His Name Is Earl, And He's Cool

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Before heading to Sonics practice, I planned to rip Earl Watson for being one of the reasons why some fans have a hard time embracing the NBA.

Naturally, I was arriving late to this party -- it's been more than a week since Watson griped about his playing time. Subsequently, his coach fired back, trade rumors swirled, and then we hear that Watson and Bob Hill have made up.

I wanted to know where Watson got off complaining about anything. He's Earl Watson, for God's sake, an average NBA player. He's making $5.4 million this season. He's 6-for-his-last 31, and he wants more minutes?

Then I talk to him for nearly two hours and discover that those comments did not come from a selfish, delusional player.

By the end of the interview, Watson agrees to play the Go 2 Guy in a game of H-O-R-S-E for charity and offered a challenge of his own -- he wants to write a sports column for the P-I, put it next to mine, eliminate the bylines and see if readers can tell who wrote which column. Hint: one of them will mention the word "Cougs" 15 times.

Watson knows he's been pressing and not playing well. If he's trying too hard, it's because he's ultra-competitive and wants to contribute.

"What have I got to complain about?" Watson asks before giving the answer. "Losing."

He doesn't seek personal gain, saying: "If I was playing great and we were losing, I'd still be pissed."

Money doesn't motivate him. He can't think of a luxury item he's bought for himself. In the offseason, Watson lives in a two-bedroom apartment in L.A., and owns two vacant houses in Denver and Kansas City as investments.

Every two weeks, a six-figure check is deposited into his Merrill Lynch account, and he's not even sure of the exact amount.

"The money we make is stupid," he said. "If you play for the money, you lose yourself and have no identity. I play for the love of the game, and I play to win."

He plays for something else -- actually, someone else, a kid in his hometown of Kansas City; or one in L.A. where he played his college ball; maybe one in Memphis or Denver, his other NBA stops, and no doubt Seattle, too.

In whatever way he can, Watson wants to inspire others. He doesn't just say stuff like this. Every summer he pays for a kids' basketball league in Kansas City that has 600 players.

He has given back so much to his Kansas City school district that he received a lifetime achievement award from the superintendent last year.

"What'd I do?" Watson thought. "I made a couple shots, put together a couple programs. I felt not worthy."

In Denver last year, before his trade to the Sonics, he chose five single-parent families, asked them what they wanted for Christmas and turned into Santa Earl. He plans to do the same thing here this month.</div>

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