Seikaly doesn't exactly deny that -- but he does tell Riptide Salley is composed predominantly of fecal matter.
In a short column for Deadspin this week, Salley claimed that Seikaly is like an evil genius who understands a concept that must have been eluding big-money athletes for years:
When I left Detroit to play for the Heat, I rented a house on Star Island in Miami Beach, across from Rony Seikaly. He was living in the house that Shaq later paid $19 million for; Rony built it for $2.5 million. Anyway, my house got robbed, and he let me, my daughter, and my wife move into his place for a week. Seikaly was one of my guys. He knew I wasn't there to take his job; I was there to play power forward. One day, he says to me, "Hey, man, how do you play all the way into June?" Remember, I'd been with the Pistons for six seasons and made the playoffs every year. I say, "What'd you say?" He goes, "The playoffs, third round, you guys play all the way to, like, June 28."
"Uh, that's what you do when you win a championship," I say.
"But you only get paid from November to April. That's taking too much of the summer, man. This is ridiculous."
I say: "Well, playing for a championship is about pride. It's not about money."
He says: "It has to be, because this is some bullshit. You guys play an extra two months."
And I was like, holy shit. I didn't even realize it. I was playing an extra two-and-a-half months, for free.
Not only is Seikaly now a well-paid DJ, he also appears to have his turned his NBA earnings into an even larger fortune through his real estate business. He currently lives in a $7.5 million dollar North Bay Road manse while other former players with comparable potential are stealing their mama's house and going to federal prison. Superior human beings, it seems, don't want to get paid in a diamond ring for two months of services.
But Seikaly's not copping to the faux pas of, you know, not wanting the glory and all that other ESPN shit. "I love John and his sense of humor but if anyone knows John Salley they know he is full of shit 90 percent of the time," he told us via text, the only way we could reach him. "I consider John Salley a friend, good at self promotion and a great storyteller."
Oh... snap? But Rony, we press, your alleged point wasn't without merit: Athletes are paid relative peanuts to work their way through the playoffs.
His response: "I never had any business or basketball-business related discussion with John. As I said, John is a great storyteller and definitely not someone to discuss the economics of the NBA."
He dodged the matter at hand pretty nicely. Rony Seikaly: Athlete, DJ... future politician?
