Larry Bird Gets No Respect from Rick Carlisle

In the wake of the Pacers/Warriors blockbuster, it's becoming clear that Stephen Jackson's antics weren't the only thing causing tension in Hoosierville. Speaking to The Indianpolis Star, Jackson revealed that he and Coach Carlisle "didn't see eye-to-eye" on how much control the coach should have over the offense.

Fine, S-Jax isn't exactly the most reputable mouth for discontent to come out of. What about Sarunas Jasikevicius, a proven international winner lacking in all the prima donna flaws of American players?

"They brought me in as a point guard, but I was used most of the time as a shooting guard, who runs . . . and then gets stuck in the corner waiting for the ball. Everybody knows my style is to bring the ball up the floor and play pick and roll, but it didn't happen in Indiana."

When Jasikevicius decided to come to the States, there was leaguewide rush to sign him. He thought the Pacers wanted him for his game, and instead they tried to mold him in Carlisle's image. Sucks for him, and probably true. The real revelation, though, comes when S-Jasik looks at the big organzational picture:

"All that happened in Indiana was strange," Jasikevicius said. "(Team president) Larry Bird and (CEO) Donnie Walsh bring players they think can fit the team's style, which was supposed to be free and fast, but the coach keeps on with his own style."

Come to think of it, that has been the major problem with Indiana. Bird and Walsh are after athletic, versatile talent, and yet Carlisle continue to tirelessly get his Jeff Foster on. Remember Larry's Jonathan Bender crush? The signing of Marquis Daniels, who got buried by the authoritarian Little General in Dallas? Al Harrington, slight return?

I know that Carlisle is a good coach and all, albeit one who the Pistons had to fire to get over the hump. But Walsh/Bird is one of the most astute front offices of this era; why wouldn't they trust themselves enough to dictate the direction of the team? If they've gone to the trouble to follow a plan, and know they can pull it off, you'd think they'd make sure they saw eye-to-eye with the coach. Give Carlisle to a wishy-washy GM, but it's a tremendous waste of energy and basketball effort to keep this stand-off going any longer.