Malone: Jerry Sloan Would Never Quit Anything

The Mailman spoke about how game has changed, and how his coach didn’t. From the AP: “Sloan and longtime assistant Phil Johnson both said they decided to step down after Wednesday’s emotional loss to Chicago. Their resignations were announced at a press conference Thursday that was not attended by a single player. That alone irritated Malone, who was drafted in 1985—the year after Sloan first joined the Jazz as an assistant. ‘I don’t even need to answer whether I would have been there or not,’ said Malone, who followed Sloan and All-Star guard John Stockton into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009. ‘If I got something to say or do to a man, I’m going to look that man in the eye and tell him what is going to happen. That’s just me now.’ He also took issue with analysts declaring the game had passed by Sloan. ‘It’s like saying the game passed Phil Jackson by,’ Malone said. ‘Old school worked. The players (have) got to buy into the system.’ Asked if he thinks the 68-year-old Sloan was forced out rather than voluntarily resigned because he had run out of energy, Malone reiterated his statement. ‘I said what I said earlier. The guy I know and love, he don’t quit or nothing,’ Malone said. Jazz president and CEO Randy Rigby downplayed Malone’s comments.”