jerseyshorejohnny
Well-known member
Paging Through the Knicks’ Summer Reading List
Where Fisher’s assignments focus on positive mentality, Jackson’s titles used to get a little more creative
By CHRIS HERRING
Aug. 17, 2015 4:16 p.m. Wall Street Journal
LAS VEGAS—Along with packs of ice, Gatorade bottles and the occasional gym bag, it’s not uncommon for NBA players to be seen toting personal items out of practice sessions. Still, it was little unusual to see Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks’ 20-year-old Latvian rookie, clutching a bright orange book under his arm as he exited the gym after a summer-league practice a few weeks ago.
“Coach [Derek] Fisher gave it to me. It’s called ‘The Positive Dog.’ Took me maybe three days to finish, and was simple to understand—explained in a childish way,” Porzingis said of the Jon Gordon title, which uses a pair of talking dogs to illustrate the importance of a positive outlook on life.
The book is one of several that Fisher, the Knicks’ second-year coach, has handed out to some of his players as a kind of summer reading list. He picked up the habit from team president Phil Jackson, who coached Fisher for nine years in Los Angeles and was known to give books to players during his Hall of Fame career with the Bulls and Lakers.
“Part of [assigning books] is to give them a sense of who their coach is, so they can understand how I view performance, competition and self-improvement,” Fisher said. “Plus, I just like to share information—training secrets, how to recover after practices and games, nutrition. Those are things I like to share to help guys out. And sometimes it’s easiest to share them in the form of a book.”
FISHER’S FAVORITES
Here are the books that Knicks coach Derek Fisher has handed out to his players during this off-season.
Kristaps Porzingis: “The Positive Dog” (Jon Gordon)
Jerian Grant: “Developing the Leader Within You” (John C. Maxwell)
Cleanthony Early: “Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else” (Jon Gordon)
To this point, Fisher’s reading assignments have been for young, first-year players, and they ha
ve focused on cultivating a positive mentality—probably the most sensible subject for a team that went 17-65 last season.
Besides giving “The Positive Dog” to Porzingis, he gave “Developing the Leader Within You,” by John C. Maxwell, to first-round pick Jerian Grant and Gordon’s “Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else” to Cleanthony Early, the team’s top selection in the 2014 draft.
“It was helpful to read it,” said Early, who read “Training Camp” last season while recovering from a procedure on his right knee. “There was a whole part of the book that spoke to my situation, basically a way of telling me to keep my head up and find ways to mentally improve while I was injured.”
‘“I don’t expect the players to read with the same interest [as in years past].
However, a book is still something that can grab attention when it’s good or in their zone.’
—Phil Jackson
In the age of portable gadgets, the challenge isn’t so much finding the right book for each player as getting the player to read the books at all. Jackson routinely gave books to his Bulls and Lakers teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s—including copies of his own memoir, “Sacred Hoops”—ahead of long road trips in hopes of opening players’ minds during the dog days of the season.
“No, I don’t expect the players to read with the same interest [as in years past],” said Jackson, whose reading lists in L.A. and Chicago looked a little more literary than Fisher’s: Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart,” Zane Gray’s “Riders of the Purple Sage,” Hermann Hesse’s “Siddhartha,” to name a few.
But even Jackson admitted that he reads a bit less these days, in part because he no longer takes long team flights like he did in his coaching days. “However, a book is still something that can grab [the players’] attention when it’s good or in their zone.”
PHIL’S FAVORITES
Here’s a sampling of the books that Knicks president Phil Jackson gave out to his players when he coached the Chicago Bulls and L.A. Lakers in the 1990s and 2000s.
Michael Jordan: “Song of Solomon” (Toni Morrison)
Scottie Pippen: “The Ways of White Folks” (Langston Hughes)
Jon Paxson: “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” (Robert M. Pirsig)
Craig Hodges: “Way of the Peaceful Warrior” (Dan Millman)
Stacey King: “Beavis and Butt-Head: This Book Sucks” (Mike Judge)
Derek Fisher: “Soul on Ice” (Eldridge Cleaver)
Kobe Bryant: “Montana 1948” (Larry Watson)
Shaquille O’Neal: “Siddhartha” (Hermann Hesse)
Adam Morrison: “Che: a Graphic Biography” (Spain Rodriguez and Paul Buhle)
Last year, Jackson gave each of the Knicks a copy of “There Is No Next,” Sam Smith’s latest read on Michael Jordan’s legacy. He said he wanted the players, especially Carmelo Anthony, to grasp the level of intensity needed to be a champion.
Assigning books to this year’s players, something Fisher said he plans to do with young guard Langston Galloway and possibly others, figures to serve a greater purpose than it did last season. That roster was mostly transient, stuffed with pending free agents the team had no intention of retaining. Just three Knicks face that uncertainty now, which should allow the group to focus more on team-building.
An improved roster certainly doesn’t guarantee that players will take reading assignments more seriously, but it’s worth noting that the Knicks’ opening-night roster figures to be among the NBA’s most book-smart by one measure. The team currently has six players who spent four years in college, which would have been the second-most in the NBA last year, trailing only the Pacers. Entering last season, only three Knicks had spent four years in college, tied for the second-fewest in the league.
“When Phil gave us the books, we didn’t have the mind-set as a team,” Anthony said of last year’s squad. “We didn’t know where we were at as a team. We were just trying to find ourselves and trying to figure out how to win games. So I think it was kind of bad timing to give the books out.”
This year, Anthony is ready to crack the books. “In training camp,” he said, “we’ll be ready for that.”
Write to Chris Herring at chris.herring@wsj.com
Where Fisher’s assignments focus on positive mentality, Jackson’s titles used to get a little more creative
By CHRIS HERRING
Aug. 17, 2015 4:16 p.m. Wall Street Journal
LAS VEGAS—Along with packs of ice, Gatorade bottles and the occasional gym bag, it’s not uncommon for NBA players to be seen toting personal items out of practice sessions. Still, it was little unusual to see Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks’ 20-year-old Latvian rookie, clutching a bright orange book under his arm as he exited the gym after a summer-league practice a few weeks ago.
“Coach [Derek] Fisher gave it to me. It’s called ‘The Positive Dog.’ Took me maybe three days to finish, and was simple to understand—explained in a childish way,” Porzingis said of the Jon Gordon title, which uses a pair of talking dogs to illustrate the importance of a positive outlook on life.
The book is one of several that Fisher, the Knicks’ second-year coach, has handed out to some of his players as a kind of summer reading list. He picked up the habit from team president Phil Jackson, who coached Fisher for nine years in Los Angeles and was known to give books to players during his Hall of Fame career with the Bulls and Lakers.
“Part of [assigning books] is to give them a sense of who their coach is, so they can understand how I view performance, competition and self-improvement,” Fisher said. “Plus, I just like to share information—training secrets, how to recover after practices and games, nutrition. Those are things I like to share to help guys out. And sometimes it’s easiest to share them in the form of a book.”
FISHER’S FAVORITES
Here are the books that Knicks coach Derek Fisher has handed out to his players during this off-season.
Kristaps Porzingis: “The Positive Dog” (Jon Gordon)
Jerian Grant: “Developing the Leader Within You” (John C. Maxwell)
Cleanthony Early: “Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else” (Jon Gordon)
To this point, Fisher’s reading assignments have been for young, first-year players, and they ha
ve focused on cultivating a positive mentality—probably the most sensible subject for a team that went 17-65 last season.
Besides giving “The Positive Dog” to Porzingis, he gave “Developing the Leader Within You,” by John C. Maxwell, to first-round pick Jerian Grant and Gordon’s “Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else” to Cleanthony Early, the team’s top selection in the 2014 draft.
“It was helpful to read it,” said Early, who read “Training Camp” last season while recovering from a procedure on his right knee. “There was a whole part of the book that spoke to my situation, basically a way of telling me to keep my head up and find ways to mentally improve while I was injured.”
‘“I don’t expect the players to read with the same interest [as in years past].
However, a book is still something that can grab attention when it’s good or in their zone.’
—Phil Jackson
In the age of portable gadgets, the challenge isn’t so much finding the right book for each player as getting the player to read the books at all. Jackson routinely gave books to his Bulls and Lakers teams of the late 1990s and early 2000s—including copies of his own memoir, “Sacred Hoops”—ahead of long road trips in hopes of opening players’ minds during the dog days of the season.
“No, I don’t expect the players to read with the same interest [as in years past],” said Jackson, whose reading lists in L.A. and Chicago looked a little more literary than Fisher’s: Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart,” Zane Gray’s “Riders of the Purple Sage,” Hermann Hesse’s “Siddhartha,” to name a few.
But even Jackson admitted that he reads a bit less these days, in part because he no longer takes long team flights like he did in his coaching days. “However, a book is still something that can grab [the players’] attention when it’s good or in their zone.”
PHIL’S FAVORITES
Here’s a sampling of the books that Knicks president Phil Jackson gave out to his players when he coached the Chicago Bulls and L.A. Lakers in the 1990s and 2000s.
Michael Jordan: “Song of Solomon” (Toni Morrison)
Scottie Pippen: “The Ways of White Folks” (Langston Hughes)
Jon Paxson: “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” (Robert M. Pirsig)
Craig Hodges: “Way of the Peaceful Warrior” (Dan Millman)
Stacey King: “Beavis and Butt-Head: This Book Sucks” (Mike Judge)
Derek Fisher: “Soul on Ice” (Eldridge Cleaver)
Kobe Bryant: “Montana 1948” (Larry Watson)
Shaquille O’Neal: “Siddhartha” (Hermann Hesse)
Adam Morrison: “Che: a Graphic Biography” (Spain Rodriguez and Paul Buhle)
Last year, Jackson gave each of the Knicks a copy of “There Is No Next,” Sam Smith’s latest read on Michael Jordan’s legacy. He said he wanted the players, especially Carmelo Anthony, to grasp the level of intensity needed to be a champion.
Assigning books to this year’s players, something Fisher said he plans to do with young guard Langston Galloway and possibly others, figures to serve a greater purpose than it did last season. That roster was mostly transient, stuffed with pending free agents the team had no intention of retaining. Just three Knicks face that uncertainty now, which should allow the group to focus more on team-building.
An improved roster certainly doesn’t guarantee that players will take reading assignments more seriously, but it’s worth noting that the Knicks’ opening-night roster figures to be among the NBA’s most book-smart by one measure. The team currently has six players who spent four years in college, which would have been the second-most in the NBA last year, trailing only the Pacers. Entering last season, only three Knicks had spent four years in college, tied for the second-fewest in the league.
“When Phil gave us the books, we didn’t have the mind-set as a team,” Anthony said of last year’s squad. “We didn’t know where we were at as a team. We were just trying to find ourselves and trying to figure out how to win games. So I think it was kind of bad timing to give the books out.”
This year, Anthony is ready to crack the books. “In training camp,” he said, “we’ll be ready for that.”
Write to Chris Herring at chris.herring@wsj.com