Robert Parish bashes former Celtics teammates, wants coaching job

Not a good look for all time great and former Celtic Robert Parish in this weekend's Boston Globe. Apparently Parish has sold all his championship rings (We already knew about two of them) and is low on cash.

The Celtics hired him in 2004 for public relations work, but Parish found the $80,000 salary too low. “I want to make it clear, I’m not whining, and the Celtics owe me nothing. But having said that, you would think at least I would have a conversation about a coaching job, since that’s what I want to do.”

Parish, who earned roughly $24 million in 21 years in the NBA, says he needs a job with a substantial six-to-seven-figure salary. “I don’t want to have to start over. I’m not homeless and I’m not penniless, but I need to work.”

While $80 thousand wasn't enough for Parish he reached out to his former All-Star teammates and says they have turned their backs on him.

“People shouldn’t feel sad; they should help me get a job,” said the Hall of Fame center with the deep voice on the other end. “I need a coaching job in the NBA. I’m restless and I need money. ”

Parish, 59, said that Bird and McHale, both of whom have held coaching and front office jobs in the league (McHale is the coach of the Houston Rockets), have done nothing to help him in his quest to return to the NBA, although he says he has reached out to them. He calls his Hall of Fame teammates “acquaintances.”

“In my case, I don’t have any friends,’’ Parish said. “I saw Kevin at an event; he said he was going to call me. He never called. I called Larry twice when he was at the Indiana Pacers; he never returned my call. And not just Larry. Across the board, most NBA teams do not call back. You need a court order just to get a phone call back from these organizations. I’m not a part of their fraternity.”

Bird has a rather different recollection. Traveling, he sent a concise text in response to questions from the Globe: “Robert never called me for a job. Period.”

McHale, for his part, expressed remorse in a voicemail. He said he tried to hire Parish when he was in Minnesota, but “I went back and checked . . . we were actually reducing spots at the time. Then I was let go from Minnesota.”

He says he saw Parish later, when McHale worked for TNT.

“I feel terrible about the whole thing, but I just didn’t have a position,’’ McHale said. “I would have loved to have hired Robert if something would’ve came up.”

When Larry says that, "Robert never called me for a job," one could ask a follow-up question whether Parish called him for money. Parish then goes on to call out Danny Ainge for being "selfish."

“You would think Danny would’ve stepped up and said something,’’ he said. “I think he’s got a little pull with the organization. But I didn’t take it personal. I understood.’’

Parish is pressed on his relationship with Ainge.

He responds by reaching back in time, telling a story about how Celtics president Red Auerbach and coach K.C. Jones once asked him to take fewer shots because Dennis Johnson and Ainge wanted more scoring opportunities. The Chief readily agreed.

“Danny is selfish, even after I made the sacrifice for him and DJ, he still asked to be traded.’’

Talk about the completely wrong way to go about trying to get a job. Also, not too many people will feel sorry for a guy who made $24 million and that wasn't enough. Then quit an $80k job, because it wasn't 6 or 7 figures. And asked if he lamented selling his 3 championship rings, Parish said not really because he rarely looked at them, which would be fine... But then he said he missed his 50 Greatest NBA Players ring the most, which was solely an individual honor. Again, not the best look for Parish in this Globe article. Can't see any of his former teammates who he threw under the bus rushing to offer him a job now, and I doubt other teams will either. Sounds like a coaching candidate that just wants the gig for the salary. It's a shame, since I wouldn't be surprised if the Chief would have made a solid coach.

What are your thoughts?

You can read the entire Boston Globe piece here.

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