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FWD: Peter Vecsey: Calipari Pissed Off & More
[New York Post]
SPORTS
A NET LOSS FOR CAL
By PETER VECSEY
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You don't need a wiretap on John Calipari's
temper to know he's not taking this calmly.
Seems to me he has every reason to feel
stiffed, neglected and demoted to some
degree. WHAT are the Nets' new owners
thinking about? Why would Ray Chambers and
Lewis Katz reward team president/chief
operating officer Michael Rowe with a gift
of one percent (worth $1.5 million) of the
club and give nothing to coach/executive VP
John Calipari? How could they purchase the
team without fingering the one truly
responsible for reversing the
organization's sullied image and
re-establishing its success?
Don't tell me Coach Cal is losing his
boorish powers of persuasion? I'm actually
starting to feel bad for him. Even if he
weren't so consumed with conceit, the
owner's merit system (which also rewarded
Nets executives Willis Reed, Jim Lamparillo
and other loyal lifers with one-tenth of
one percent; watch how fast they try to
sell at the first hint of a cash call to
cover losses) must be a massive, deflating
ego experience.
You don't need a wiretap on Calipari's
temper to know he's not taking this calmly.
Seems to me he has every reason to feel
stiffed, neglected and demoted to some
degree. If Rowe is now an owner, that means
Calipari has lost some control of a front
office he needs to dominate to sufficiently
feed his narcissism.
Not that having checks and balances in any
operation is a bad thing. But that's
assuming the two decision makers harbor
mutual respect. I don't know much about
their relationship, but I suspect there are
precious few opinions outside of his own
that matter to Calipari.
Who's more important to ownership? Calipari
sees himself as the one who's guided the
club to prominence. Rowe sees himself as
the one who'll bring the club to Newark.
I can hear his howling from here. If
Calipari can't be the exclusive commander
and chief, then the new owners better be
prepared to compensate him for his lost
face and mental suffering when he has the
option to skate out of the remaining two
years of his contract at the end of this
season. You can smell the renegotiation
attempt burning in his brain.
It'll never happen! Coach Cal will be lucky
to last a lockout-shortened season.
According to my unofficial calculation,
he's one embarrassing moment (to the team
or the owners) away from being deported.
Judging by the Nets owners' actions,
they've already picked up a strong scent of
his instability, egocentricity and players'
distaste for him.
Whenever anyone asks Jayson Williams these
days about his affection for Calipari, I
cringe as he's saying all the right things
about his former tormentor. It's
unnecessary to cover the club on as much as
an irregular basis to know he means none of
it.
Now I ask you, once Williams gets paid what
he's earned for his invaluable
on-and-off-the-court contribution to the
franchise, and suddenly is feeling
fabulously secure, how quickly do you think
it'll take him to lead a revolt? DESPITE
the lack of practice, it's encouraging to
see Karl Malone already in
mid-renegotiation form. Naturally, he wants
to be traded by the Jazz. He's figured it
out, new system or old, owner Larry Miller
can't justify overpaying him as much as a
bigger-market team like the Lakers (as we
all know, Karl insists on playing with a
dominate center yet, surprisingly, still
demands franchise-player salary). At least
not without going out of business.
As insulting as Malone can be when it
serves his purpose, it's doubtful he'll be
able to provoke himself out of Salt Lake
City. (Unless the Nets want to swap Keith
Van Horn, who, perhaps, is the only player
who'd be acceptable in return). Clearly,
the Relics, er, Jazz, can't afford to trade
him when their chances of winning a
championship are enhanced by an abbreviated
season and the possibility that Michael
Jordan may retire. On second thought, if I
were Miller I'd seriously consider honoring
Malone's wishes. There's nothing more
dangerous than a disgruntled postal worker.
TALK about warped rationale: For the life
of me, I can't figure out why the owners
opted out of the Collective Bargaining
Agreement because the players banked 57.8
percent of all basketball-related income,
and now refuse to agree to a settlement
that would give them 60 percent? You don't
have to be the executive director of the
union to know how much sense that makes.
Contrary to reports, Stephon Marbury did
not dump Marc Fleisher and hire David Falk
because Falk promised more money come
contract time next summer. No, it was about
a blown sneaker deal with Fila at a time
when shoe companies have drastically cut
back on what they pay athletes to endorse
their wear.
Fleisher - thinking the same bargaining
stance would pressure Fila the same way it
worked on the Timberwolves when he did
Kevin Garnett's $122M deal, rejected a
3-year offer of $1.8M per. A couple months
later, Fila lowered its proposal to $1.2M
per (as opposed to the T'Wolves, who raised
Garnett's bar from $17M per to $22M).
Shortly, thereafter, Fila again lowered its
offer, this time to 600G per, prompting
Marbury to leave Fleisher.
It's understandable why the league is
having such a rough time getting Patrick
Union to compromise, much less show up and
negotiate. Is it any wonder he's so spoiled
and stubborn? After all, he's used to
walking into the Garden office of Dave
Checketts and telling him exactly how much
he wants. In light of what Garnett got,
Patrick's probably ticked off his $17M per
number was so small.
This has been bothering me of late: If the
Bulls wind up winning it all this season
under Tim Floyd, do you think it'll hurt
Phil Jackson's market value?
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