One of the quirkiest characters in the NBA, Brian Scalabrine, or the "White Mamba" will retire after declining a position as an assistant on Tom Thibodeau's coaching staff.
Scalabrine will now join the crew at Comcast New England as commentator for Boston Celtics games next season.
Scalabrine calling games for the Celtics is no surprise after the forward spent his longest tenure in Boston. He played five seasons with the Celtics after being a New Jersey Nets for the first four years of his career.
He was a Bull for his last two seasons as an NBA player, where he was continuously, ridiculed and adored by fans.
Now for Scalabrine, the booth awaits. He said he would prefer television over becoming an assisteant because of the schedule tide into the NBA season as part of a staff.
College coaching is not something too far from his thoughts. He shared his thoughts with Yahoo!.
"I think the only three jobs that I would ever take would be [as] an assistant or a head coach at USC, Oregon or Washington," he told ESPNChicago.com in January. "Because I really enjoy the Pac [12]. I like the way the system is. I like those three places a lot. USC being a place I went to school so ... With the Oregon and Washington [jobs] I have a lot of connections, I know a lot of the high school coaches up there, a lot of the college coaches up there. I think I would do a good job of recruiting the area. So when I say I don't want to coach, the NBA level is just a whole 'nother animal with the games coming at you.
"But ... two games a week, one game week, you can study. You can really prepare. You can prepare your team. It's a much different life than going through a walk-through in a hotel ballroom. And it's a more laid back lifestyle. It's not as high profile. You've got to work, but it's not as high profile as the NBA where it's just one thing after another after another. Media and this thing and that thing. It's a much different life."
Scalabrine played 11 seasons in the NBA. He averaged 3 points, 0.8 assists and 1.5 rebounds a game. He was the 34th overall pick by the Nets in the 2001 draft.
