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In the NBA, you're taking a bunch of different talents, and you're managing them. You have to give them a system; you have to give them a belief. That's why coaches like Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich are so great: because they gave the team confidence in the system and in their ability to execute night in and night out.

The league is changing, and we don't have many back-to-the-basket players. We now have a game that requires skill and versatility. A lot of that is about being able to think. It makes all the difference in the world to have a player in there with a high basketball IQ who can make the right decision.

People in the NBA are just as athletic as you. That's the game. You have to have the change of pace. You have to change speeds to get around people.

Everybody in the NBA works on their game. I just tried to follow that lead when I was in high school, college - and now.

The NBA has made a real issue about really making these superstars the premium that everybody wants to go to. That's their calling card and their marketing tool. But the coaches at the other end of the sphere are trying to make everybody on the team, even nine, 10, 11, 12, just as important, and have a real role that's meaningful.

I think basketball IQ, work ethic, competitiveness are probably the most important things in a basketball player.

When I played with the Knicks, I was just as important or just as smart as any other of the guards I played with. I still had to call out plays, notice schemes, know the systems, do everything they had to do.

A lot of guys go into the NBA not being able to shoot the ball well, but then they become great shooters.

So you're dealing with a coach, and you're dealing with a guy who's actually experienced NBA basketball from a player's perspective and actually goes about it that way.

To be a great player or a good player in the NBA, I have to work on my perimeter game.