Accessing Okur
I don’t know how it is in private, but the loss of Mehmet Okur for the season certainly struck a chord with the media covering the Jazz. Numerous questions addressed to players and coaches on Sunday had to do with the “personal” nature of the injury: How how hard it was to watch, how disconcerting it was, etc.
It would be hard to find a player more liked than Okur. He is pleasant, accessible and humorous. He’s a normal guy, respectful and considerate.
Andrei Kirilenko, too, is well liked by those who cover him. Among other popular Jazz players: C.J. Miles, Kyrylo Fesenko, Ronnie Price, Wesley Matthews and Paul Millsap.
Carlos Boozer is aloof and Deron Williams can be testy, but neither is along the lines of former Timberwolves player Christian Laettner or Bill Laimbeer, who were widely disliked around the league. As a group, the Jazz are a generally agreeable team.
Jerry Sloan gave no real hint as to whether this player loss was more personal than any other. Asked by a reporter about his thoughts when he saw Okur go down in Saturdays’ game, Sloan said, “That’s part of basketball. Everybody would like to play and never get hurt; that’d be the easiest thing.”
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Speaking of likable, Sloan seems to be liked by most of the media around the league, but he is abrupt on occasion. For example, when a Colorado reporter asked Sloan on Sunday if he’d consider playing Boozer at center, Sloan replied abruptly, “He’s been there all year.”
He went on to add that younger players (referencing Kosta Koufos and Kyrylo Fesenko) would likely get a chance to play, too, because “you can’t play those (veteran) guys 48 minutes.”
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Speaking of nice guys, one who may have an undeserved reputation is Adrian Dantley.
The acting Denver coach answered media questions on Sunday with a pleasant half-smile, and actually seemed a bit shy. Curious, considering he has been in the public eye for so long.
When someone asked if he was getting the hang of dealing with the media he said, “I’m getting better.”
Dantley got a reputation for being a jerk when he held out over a contract issue when he was with the Jazz. But he has had kind words for the team and city in the years since he left.
He also showed respect for the current Jazz. Asked about the loss of Okur, he said, “They hung in there, surprisingly, after losing him. The game was tight the whole game.”