John Stockton Urges Karl Malone to End War of Words With Utah Jazz

John Stockton is attempting to come through with one more assist for his former pick-and-roll partner.

Karl Malone, who put together a Hall of Fame career playing for the Utah Jazz, has engaged in a war of words with his former team since last Friday. Malone went on a radio show and bashed Jazz management for undermining former coach Jerry Sloan‘s authority in his dealings with point guard Deron Williams, ultimately leading Sloan to step down after 23 years at the helm.

Malone blamed the Jazz for siding with the player over the coach, and said he also felt slighted for having to buy a ticket from a scalper to attend a Jazz game after the team told him it had no tickets available.

Jazz president Greg Miller, who assumed control of the franchise after the death of his father Larry Miller in 2009, responded with a scathing blog post Friday. Miller, who was not team president during Malone’s playing days, recounted episodes when Malone showed up late to autograph sessions or personal lunch appointments and called him “unstable.”

Stockton, who spends his post-playing days living quietly in Spokane, Wash., urged the two sides to get past their dispute before it tarnishes the legacy of the franchise and his former teammate.

“I’ve certainly been in disputes with people as close to me as my brother,” Stockton told The Salt Lake Tribune. “You get after it and say a lot of things. But I have never seen one [disagreement] that couldn’t be resolved by sitting down and talking to a person face to face. It has always worked for me.”

Spoken like a man who spent his career helping other people score 13,806 baskets.