President Barack Obama was one of the men chosen for the cover of GQ’s Men of the Year issues. He sat down and did a Q&A with Bill Simmons. He discussed wanting to own an NBA team, still believing in Derrick Rose and compared what he does to what Michael Jordan did with the Chicago Bulls.
One thing you learn as president is you’re not always going to perform flawlessly and you have to be able to put that out of your mind and then look at the next problem coming down the pipe. If I’m working out in the gym, sometimes I’ll go to NBA Classics and watch some of these old classic games—
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.
Would you ever want to be part of the ownership for an NBA team?
Absolutely.
Would it have to be the Bulls, or would it have to be somebody else?
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.
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?
[pause] Oh, I think Rose still has more upside. Remember, Rose is still awfully young.
So you haven’t given up on Rose?
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.
Read the full interview on GQ
