RedskinPride27
October-18th-2006, 09:35 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/17/AR2006101701618.html
Click link for full article...
"When Jordan had exit meetings following the team's first-round elimination by the Cleveland Cavaliers in last season's playoffs, he offered one tip to each of his players. With most, the advice was related to basketball. With Haywood, who was coming off the first season in which his production declined, Jordan simply said, "I just want our relationship to get better."
Shortly after Jordan signed a three-year extension last July, Haywood initiated what turned out to be a heartfelt conversation between the two. Haywood asked Jordan what he wanted of him, what he needed to do to gain his confidence and to stay on the floor. Jordan told Haywood that the team needed to get better defensively, that it needed to protect the rim better.
"He pretty much said: 'Look, we're both going to be here a long time. Let's work on this thing,' " Jordan said of Haywood. "It meant a lot to me that he came to me."
The conversation also moved beyond basketball -- the side of the discussion neither Jordan nor Haywood will talk about -- and both said they came away encouraged.
"It was one of the few positive [talks] we've ever had," said Haywood, who has played three of his five seasons in Washington under Jordan. "We'll see how it plays out during the season. I'm hoping it plays out in a very positive manner, and myself and him can put the previous years behind us and move forward. I'm about winning. He's about winning. We were just on different pages about how to get there."
Click link for full article...
"When Jordan had exit meetings following the team's first-round elimination by the Cleveland Cavaliers in last season's playoffs, he offered one tip to each of his players. With most, the advice was related to basketball. With Haywood, who was coming off the first season in which his production declined, Jordan simply said, "I just want our relationship to get better."
Shortly after Jordan signed a three-year extension last July, Haywood initiated what turned out to be a heartfelt conversation between the two. Haywood asked Jordan what he wanted of him, what he needed to do to gain his confidence and to stay on the floor. Jordan told Haywood that the team needed to get better defensively, that it needed to protect the rim better.
"He pretty much said: 'Look, we're both going to be here a long time. Let's work on this thing,' " Jordan said of Haywood. "It meant a lot to me that he came to me."
The conversation also moved beyond basketball -- the side of the discussion neither Jordan nor Haywood will talk about -- and both said they came away encouraged.
"It was one of the few positive [talks] we've ever had," said Haywood, who has played three of his five seasons in Washington under Jordan. "We'll see how it plays out during the season. I'm hoping it plays out in a very positive manner, and myself and him can put the previous years behind us and move forward. I'm about winning. He's about winning. We were just on different pages about how to get there."