Rodman Just Isn't Salt Lake's Type

SALT LAKE CITY - The salesman raised an eyebrow at the young woman's purchase. She bought "Bad as I Wanna Be," the graphic biography of Dennis Rodman, flamboyant Chicago Bull basketball star.

"Check out Chapter Eight," he said. "That's the part about Madonna."

Even in conservative Utah, Rodman has mass appeal. The downtown Barnes & Noble, largest bookstore here, has just three copies left. A shipment of 30 is expected Monday, with 50 more in two weeks.

"We can't keep it on the shelves," the salesman said. "We sold out the first day."

With the exception of a yearly visit to the Delta Center, that's as close as Utah fans will get to his Royal Badness. If you want Dennis Rodman here, your best options are either hardcover or paperback.

"Dennis Rodman will never play for the Jazz," President Frank Layden repeatedly has said.

Considering the impending offseason and numerous high-profile free-agents on the market, Layden's comments spur the question: If Rodman is unsuitable, then who could play in Salt Lake City, a community that shapes its basketball team in its image as much as Los Angeles does the Lakers and Boston does the Celtics?

"Country boys. If you're a country boy, you'd fit in nice here," Jazz center Antoine Carr said. "Look at Karl (Malone), look at Jerry (Sloan) - country boys."

Carr grew up in Wichita, Kan., and spent his first 4 1/2 professional seasons in Atlanta.

"It's a big difference coming from Atlanta to Salt Lake. There, it was all flash and style and who could outdo who. We had Dominique (Wilkins), one of the flashiest players in the game.

"You won't find that here. I like the outdoors and fishing, I like it here. . . . Remember where you're at. Folks around here are not going to put up with antics like changing your hair color every minute."

The Jazz, down 0-2 in the best-of-seven Western Conference finals, are a cohesive bunch. They will not self-destruct because of infighting or player-coach squabbles that ruined Seattle's past two playoff runs.

However, Utah's shortcomings might be its strength - a desire to cater to its unique community. That philosophy has attracted All-Stars Karl Malone and John Stockton as well as turned off many of the NBA's marquee players who desire a bigger market.

"It's not for everybody," Malone said. "It's not the nightlife of a New York or Los Angeles. This is more laid back. It's more family-oriented and outdoors.

"In some of those places, at 12 o'clock at night you go out. Well, at 12 o'clock here, everything closes. If you're looking to party all night, Utah is not for you."

Any discussion of Utah and Salt Lake City must include that more than half of the population is Mormon.

With that in mind, Jazz General Manager Tim Howells has had to assemble a basketball team that will attract fans into the 19,911-seat Delta Center.

"We've always been very particular and extremely careful of the character of the players we bring on this team," Howells said. "That's a reflection of the owner and the franchise and more importantly this community.

"Salt Lake City is a small community that prides itself on work ethic. . . . We've found that only a certain type of player would be happy here. Players who have grown up in a small community or rural atmosphere would be perhaps better suited to live here. Players from an inner city would not do well here."

Of the 12 players on Utah's roster, three were reared in what could be considered metropolitan areas - Greg Foster (Oakland), Howard Eisley (Detroit) and Chris Morris (Atlanta).

"To be honest, I was happy to come here," said Morris, a free-agent acquisition last year. "The off-court stuff doesn't affect me. I'm not into the outdoors, like most of the fellas, but that's OK. I'm into basketball, and the team wins every year."

And that's the big attraction, Howells said. The Jazz have averaged 53 wins over the past eight seasons and are making their 13th consecutive appearance in the playoffs.

Utah has never won an NBA title or a Western Conference championship, however.

"We win a lot of games, but what do we have to show for it?" Sloan said. "Still, we're not going to do anything out of character to win an NBA championship. No hired guns."

Utah will retool its roster during the offseason. Five Jazz are free agents after the season, most notably Stockton, and Utah has a one-year option on Bryon Russell.

All the free agents, except Stockton, are expendable and after signing its All-Star point guard, Utah could have as much as $7 million with which to shop.

Scott Layden, Jazz director of basketball operations, suggested that talent will not necessarily dictate which players Utah will pursue.

Rodman has already been eliminated. Scratch Reggie Miller (too confrontational), Gary Payton (too verbal) and Michael Jordan (too expensive).

"Without really knowing who's out there, I think a Juwan Howard would be great," Malone said. "I think he'd be able to fit in with the team's personality."

And who shapes that personality? Is it owner Larry Miller, the front office, the coach, the players or the community?

Forward Adam Keefe said it's all of the above.

"Look at the type of guys that Jeff Hornacek, John Stockton and Karl Malone are. They are not very different from Larry Miller, who is not very different from Jerry Sloan," Keefe said. "All of those people have been successful through hard work. They all have what I would consider deep family roots.

"Jerry is the same as most of us. He shows up in jeans and cowboy boots, like most players. He drives a van, Karl drives a pickup truck and a lot of players live here during the offseason. You'll find a lot of similarities on this team."

Said Howells: "Character appeals to fans and beyond that is winning. I think we're an open-minded bunch and willing to bring in anybody who can help us win."

Even someone like Dennis Rodman?

"That scenario would be highly unlikely," Howells said.

Said Sloan: "If he came in here, he'd be bigger than the whole world. We're not looking for that. We're looking for guys who are able to fit in."