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 to prove himself a man of principle, a man who can build an elite team without sacrificing its wholesome image by signing players of questionable character like, say, Latrell Sprewell.
Good luck.
“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. Itmeans 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 the wins,” Checketts said the day the trade was finalized. “But in New York, people love winners. Winning is a priority.”
That point was proven last night in Sprewell’s unofficial debut as a Knick at the Garden.
He was greeted with a huge ovation when he was introduced as part of the starting lineup before a preseason game between the Knicks and Nets. And after scoring 17 points in the third quarter and four of the Knicks’ first seven points to start the fourth, Sprewell received a loud and long standing ovation from the crowd as he left for the bench.
“I was lovin’ that,” Sprewell said of the crowd support he enjoyed throughout the night. “Even when I wasn’t playing well in the first half, to have them still behind me helped get me going in the second half.”
Sprewell wound up with a game-high 27 points and a positive first impression. Perhaps that’s something Calipari will store in his memory bank for somewhere down the line when he has a chance to get an All-Star player with a not-so-good character background. Fans forgive and forget. Coaches can, too.
Still, you can’t blame Calipari for thinking the way he does. 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 sign Sprewell and anyone who doesn’t like it 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 sounds good for now. 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, [the 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.”
Maybe. But a group of Boy Scouts don’t necessarily win championships, and that’s what the Knicks are after this season, not next. The Nets have a future. The Knicks always live in the present. That’s why getting Sprewell was a good move.
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.
Now the Knicks have Sprewell, who showed last night, he can score, energize the crowd and add a flair of excitement the Knicks need.
Players with so-called flawed character can sell tickets, too. The buzz surrounding the 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; Puff Daddy, Spike. Sprewell had 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.
“Cal ran three or four names by me and there were three of four guys I didn’t want here,” Williams said. “We’re not going to tolerate nonsense.”
It all sounds nice and righteous. But they should remember the night when Sprewell scored 27.