Customer Reviews

Taking Shots: Tall Tales, Bizarre Battles, and the Incredible Truth About the NBA

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a lifelong basketball fan, I was really pleased to read Keith Glass's view of today's NBA. This is a thoughtful, informative and personal look at the treatment and mistreatment of young athletes and their relationships with the public and their agents. I particularly enjoyed reading Mr. Glass's first hand experiences with professional basketball players and his telling of stories with humor and insight. Glass is direct, courageous and clearly unafraid to critique the organization that he has worked with for years. I found the chapter on his "Greek" player revealing and interesting; it showed how the draft operated, especially in connection with young, talented European players and how commitments were given and then ignored. Mr. Glass's chapter about Mahmoud Abdul Rauf was extremely informative and portrayed a different point of view from what I had read in the media. I appreciated Mr. Glass's insight (although his disagreement) with Rauf's position on the National anthem, and the problem of his relationship with Rauf because Glass was Jewish and Rauf a Muslim. I was touched by the airline tickets/ auction story, which presented a different image of Rauf and suggested that he could step up for the seemingly small and personal things that mattered. If you grew up with basketball as part of your life or are interested in today's world of the professional athlete, I recommend this book. You couldn't find a better read.

Four FASCINATING Stars!! Keith Glass portrays the NBA as a multi-million dollar business like no other in the world. In "Taking Shots" we get a real insider's view of the NBA, the players, coaches, and the entire system. He may well have burned a few bridges in the process of writing this book, such is the level of detail and the abundance of inside stories. Although not exhaustive, this book is interesting and informative as it is.

We also get some information on John Wooden, the rise of Larry Brown and his current fate (on which the book ends) and much on Mr Glass, his family and the athletes he represents. Keith Glass' unfavorable comparison of NBA basketball with the game that Dr Naismith invented was an easy layup, the author sees that the game "has become a selfish, tedious, and colossal bore" at times. As such, it cycles between truly exciting games and 'going through the motions' games, between one-on-one post ups on the left and on the right sometimes dominating the action and true team play exhibited by some of the teams.

The litmus test for any insider NBA book is Latrell Sprewell's career and antics and here Mr Glass does not fail, giving the lowdown on what happened before, during, and after the 'choking incident'. Other stories recount players who, unbelievably, refused trades and others who refused to go into the game, and one injured player who, as a true sportsman, retired rather than just play for the money. There are many cases of head coaches and officials being sacrificed for the sake of the team by management, over and over. The anthem "If you can play, you get paid" regardless of your many personal troubles, reverberates across the landscape of this book and the NBA. Maybe I shouldn't have said "greedy" in the review title, maybe they're worth every penny of what they make in their short, frantic careers. Definitely Recommended! Four REVEALING Stars!!

(This review is based on an unabridged digital download in secure eBook format.)

Keith Glass tells a great tale, and his many years of experience representing NBA players has given him many to tell. Glass' book is a great insight into the other side of the NBA that the general public would otherwise have no access to. But one of the greatest elements of this book is Glass' true passion for the sport, and for the part he has played in it.

The book looks at Glass' upbringing, with basketball in his life from a very young age. Glass discusses how Larry Brown ended up living with his family, how Glass saw the evolution of basketball, and how he became a coach at UCLA. There's a very nostalgic and homely feel to these earlier chapters, and they definitely show a man who really loves the game and loves the relationships he has been able to establish through it.

The book then looks at Glass' adventures in representing top level NBA stars and how he came into this career. The greatest stories in here are the tale of Mahamoud Abdul-Rauf, the making of Scott Skiles (current head coach of the Chicago Bulls) and the sad story of Thomas Hamilton. It really is the stories like Hamilton's, a seven-foot-four giant with exquisite skills who could never get his NBA career started due to personal problems, that make this book. The power this story has is it makes you look at how some people can throw their God-given talent away, which gives you perspective to appreciate what you have in your life.

The latter chapters lack the same level of interest, as Glass discusses the various ways he NBA could improve the league and take it back to it's roots more, and further away from the greed-driven monster it has become. Glass makes some great points, but they could have been better illustrated through his stories, rather than telling the reader, point-blank. His various tales deliver this message through subtlety and through reading between the lines of what's going on, so to have this opinion forced onto the reader in the end weakened the overall tone of the writing a bit.

It also plays down some of Glass' other failings, in that he makes little to no mention of his previous marriages and doesn't discuss things he has done that he has regretted. It seems, at times, that Glass is a little too ethical in a world of no ethics, and to survive in this arena, Glass says himself, you can't always hold to your morals. There would appear to be a level of censorship and restraint at times. The book could have had more effect if there were no barriers, no holds barred.

There are also two times that Glass refers to the story of Lloyd Daniels, and says that he would need an entire book of it's own to tell Daniels' story. Lloyd Daniels was shot three times in the late eighties and still, to this day, has a bullet lodged in his right shoulder. He never played in college, yet went on to play for five NBA teams. Now that's a story I want to hear. Daniels' story should have made the book, even in brief form.

At the end of the book you get the sense that this is the story Keith Glass wanted to tell in exactly the way he wanted to tell it, which is not so bad, but it felt like it could have explored so much more about the dark side of the glamourous life of pro-ballers. As it stands, it's an interesting read, great at times, but overall more focussed on presenting a portrait of a man who loves the game and who holds a special place in his heart for 'his' players. Again, this is not so bad, but a but more controversy and a couple more first-hand accounts of back-room dealings would have made this a more important and compulsive book.

I was pleasantly surprised that Glass was able to write such a good book without a ghost writer. Probably his law degree and daughter Sami helped a lot. The book is entertaining and at the same time full of street smarts, philosophy, facts and negotiations. He is a decent man, which probably makes it harder to survive and operate in the shark infested waters of NBA agency. He still was able to find his niche in that world. Lots of material comes from his connection to the legendary Larry Brown. The book generates many questions in a reader: How to make sure that the players appreciate their good fortune and do not squander it? Is it really necessary for the clubs to spend so much money on a seemingly average player? Isn't it easier to get a college rookie for much less money?

I have just completed reading "Taking Shots" by Keith Glass. I tried to count the times I actually laughed out loud but lost track. This book is not only a side splitting ride but has some very poignant parts as well.
I was taken into situations in a first hand way that people never get a real chance to experience in the sports world.
Anyone who doesn't laugh and learn from these stories either is missing a funny bone or really hasn't read the book.

NBA PLAYER AGENT TIM GLASS DOES A GOOD JOB TELLING US ABOUT HIS CAREER AS A COACH AND LATER ON AS AN NBA AGENT. I DID ENJOY MOST OF THIS BOOK AND HE HAS MANY INTERESTING AND FUNNY STORIES. THE BOOK MOVED ALONG AND IS A NICE EASY READ. IT DOESN'T GET TOO DETAILED OR TAKES ITSELF TOO SERIOUSLY. I HAVE NEVER READ A BOOK BY A PROFESSIONAL AGENT AND I WAS PLEASED WITH THIS. I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED HOW THEY THINK AND WHAT KIND OF STRATEDGY THEY USED IN NEGOTIATIONS. HOPEFULLY I CAN FIND OTHER BOOKS BY AGENTS, IT OPENS UP A NEW DOOR AND PERSPECTIVE IN THE WORLD OF PRO SPORTS. I RECOMMEND THIS FOR ALL NBA FANS FOR A FUN AND ENTERTAINING READ.

Taking Shots is a great read about the life of Keith Glass, an NBA agent. From his days at UCLA all the way through to the NBA.

An enjoyable read for any basketball fan.

I am on the last chapter of this book and I find Keith Glass to be a witty, insightful and somewhat stereotypical individual. Since he's an agent and his client base happens to be predominantly African Americans he has insight on the business of being an agent to NBA players. The book is a fascinating read. The tales that he gives are interesting for the NBA fan, such as the Latrell Spreewell incident and aftermath,the recruiting of 7'4 Mark Eaton of the Utah Jazz, and the decision of Chris Jackson to sit during the singing of the national anthem. He also touches on the business side of basketball that makes the book more interesting. He also touches on how the great sums of money that today's athlete's are making puts a strain on the purity of the game. I enjoy this book and will most likely read it again. I definitely recommend this book.

This book isn't about glorification of NBA players in any way shape or form, it is however a true indication through the eyes and words of Keith Glass, on the journeys that some players take to reach the L. It's a very interesting book which touches on stories regarding some big names in the NBA, both past and present, but also touches on some great insights to guys who coulda, shoulda but didn't.

If you love the game of basketball and loved the NBA - especially during the early 90's then you will find this book a blast. Well worth the read.

Keith Glass lays it all out. I hope he writes the unedited version upon his retirement someday. I think he got over the line in some of his disclosure and likely pissed a few NBA-ers off, I really hope there is more he can one day share. Good for him to tell it like it is. Shame on the NBA for allowing the game to reach its current state and shame on us for continuing to pay more and more to go see it. At least now I do so knowing I'm getting ripped off most of the time, instead of just feeling good about the trip.