No Subject

http://www.sportstalk.com/nba/rumors/rumortalk/index.shtml
Vecsey and Aldridge and Lawrence
OH MY!
***NBAtalk EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW***
Must Cite NBAtalk
**COMING TOMORROW:  Vecsey, Aldridge and Lawrence tell you who will and
who won't be moved by the NBA Trade Dealine.
Vecsey. Aldridge. Lawrence. INSIDERS. You know their names. You know
their work. They hear whispers. See dead people. Have a sixth sense
about who's on the trading block or pouting in the locker room. A week
doesn't go by when these guys names aren't sprawled across our rumor
page. They're at the top of the NBA rumor food chain. Tracy McGrady
this. Larry Hughes that. Glen Rice, Juwan Howard, Toni Kukoc and Maurice
Taylor. By the way, this coach is getting fired. The Rockets are moving.
And Vince Carter has a cut on his finger.
Peter Vecsey printed it in the Post. David Aldridge broadcast it on
ESPN. Mitch Lawrence wrote it on the internet. The frenzy sprawls into
hundreds of reporters feeding thousands of outlets because millions of
NBA fans refuse to go hungry. They’re banging forks, knives and spoons
on the table. They want the story. And they want it right now.
Recently NBAtalk's Chad Ford and Terry Brown interviewed the three
foremost NBA Insiders to get an 'inside' look at the rumor business and
the life and times of an NBA Insider.
VECSEY: 'For starters, I don't deal in rumors. I deal in facts. My
stance on that is, my philosophy, is that rumors are for people who
don't know what's going on. They use reportedly, supposedly, reputedly,
and all that stuff. I know what's going on.'
ALDRIDGE: 'I do very little in terms of rumor. I don't like rumors. They
are contradictory to my job which is to find out facts. It doesn't help
my job to put rumors out there if they're not true. Eventually I have to
be accountable for what I say or write. So I don't do it. I waste a lot
of time checking out bogus rumors that can't happen because teams don't
want those players or salary cap reasons.'
LAWRENCE: 'I'll tell you how credible I am. I work for the Daily News.
They obviously think I'm credible. I've never backed off a story. I'm
not throwing stuff off the wall. I do this for a living. This isn't a
lark.'
Lawrence, of the New York Daily News, said that the Lakers were looking
at Juwan Howard. Vecsey, his neighbor at the New York Post, says that’s
ridiculous. But it was the former who nailed the Ron Mercer trade to
Orlando a week before it happened while the latter tabbed the Laker
interest in Kukoc before Chicago’s forward had even worked up a sweat
upon his return from injury. A team will ferverently deny talks of any
kind. Fans, of course, accuse them of making this stuff up.
ALDRIDGE: “When the talk centers around New York and Chicago that’s
where you see a lot of absurdity going on. . .Because of the
proliferation of media, there are just a lot of things out there that
just aren’t true. People are under such pressure to break stories and be
on top of things that they feel more inclined to go with a rumor or
something that hasn’t been checked out.”
LAWRENCE: 'Sometimes when an organization says this guy’s totally wrong,
that’s when you know that you’ve nailed it even more than you thought.'
ALDRIDGE: 'But you have to understand, especially now, that teams are
lying, agents are lying, everybody is lying. People are being dishonest
deliberately.'
And the internet hasn't helped things out . . .or has it?
ALDRIDGE: 'At some point, these things [rumors] reach a critical mass of
their own. Because they keep getting talked about and talked about and
talked about, someone will really pick up the phone and ask of they
really want to trade . . .But you’ve got to remember. People make calls
all of the time. There is talk about every player in the league every
day of the week.”
VECSEY: 'There is so much information out there, stuff I used to be the
only one getting, everyone has because it's there to be had and you've
got to stay in tune, that's why I'm on that internet . . that's why I
come to NBAtalk.com. But the whole thing can turn into a vicious cycle.
There used to be a grape vine around the league, for years and years,
writers would get on a conference call and exchange information and
write the same notes column. So they all have the same nonsense and the
same errors. With the internet, it's even worse.'
It’s no secret. Conflict sells. Scandal. Van Gundy versus Patrick Ewing.
Larry Hughes versus Larry Brown. Rumor. Rumor. Rumor. War. And rumors of
war. So, really, do you guys make this stuff up? Or at least blow it out
of proportion? Watch out. Vecsey is naming names.
VECSEY: 'You've got to work. People in the business laugh at those who
don't. Mitch Lawrence is a fraud. I spend half my time correcting that
stuff. He has no clue. He does not have the sources and he doesn't work
at it. That combo is lethal. And his editor lets him get away with it.
He's considered a sham in our business. I'm picking on Mitch, that's
because he's in my neighborhood. Believe me, there's other guys just as
bad. David Aldridge is the worst. He makes a name for himself by
leeching off others work.'
ALDRIDGE: 'Over time, you’ll know reporters who always have some big
blockbuster trade every week. But they never come to pass. . . Do they
willingly make it up? I don't know, some do it just to get attention
drawn to them . What's more accurate is that their information is bad.
They talk to people not being honest or don't know who to talk to an
just put stuff out there that isn't close to being accurate. That's the
bigger problem. There is so much misinformation out there, people are
under such pressure to break stories, be on top of things, they feel
more inclined to go with a rumor or something that hasn't been checked
out because of that pressure. It happens. A lot of people who are
thought of as experts and insiders put things out that have no chance of
being right. It's part of the business right now. Again, you try to
differentiate yourself by not being a rumor monger. ”
One thing will lead to another, maybe a phone call, often not enough
phone calls. Not enough fact checking. Most rumored trades don’t work
under the salary cap. Some don’t work because a team has no interest in
that particular player. Some aren’t supposed to work, only to stir the
pot.
It doesn’t matter. Someone will print it. Someone will read it. And
they’ll tell two friends, and so on.
VECSEY: 'How do you get it wrong? Sometimes your sources are wrong and
you weed them out over time.”
LAWRENCE: 'Everybody gets used in this business. I’ve put out stuff out
there where I thought a trade was eminent, but it didn’t get made.
Things happen. People pull out. At the last minute, an owner can kill a
deal. That’s what follow up articles are for.”
ALDRIDGE: 'I think everybody who's every been in this business long
enough has wrote something turned out not to be true. And I'm certainly
no different. There have been occasions when I've gone with something I
thought was right, but wasn't. There is nothing to do about it but
acknowledge that you made a mistake. Immediately own up to it. That's
the thing that doesn't happen. You never see a correction or retraction
the next day, but I think you have to do it. Whatever it is you have to
fix it. '
There are owners, general managers, coaches, agents and players. And
each one of them has an agenda of their own. They all know when the
playoffs end and draft season begins. They know the trading deadline is
February 24. They know when to move and how, which buttons to push, who
to insult and where to do it. They need the media and the media needs
them.
And they want to be heard. It's the sports world version of confession.
Father Vecsey, I have sinned.
VECSEY: “People like to talk. It’s entertainment, politics, sports.
Who’s not talking? But you've got to work. 99.9% of the time I have to
make the call. You're not going to get guys volunteering deep throat
kind of information. ”
LAWRENCE: “There's a lot of talk. There are always people in an
organization who are willing to talk. The way you do your job, is find
those people who have the information and are willing to talk. I talk to
GM, coaches, scouts, agents. [You're an insider] when you have a solid
source who tells you the truth, a source you come to know over the years
and trust..”
ALDRIDGE: “You’ve got to be able to get people to tell you things they
wouldn’t normally. Some guys are aggressive, up front and some guys are
subtle, or a combination . . . It’s not a matter of being an “Insider,”
it’s a matter of being a good reporter . . . Everybody wants to be an
Insider, but they don’t want to do the grunt work that’s required.”
So, are some sources more equal than others?
ALDRIDGE: 'There are good sources on every level, from owner to
equipment manager. But you have to be careful with the agents, they're
advocates of their clients and do things to put them in the best
possible light. So I'm leery for that reason. Most agents do not have
interest of general public at heart. Sometimes they lie, misrepresent
truth to get client in advantageous position. But there are some who are
honest and truthful. Sources come from everywhere. Never turn nose down
at any potential source'
VECSEY: 'I talk to everybody. I go to around 30 people including
players. There are very few people who I don't talk to. People say there
are those who won't talk to me. They've got it wrong. I don't want to
talk to them. They don't cut me off. I cut them off. David Falk didn't
cut me off. I don't want to talk to David Falk.'
For the record, Vecsey started 30 years ago as a junior in high school,
keeping stats during the baseball season. He tried college, played a
little ball himself, but “when they told me I had to go to class I went
into the newspaper business full time,” he says. “I left college to make
$125 a week. I’m every teacher’s and parent’s worst nightmare.”
Back in the 60’s, there were eight major papers in New York alone. But
Vecsey found one reporter he particularly liked. His name was Dick
Young.
“He was the first hard-nosed, staccato-style, wise guy who didn’t take
[nothing] from no one,” Vecsey says. “He was my idol. I read him, worked
with him, then hated him. But as much as I disdain him personally, he
was one of the best.”
In 1957, Dick Young blasted the Brooklyn Dodgers, the cities of New York
and Los Angeles, the mayors, owners and assorted politicians in an
article entitled Obit on the Dodgers.
Vecsey had to like it. May have clipped it. You can hear the same voice
echoed in his own sentiments.
“People say that there are those who won’t talk to me,” he says.
“They’ve got it wrong. I don’t talk to them. They don’t cut me off. I
cut them off.”
It’s the New York accent that has little to do with enunciation. Forget
the fancy writing. Vecsey was bred on the blood of the story.
“That’s why I have very few friends,” Vecsey says. “Because when it
comes down to it, I will put my job ahead of a friendship. If I have to
knock someone then I’m going to knock them. And if they can’t take it,
then they weren’t my friends to begin with.”
He blasted Julius Irving before and after he asked him to be the best
man at his wedding. He refuses to talk to David Falk. He refers to his
fellow reporters as shams.
“Nobody’s safe,” he says. “Nothing is sacred.”
In this business, he is loyal only to the story, he says. That’s why he
does it. That’s how he has fun.
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” he says. “I’ve outlasted everyone.
It’s amazing. I should be even stronger than I am. All my guys are
coaching. I’ve known them for years. Every team, they’re all my guys.
Look at all the players. It’s amazing.”
David Aldridge covers the same players, coaches and league, but for
ESPN. He began in college on the school’s newspaper. American University
would regularly send students to the Washington Post to work as
stringers. This led to an internship which led to a general assignment
position. He stayed at the Post for five years covering the Bullets (now
the Wizards) and the NFL’s Redskins.
Then ESPN called with an NBA opening. He’s been there ever since,
mild-mannered, respectful, professional.
“This is journalism,” he says. “You have to ask tough questions of
powerful, influential people on occasion and write about those who don’t
want to be in the public eye.”
He is less flamboyant then Vecsey, not needing to use his hands when he
speaks on TV.
“I try to be as fair as possible,” he says. “I don’t take shots at
people. There are those who make jokes to show how funny or tough they
are. That’s nonsense. That’s not my deal. When I criticize, I try to do
so fairly, evenly and not make it personal.”
He answers questions deliberately, in full sentences, never altering
cadence or volume. He knows what he wants to say and how to say it.
“I don’t pretend like I know everything,” he says. “The problem today is
that people act like they do. Everyday, I learn something about this
league. You have to be willing to say that you don’t understand, please
explain.”
Mitch Lawrence followed much the same path. Before coming to the New
York Daily News in March of 1993, he worked in Dallas for eight years
covering the Mavericks. He pounded out the game stories, the features,
hit the road and lived on deadline.
“When you’re a beat writer, you are an insider,” he says.
He saw the inner workings of an NBA franchise as the start up Mavericks
built themselves successfully through the draft to eventually reach the
Western Conference Championship Game, where they lost to the Lakers.
Then he saw the team crumble piece by piece, the final blow coming when
Mark Aguirre forced a trade with Detroit. The Pistons went on to win the
next two titles as the Mavs, well, became the Mavericks we know today.
And Lawrence was there for it all.
“You have to cover them,” he says. “You have to write what’s going on.
Not just the good things but also their failings.”
Now he covers the NBA and the Knicks in New York. His column on Sundays
has notes, rumors, etcetera. But he also writes daily columns throughout
the week, following the NBA on a game by game basis, battling a critical
Vecsey and living to tell about it.
“I get to do a different type of writing,” he says. “At the Daily News,
you can be pretty opinionated and in a column you can do anything short
of libel . . . '
Such is the life of an NBA Insider. A curious blend of deadlines,
whispers and a salary cap.
Just off the wire. Celtic forward Danny Fortson was traded to Toronto
for point guard Alvin Williams and Sean Marks.
Think about it for a second. Tick, tock, tick, tock.
Toronto, Toronto, Toronto . . . Antonio Davis, Charles Oakley AND Danny
Fortson . . . Thin at point guard . . . McGrady a free agent . . . Dot
the I . . .  carry over the three . . . got it!
Psst . . .
“What do you think about Fortson for Derek Fisher?”