Ben Gordon on Waddle and Silvy (5/4/09)

May 8th, 2009 by Andrew Wamboldt

Ben Gordon appeared on the Waddle and Silvy show to talk about the Bulls vs. Celtics series, the future of the Bulls, and his future. Here is a recap of what was said in the interview.

The hamstring injury was pretty bad. He had to take painkillers before every game. But once it got warmed up, he could obviously play.
The series was an epic battle that will go down in history. Gordon thinks it was the best series ever. In it, you saw two teams that really exhibited what pro sports is all about at the highest level. Had to be amazing to watch, because it was amazing to be a part of.
He spent most of Saturday and Sunday morning replaying what went wrong in Game 7. Sunday was more for reflecting on the season as a whole and what they accomplished. Was happy with the effort and heart the team played with.
The playoff experience is very important for Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. For them to go out there and experience the difference between the regular season and post season is important. The veterans can only tell them so much about it, they have to go out there and experience how many notches the playoffs are above any other level of basketball. That’s going to be monumental in their careers and the way they continue to develop as players.
Gordon knows that Luol Deng can become a good player again. Deng is one of the hardest workersi nt he offseason, and is committed to basketball and getting better. Gordon is positive that Deng can come back and have a great year because he puts the work in. He thinks that Deng had some troubles adjusting to the new coach and system.
Gordon thinks that Vinny did a decent job. Vinny still has a lot to learn and room for improvement. For a first year coach, he did a good job. He ended up getting the Bulls into the playoffs and competing against the defending champs, so that made it a pretty good year for Vinny.
Vinny needs to improve his game time situations. That is what really shows a coach’s experience and that is where they make their money at. The great coaches always seem to make the right substitutions at the right time or draw up a great play. Vinny needs to get a better feel for when to make certain decisions.
His future with the Bulls is up in the air. He has expressed since has gotten here that he would like to be here for 15 years and retire a Bull. Unfortunately the last offseasons, they haven’t been able to come to a contract agreement. This offseason, he is unrestricted, but his thoughts and feelings about being here are still the same. From a business aspect it didn’t happen the past two summers, so now he has to look at his options and just go from there.
The decision right now is the best decision for himself. One of his main priorities is winning, he wants to win a championship. Then after that, it is taking care of his best personal interests.
With Derrick Rose, John Salmons, Kirk Hinrich, it’s very encouraging. He’d love to be back playing with these guys, and with Luol Deng coming back 100%. With a full year under their belts and with Deng coming back, the team will be way better then this season.
When asked about Barkley calling him crazy and how he responds, Gordon said he doesn’t respond to these comments. Barkley is not part of the situation. Everyone is entitled to their own decisions. Ben doesn’t regret not signing the contract. Things work themselves out. A lot of peopel expected him to come out and sulk and cry, not be professional, but that didn’t happen.
Kevin Garnett was doing a lot of heckling form the sidelines. Gordon thought a lot of it was unnecessary. But that is Garnett trying to be the emotional leader and very demonstrative. That’s just KG being KG. Garnett did not give Gordon a handshake after the game.
Ray Allen told Gordon what a great series it was. Allen was happy how they were both able to perform and represent for UConn. He told Ben to rally the young guys together and that they could be a good team.
Gordon just wants Bulls fans to know that he would always want to be here, hopefully retire here after a good 15 year career and a couple of championships. He also wants them to know that the business side may change some of that, but he is hoping otherwise.