The young men in the inner city are without guidance, robbing and shooting each other with no remorse... Our system is crazy because we're planning to fail. Everybody needs something to grasp on to.
The Lakers are family. My kids don't have to switch schools. Little things like that are important. People don't think about things like that. I feel like something special is going to happen in this town.
Respect goes a long way when you carry yourself a certain way and show manners when you first meet someone. If you do that, then it's hard for somebody not to like you.
It's good that I put my personal ego aside. My basketball ego was, 'Why we negotiating?' But my personal ego didn't take it personal. I put my personal ego aside a little bit.
I was going to fight for what I wanted first, and that was being in L.A. and being a Laker. L.A. was the first place that came to my mind. That's where my heart was at.
I think it's easy for people to say, 'Because you do this, you must be this kind of person, vain or uptight or mean to people.' People have a sense of who you may be because of the job you do. That's unfair judgment.
I don't want a girlfriend because that means I've got a responsibility. I have a responsibility to call you. I have a responsibility not to be with another woman. I have a responsibility to be there on time when you need me.
For years I've been seeing my young brothers wearing Scarface T-shirts, John Gotti T-shirts, Rick James T-shirts. We don't have any icons or idols to look up to, just rappers and professional athletes.
