Image is everything! The NBA has been telling us this, at least subliminally, for years.

From marketing schemes that involved Michael Jordan and Grant Hill to Friday’s Hall of Fame ceremonies, the league with the czar known as David Stern has done such a fantastic job of selling the game, one would think that everything connected with it is beautiful.

“Love it live!” advertisements no doubt will kick in again shortly, and the NBA will continue promoting its stay-in-school programs all part of the pristine posture the league tries to project at every opportunity.

But the NBA won’t be doing anything to call attention to the disastrous off-season it has endured.

With training camps scheduled to open Tuesday, several disturbing issues are not about to fade away, regardless of how much the league would like them to.

Chris Webber, Sacramento’s $123 million man, could spend time in jail if federal prosecutors prove that he lied to a Michigan grand jury about receiving approximately $280,000 from a booster while playing at the University of Michigan.

Keon Clark, the former Toronto Raptor recently signed by the Kings as a free agent, was charged with marijuana possession while he was still shopping for a new address.

Although the charges against Allen Iverson were subsequently dropped, there was a mug shot taken of the 76ers star when four felony and 10 misdemeanor charges were leveled against him after a July 3 altercation between him and his wife, Tawanna. The charges came after two individuals alleged that he had threatened them with a gun.

The Sixers’ Derrick Coleman was charged with driving under the influence and pleaded no contest. Glenn Robinson was traded from Milwaukee to Atlanta, but not before being arrested after an alleged domestic dispute. His case is pending.

Bison Dele, who retired in 1999 after an eight-year NBA career, is believed to be dead possibly at the hand of his brother after having disappeared in July while sailing in the South Pacific.

And that’s just the stuff we know about. “You have to understand, Stern has done a fantastic job of cleaning up its image for years, so you know he’s upset,” said an NBA source who asked for anonymity. “Let’s face it, Stern inherited a league with a lot of problems in the early ’80s. Drugs. Violence. Discipline issues. To get this league to where it is today, to be able to sell it to the viewing public, not only did you have to make the sport into something parents could bring their kids to see, but you had to make sure the players were worthy of seeing, as well.”

Some would argue that, considering some of the transgressions that have taken place over the years, plenty of players have fallen far short of being role models. But this summer was especially bad.

Iverson never spent a second in jail, but all anyone will remember is that he was accused. Dele was always considered unconventional, but the fact that he was an NBA player will be etched in everyone’s mind.

League-wide, people ache for reasons to despise Coleman the person because they dislike Coleman the player. The anticipation surrounding the opening of training camp can disguise a lot of things, but not these issues.