http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-1/1083837889290580.xml 'It's the best time for me' Thursday, May 06, 2004 Hornets' Bass retires, ending 55-year career By Jimmy Smith Staff writer Bob Bass, whose five-decade basketball career included stints in high school, college, the ABA and NBA, announced his retirement Wednesday after nine seasons as the top basketball executive with the Hornets, a team that never had a losing season under his watch. It was the first of what is expected to be an offseason full of maneuvering for New Orleans. Owner George Shinn said he will begin, with Bass' help, the task of finding a successor, and that assistant general manager Allan Bristow, whom Bass hired after last season, is a candidate. Bass, the team's executive vice president of basketball operations and general manager, will remain with the club through the June 24 draft and officially leave June 30. That means Bass will help determine whether another coaching change will be made in the aftermath of an injury-plagued 41-41 regular season and another first-round playoff elimination. No one was addressing that Wednesday, the day after the Hornets' series against Miami ended. The Hornets talked only of Bass' pending departure, something Shinn said Bass has been threatening each year since he joined the Hornets in 1995. Bass said he discussed his plans with Shinn around the February All-Star break, then informed him of the final decision April 1. "I told George, 'I'm not going to back out this time,' " the 75-year-old Bass said. Bass said his heart told him it was time to walk away from a basketball career than spanned more than a half-century. "You know, I never made one dollar outside of basketball," he told the coaches, players, front office personnel and media gathered at New Orleans Arena. "I coached two years in high school, 17 years in college, 36 years in the ABA and the NBA. Now that is one hell of a long time. "At some point, I felt like it was time for me to take leave, permanent leave, and go back to Texas and enjoy whatever I had left. "I really have struggled a lot this year with a lot of things that have happened. I just felt it was time for me. It's the best time for me." Bass refused to elaborate on the recent struggles that helped him decide to leave basketball and head home to San Antonio. But it has been a season fraught with injury and controversy, beginning a year ago when the Hornets decided not to renew the contract of head coach Paul Silas. That started a nearly month-long search, headed by Bass, for a new head coach, which ended with the hiring of Tim Floyd. It was a move that was roundly criticized in NBA circles because of Floyd's 49-190 record in 3 ½ seasons with the Chicago Bulls. In October, guard Courtney Alexander ruptured his right Achilles tendon in a preseason game and was lost for the season. Also in October, All-Star forward Jamal Mashburn sustained a knee injury in a training camp scrimmage that ultimately required arthroscopic surgery. Bass approved Mashburn's request to rehabilitate at his home in Miami following the surgery, a decision that caused friction among Mashburn's teammates. That friction lingered upon his return in January. Mashburn re-injured the knee in March after playing just 19 games. He was not placed on the Hornets' playoff roster, then made disparaging comments about the team to a Miami newspaper after a Game 1 loss. Bass then decided to banish Mashburn, telling him to stay away from the team for the remainder of the playoffs. On Wednesday, Shinn called Bass "the rock and the builder of this franchise." "He's meant more to me than I could ever say," Shinn said. "I've got crazy feelings about this. He's been a great friend to me and to a lot of people in this organization. I would like to say I love him like a father, but I think he'd like for me to say I love him like a brother." Bass was both humorous and poignant during his brief press conference, breaking down at one point when talking about buying a new hunting dog to replace the two that have died in the nearly 10 years he has been away from his San Antonio home. "Ain't this hell," Bass said, losing his composure. "How I'm going to retire, I have no idea. I don't know how you retire. But I know I'm not going to put on a running suit and running shoes and go down the aisles of Wal-Mart and look around." Shinn said he has no timetable for finding Bass' successor, or for his annual offseason evaluations of the coaching staff and players. "That will be done in the coming weeks," Shinn said. "We don't have a set date or deadline, but that will be done shortly." Shinn also said he didn't know whether he'd decide if a coaching change is necessary before finding a replacement for Bass. "I don't know the answer to that," Shinn said. "We'll have to sit down and evaluate it. Bob Bass will be involved in all these discussions and decisions. This is a critical time. We've got a lot of work to do." . . . . . . . Jimmy Smith can be reached at [email protected] or (504) 826-3814. --

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