Karl Malone-Larry Miller: Bad Blood

[Evilmav2]

Here is an update on some of the nasty comments being bandied around between my favorite free agent of the offseason, and Jazz owner Larry Miller. We are three days away from the free-agency bazaar, and I sure hope we don't drop the ball on Malone. Something tells me he isn't going to be playing for Utah next year...


"We're rebuilding. There's some people that don't seem to like that, but it's a fact of life."... Miller has been seething over Malone's comments, which the Jazz owner described as "confrontational and selfish."
"If you want me to use stronger words, I will," Miller continued. "But you can't print the words I'd use." Miller also said, "The confrontations are unneeded, the insults are unneeded, and I'm sick of it."...

"If he doesn't want to be here, we'll do everything we can to accommodate his graceful exit from this market."...

Asked if the Jazz would contact Malone on July 1, he said, "Don't assume that automatically. What he's done the past week is, in my opinion, way, way out of bounds."...

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,510036094,00.html


A local columnist calls Malone out:

... Malone will have to take a huge pay cut to sign with a contender, so essentially he would be buying his own trophy with the money he left on the table...

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,510036067,00.html


More...Another article:

...That was nothing, Miller even suggested at one point. Asked whether the Jazz still planned to make a contract pitch to Malone's agent once free agency begins Tuesday, Miller said, "Don't assume that automatically."

Told of the Jazz owner's comments, Malone responded, "You hear quotes like that, and I don't think they really want me to" return to Utah...

...Despite their current rift, Miller said he could welcome back Malone should the Mailman decide to accept the Jazz's offer.

"Sure. I've done it 18 times before," Miller said. "Deep down, Karl is a good guy. But the comments are unneeded, the insults are unneeded, and I'm sick of it."

Still, Miller said, "If I were a betting man, I'd say he will be here [next season]. Realistically. The emotional answer is, right now it's his choice, and I don't care."

http://www.sltrib.com/2003/Jun/06282...orts/70788.asp

[mavsfanforever]

Jazz owner says star is being selfish and confrontational
By Rich Evans
Deseret Morning News

A frustrated Larry H. Miller took some pokes at Karl Malone Friday, responding to recent media interviews in which the Utah Jazz star criticized his longtime team.

And Malone wasted no time firing back at Miller, in a radio interview from the Grand America Hotel.
Miller's opportunity to vent came moments after the Jazz's press conference at the Delta Center, during which they introduced the two newest Jazzmen — draft picks Sasha Pavlovic and Maurice Williams.
In his comments during the press conference, Miller made the statement, "We're rebuilding. There's some people that don't seem to like that, but it's a fact of life."
Malone, who becomes a free agent on July 1, no doubt would be included among the "some people" mentioned by Miller, a fact made plain when the Jazz owner was asked how he felt about a much-publicized three-hour 1280AM radio interview Malone did, which was followed days later by a 90-minute TV interview.
"Much of what he said was ridiculous," Miller said, adding that he was particularly offended by the many references Malone made to the Jazz not trying to contact him, when Miller made it clear at the John Stockton retirement ceremony that he talked with Malone that night and said he was available to talk anytime.
In a Friday afternoon radio interview on 1280AM, Malone said he had no intention of contacting Miller because he didn't want these negotiations to get emotional.
Miller earlier suggested Malone might have at least one other reason for avoiding him.
"Karl has said he wouldn't be intimidated by me in a fistfight, but he would be intimidated sitting down with me and talking about money," Miller said.
League rules prohibit teams from talking contract with players before July 1, though Miller has said it wouldn't be inappropriate to discuss "conceptual" issues. And that's what he'd hoped Malone would do.

In the meantime, Miller has been seething over Malone's comments, which the Jazz owner described as "confrontational and selfish."
"If you want me to use stronger words, I will," Miller continued. "But you can't print the words I'd use."
Miller also said, "The confrontations are unneeded, the insults are unneeded, and I'm sick of it."
Part of the problem in this player-team relationship is apparent disagreement over whose court the proverbial ball is in. Miller repeatedly has said he'd like Malone to make the call, but the veteran forward thinks it's up to the Jazz to decide if they're more interested in keeping him or getting their rebuilding project under way in earnest.
"Karl, sooner or later, will have to stand and declare," Miller said. "If he doesn't want to be here, we'll do everything we can to accommodate his graceful exit from this market."
Miller said it was obvious that Malone's sudden interest in doing lengthy local interviews is a negotiating tactic. As recently as the playoffs, Malone essentially shunned most of the local media.
"It's hard to know how much of what he's saying now is just for posturing," Miller said. "But posturing is not needed . . . If whoever's driving that bus doesn't see that, they're taking the wrong approach."
Declining to speculate on whether the source of that posturing might be Malone or his agent, Dwight Manley, Miller did say that one aspect of their approach seems to be an effort to set up the Jazz as the bad guys.
"I see clearly, in what he's said, some set-up elements," Miller said. "Some of those set-up elements are so transparent that they're embarrassing."
Malone denied that claim Friday, however, saying, "It's not about being good or bad here. It's about doing what's right for the organization."
Malone also said he wouldn't allow any previous rancor between Manley and the Jazz organization to become a factor in the negotiations. Ruling out the possibility of any "hidden agendas" or "hanky-panky" on Manley's part, Malone said, "If I have to step in, I'll step in . . . The whole process shouldn't be rushed into by anyone."
Miller pretty much agreed with that but not necessarily for the same reasons. Asked if the Jazz would contact Malone on July 1, he said, "Don't assume that automatically. What he's done the past week is, in my opinion, way, way out of bounds."
But Miller didn't rule out taking Malone back, however. Asked if they'd do so, he said, "Sure. Done it 18 times before."
Pressed further, asked how he'd bet on Malone's future, Miller said, "You want the emotional answer or the practical answer? If I were a betting man, I'd say he'll be here."
That left unanswered the question of whether Miller wants Malone back, which, of course, he was asked about, too.
"I said I was neutral, and that's a result of the expressions he's made in this market the last couple of weeks," he said. "I don't feel inclined to continue to listen to what sounds like challenges."
Miller made it clear, though, that while he's frustrated with Malone, he still likes him.
"Deep down, he's a good guy," Miller said. "Once in awhile you have to sift through a little more chaff to get to the wheat, and that's unnecessary."
Later Miller said, "I love the guy. I really do. He frustrates the heck out of me, but there's a lot of good things there, too."
Miller even left Malone an out, agreeing with a suggestion that this just might have been a case of Malone starting talking and finding himself unable to stop.
"It is possible," he said. "In fact, I'd guess that's a pretty accurate description of it."

[Mandyahl]

this bodes well for us. only a couple more days...