Steve Kerr on Dennis Rodman: “He couldn’t do anything.”
With ESPN’s “The Last Dance” documentary of the Michael Jordan-era Chicago Bulls concluding Sunday night, time to talk about one of the dynasty’s most infamous players, who finished his career with the Dallas Mavericks.
Watching highlights of the Bulls it’s still difficult to fathom that Dennis Rodman finished his NBA career with a franchise that at that time was one of the worst in the NBA.
Mark Cuban was a relatively new NBA owner, and he took a swing at The Worm. Rodman appeared in 12 games for the Mavs in the 1999-2000 season, and averaged 14.3 rebounds.
Rodman is the case study of The Headache, and those Bulls’ teams are the only way guys like him can work.
In 2005, the Dallas Cowboys had receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who had been previously labeled as a headache player.
That same fall, the Philadelphia Eagles were dealing with the sports’ prima pain, receiver Terrell Owens. By that point, T.O.’s relationship with the Eagles was trash, and he was essentially gone.
I was a beat reporter covering the Cowboys, and Keyshawn talked to me about the T.O. situation, and the comparison. It was luck Johnson actually talked to me about it.
A few days later, Key’ put a note on his locker door that read, “Not my problem.” Meaning, he was not going to talk about T.O.
For this story, I apparently talked to a slew of people, including former Bulls’ guard Steve Kerr on how they made it work with Rodman.
I talked to the late San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh, NHL forward Jeremy Roenick, then Cowboys coach Bill Parcells, Kerr and others.
This story appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Nov. 13, 2005:
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BUYERS BEWARE The case of Terrell Owens reminds teams that take on difficult personalities: It’s often more trouble than it’s worth.
Two years before Terrell Owens became Terrell The Terrible there was Keyshawn Johnson.
Two years ago, Mr. Just Throw Me the Damn Ball was receiver non grata when he was TO’d by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with six games remaining in the 2003 season and sent home, with pay.
No matter that Johnson has had a pleasant stay since arriving with the Cowboys in 2004, he still wears that incident like a scarlet letter.
“That has shined a negative light on my career, to a degree. I recognize and I understand that,” Johnson said. “At the same time, I got an owner and a head coach that weren’t buying because they knew the player. The key is finding the guys who can see through all the negativity.”
The Cowboys, and Johnson, are the lucky ones. Their relationship has been one of peace, harmony and mostly prosperity.
But the Owens incident serves as a reminder that when teams take on talented players who come with baggage, they do so risking the success of a team, the chemistry of a locker room and the sanity of a coach.
“It can be done, but what I learned is that if you have a problem like that, it takes up about 70 percent of your time,” former San Francisco 49ers coach Bill Walsh said. “You have moments when you ask yourself, ‘Why am I doing this?’ You have to take it on with your eyes wide open, and give yourself an exit strategy.”
It’s not worth it Owens liked to say that he never got in trouble with the law, did any drugs, etc. That made him OK. It is true that while he has never posed for a mug shot, his mouth ran so much in his time with the 49ers and now the Eagles that people wanted to take a shot at him.
“If I was a general manager, I don’t care if he wanted to play for the league minimum, I would not have him in my locker room,” Patriots safety Rodney Harrison said. “I think he’s a selfish jerk. All he thinks about is money and himself.”
Yet does anyone doubt Owens will be in an NFL uniform next season? Or that pitcher Kenny Rogers will find work despite his problems with the Rangers last season? After the Mavericks learned that forward Antoine Walker was not the right fit, was he suddenly drawing unemployment?
Just like the countless “problem child” personalities or athlete divas before them, they share a common thread: They all find work, and they seldom change.
“When I was young and impetuous, I thought I could change people,” Walsh said.
What teams generally discover is that a problem child might be quiet for a time, perhaps an entire season, but the behavior that made him enemy No. 1 with his former team will resurface.
But Walsh was no different than the other coaches or general managers who think if they bring the player into their situation there will be no problem. That if they can get guard Latrell Sprewell with their coach, outfielder Milton Bradley in their clubhouse, or running back Ricky Williams on their team all will be calm.
Home runs, goals, 3-pointers and touchdowns will ensue. And so, too, will a championship.
“Most teams discuss character, but what happens is in compositeness you look beyond what you know is best and disregard enough evidence to take a chance on a guy because he’s so talented,” former Rangers general manager Tom Grieve said.
As much as the media may overblow stories such as the Owens incident, every coach, teammate, general manager and owner has a breaking point when it’s no longer worth it.
The 49ers reached theirs with Owens, the Portland Trail Blazers with Rasheed Wallace, and the Minnesota Vikings with Randy Moss.
“If the guys understand what you are about and what you are saying and support you, you aren’t going to have any conflicts,” Los Angeles Kings center Jeremy Roenick said. “If you [have conflicts] then, you have to get rid of the bad egg.”
It can work When the Chicago Bulls were in the midst of winning six NBA titles during the ’90s, they brought in one of the biggest of migraines/freak shows in sports. The marriage of Dennis Rodman and the Bulls wasn’t given any longer than Britney Spears’ first marriage, yet the relationship prospered peacefully.
Michael Jordan had something to do with that. So did Phil Jackson.
“From his perspective, Michael, Scottie [Pippen] and Phil were such a strong foundation he couldn’t do anything,” former Bulls guard Steve Kerr said. “He wouldn’t mess with the chemistry.”
The success stories of problem children turned locker room angels follow a common plot: strong, veteran locker rooms, or one big personality who can put a thumb on the player.
There are few bigger personalities in the NFL than Bill Parcells. While it might seem he has little tolerance for headache players, he can work with them. When he coached the New York Jets, he took on former trouble-maker Bryan Cox.
After a few “chats,” the two found a middle ground, and Parcells had a good linebacker.
“If they’re with me on Sunday, I can take a lot,” Parcells said. “If they’re not, I can take very little. I had a kid named Leroy Thompson [in New England]. He could do everything, but he was a pain in the [butt]. On Sunday, he was right there next to you trying to help you win the game. After a while, you get to like that.”
As for his relationship with Johnson, Parcells said, “Maybe opposites attract.”
Second, third, fifth and sixth chances
Players watch SportsCenter, read the sports section and know the reputation of a Moss or a Wallace long before the Oakland Raiders dealt for their receiver, or the Detroit Pistons traded for their forward.
But most first-time teammates agree, if he can play, take the risk. Let them learn the hard way if need be.
Even the Eagles agree that for the one-plus seasons Owens was with their team, he was worth the headache they endured later. For one season, he made their team better and helped them reached the Super Bowl.
“Absolutely it was worth it,” Eagles safety Brian Dawkins said. “He brought a lot of excitement to this city, to this team. He brought that talent that we had not had. He was definitely a plus in that respect, and was a negative that we all know in the other respect.”
Whenever Owens signs his next contract, it is sure to come with fewer zeroes than he hoped, and a few outs for the team. He is damaged goods, a nightmare of introductory news conference and skepticism waiting to happen.
“He’s almost dismantled the Eagles,” Houston Texans owner Bob McNair said. “Why would you wish that on us?”
McNair might not want it, but someone else surely will.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: McNair was right. On March 18, 2006, the Dallas Cowboys signed Terrell Owens.
This story was originally published May 17, 2020 at 11:45 AM.
