Wouldn't it be fun if a current NBA team had what the Boston Celtics had for a while when they were winning championships?
A player/coach.
It's one of those things basketball coaches like to fantasize about. Kind of the ultimate hombre job.
Why not?
"Head coach?" asks Celtics' reserve Brian Scalabrine. "You're talking about a player also being a head coach? No way."
Well, why not? It used to happen. Bill Russell did it.
Scalabrine talks about how many more media outlets there are now. He talks about scouting databases, and all the many time-consuming things that eat up a coach's day.
He's convincing. No way you could be in charge of all that, and have time to be an elite athlete.
Reporters think for a second about that explanation. The players don't have time to coach. The coaches don't have time to play.
We look at Brian Scalabrine, dressed to practice for a series in which he is inactive. It is literally against NBA rules for him to do any work as a player. (Another question he was asked in this same interview session: "Is carrying players off the court something you're good at?" Scalabrine's response: "On a scale of one to ten, how serious is that question?")
Scal will be in street clothes the next time an NBA game clock is ticking.
The natural question becomes: Well, Brian, how about you? A guy like you might have some time to coach.
"Oh," he says, without the slightest hesitation. "I could do it."
And then he adds the line that proves it will be a long time before there's another player/coach: "And I'd play myself all the time."
(Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images)
