http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/13698608p-14541331c.html
By Sam Amick
The funny thing about debates: One can't argue with oneself. It's a two-to-tango sort of situation, which officially means there is no debate about who the Kings' starting power forward should be among the power forwards themselves.
A week after Kenny Thomas made clear his preference to start and a day before the Kings' preseason opener against Dallas would force coach Rick Adelman to choose between Thomas and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, the newer King said he won't be petitioning.
It's not Abdur-Rahim's style. And, truthfully, he didn't think it was the Kings' style, either.
"I had never known this team to worry about stuff like that, and I'm not going to be a part of it," said Abdur-Rahim, a nine-year veteran who joined the Kings in August. "There ain't no point trying to make something out of nothing. I don't really think this team's focus, or this team's priority, is having spats about who's going to start and who ain't going to start.
"The focus should be winning. Coach will figure it out. He's been around this game longer than us."
On the surface, the idea of Abdur-Rahim not starting seems unlikely. Besides the disparity between career statistics (19.8 points per game, 8.1 rebounds for Abdur-Rahim to 10.9 and 7.4 for Thomas), Thomas also might provide more off the bench than Abdur-Rahim. The six-year veteran easily could transition between small forward and power forward, which would come in handy because Adelman needs help behind Peja Stojakovic.
"I don't look at (the role) as a backup," Adelman said. "If you're talking about Kenny and Shareef, you're talking about two of our top six players. You've got to find a way to get them (both) on the floor. Whoever doesn't start should certainly be on the floor for more than 15 minutes per game. You can only start five guys, so we've got to."
Roster logjam - The conversation likely will never happen, the one in which Adelman asks team owners Joe and Gavin Maloof to reconsider the current plan of keeping only 13 players on the roster when they could have as many as 15.
But doing so sure would simplify Adelman's job.
After the Kings' first cuts Monday consisted of forward Dan Langhi and center Anwar Ferguson, there are five more to be made and, in truth, fewer than five players worthy of the ax. The Kings are high on young point guards Luis Flores and Ronnie Price, but only one likely will stay. They also must choose between big men Jamal Sampson and Luke Schenscher.
"If we have two young guys - and we like them (both) - I don't know," Adelman said. "Maybe we'll have a talk with the owners and say, What do you want to do here?"
Flores, who played in 16 games with Denver and Golden State last season, is itching to get started just like the rest of the squad. "I think tomorrow and the next couple of games will be an opportunity for myself to show that I understand the concept of our offense, and I can run the team," Flores said. "I can't wait. You get kind of tired of playing each other every day. You want some new blood."
By Sam Amick
The funny thing about debates: One can't argue with oneself. It's a two-to-tango sort of situation, which officially means there is no debate about who the Kings' starting power forward should be among the power forwards themselves.
A week after Kenny Thomas made clear his preference to start and a day before the Kings' preseason opener against Dallas would force coach Rick Adelman to choose between Thomas and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, the newer King said he won't be petitioning.
It's not Abdur-Rahim's style. And, truthfully, he didn't think it was the Kings' style, either.
"I had never known this team to worry about stuff like that, and I'm not going to be a part of it," said Abdur-Rahim, a nine-year veteran who joined the Kings in August. "There ain't no point trying to make something out of nothing. I don't really think this team's focus, or this team's priority, is having spats about who's going to start and who ain't going to start.
"The focus should be winning. Coach will figure it out. He's been around this game longer than us."
On the surface, the idea of Abdur-Rahim not starting seems unlikely. Besides the disparity between career statistics (19.8 points per game, 8.1 rebounds for Abdur-Rahim to 10.9 and 7.4 for Thomas), Thomas also might provide more off the bench than Abdur-Rahim. The six-year veteran easily could transition between small forward and power forward, which would come in handy because Adelman needs help behind Peja Stojakovic.
"I don't look at (the role) as a backup," Adelman said. "If you're talking about Kenny and Shareef, you're talking about two of our top six players. You've got to find a way to get them (both) on the floor. Whoever doesn't start should certainly be on the floor for more than 15 minutes per game. You can only start five guys, so we've got to."
Roster logjam - The conversation likely will never happen, the one in which Adelman asks team owners Joe and Gavin Maloof to reconsider the current plan of keeping only 13 players on the roster when they could have as many as 15.
But doing so sure would simplify Adelman's job.
After the Kings' first cuts Monday consisted of forward Dan Langhi and center Anwar Ferguson, there are five more to be made and, in truth, fewer than five players worthy of the ax. The Kings are high on young point guards Luis Flores and Ronnie Price, but only one likely will stay. They also must choose between big men Jamal Sampson and Luke Schenscher.
"If we have two young guys - and we like them (both) - I don't know," Adelman said. "Maybe we'll have a talk with the owners and say, What do you want to do here?"
Flores, who played in 16 games with Denver and Golden State last season, is itching to get started just like the rest of the squad. "I think tomorrow and the next couple of games will be an opportunity for myself to show that I understand the concept of our offense, and I can run the team," Flores said. "I can't wait. You get kind of tired of playing each other every day. You want some new blood."
