NBA: notable quotes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Maurice Cheeks and more

No stars, just talent

Toronto Raptors Coach Dwane Casey, on his team’s efforts to continually improve: “Until we get four or five Michael Jordans in here, we’ve got to stick with our plan with a young team and see which way it takes us.”

Analyze this

Hall of Fame center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, on a Facebook post regarding troubled protege Andrew Bynum, who has been excused from all team activities after a suspension from the Cleveland Cavaliers: “When I worked with Andrew I found him to be bright & hardworking but I think he got bored with the repetitive nature of working on basketball fundamentals day in and day out … but they are the keys to long term success. In my opinion Andrew is the type of person who walks to the beat of ‘a different drummer.’ So we won’t know the facts until Andrew decides to tell us what actually is the issue and shares his thoughts.”

An All-Star is born?

Golden State Coach Mark Jackson, on Stephen Curry, after the Warriors point guard rolled up 36 points and 12 assists while making eight three-pointers during a victory over the two-time defending champion Miami Heat: “Curry was spectacular. If he doesn’t make the All-Star team, I might retire.”

Judgment day

Detroit Pistons Coach Maurice Cheeks, on forward Josh Smith’s contention that his second-half benching against the Washington Wizards was “unfair” and that he took “real offense” to what he perceived as Cheeks’ removing him for allegedly halfhearted play: “That’s his opinion. You know, I watch a lot of judge shows and they always talk about people’s opinions, and that’s his opinion. That’s OK. I can’t be in his brain and he’s certainly entitled to his opinion. I’m entitled to mine.”

—Ben Bolch