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Petrie sounds as depressed about this draft as I do:
Kings think big in taking Hawes
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, June 29, 2007
When Spencer Hawes surveyed the NBA landscape for a prospective home, the 7-foot Seattle native placed the Kings on his short list of teams perceived as the right fit.
And for a number of reasons, Vlade Divac should be honored.
Hawes, a University of Washington freshman center taken by the Kings with the No. 10 pick of the NBA draft Thursday, was a fan of the Kings' style of old, the smooth offense with ball movement and fluidity orchestrated by Divac during the team's glory years. Divac, in fact, was the player with whom he most closely compared himself, a more accurate assessment than the references to Milwaukee big man Andrew Bogut or even current Kings center Brad Miller. It was pleasing for Hawes, then, to hear that Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie apparently agreed.
"When I set out my workouts, I didn't just do the whole block of teams in my so-called range (in which he'd be picked)," Hawes said during a teleconference.
"I picked the teams that I thought would be a good fit, where I'd be able to develop and help contribute. Sacramento was one of those teams."
The qualities that appealed to Petrie before predraft workouts began June 5 were the same ones at the end, with much praise of Hawes' advanced skill set, passing ability and basketball IQ. But as Petrie said late Thursday, he was hoping there would be more than just the No. 10 pick for the Kings.
"It's sort of one of those things where you were a phone call away a number of times, and sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't," Petrie said.
"There were certainly a number of things we would've liked to get done, but they didn't, and we move on to the rest of the summer.
"With the exception of the top three picks, we talked to all the teams up in front of us at one time or another about potential interest in moving their pick."
Among the players the Kings coveted was Chinese big man Yi Jianlian. Against his wishes, the 7-foot talent went sixth to Milwaukee, a market he tried to steer clear of during the workout process in hopes of landing in a bigger city.
At No. 8, Charlotte opted for North Carolina forward Brandan Wright, another player on the Kings' short list. Wright wound up being traded to Golden State. Then at No. 9, Florida forward Joakim Noah, who appeared to gain Petrie's favor leading up to the draft, was taken by Chicago.
Petrie said choosing Hawes, even after Noah was gone, came with deliberation.
"There were other players that we liked there," said Petrie, who added that another team pursued the Kings' pick in an attempt to get Hawes. "But when you look at our roster and what we need to do going forward, and you look at the draft for next year and what centers might be available ... When you see a 19-year-old that has such a high skill level already and is still going to get better, I thought it really made sense."
For all of Hawes' offensive assets, his perceived lack of athleticism and average rebounding prowess do little to help the Kings in two weak areas. Hawes, however, began the campaign to quell the critics right away.
"When I start playing, I think people will realize I'm not the big stiff that some people make me out to be," Hawes said.
His former coach, Washington's Lorenzo Romar, agreed.
"When people say someone's not athletic enough and that's the reason that he may not be successful, I think that's true if someone can't do anything else," Romar said in a teleconference. "But that means you were going to look at Larry Bird when he came out and say he probably won't be that successful because he's not real athletic. I think that statement is overrated in Spencer's case. There's not a big player in the draft who's more skilled than Spencer Hawes."
The Huskies finished 19-13 in 2006-07, with a string of injuries and illnesses hampering the talented team. Hawes was among the victims, suffering from a stomach virus that dropped his weight to 227 pounds before he recovered to his current 245 pounds.
Hawes is known as an adequate shot blocker and defender. He was second on his team in rebounding (6.4 per game). Only three teams had a worse rebounding differential than the Kings last season.
"His rebounding numbers were decent," Petrie said. "The reality is there was nobody we were going to draft at No. 10 who was going to cure the team's rebounding problems. As a matter of fact, there was only one guy who was drafted today who was going to solve that problem, and that's Greg Oden."
In accordance with the league's collective bargaining agreement, Hawes will earn between $1,352,400 to $2,028,600 as a No. 10 pick.
What they're saying about Spencer Hawes
"Both of us have that same fire when we're on the court. A few days ago, in Seattle, we kind of went head-to-head, and that competitiveness all came out. Even though it was only three-on-three, we went at each other pretty hard. We got into it."
-- Kevin Durant, No. 2 pick by Seattle
"Spencer is multi-skilled for a seven-footer. He's still young, and we're excited about selecting him. He's a piece going forward, and we're really happy to be able to add a young player with his skill level."
-- Geoff Petrie, Kings basketball president
"He can definitely play in the NBA. We just haven't seen the finished product when it comes to Spencer Hawes. He can play in the NBA, and the Sacramento Kings certainly think so."
-- Lorenzo Romar, University of Washington coach
"(He) has long arms, soft touch around the basket and a solid mid-range jump shot. Needs to bulk up in the upper body and lacks quickness."
-- Washington Post
"He's not particularly athletic but still gets it done in the post. He's going to have trouble reading and reacting, but he's going to score enough to make himself worthwhile if you've got something around him. He's feisty. When people try to challenge him or try to punk him, he doesn't back down."
-- Pacific Division scout quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer
http://www.sacbee.com/kings/v-print/story/248172.html
Kings think big in taking Hawes
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, June 29, 2007
When Spencer Hawes surveyed the NBA landscape for a prospective home, the 7-foot Seattle native placed the Kings on his short list of teams perceived as the right fit.
And for a number of reasons, Vlade Divac should be honored.
Hawes, a University of Washington freshman center taken by the Kings with the No. 10 pick of the NBA draft Thursday, was a fan of the Kings' style of old, the smooth offense with ball movement and fluidity orchestrated by Divac during the team's glory years. Divac, in fact, was the player with whom he most closely compared himself, a more accurate assessment than the references to Milwaukee big man Andrew Bogut or even current Kings center Brad Miller. It was pleasing for Hawes, then, to hear that Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie apparently agreed.
"When I set out my workouts, I didn't just do the whole block of teams in my so-called range (in which he'd be picked)," Hawes said during a teleconference.
"I picked the teams that I thought would be a good fit, where I'd be able to develop and help contribute. Sacramento was one of those teams."
The qualities that appealed to Petrie before predraft workouts began June 5 were the same ones at the end, with much praise of Hawes' advanced skill set, passing ability and basketball IQ. But as Petrie said late Thursday, he was hoping there would be more than just the No. 10 pick for the Kings.
"It's sort of one of those things where you were a phone call away a number of times, and sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't," Petrie said.
"There were certainly a number of things we would've liked to get done, but they didn't, and we move on to the rest of the summer.
"With the exception of the top three picks, we talked to all the teams up in front of us at one time or another about potential interest in moving their pick."
Among the players the Kings coveted was Chinese big man Yi Jianlian. Against his wishes, the 7-foot talent went sixth to Milwaukee, a market he tried to steer clear of during the workout process in hopes of landing in a bigger city.
At No. 8, Charlotte opted for North Carolina forward Brandan Wright, another player on the Kings' short list. Wright wound up being traded to Golden State. Then at No. 9, Florida forward Joakim Noah, who appeared to gain Petrie's favor leading up to the draft, was taken by Chicago.
Petrie said choosing Hawes, even after Noah was gone, came with deliberation.
"There were other players that we liked there," said Petrie, who added that another team pursued the Kings' pick in an attempt to get Hawes. "But when you look at our roster and what we need to do going forward, and you look at the draft for next year and what centers might be available ... When you see a 19-year-old that has such a high skill level already and is still going to get better, I thought it really made sense."
For all of Hawes' offensive assets, his perceived lack of athleticism and average rebounding prowess do little to help the Kings in two weak areas. Hawes, however, began the campaign to quell the critics right away.
"When I start playing, I think people will realize I'm not the big stiff that some people make me out to be," Hawes said.
His former coach, Washington's Lorenzo Romar, agreed.
"When people say someone's not athletic enough and that's the reason that he may not be successful, I think that's true if someone can't do anything else," Romar said in a teleconference. "But that means you were going to look at Larry Bird when he came out and say he probably won't be that successful because he's not real athletic. I think that statement is overrated in Spencer's case. There's not a big player in the draft who's more skilled than Spencer Hawes."
The Huskies finished 19-13 in 2006-07, with a string of injuries and illnesses hampering the talented team. Hawes was among the victims, suffering from a stomach virus that dropped his weight to 227 pounds before he recovered to his current 245 pounds.
Hawes is known as an adequate shot blocker and defender. He was second on his team in rebounding (6.4 per game). Only three teams had a worse rebounding differential than the Kings last season.
"His rebounding numbers were decent," Petrie said. "The reality is there was nobody we were going to draft at No. 10 who was going to cure the team's rebounding problems. As a matter of fact, there was only one guy who was drafted today who was going to solve that problem, and that's Greg Oden."
In accordance with the league's collective bargaining agreement, Hawes will earn between $1,352,400 to $2,028,600 as a No. 10 pick.
What they're saying about Spencer Hawes
"Both of us have that same fire when we're on the court. A few days ago, in Seattle, we kind of went head-to-head, and that competitiveness all came out. Even though it was only three-on-three, we went at each other pretty hard. We got into it."
-- Kevin Durant, No. 2 pick by Seattle
"Spencer is multi-skilled for a seven-footer. He's still young, and we're excited about selecting him. He's a piece going forward, and we're really happy to be able to add a young player with his skill level."
-- Geoff Petrie, Kings basketball president
"He can definitely play in the NBA. We just haven't seen the finished product when it comes to Spencer Hawes. He can play in the NBA, and the Sacramento Kings certainly think so."
-- Lorenzo Romar, University of Washington coach
"(He) has long arms, soft touch around the basket and a solid mid-range jump shot. Needs to bulk up in the upper body and lacks quickness."
-- Washington Post
"He's not particularly athletic but still gets it done in the post. He's going to have trouble reading and reacting, but he's going to score enough to make himself worthwhile if you've got something around him. He's feisty. When people try to challenge him or try to punk him, he doesn't back down."
-- Pacific Division scout quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer
http://www.sacbee.com/kings/v-print/story/248172.html
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