Scalabrine's stand-up routine draws chuckling crowd

BOSTON -- Anyone who thought Brian Scalabrine was basically a team mascot in Boston, maybe one step above Lucky the Leprechaun in the chain of command, is badly mistaken.

Scalabrine drew loud cheers at the TD Banknorth Garden when he was shown on the scoreboard in the first quarter and blocked the hallway outside the locker room because so many reporters listened to his pregame interview.

The Celtics should have given Scalabrine a stage, microphone and spotlight, because he provided the local media with a respectable stand-up comedy routine.

Here's Scalabrine on why it took him so long to sign with the Bulls this summer:

“We were talking to Chicago the whole time, talking to Gar Forman. The holdup was I wanted a statue next to Michael Jordan. He was like, ‘There have been a lot of good players come through Chicago and I don't know if I can guarantee you we can do that.'

“So I said, ‘Well, I'm going to hold out until you can promise me that.' But at the end of the day, I said, ‘Fine, you don't have to put the statue up.' So then I just signed with them.”

On playing his first game in New Jersey, his original NBA team, as a visiting player:

“The difference is there's going to be a sold-out crowd. In New Jersey, there were 6,000 people.”

On Detroit's Charlie Villanueva complaining via Twitter about Kevin Garnett's trash talk:

“I believe Villanueva broke a code that should never be broken. What is said out there stays out there. I would never go to you guys and say stuff that KG's going to say to me tonight, good or bad. … Maybe good.”

Asked if he plans to coach when his playing days are over, Scalabrine said he admires his wife and two daughters too much for that. He did offer to take over for Tommy Heinsohn on Celtics broadcasts when the time comes.

“I think that would be a good place for me,” Scalabrine said. “Wouldn't I be great at it?”

Once the laughter died down, Boston coach Doc Rivers reminded everyone why Scalabrine should be a role model for marginal NBA players.

“I don't think people understand the value of being a great teammate,” Rivers said. “I've told him that 100 times since I've been in the league, he's top two or three as far as being a teammate. Being a team player, teammate, understanding his role.

“He'll be with me someday (as an assistant coach). I've told him that. The day he's done playing and needs a seat, it will be there for him. I just think he's one of those guys you want around you team.”