Phil Jackson may have taken a laissez-faire approach with Dennis Rodman (see: Vegas) but, as it turns out, the Zen Master relied on a close friend of Rodman's to help keep the Hall of Famer in line: Pearl Jam bandleader Eddie Vedder.
Ahead of the final episodes of “The Last Dance”, ESPN re-published an installment of Jackson's journal from the 1997-98 playoff run, in which Jackson recalled Vedder's role in preventing Rodman from becoming a hindrance.
“Our only distraction was Dennis Rodman. Earlier in the series, he went to Las Vegas to gamble…but now that we were at home, I wondered if he would come to Monday practice…I wrote on the locker room blackboard, ‘Will Dennis be late? When will he arrive?' That was the night he went to Detroit and wrestled with Hulk Hogan … Eddie Vedder…is helpful for him…He parties with Dennis and stays out late, but he has actually talked Dennis into coming back and playing a lot of times. He relates to Dennis because he's a performer.”
Vedder, a native of Evanston, IL., is a longtime Chicago sports fan. Rodman emotionally thanked the rock icon after a 2018 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Jackson also defended his approach to managing Rodman, noting his mental struggles.
“People say I should be harsh with him, but they are ignorant. If people don't know by now that Dennis is mentally handicapped, what can I say? … I know he has a real problem with attention … The harder you discipline him, the worse it gets. You just alienate a guy who has alienation problems already. What you have to have is patience. You have to accept him and say, ‘Give me the best that you've got.'”
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