Chuck Daly in a huddle during practice with the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team.” (Photo courtesy of si.com)

John Salley told Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson about late Pistons coach Chuck Daly always threatening to trade him to the Milwaukee Bucks. Press Play Below To Listen!

Chuck Daly guided the Isiah Thomas, Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn-led Detroit Pistons to two straight championships in 1989 and 1990.

The two-time Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, also led the star studded 1992 Dream Team that included Michael Jordan, Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson and Larry Bird to a gold medal.

With all of the talent he’s coached, get this: he disliked practice.

Practice?! Yes, we’re talking about practice!

“The best thing about Chuck was that he didn’t like practice,” NBA legend, John Salley told me on Scoop B Radio.

Salley, the first player in NBA history to play on three different championship-winning franchises, won his first championship with the Detroit Pistons in 1989, during their Bad Boy era, under Coach Daly.

Salley says that Pistons practices usually lasted between an hour and fifteen minutes to an hour and twenty minutes. “Crazy thing is when I was on Detroit you would see guys staying after practice to shoot, going to the training room and the weight room,” he said.

“And Chuck didn’t even have to say anything because we knew that we were professionals and we knew what we had to do.”

The former host of Fox Sports’ Best Damn Sports Show, Period also holds the distinction of being the first player in NBA history to win a championship in three different decades.

Salley also played for the Chicago Bulls, where he won a championship under head coach Phil Jackson in 1996. He broke down the differences between Daly and Jackson. “The difference when we got to Chicago was that we started practice in the weight room,” he said.

“And we started all the training and the stuff we had to get done for 45 minutes and then we practiced so there’s a reason that he had six championships in eight years, because Phil knew how to prepare you to be the best athlete. With Chuck Daly, guys used to come to training camp to get in shape. “

Salley concedes that it’s a different world then vs. now. “The difference with athletes now is that they come ready made,” he said.

Chuck Daly. Photo Credit: ESPN

Salley also said that during his playing career, Chuck Daly would threaten to trade him to the Milwaukee Bucks. “Daly used to say to me: ‘Sal if you keep playing bad I’m going to trade you to Milwaukee,’ because he knew I would rather be anywhere else but Milwaukee,” he said.  

“He would see me in the hotel and be like: ‘where are you going?’ And I’d be like: ‘there’s nowhere to go, I got to walk around the hotel.’ And he’d be like: ‘imagine if you played here’ and I’d say: ‘I couldn’t play here, now I know why they traded Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar]  after he won the championship.’ He had to go back to the West Coast! So that was my motivation, plus we knew what we had to do.”

Salley believes that Daly’s motivating tactics also worked for other players. “Chuck Daly would say: ‘you guys are men’ and tell guys what he needed from them in order to win on the team,” he said.

“And we had this way of not wanting anyone to embarrass us, so you know sometimes a guy would shake you and score on you and that was embarrassing. So we decided: ‘don’t let anybody score period.’ And that was Chuck’s leadership.”

Daly was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2009 and died two months later at the age of 78.  

With a 14 year coaching career in the NBA, Daly amassed a 638-437 record as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, New Jersey Nets and Orlando Magic. He was named one of the top ten coaches in NBA history in 1996. That illustrious list also includes: Red Auerbach, Bill Fitch, Red Holzman, Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, Lenny Wilkens, Dr. Jack Ramsay, John Kundla and Don Nelson.

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The post John Salley says that late Detroit Pistons coach Chuck Daly used to threaten to trade him to the Milwaukee Bucks appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Phil Jackson and Dennis Rodman. Photo Courtesy on NBA.com

John Salley caught up with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson and discussed Phil Jackson and Dennis Rodman’s relationship on the 90s Chicago Bulls. Press Play Below To Listen!

Retired NBA legend John Salley played in the NBA for 11 years suiting up for the Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers.

During that time, the Brooklyn, NY native who became the first player in NBA history to play on three different championship-winning franchises has graced the court with talented folks including Hall of Famers Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal and future HOF’er Kobe Bryant.

Salley also has had the opportunity to play with one of the best rebounders to ever play in the NBA in Dennis Rodman.

Salley, who holds the distinction of being the first player in NBA history to win a championship in three different decades actually won a championship with Rodman in with the ‘89 Detroit Pistons. He won another with The Worm in ‘96 as a member of the Chicago Bulls.

Colorful hair, rockstar lifestyle, painted nails and more, what’s Dennis like?

“In Detroit even though he was older than me, Dennis was the youngest guy on the squad because he didn’t have more life experiences than me,” John Salley told me on Scoop B Radio.

“But in Chicago, he was open.”

Rodman headlined the Bulls’ big 3 that included Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan and was coached by Phil Jackson.

To Salley, Rodman’s transformation was like night and day.“It was like he had eaten an apple that made him see what life was like,” said Salley.

“Our work preparation in Detroit was always, we were coming from behind because we were the underdogs. But in Chicago, he had come into his own and realized that no one can do what he can do. Nobody was as strong, nobody was built like him, nobody was as determined, nobody could do the things that he could and he realized that and he played along with it and decided to become Jimi Hendrix and Jim Larsen, at the same time while playing basketball. So he was just a different cat.”

Dennis Rodman and John Salley while members of the Detroit Pistons. Photo Credit: Detroit Athletic Co.

While scoring a shade over 7 points during his career, Rodman averaged 13.1 rebounds per game for his career and lived his best life on those late 90s Chicago Bulls teams.

He picked his prey by getting into the heads of Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone. He even got into verbal spars with former Houston Rockets big man, turned TNT analyst, Charles Barkley and the New Jersey Nets’ Jayson Williams who were all league leaders in rebounding.

“Dennis thought all the way through,” said Salley.

“And he’d figure out that if he studied everything that a guy did on offense and figured out what to not let them do before you get to a certain point, Dennis would stop you at the first point and not let you get to your flow.

Salley believes that by Phil Jackson giving Rodman the freedom to be himself in the Bulls locker room, it translated onto the basketball court where it allowed the eccentric player to give it his all. “In Chicago, while Phil [Jackson] was talking, he would take a shower and go get dressed,” said Salley.

“Next thing you know, he was on the court; ready to go and at the end of the game, he [Dennis Rodman] would be on his bike doing cardio.”

Dennis Rodman and Charles Barkley trash talking during a game

Added Salley:

“Phil wouldn’t say anything. He would just let him flow. With anybody else, it would be like: ‘you get in here with everybody else.’ But Phil knew that he was in his world and when he is in his world he turns out to be this unbelievable thing. And believe it or not, running the triangle offense for some people is hard. When Dennis picked it up, he was unstoppable because he was still able to get his rebounds one-on-one because when he’s in the triangle, if he’s in the lane with just one or two other people in there with him, they weren’t going to beat him for the rebound.”

Rodman began his career in the NBA at the small forward position. He’d later shift to the power forward when he played for the San Antonio Spurs and was famously traded by the Spurs to the Chicago Bulls by current Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich.

Rodman’s small forward physique helped him maneuver for position for rebounds on the basketball court with bigger opponents. But his intelligence allowed him to savvily get into their heads. “He was quick, light on his feet and as strong as an Ox,” he said.

“So he stayed that way.”

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The post John Salley says late 90s MJ era Chicago Bulls benefited from Phil Jackson letting Dennis Rodman ‘flow’ appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

89/90 Detroit – John Salley Hand Face | Michael Jordan | Pinterest | Detroit, Michael jordan and Jordan 23. Photo Credit: Pinterest

John Salley chats with Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson about the Bulls/Pistons Rivalry on Scoop B Radio. Press Play Below To Listen!

When John Salley speaks, you listen. After all, he’s got the hardware. A retired 11 year NBA vet, Salley  was the first player in NBA history to play on three different championship-winning franchises. The former host of Fox Sports’ Best Damn Sports Show, Period also holds the distinction of being the first player in NBA history to win a championship in three different decades.

He’s played with Hall of Famers Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal and played under head coaches Phil Jackson and the late Chuck Daly.

Salley won his first championship with the Detroit Pistons in 1989, during their Bad Boy era with Thomas, Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn.

While playing for the Pistons, Salley saw the transition of NBA Eastern Conference power of the Pistons in the 80s be taken by the Bulls in for mostly all of the booming 90s.

That era was ushered in the evolution of Michael Jordan as one of the league’s best players.

Before the Bulls’ takeover, the Pistons’ ‘Jordan Rules’ defensive scheme was used to limit MJ’s effectiveness on offense.The Bulls combatted that with the Tex Winter’s implemented  triangle offense, an offense predicated upon reading defenses and complex  passing and cutting patterns.

Chicago struggled with the Pistons from 1988-90 before having a turnaround in 1991.

The Bulls swept Detroit in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, progressed  to the NBA Finals and beat the Magic Johnson-led Los Angeles Lakers.

“The thing that stands out the most is that I believe the league wanted Michael to win the championship and I believe we got in the way,” John Salley told me on Scoop B Radio.

Game 7 of that ‘91 Eastern Conference Finals was memorable because the Pistons walked off the court with 7.9 seconds left.

Salley and Pistons guard Joe Dumars were the only members of the team to stay on the court and shake hands with the Bulls after winning the series.  

Salley says that Scottie Pippen was the difference maker for the Bulls. “I remember when Scottie got the migraine and that was a big game for us and we won that game and went to the championship in 1990,” he said.

“But then I remember Scottie becoming tough, like mentally he became a different guy and they just came in and played tough.”

But Salley also says that the Bulls had an advantage because the NBA wanted the Bulls to win it all. “The media was so against us,” he said.  

“I always said it was eight against five when you played against the Bulls because the referees were wearing Jordans. You know and they probably had tattoos of Michael on their chest, so that’s what I remember them wanting their messiah to win.”

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The post John Salley says that referees during Pistons/Bulls rivalry era probably had tattoos of MJ on their chest appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.