Mark Cuban, the new Dallas Mavericks owner, is no pushover. Sure, he cut Dennis Rodman a special deal. Rodman can show up late for games. He can stay out and party. He can poke holes in his head until light passes through. He can skip practice, whatever. But Cuban has his limits. The owner -- and call him crazy -- insists that Rodman participate in the games.
Nobody said this gig was going to be easy.An owner has to draw the line somewhere. But who guessed it would be clear back here?
Cuban and Rodman are exploring new territory. Cuban was so anxious to sign Rodman -- and who has the most holes in his head now? -- that he asked him to list his conditions to play (and don't you think this was just asking for trouble?). Thus, Rodman can show up 30 minutes before tip-off, instead of the normal 90 required of his teammates. He can skip game-day shoot-arounds. He doesn't have to attend practices. He can ride an exercise bike instead of the bench during games. He can, well . . .
"He can do whatever he wants to, stay out all night long, as long as at the games he helps us win," says Cuban.
So now it's official. The inmates are running the asylum. It's out in the open. There's no more pretending. A team actually gave a player a contract that says he doesn't have to practice. It told a player to make his own rules, and who says athletes are spoiled and pampered? It essentially told Rodman the rules don't apply to him, that he's the exception. His teammates will do one thing; he will do another.
While his teammates are shooting at the morning shoot-around, Rodman will be sleeping off the previous night's debauchery. ("Running from nightclub to nightclub, I'm sure he got himself in wonderful condition," said Orlando coach Doc Rivers.) While his teammates are doing those annoying laps and inconvenient shooting drills in practice, he can change hair color, get his nails done, pierce another part of his anatomy and pick up a little something for himself at Victoria's Secret. While his teammates are arriving early for the game, he can use the extra time to buff his tattoos.
"I'm saying, 'Dennis, go out and be Dennis,'" says Cuban.
Dennis can be Dennis because he can rebound and because there are teams still willing to do anything for his services. The only thing Rodman forgot to ask for was a uniform exemption, so he doesn't have to tuck in his shirt or even wear one, and right now he's probably kicking himself for the oversight.
Every coach in America must be grinding his teeth to a nub. It probably killed Jerry Sloan. In team sports, this is tantamount to putting poison in the water cooler.
Cuban says he got the blessing of the other Dallas players to give Rodman special treatment. He says they're all right with this arrangement. No way, says Magic Johnson. He calls it a "recipe for disaster."
"That's the great debate -- will it work for them?" says Jazz assistant coach Gordon Chiesa. "Should you treat people differently in a team sport? The answer is, you treat them differently when they're playing because of skills, but when they're not you treat them all the same as far as team discipline. If you don't, it takes the heart out of the team."
Already this thing is contagious. Last week the Knicks' Latrell Sprewell showed up late for the morning shoot-around, the pregame warm-up and the game itself. "We've got the Dennis Rodman rules around here, that's what they are," said teammate Chris Childs. "Hey, whatever . . . Man's got to have priorities. Spree has his, too."
Apparently, the Knicks are saying, "Latrell, go out and be Latrell." Just because basketball pays these guys five-figure money per game, doesn't mean it's a priority.
The Rodman Experiment is going to force us to adjust a few of our time-honored traditions:
No one is bigger than the team -- unless he's 6-foot-8.
There is no "I" in team -- unless you have tattoos.
Practice makes perfect -- but it's not necessary.
Even Michael Jordan had to attend practice. Larry Bird not only attended practice -- he came early. Magic Johnson participated in shoot-arounds. But not Rodman. Dennis is too busy being Dennis.