No journalist knows Ron Artest better than FanHouse's Sam Amick, and the writer's most recent Q&A with the L.A. Lakers forward shows you why. In the talk, a sitdown held after Amick watches Artest play beach football with strangers in SoCal, the Laker digs into his continuing mental health journey, how he's adjusting to Kobe Bryant and his team in his second season in L.A and, most interestingly, what that whole Phil Jackson scrap was about.
Ron Artest Plays Beach Football With Random Fans, Talks About Phil Jackson
Artest: [W]hen you’ve got one coach, you’ve got to adjust to his personality. So it was like trying to adjust, but then eventually it was, ‘OK, I know your personality, but it bothers me sometimes.’ You know what I’m saying? But it was real professional. Real professional.
FH: It was reported as a loud conversation. Was it loud and professional, or no?
RA: Even if it was, it was very professional. If it was yelling or no yelling, it was very professional. People can read into it, but obviously it wasn’t no jawing back and forth. Obviously it wasn’t no disrespect.
Artest and Jackson downplayed the reports of their shouting match back when it happened, and there have been no further instances of public aggravation ... until today’s report that Ron-Ron wants out, of course. Artest’s recollection of the scrap with his coach certainly says something about Ron himself, and how he wants to deal with issues. To hear that Ron-Ron is shy is both disarming and sensible. What a complex personality.
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