Bulls' Mohammed believes there's no animosity between players anymore

Chicago Bulls center Nazr Mohammed believes the hate among NBA players has almost all but disappeared. 

‘‘Back in the day, a kid who’s in the top 10 or 15 in Seattle, you might see him once a year and hate his guts and want to kill him on the court because he was a top-ranked player, maybe ahead of you,’’ Mohammed told the Chicago Sun-Times. ‘‘You have that animosity where you wanted to outplay him, and that stays with you as you come up and throughout your career.

‘‘AAU, social media, that’s all gone. Basketball on a high school level has just meshed all these kids from all over the country, especially with social media, so playing with each other at this level is no big deal. There’s no longer that dislike.’’

Mohammed has seen a lot over his 17-year career and doesn't necessarily believe that this new found affection between opponents is a bad thing. 

‘‘Ultimately, it’s good for the league,’’ Mohammed said. ‘‘You’ve got guys that like each other, want to play with each other. Why not? The collective-bargaining agreement is going to settle some of it because either guys are going to take huge pay cuts to play with their best friends or you can’t do it because of the CBA.’’