Former Pacers center David Harrison, who's trying to reclaim his NBA career while getting his life back in order, was the subject of a revealing and interesting in-depth feature in The Denver Post in which he said he owes "everything I have" to Bird.
When Harrison's tumultuous four years with the Pacers came to an end when the franchise opted not to offer him a contract extension after the 2007-08 season, he had a brief conversation with Bird.
"To this day, if Larry told me to come back to the Pacers and play for free, I'd do it," Harrison told the newspaper, tears coming to his eyes as he spoke. "I owe everything I have to Larry Bird. I wish there was some way I could repay him.
"I think the best way I can is to fix myself. I don't think I'm a drug addict or an alcoholic or any of those things. I'm just very self-centered. I'm selfish." "
Bird told the newspaper he wanted to help Harrison "as much as I could."
"Emotionally at times, David would get down on himself and do some things," Bird said. "But as far as a person, I can't say I ran into a better one.
"I've been in this league for 30 years and a lot of guys have come and gone. There's a lot of them you get attached to, and David was one of them."
Waived by Minnesota last fall, Harrison spent one season playing in China, starring for the Beijing Ducks. He struggled in five games with the Cavs during the Las Vegas Summer League, totaling 25 points, 22 rebounds and 22 fouls in 82 minutes.
"I still have a lot of time ahead of me," Harrison said. "I'm not focused on the fame, the money, the women, anything really. It's just more now, what are people going to say about me when I'm dead? What are people going to say about me to my son? I still have time to write my own story."
Great story. I and my brother from another (IndySports) were two of the very few people who used to actually cheer for Harrison at the games and really pulled for the guy. The underlined part of the quote is what really sticks out to me and is something I wish all of Harrison's detractors could understand. The guy was never a thug or a bad seed as many people in Indy wrote him off as. He had a problem with marijuana and alcohol. Maybe I'm a bit of a bleeding heart in this aspect but it's hard for me to write someone off when they're clearly an addict that is actively trying to better themselves. Harrison is a big kid, point blank. He's trying to turn his life around now, and it's obviously something that isn't easy for him because of his dependency for the weed and booze. I hope he does get it together because he does have talent in there when he really applies himself.
He's a BIG guy, and you can't teach size. For as big as he is, his athleticism is a bit above average too. He sort of reminds me of a much bigger, but slightly less talented Joakim Noah. His statement about playing for Larry Bird for free really speaks volumes of just how impressionable the kid is. All it took was for someone he looked up to, to sit him down and break down what was actually happening to his life. I wouldn't mind us bringing him in as a 3rd C and giving him another shot. He has the same foul problem as Roy, but we don't need him to stay out on the court for extended minutes so I think that problem wouldn't be that big for us. I'm positive that I'm in the majority in my position but I do think giving him another chance might be just what he needs.
