incidents and I think that has to
change. I think each individual in these positions
should do what they have to do and can do.
--------------------------------------------------------
Ashburn, VA: How much do you think the popularity of
the WNBA is a result of the fan's frustration with the
NBA players?
Wes Unseld: I'm not going to demean WBNA popularity by
addressing another matter. I think the WNBA game spoke
for itself. I think people liked what they saw on the
court and liked the experience they had at the games. I
think that was the key to the support.
--------------------------------------------------------
Falling Waters, West Va: How well you feel you've
performed in all of the various job tasks (Multiple
Titles of Wizards/Mystics GM, Head of Basketball
Operations at MCI, etc.)? Do you feel you could do
better if you focused more of your considerable energy
on only one or two tasks?
Wes Unseld: I think that is for others to judge. I
guess that's all I can answer on a question like that.
--------------------------------------------------------
Fairfax, Virginia: The Mystics obviously have many
areas to address in the offseason but what is the top
priority or hole the team will try to fill?
Wes Unseld: I think the biggest priority is that we've
got to get a go-to player and a leadership player.
--------------------------------------------------------
Dallas, TX: Hey Wes, why the premium on pure height (as
opposed to a more complete package) at center in the
NBA these days? The Unseld-Hayes-Dandrige front line
ranks among the best ever, and I'd vote for it as THE
best front line when you take average height into
consideration. Seems to me that when you look at the
centers today that were drafted mostly for their height
(Manute Bol, Shaun Bradley, even Muresan) you lose as
much as you gain. Sure "you can't teach height", but
isn't a complete 6'10" center better (a LOT better)than
a 7'7" incomplete player?
Wes Unseld: Yeah, I don't think height is the most
improtant thing you consider. It's the ability of that
person to play that position.
--------------------------------------------------------
New York, NY: How tough is it for a team to stick
together during a lockout? Can one player be a unifier
and get them to play together so they're ready when it
ends?
Wes Unseld: I have no idea. That's one of those
questions I don't have an answer to and couldn't answer
if I did.
--------------------------------------------------------
Washington, DC: Who of your former championship
teammates do you keep in touch with and what are they
up to?
Wes Unseld: I keep in touch with all of them, pretty
much. They are all doing well. Most of them are very
successful and doing well.
--------------------------------------------------------
Washington, DC: Mr Unseld;
It seems that over the past few years the level of play
in the NBA has declined except for a couple of players
-- MJ, Ewing, etc. -- yet the salaries have sky
rocketed. As a GM do you feel that today's players will
ever grasp the basics of basketball? And should the NBA
draft kids out of high school or after 1 or 2 years of
college?
thanks
Wes Unseld: Well, I think a lot of it has to do with
what they're doing in college, what they're learning,
how much of the teaching process they go through before
we get them. We don't re-invent the wheel once they get
here. We just augment what they learned in high school
and college.
--------------------------------------------------------
Washington, DC: Except on rare occasions, the Mystics
rarely played like a team. The point guard would bring
the ball up and have nobody to pass to since the other
players stood where they had planted themselves. Is
this bad coaching, bad players, or something else..
Wes Unseld: Well, that's what we're trying to ascertain
right now.
--------------------------------------------------------
NY, NY: While you can't discuss NBA players, I don't
think the lockout affects your ability to discuss those
in college. Who do you think are the best five
prospects?
Wes Unseld: I'm not too sure if I can even answer that
question right now.
--------------------------------------------------------
Bethesda, MD: My favorite Bullet of all time was Gus
Johnson. Can you tell me some things about playing with
him, and what he was like? Any current NBA player
remind you of him? Thank you, Wes.
Wes Unseld: He was my favorite player of all time as
well. He was a man to me, playing with a bunch of boys,
because of his strength and approach to the game, along
with everything else. I don't know if there is anyone I
can compare to him.
--------------------------------------------------------
Steve Fox, washingtonpost.com: Thanks, Wes, for joining
us today on Sports Chat. Thank you all for your
questions. Unfortunately, league rules prevented Wes
from dealing with any labor issues related to the
Wizards and the NBA. Please join us again Tuesday at 11
a.m., when The Post's Len Shapiro will join us in a
dicussion of the Redskins.
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© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company