We intend to develop our young players by giving them playing time where they will undoubtedly make some mistakes and learn from them. Also, our goal will be that of trying to win games by putting the best guys out there. We don’t know how good we can be this year. I think we can do much better than last year if we can stay healthy. As far as how soon we can be in position to win playoff games, we need development from our young guys and we need contributions from our veteran players. We are going to try to blend it all toward that goal.
David-I would say that I don’t quite look at it like that. It is our mission to win playoff games, and we want to make that happen as soon as possible. We need to become a team that first gets to the playoffs so that we can win playoff games. Having the worst record in the league to build on, it certainly is a stretch to predict playoff success this year. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a hope or a goal, but it is a long way to get there. What we want to do is take positive steps toward putting our team in a position to win playoff games as soon as possible.
We have Beno (Udrih) and Sergio (Rodriguez), so I am sure we will have quite a bit of competition at that position. Beno tweaked his knee a little bit while playing for his country this summer, but will be ok and ready the first day. Sergio has been working out and he will also be ready. We’ll have good competition at the point guard spot. I don’t have a pre-conceived decision on who will get the minutes or who will start, but I think that we have three good options.
Joe-First of all we are very excited and quite convinced that Tyreke is going to be an excellent point guard in this league for many years. I don’t understand the sentiment that he isn’t able to be a point guard. He isn’t a classic play maker, “you get over here and you get over there” type of point guard. He is someone who can get where he needs to go off the dribble and he can create mis-matches in the post and he can guard point guards. I think he is going to have a very effective career as a point guard in the NBA. Having said that, he is young. He is a rookie and so many of the questions concerning his timetable for development will be answered as time unfolds. There is no way of knowing that in advance. I have great confidence in him, but there is still a learning curve and we have two other point guards on the team who are proven NBA players.
It can be learned to a certain extent, but a lot of rebounding is a gift. If you are able to see where that ball is coming off before it has even hit the rim and the man you are playing against can’t do that, then you are going to have the advantage. That isn’t something that I have ever seen anyone teach. You can recognize it in someone and say I would want him on my team because he knows where the ball is coming off. We try to get players like that, but some of rebounding is the habit of boxing out and the desire of wanting the ball. Also, it isn’t just one person rebounding, it is everybody being committed to it. One reason we brought on Truck Robinson is because he was one of the greatest rebounders of all time. He led the league in rebounding as a 6’7” forward. He is going to help, in part, due to all of the tricks he has learned. I think that we will improve our rebounding. Whether it is enough or we need some extra personnel, that remains to be seen. That is something that you have to look at. If the guys you have can’t get rebounds and you are emphasizing it, then you just have to get new guys.
If we do start to see improvement, particularly in our rebounding, so that we are not giving up too many second shots, we then want to be able to get some easy shots. The best way to do that is to get the ball up the floor quickly and look for a high-percentage shot. I am drawn to that style of play and think that is what suits this team and that is what we are going to try to do. We won’t be able to do it though if we are not able to rebound. If we have to change our personnel and get better defensive players and more rebounders, that will affect our style of play. I am interested myself in seeing how fast we can play. We are not going to sacrifice defense to the extent that you would have to sacrifice it just to play fast and loose. We don’t want to do that.
Brian-If you are going to answer the question about offensive systems, you first must answer the question, “How is your defense going to be?” You are not going to win games in the NBA unless your defense is respectable. To be last in the league in field goal percentage, last in three-point defense and last in rebounding, it was not a respectable defense. So it doesn’t matter what offense you run if you can’t do better in those categories. Our plan is to shore up our defense in those areas. You also cannot just wave a wand and lead the league in those categories, but we can start to see improvement.
I like the enthusiasm and the hunger that I see. I see attitudes of guys that didn’t like being a part of a team that only won 17 games. When you take someone like Kevin Martin who is a proven, high-level NBA player who I think will be on the All-Star team for many years to come, but was injured much of last year, there is still a feeling that he was part of all of that. All of the guys who are back felt they were part of that. You could even say that Spencer (Hawes) was young, Jason (Thompson) was a rookie, that it’s not their fault--- but they were still a part of it. They didn’t like it. I see an attitude of “we are a lot better than that and we’re not going to let it happen to us again.” I see receptive guys who want to be here and want this to be a respected team. I think that is a really good place to start. I see a group that has talent, enthusiasm and hunger.
Jonathan-I think that historically, and particularly since the Maloof’s have owned the team and Geoff Petrie has put the talent together, this has been one of the teams in the NBA to be reckoned with. Just because we are down a little bit doesn’t mean they don’t have the know-how and the will to bring us back into the NBA elite. The city has also embraced this team and almost willed them to success many times. I think that Sacramento is renowned throughout the league for having one of the craziest home court advantages to exist in the last 10-15 years. I think there is a hunger for people to have that back and there is a hunger from the management. To me, to have the nucleus of these young players and the potential of the team, along with the desire of the city and organization to see that happen again, just seems like an obvious and exciting opportunity.
Alex-Right now, the way that our roster is constituted, we do not have a lot of tall centers. Spencer Hawes certainly qualifies as a legitimate NBA 7-footer. We are bringing Melvin Ely to camp, and Jason Thompson has the size to play against most centers. We have Kenny Thomas, who has shown us that he probably can defend the low post better than anyone else on our roster, even though he is a little short to play center. There is also Sean May as an option. So, whenever Spencer is not at center, then I guess we will be playing small ball, if that is what you want to call it.
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