Ailene Voisin: Just no place for Peja to hide

#1
sacbee

Kings 2004 preview: Ailene Voisin: Just no place for Peja to hide



By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Tuesday, November 2, 2004


Under normal circumstances, Peja Stojakovic, having struggled throughout his most recent postseason series and yet another of the Kings' ill-fated, seven-game encounters, would be bouncing off the backboard to begin again.



But this was no ordinary offseason.

It began with Peja in a shooting slump.


It ended with Peja in a funk.

In between, the two-time All-Star experienced the following: (a) learned of a teammate's criticism that many believe was aimed in his direction; (b) was told his services were no longer needed by the injury-riddled Serbian Olympic team after he asked to skip the opening weeks of the month-long training session due to a scheduling conflict; (c) served in the Greek army; (d) watched his close friend Vlade Divac defect to the Lakers; (e) asked for a trade.

Oh.

And he had a son, Andrej.

"The baby is probably the best thing to happen in my life to this point," Stojakovic said with a grin. "So there were a lot of things last summer."

Though he seems increasingly upbeat and appears to be even softening his stance regarding his future with the Kings, allowing that "I love the area and the fans, so we will just see what happens and let time take care of things," his 2004-05 season nonetheless figures to be a real page-turner, with the close-to-the-vest small forward again shrouded in mystery.

He speaks English fluently and has even mastered the colloquialisms, yet for public consumption offers words only sparingly when pressed on matters that might be perceived as provocative or controversial.

Like that strangely timed trade request. Like his late-season role change and ensuing slump. Like his analysis of what went wrong with the Kings back in March and April and May. Like his thoughts on the offense and the defense. Like his thoughts on 2004-05.

"I am just going to go on the court and play the game," Stojakovic said carefully. "I'm just going to ... I am not going to worry about how many shots, or things like that. I will just play the game like I always do."

Clearly, this is no Jeff Kent responding to Barry Bonds. Though he has emerged as the most valuable of the Kings' two All-Star forwards primarily because of his health and age, Peja has never seemed interested in sparring with teammates for accolades or attention.

While witty, playful and quite the prankster away from the cameras, he has functioned quite comfortably in the shadow of the more celebrated Chris Webber.

Yet the dynamic between the two stars grows more fascinating by the hour.

The roles are changing, perhaps even reversing, with recent seasons having been more gentle to one than the other. While Webber has been sidelined with debilitating knee injuries, Stojakovic has quietly developed into one of the NBA's elite small forwards and arguably the game's premier outside shooter. He has improved areas of weakness - becoming an adequate defender - and when prodded to do so, he's proven to be a more-than-capable rebounder.

During Webber's 58-game regular-season absence last season, in particular, Stojakovic stretched his 6-foot-10, 229-pound frame and reached elite status.

With an insatiable appetite for running and cutting and moving without the ball, he very gracefully and efficiently assumed the mantle as primary scorer, benefiting immensely from the unselfishness and collaborative efforts of Mike Bibby, Doug Christie, Brad Miller, Bobby Jackson and the departed Divac.

"The key to our team is Peja," Jackson said bluntly. "When he's hitting shots, it opens things up for everybody else. And he can still get better on defense."

Yet based on his words and his actions during both the postseason and the offseason, Peja clearly has more maturing to do. On the court, off the court, in the locker room.

First of all, though Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie endorsed the inexhaustible Peja's self-imposed quasi-exile from the gym last summer - for Stojakovic, extensive daily workouts are as essential as eating and breathing - none other than Larry Bird has suggested that he expand his repertoire with some low-post and dribble moves.

Given his offseason hiatus, any immediate improvement undoubtedly will require a willingness to spend extra time working on his individual skills after practices and before games.

Of even greater importance will be whether Peja accepts the responsibility that accompanies his elevated stature. You can't be the league's second-leading scorer and "the guy" for three-fourths of the season - which he was last year - earning recognition as a legitimate MVP candidate on a team that owned the league's best record, and then get shoved aside down the stretch without pushing back.

Without demanding the ball and making the shots. Without asking the tough questions. In essence, without stepping up both for your teammates and for yourself.

Remember, this is no stranger to conflict. After his home was destroyed in what is now Croatia, the native of the former Yugoslavia moved to Greece and became a 16-year-old superstar on one of Europe's premier clubs.

Four years later, and before he was even introduced to Divac, he defied his father and arrived in Sacramento with a Kings gym bag and little else. He was both appreciative of the opportunity and stubbornly determined to succeed; indeed, there was more than a flash of flinty resolve in those dark eyes of his.

And for the Kings to overcome the uncertainty of Webber's medical condition and the extent of his availability and effectiveness, Peja has to be a dominant presence.

He doesn't have to lead per se, not in the conventional sense; that would be inconsistent with his amiable personality. But he does have to shoot and score, and as is the case of all great players intent on taking their games to the next level, do whatever else it takes to get his hands on the ball during crucial possessions.

This season he can't go silently into the night, withdrawing from trusting teammates and becoming overwhelmed by the circumstances. He is 27. He is healthy. He is here.

Asking out is not the answer. Stepping up is.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#2
Ok, I have to ask at this point, who exactly is writing these reasonable articles and what has she done with Ailene? :p

Note, the cynic inside of me wonders a bit if Ailene wasn't told by a superior to tone it down a bit after one King after another came out and basically told her to stick her earlier attack columns where the sun don't shine (in fact Brad may have said exactly that given the number of expletives in his statements :) ). That same cynic imagines she'll be right back to her old tricks at the first stumble by the team.

But in the meantime, she's actually been readable!
 
#3
Bricklayer said:
Ok, I have to ask at this point, who exactly is writing these reasonable articles and what has she done with Ailene? :p

Note, the cynic inside of me wonders a bit if Ailene wasn't told by a superior to tone it down a bit after one King after another came out and basically told her to stick her earlier attack columns where the sun don't shine (in fact Brad may have said exactly that given the number of expletives in his statements :) ). That same cynic imagines she'll be right back to her old tricks at the first stumble by the team.

But in the meantime, she's actually been readable!
I had to double and triple check the Author.... Unbelievable.... Has hell frozen over yet? .......I dont think it would be too cynical to believe she was told to calm it down by the Bee brass.
 
#4
I like the article... Although it's sort of defied the usual Ailene Voison articles (in my opinion, at least), I think it was pretty good.

C'mon Peja!
 
#5
Bricklayer said:
Ok, I have to ask at this point, who exactly is writing these reasonable articles and what has she done with Ailene? :p

Note, the cynic inside of me wonders a bit if Ailene wasn't told by a superior to tone it down a bit after one King after another came out and basically told her to stick her earlier attack columns where the sun don't shine (in fact Brad may have said exactly that given the number of expletives in his statements :) ). That same cynic imagines she'll be right back to her old tricks at the first stumble by the team.

But in the meantime, she's actually been readable!
I was wondering the same thing. It's crazy. That's two in a row now.
 
#6
maybe this was her nicer alter-ego.


seriously though, i love peja as a brother ( sound familiar? :p ) but he doesn't seem to get how much potential he has. he's not demonistrated any desire to take the leading man's role. (or responsibility).
com'on peja, be all that you can be.

how about the part about webber and peja, that in essense, roles are reversing?
i thought it was interesting. think it could happen if peja tries?
 
#7
fakie said:
maybe this was her nicer alter-ego.


seriously though, i love peja as a brother ( sound familiar? :p ) but he doesn't seem to get how much potential he has. he's not demonistrated any desire to take the leading man's role. (or responsibility).
com'on peja, be all that you can be.

how about the part about webber and peja, that in essense, roles are reversing?
i thought it was interesting. think it could happen if peja tries?
Personally, I believe Web's overpowering personality on the court may intimidate Peja. Peja's lack of maturity may very well have prohibited him from demanding the ball and shooting with confidence when Web came back last year. Web can definitely help Peja here. There is oh-so-much room for them to co-exist together and Ailene was correct in stating that Peja has a lot of growing up to do.

Can Peja take the role as leader of the team? Peja is not a leader-type personality, Web is. It is what it is. As the saying goes, "You can't change the basic grain of the wood". Peja and Web's roles are different, and Peja can learn a whole lot from Web about confidence, but will he? I'm hoping Web will teach and Peja will learn.

Go Kings!!!
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#8
Okay, now I'm afraid - I'm very afraid.

;)

Asking out is not the answer. Stepping up is.
Those are arguably the best 9 words I've seen in print summing up the whole Pedja scenario!

(Of course, I'd put my own "suck it up and play" as pretty good, too.) :D
 
#9
The problem is that so many people assume that you have to be the best player on a team to be the leader. There are plenty of exceptions in this league-- one such exception was right here in Sac the past few years with Vlade as well as Karl Malone in LA last year. Anyway, my point is that people like Ailene as well as others have come to believe that Peja MUST take the leadership role in order for this team to succeed, simply because he's in fact emerged as the most effective offensive weapon on the team. I don't think many people can deny that, even me, the Forever Webbhead.

Webb can certainly lead this team, and I think others above are right. Peja definitely needs to mature a lot more as a personality as well as a player. I think his fun-loving personality has a negative-effect on his image as a player. I don't think anyone, not even himself, realizes the immense talent that has yet to be fully unleashed, and I think this is in part because you find it hard to take him seriously. If he could become more confident, demanding the ball in those long stretches where he doesn't touch the ball (those stretches come often when there are so many weapons on the team), become more aggressive on defense as well as on the boards, and develop his ability to create his own shot, he could team up with Webb to create one of the best tandems in the league once again. And as I said before, he can do this all without the immense attention given to the leader of a team.
 
#10
PT Cruiser 9ROC said:
The problem is that so many people assume that you have to be the best player on a team to be the leader. There are plenty of exceptions in this league-- one such exception was right here in Sac the past few years with Vlade as well as Karl Malone in LA last year. Anyway, my point is that people like Ailene as well as others have come to believe that Peja MUST take the leadership role in order for this team to succeed, simply because he's in fact emerged as the most effective offensive weapon on the team. I don't think many people can deny that, even me, the Forever Webbhead.

Webb can certainly lead this team, and I think others above are right. Peja definitely needs to mature a lot more as a personality as well as a player. I think his fun-loving personality has a negative-effect on his image as a player. I don't think anyone, not even himself, realizes the immense talent that has yet to be fully unleashed, and I think this is in part because you find it hard to take him seriously. If he could become more confident, demanding the ball in those long stretches where he doesn't touch the ball (those stretches come often when there are so many weapons on the team), become more aggressive on defense as well as on the boards, and develop his ability to create his own shot, he could team up with Webb to create one of the best tandems in the league once again. And as I said before, he can do this all without the immense attention given to the leader of a team.
YES!!! Thank you for saying so eloquently what I could not. :eek:
 
#11
PT Cruiser 9ROC said:
The problem is that so many people assume that you have to be the best player on a team to be the leader. There are plenty of exceptions in this league-- one such exception was right here in Sac the past few years with Vlade as well as Karl Malone in LA last year. Anyway, my point is that people like Ailene as well as others have come to believe that Peja MUST take the leadership role in order for this team to succeed, simply because he's in fact emerged as the most effective offensive weapon on the team. I don't think many people can deny that, even me, the Forever Webbhead.

Webb can certainly lead this team, and I think others above are right. Peja definitely needs to mature a lot more as a personality as well as a player. I think his fun-loving personality has a negative-effect on his image as a player. I don't think anyone, not even himself, realizes the immense talent that has yet to be fully unleashed, and I think this is in part because you find it hard to take him seriously. If he could become more confident, demanding the ball in those long stretches where he doesn't touch the ball (those stretches come often when there are so many weapons on the team), become more aggressive on defense as well as on the boards, and develop his ability to create his own shot, he could team up with Webb to create one of the best tandems in the league once again. And as I said before, he can do this all without the immense attention given to the leader of a team.
Amen.