Larry Bird
Larry Bird
Larry Joe Birdis an American retired professional basketball player who played for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association. Since retiring as a player, he has been a mainstay in the Indiana Pacers organization, currently serving as team president. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish and forward Kevin McHale...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionBasketball Player
Date of Birth7 December 1956
CityWest Baden Springs, IN
CountryUnited States of America
Coaches can talk and talk and talk about something, but if you get it on tape and show it to them, it is so much more effective.
We would like to get a deal done. We're looking at every option. Teams continue to call us every day, but we're going to do what's right for the franchise and not just do a deal to do one. We want somebody who is going to fit in with this team.
We're glad this is over with. We wanted to be patient with this one because Ronnie is a heck of a player and someone's always going to take a chance on someone like that.
We weren't really interested in what teams were talking about. We haven't had our team together for two years. I like how we're playing now. We need to get everybody back and look at the product before we make any type of decision on whether we want to do anything this summer.
I don't have a problem with them having a dam. The problem is standing water on the road bed. Eventually, that water will erode the road bed and the road will then break up and cave in.
I don't believe that. How can they be affected? It's the same thing every year.
Me and Reggie go way back. I've seen him from him developing as a young player to us retiring his jersey. That's pretty awesome.
Obviously, we're very happy about getting a player of his caliber. He's one of the best shooters in the league and we definitely feel he can come in and help us right away.
I think Rick will get him the ball. We have a problem now when we drop it in the post; we hold on to it too long. We need more movement with the shooters we have. I think you'll see that.
I think in another month we'll know if the league will allow us to take him off our cap and give us some relief.
I think he's the right guy at the right time. Sometimes you need a wake-up call. We've got ours.
I think he'll make an immediate impact because of the skills that he has.
It depends on what players are offered. The owners have a say in this, too. They want to do the right thing. If we get a good offer, we'll probably take the player. If we don't get good offers, we'll probably take the (draft) choice and do more scouting this winter and prepare for the draft. I think we'll get a good player out of this.
Some guys can lead and some guys can't. I have a lot of trust in Jermaine and I know he wants to be a good leader. But to just throw him in there and say, 'OK, you're our leader,' that's tough, especially when you're injured a lot. You lead by example and not with words, and when you're not out there every day in practice and games, it's hard to lead.