Bulpett Interviews Pitino

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Would you buy a used vacuum from Pitino? You just take everything he
says with
a grain of salt....


Pitino: C's can rise - or fall: Coach likes club's potential, but
keeping talent pool filled is a concern
by Steve Bulpett 
Thursday, April 20, 2000



There was still a chill in the air when the Celtics season ended last
night, which is concise evidence that things did not go well for a
franchise accustomed to playing into the warmth of late spring. As he
gathers the pieces of a season that never truly fit his hopes, Rick
Pitino sat down for a conversation with the Herald.


Q. How do you choose to view this season?



A. I like the guys very much. I like their attitude. I like their
willingness to work. I think they have a strong desire to win. But I
think we're very similar to Houston and Dallas and one or two other
teams in this league that have potential to make the next step. Now we
all have to figure out how to do that. We know we have to play much
better defense, but from a personnel standpoint, how do we get things
without giving up too much of our strength. That's the key.



Q. How important are the Celtics' financial issues as they relate to
your job?



A. They're important, but I try not to talk about that too much because
I don't think people comprehend the parameters of it. They don't
understand how difficult it is to make trades. They don't understand the
budgetary restraints. With the base-year rule, the league has made it
very difficult to make trades.



Q. The question is more about the budgetary issues.



A. We'll meet (today) and find out exactly where we stand there and go
over what Paul (Gaston, the chairman) wants to spend. That's something
that we discuss and get our parameters so we can move forward.



Q. Considering what you've seen in other cities in terms of poor support
for playoff-bound teams, would you handle things differently the night
you criticized the city's negativity?



A. No. I've said this 15,000 times now. I'm perfectly happy with what I
said, and I've seen a noticeable change in the fans' attitude toward our
players since that time in a positive sense. If somebody starts to boo
some of our players for missing free throws, the other people just drown
it out with applause. I think we have great fans, and I think we're
better off if they stay behind a young basketball team and encourage
them. I don't want to overdramatize it. It wasn't that big a deal to me.



Q. In February, you told this paper that if you ever left the Celtics,
you would look to get another NBA job. Lately you've seemed to open the
door to a return to the college level if things don't pan out with the
Celtics. Why the change?



A. I don't think I can foretell the future. I don't know what the future
might bring. Obviously I love the game of basketball. I love it at every
level. So I can't foretell where I'll be or what I'll do. And, quite
frankly, I don't think it's significant. I really don't think it's
relevant where I'm at or what I do. I'm not Bill Parcells, who's brought
the Patriots to the Super Bowl. That's when it's relevant whether a
coach stays or leaves or does whatever. I'm a coach trying to rebuild a
franchise that hit its nadir. It's a struggle to try and get it, and
there are parts that are working, parts that need fine-tuning and parts
that need to be changed. But with that in mind, I think what I'm doing
and where my future lies is totally irrelevant to the big picture. Who
knows what tomorrow will bring. I think I'm just going to coach next
year every day as if it's my last and look at it that way and have some
fun with this - because it hasn't been fun and I want to make it fun.



Q. You didn't like the speculation about you and other jobs this year.



A. That's not true. It's not a question of speculation. I don't like
lies. Speculation's different than lies. You can speculate and that's
honest reporting to a certain degree. It's your opinion. But you can't
lie. The whole Final Four thing was a lie. The North Carolina thing was
a lie. The Kentucky thing was a lie. Speculation is part of journalism,
but those were mistruths, and that's not part of journalism.



Q. But doesn't saying that you will leave at the end of next season if
things are not working out open the door for more of those stories?



A. What I was trying to do was put it on me. I was asked, `Are you going
to make household changes to this basketball team because it's not
getting the job done?' My whole thing to them was that I like the
players. I like what they're doing. As the president of the
organization, I wouldn't make household changes to them. I would change
myself. That's what I was trying to say. Put the blame on me. Like
midway through the season when I had that situation, diffuse it to me. I
think that's my responsibility as a leader - to put it on me and not
blame them. That was my message at that point, not that I'm intending on
leaving. I'm intending on staying. But my message is that if the job
doesn't get done, don't blame the players. I'm the one who brought them
in. So the blame has to be put on my shoulders solely.



Q. So what's the correct way to characterize what will happen if the
team doesn't make the playoffs next season?



A. I'll sit down with Paul. I'll ask him if he wants to make a change.
I'll say, `It's been four years and I haven't gotten the job done.' I
think the fans would want a change at that point in time. I'd want to
look in that direction, and I'd be very honest and very up front,
because if it's four years of losing - no matter how strong a leader I
think I may be, no matter how resilient I may think I am and how tough I
may think I am - that's difficult on any person. So I would go to Paul
and say, `Paul, I want to stay on as president or maybe do something
else. What do you think?' We'd discuss the whole situation. I think that
would be good. The bottom line is I'm going to do what's best for the
organization. And my feelings at that point is that the best for the
organization would be for me to look elsewhere and have different
leadership. I won't necessarily say it's better leadership; it has to be
different leadership.



Q. Are you saying this is not cut and dried?



A. If Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker go down and have injuries and
there's obstacles that you can't overcome, I'm not going to walk away if
we don't have a good season. But if everything goes according to Hoyle
and the job doesn't get done, then I think it's in the best interest of
the Boston Celtics for a change. I don't think anything's cut and dried.
What I want to do more than anything else is not talk about what I'm
going to be doing but what the Celtics are going to be doing. That's the
main thing I want to do.



Q. It seems that you and Antoine Walker are always in the public's
focus. You've talked about your future. What about Antoine's. What will
determine whether he's a Celtic next season.



A. First of all, I'm not looking to trade Antoine Walker. But I've
always said that if there's a deal that comes along that makes the
Boston Celtics more competitive - not a quick fix that makes you better,
but something that in the next three or four years brings a better team
to the fans - then I would do it.



I've got a lot of confidence in Antoine Walker. I think he's getting
better. Does that mean that we would not trade Antoine or any other
player? No, that does not mean that. It's just that my confidence is
growing in him as a person. My confidence is growing in him as a player.
I like the way he played the last 30 games. So the obvious question is
what happened to the first 50? Well, if you're a positive person, you
say, `Well, he's getting it now, so don't complain about the past. Let's
look forward to the future.' I'm very bullish on him as a basketball
player. With his passing, I think he sees what he can do for people. And
I think he's maturing. I think he's learning.



I really think if we can get the improvements we're looking for from
Antoine and everyone else - and we can make a move or two - then we
could take that next step.