Talking With: Aaron McKie
I feel bad for the younger generation of Lakers fans who perhaps only know Aaron McKie as "that dude who's spent his entire Laker career injured." 
The lack of additional reference points means missing out on a series of nice years with the Sixers, including 2001 — the season Philly lost to the Lakers in the finals — when he nabbed the sixth Man of the Year award (and cemented his rep as a pro's pro). Of course, I feel worse for McKie himself, who obviously had bigger plans upon signing as a free agent than offering moral support and modeling suits from the sideline.
The 2006 season was a wash for the cagey vet, a quadriceps tear limiting him to a grand total of 14 games and seven points. And no, I don't mean, 7ppg. I mean, literally, seven points.
McKie hoped to make up for lost time this season, but a balky back suffered during training camp has thus far put the kibosh on that plan. A combination of increased health and Jordan Farmar rolling an ankle led to McKie being activated for the first time this season last Tuesday against the Clippers. He didn't see any action and it's not a given that Phil Jackson will save space for him once Farmar (and Ronny Turiaf, whose hips are on the mend) can play again. Then again, with Sasha Vujacic and Shammond Williams logging minutes ranging from "sporadic" to "none," McKie continuing to suit up for games isn't out of the question.
In any event, I thought now was as good a time as any to catch up with the vet to find out how this injury-plagued period has weighed on his psyche and how he's attempted to contribute while healing up. Hit the jump and see what he had to say.
Andrew Kamenetzky: How has this process of continually dealing with injuries been for you?
Aaron McKie: It's been tough. You wanna get out there. You want to contribute. You want to play. But you understand that I missed a substantial amount of time, going back to preseason. It's kinda hard sometimes to really get into the flow, to get in tune with the guys that are out there playing. I just gotta keep working and wait my turn. That's what it boils down to.
AK: Have you ever dealt with injuries of this magnitude and for this long? Even going back to college or high school?
AM: Nope. The longest I've been out was maybe a high ankle sprain, I believe. That had me out for a bit, but it wasn't that bad. I didn't have me out that long.
AK: Is it a "bouncing off the walls" feeling right now, with wanting to get back on the court?
AM: Nah. I think I'm too long into my career for that. You know what I mean? I just have to accept and take it for what it is. Like I said, I just gotta keep working again in practice so when I do get the call, I'm ready to go out there and try to help my team.
AK: You haven't had much actual game experience in the triangle, even going back to when you first arrived in L.A. How comfortable do you feel in it right now?
AM: As comfortable as I'm gonna be. You have to get yourself comfortable. Obviously, it's one thing to be able to do it in practice, but it's another thing to do it in a game. The speed definitely changes and you gotta get the tempo. You gotta get the timing out there with the players. That's something that I haven't had the opportunity to do in the last year and a half.
AK: How much do you think can be learned through osmosis through watching?
AM: I think I'm a pretty good student of the game. I mean, I'm quite sure there are a lot of little things about the triangle that I don't know that you would just learn from being out there on the court. If you were playing in the regular offense, you know where you can get your shots at. You know where you can get other people shots at. You know where you can drive and kick and all that kind of stuff. Those are some of the things that I'm still watching and learning.
AK: During this time where you haven't been able to play, how have you viewed as your role on the team?
AM: Just trying to come in and be a professional. Just trying to come to practice every day. Work hard. Show these guys what it's all about. I've seen guys that have been the last guy on the bench, and all of a sudden, you get the call and boom. I've seen a number of the guys that I played with in Philadelphia that was the 14th guy on the bench. I can go down the list: Nazr Mohammed. Raja Bell. Jumaine Jones. All those guys. Now they're on somebody else's team playing. So that's what it boils down to. This is my 13th year. I just have to come in and show these guys how to be professional. Work hard and show these guys little nuances of the game that I make. Help them out. Help them guys study the game, study the guys that they play against, and respect it.
AK: Dealing with guys like Sasha, Smush, Jordan, have you tried to take them aside and tell them little things?
AM: As much as I can. Whether it's in practice or in a game, I try to talk to them as much as I can, just about trying to control the game. And I try to tell those guys, (the team) is only as good as you go out there and play. You're the head. No matter how many points Kobe scores or how many points Lamar scores, you guys have total control of the game.
AK: At this point, you've watched so much of it. Are there times when you're almost coaching them, in your mind?
AM: Yeah. Tell them, "Hey, do this or do that. Try this and try that. This guy likes to dribble, etc." I try to tell them to do homework on the guys that they're playing against and see what they like to do. If they like pressure, if they don't like pressure, where they like to get their shots from. You gotta know those things. I just try to tell them to study the guys that they playing against and to control the game.
AK: Have you thought about going into coaching?
AM: I don't know. We'll see what happens. It's premature right now.
AK: That's true. At this point, you're still in uni.
AM: Yeah.
I can see why the coaches love Aaron ... and I maintain that healthy McKie would be our best first option off the bench where the PG position is concerned.
Posted by: Glenn | November 24, 2006 at 03:02 PM
mckie who? bring back jimmy jackson
Posted by: xodus | November 24, 2006 at 03:25 PM
I always liked mckie. I thought he would actually be a good fit for lakers. that's why I don't understand why farmar is getting all the minutes when we have this veteran sitting on a bunch. sometime it makes you wonder about phil and his coaching philosophy.
Posted by: kiwi | November 24, 2006 at 03:28 PM
ak/bk
is there a live blog tonite? lol. let's do it tonight if u know what I mean. lol.
Posted by: faith | November 24, 2006 at 03:32 PM
At this point in time, I don't know whether Aaron McKie will ever be able to contribute to this Laker squad. I mean, the guy hasn't been able to get on the court for over a year. At some point all the professionalism and good intentions in the world can't stop him from being an oft-injured, 34 year old question mark. I hope the Laker braintrust knows what it is doing in regards to Aaron.
Posted by: bronxlakerfan | November 24, 2006 at 03:51 PM
I hope McKie get some time to contribute to the team. Don't know when it'll be but I hope it's soon.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | November 24, 2006 at 04:08 PM
McKie - bye! JJ was better and more than likely still is, Farmar will be passing up both Sasha and Smush soon and the offense and game might actually have some fast break points.
Maurice Evans and Kobe in the backcourt sounds like a good big team but the help D will have to improve. Maybe as Bynum begins to develop and add confidence to the intimidation role, the little guards won't be able to get off so many running lay-ups. I can see Farmar winning out on the rest of these guys though, he exudes confidence and wants it. Good luck against the Jazz, they are playing real well!
Posted by: Pete Maguire | November 24, 2006 at 04:29 PM
Faith said:
"is there a live blog tonite? lol. let's do it tonight if u know what I mean. lol."
Sometimes I wonder about you. From dribble penetration to DEEP. LOL
Sorry...but i cant help it
Posted by: mti | November 24, 2006 at 04:32 PM
Kiwi
Your wondering why Farmar is getting more min that Mr. Glass? Dude are you high?
Posted by: bob | November 24, 2006 at 04:37 PM
I sincerely hope Aaron still have the ability to help the Lakers. The way I look at it, he's just going with the pace of pre-retirement period. If ever he recovers from his injury, he turned very slow, no longer an offensive threat like in '01 and in defense, he would just foul anybody he's guarding. We have seen those stages in the career of old players in NBA when they get old and their faculties start to show downward motion and prone to injuries. Management should have recognized those clues but contracts have been laid out for two years and Lakers owe him $2.5M this year whether he's playing or not playing.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | November 24, 2006 at 05:04 PM
Fake xodus,
Get a life you f*cking p*ssy!!
And get off of our blog!!
>_<
Posted by: >_< aka smushcalade | November 24, 2006 at 05:26 PM
Kiwi,
The coaches look at the difference between what a rusty, slightly injured McKie (with almost no actual court time in the triangle) gives in 10-15 minutes per game, and what a quicker, fitter Jordan Farmar would give. When you consider that Farmar's time will improve his play, and McKie will not improve much (other than getting rid of the rust) at this point, there is not much of a consideration to make.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | November 24, 2006 at 05:29 PM
All Star Lamar! Vote now! Vote Everyday.
Time for the daily push for All-Star Lamar. I don't need to tell you all, his play this year is certainly deserving of making him an all-star. He's a quality indiviual with a incredible work ethic. It's time the world acknowleges what we Laker Fans know. Lamar is an All-Star!
There is a strategy that will help him.
First and foremost, of course, is go to nba.com and Vote for L. Odom. That part is obvious.
Second, vote every day. Simple enough. This is a popularity contest. Let's let our voices be heard loud and often. Hey, it works for Yao!
But here's the real strategy! You are allowed to vote for two forwards in the west. But you don't have to! Only vote for ONE! Only vote for Lamar. It'll increase his tally by one without increasing any of his "competition"... Like Guinness, it's brilliant!
Lastly, get the word out. Tell all your friends to vote. Post on national blogs. Call in local radio programs, national radio programs, Larry King! Write your congressperson! Get him booked on Oprah! Do what ever it takes!
This is his year! All-Star Lamar!
--Laker Fan, James
Proud member of the 55-win Bandwagon.
Posted by: James Mason | November 24, 2006 at 05:49 PM
Forget Mckie, where's the game thread?
Posted by: two0one7 | November 24, 2006 at 06:10 PM
Hola amigo de los lakers. Soy de Argentina, tierra de Ginobili y Nocioni. Si bien no soy fan Laker´s, si me interesa y veo muchos partidos de ellos. A Mckie no lo veo como una opcion en la rotacion de Phil, sinceramente creo que ya su carrera en la NBA a terminado. Creo que Farmar y Smush cubren bien esa posición.
Posted by: gaston de Argentina | November 26, 2006 at 05:33 PM