Former Utah Jazz superstar Karl Malone called an impromptu press conference ahead of tonight's Jazz-Suns game in Salt Lake, using the opportunity to discuss Jerry Sloan's retirement. Malone said the coach he knows would never quit or resign at anything. Malone clearly wasn't happy, saying he needed to wait a day before speaking to the media because he was afraid of saying something he'd regret.
VIDEO: Karl Malone Talks Jerry Sloan Retirement, Deron Williams Rift
Below is the full interview, posted on Twitter by Brian Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Mike Prada)
Malone gave some insight into how Sloan coached, saying he was challenged to a fight once, but all was well shortly thereafter, with the two sharing a laugh about it. It was Sloan’s unwillingness to ever back down that led Malone to believe there has to be other reasons Sloan retired.
Though it may just be his opinion, Malone said Sloan would never lose his fire, but probably "got tired of the BS," a clear reference to the reported rift between Sloan and Deron Williams. He added Sloan probably got tired of what guys bring to the court every night, talking about the effort of the team.
Interestingly enough, Malone seemed to use the interview, and another interview with ESPN during the game, to lobby for a coaching job. Malone said he was ready to coach in the league now while imploring the Jazz to give him a call, saying he would do it the old school way like Sloan did.
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