“When we draft and when we trade, I’m bringing in guys that I know have character … They can look in the mirror and know that they’re doing the right things.”JOHN CALIPARI MAYBE there is still too much of that idealistic, college-coach thinking lingering in John Calipari’s brain. Or maybe, he’s just a little naive, this being only his third season as an NBA head coach.
Or maybe Calipari is trying too hard to prove himself a man of principle, a man who can build an elite team without sacrificing its wholesome image.
Laugh if you will. But Calipari remains steadfast in his belief that you can become a championship team without signing players of questionable character like, say, Latrell Sprewell.
“Two years ago when I came in, I said character is non-negotiable,” Calipari said recently. “When we draft and when we trade, I’m bringing in guys that I know have character. That doesn’t mean that they don’t have flamboyant personalities or that they’re not outgoing or outspoken. It means that they have character. They can look in the mirror and know that they’re doing the right things.”
Garden president Dave Checketts thought the same way when he ran Anthony Mason out of town and vowed he would clean up the Knicks image. Then his coach wanted Sprewell and everyone else at the Garden decided a Boy Scout image wasn’t winning championships anyway, so they traded for Sprewell, a three-time All-Star who had not played for 13 months after choking his former coach P.J. Carlesimo.
It was just one of several episodes of brutish behavior on Sprewell’s resume. Yet, Checketts had the good sense to climb down from his high horse and realize the NBA is all about winning.
“We’d like to have an organization that has pride character and loyalty and wins,” Checketts said the day the trade was finalized. “But in New York, people love winners. Winning is a priority.”
Winning is a priority for Calipari, too. But unlike Checketts and the Knicks, he is still selling his program to fans in New Jersey and to skeptics around the league.
The Knicks can call themselves hypocrites and sign Sprewell because the Garden is sold out every night and anyone who doesn’t like the trade can give their tickets to the next person in line waiting to buy them. There is little risk other than some negative press.
The Nets don’t have that luxury. Not yet. They are still fighting the image of a losing franchise that once served as a burial ground for most players and a gimmie on an opponent’s schedule.
Even though they were 43-39 last season, 17 more wins than the season before, the Nets are still trying to be taken seriously.
“We’re Cinderella,” Calipari said. “We know people are saying, ‘They’re OK, but they’re still the Nets.'”
That’s why signing so-called “good character” players are essential for the Nets. It’s why public relations machine Jayson Williams got $100.1 million over seven years. One bad apple could spoil all the progress made last season. It could spoil Calipari’s credibility.
“If this organization sticks with bringing in guys with character, who can play basketball and we win and we’re exciting, [our arena] will sell out,” Calipari said. “I would say if you don’t get tickets now, you’re not going to get tickets. You’re going to be sitting in the upper deck in a year or two.”
While “a good character player” can be an ambiguous term, there is no question the Nets are an appealing and friendly bunch that embraces its hard-working, underdog image.
Sam Cassell, Kendall Gill, Keith Van Horn, Williams and Kerry Kittles are all personable and engaging. But they’ve got their warts, too.
Williams had problems with law enforcement officials and late-night incidents early in his career; Gill feuded with George Karl in Seattle and Cassell wasn’t a favorite among his former Rockets teammates because he was a ball hog. Still, none of that compares to what Sprewell did to Carlesimo.
“Cal ran three or four names by me and there were three or four guys I didn’t want here,” Williams said. “We’re not going to tolerate nonsense.
“We had a five-year plan [to win a championship], so we have only three years left and we don’t want anyone to come in here and be a negative influence on or off the court.”
But a group of Boy Scouts doesn’t necessarily win championships. Sometimes, teams need an edge. The Bulls needed Dennis Rodman to complement Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan. The Broncos have a certified psycho in linebacker Bill Romanowski. The Yankees have David Wells.
Good-character guys don’t necessarily sell tickets either. The buzz surrounding the Knicks-Nets preseason game last night was generated by one man: Sprewell.
“Bad Boy Comes To The Big Apple.” The crowd wanted to see him; the media wanted to see him. He has been the talk of the town for nearly two weeks, causing the Knicks to overshadow the Nets … again. Even negative publicity can be good publicity. The Nets aren’t ready to accept that.
“I want it to be a community team,” Williams said of his Nets. “I don’t want it to be just another NBA team. I already told the players especially at home, to be much more accessible to the fans. I want it to be more like a minor league baseball team where you can see and talk to the players.”
It all sounds nice and righteous now. But then again, so did Checketts once upon a time.