In a feature for GQ’s Men of the Year edition, Bill Simmons sat down with NBA superfan and current President of the United States (POTUS), Barack Obama. You can read the entire interview on GQ, however here were a couple of interesting tidbits. One of which was Obama saying he would love to be a future owner of an NBA team…..
Bill Simmons: Would you ever want to be part of the ownership for an NBA team?
POTUS: Absolutely.Bill Simmons: Would it have to be the Bulls, or would it have to be somebody else?
POTUS: Well, you know, I know [Jerry] Reinsdorf pretty good—he’s not giving that thing up anytime soon. But I have fantasized about being able to put together a team and how much fun that would be. I think it’d be terrific.
Paying Jordan a pretty darn big compliment, the POTUS goes through how watching Michael Jordan NBA Classics games helped him strive to make better and smarter decisions in running the country….
Bill Simmons: The lack of HD really hurts—you can barely see anybody.
POTUS: It’s true—and the graphics at the bottom are terrible. But a thing that you’re reminded of, watching those old Bulls games, is Jordan had some stinker games in the playoffs. But he would get that out of his mind, and then the next moment comes and he’s right there. He could have a terrible game for the first three quarters and then suddenly go crazy the fourth. Or he might miss a free throw, and then the next play is he’s stealing the ball and hitting the game-winning shot. Part of what I try to do—not at the level that Jordan did on the basketball court, but part of what you aspire to as president or any of these positions of leadership—is to try to figure out how to be in the moment, make the best decision you can, know that you’re going to get a bunch of them right, but a bunch of times you’re also not going to get it exactly the way you want it.
After shifting gears a bit, Simmons brought President Obama back to his favorite club the Chicago Bulls. And specifically to a topic we have long debated on The Hoop Doctors over the past couple seasons. Will Derrick Rose ever regain his MVP form? POTUS says no. We tend to agree….
Bill Simmons: I had to ask you one thing you can’t answer! Here’s one you have to answer: Who’s more untradable, Derrick Rose or Jay Cutler?
POTUS: [pause] Oh, I think Rose still has more upside. Remember, Rose is still awfully young.Bill Simmons: So you haven’t given up on Rose?
POTUS: I’ve not given up on him. Sadly, I think it’s hard to imagine, after that many injuries, him getting back to his MVP-season performance. But he can still be a top-ten point guard.
