http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/13669773p-14512469c.html
By Sam Amick
The acclimation will take time. The competition?
It's an instant thing.
So when the marathon first day of training camp was over Tuesday - a two-practice session that had the Kings on the floor for nearly five hours and ended long after dinnertime - it was time to finally see what the next month is going to determine. And the list is long.
The early priority is finding a backup for small forward Peja Stojakovic, a job that could be won by players with opposite styles in Corliss Williamson and rookie Francisco García.
"I don't know who's going to play that spot," coach Rick Adelman said. "Other than Francisco, we have a lot of natural power forwards. If one of them can defend the three spot, that would help us a lot. If they have to guard Peja, then we'll find out a lot about them."
Which would explain why García and Stojakovic went toe-to-toe at one point, a friendly but fiery one-on-one matchup that gave Adelman an early look at whether his draft pick could handle his star. Shooting guards Bonzi Wells and Kevin Martin faced off, as well, not necessarily to determine a starter but for the sake of competition itself. But the tightest logjam is at point guard.
The late addition of Denver castoff Luis Flores to the roster gives Adelman three points guards behind Mike Bibby whom he's high on, as Flores joins fifth-year player Jason Hart and rookie Ronnie Price. And although Hart would seem to have the apparent edge because of his potency and paycheck ($1.54 million this season), even he said he's assuming nothing.
"I'm not going to rely on that," Hart said. "I'm competing, against the nonguaranteeds and the guaranteeds. Everybody. We've got some good young players, and even though I'm older, I'm learning from them, too."
Flores, who led the Nuggets in scoring during summer league but later was waived, took the first day seriously. He kept shooting even after the second practice, alone on the floor.
"It's going to be real tight with Jason and Ronnie and me," Flores said. "They're very competitive, play very hard, but I also understand it's an opportunity for me to come in and make the roster, so I'll be willing to do anything possible to accomplish that."
The forgotten ones - Sure, Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim have to adjust to the Kings' system - along with Hart, Price, and all the other campers who are new in these parts. But the forgotten fact about camp is that the players received for Chris Webber in last season's trade with Philadelphia haven't done this, either.
Among Williamson, Kenny Thomas and Brian Skinner, Williamson has the historical reference point of being a former King. Still, much has changed since he was here in 2000.
"It's like starting over," Williamson said. "It's going to be very intense as far as trying to learn each other, learn the new system, and try and get a new identity for this team. We're going to have to be very serious about training camp, from the start to the finish."
By Sam Amick
The acclimation will take time. The competition?
It's an instant thing.
So when the marathon first day of training camp was over Tuesday - a two-practice session that had the Kings on the floor for nearly five hours and ended long after dinnertime - it was time to finally see what the next month is going to determine. And the list is long.
The early priority is finding a backup for small forward Peja Stojakovic, a job that could be won by players with opposite styles in Corliss Williamson and rookie Francisco García.
"I don't know who's going to play that spot," coach Rick Adelman said. "Other than Francisco, we have a lot of natural power forwards. If one of them can defend the three spot, that would help us a lot. If they have to guard Peja, then we'll find out a lot about them."
Which would explain why García and Stojakovic went toe-to-toe at one point, a friendly but fiery one-on-one matchup that gave Adelman an early look at whether his draft pick could handle his star. Shooting guards Bonzi Wells and Kevin Martin faced off, as well, not necessarily to determine a starter but for the sake of competition itself. But the tightest logjam is at point guard.
The late addition of Denver castoff Luis Flores to the roster gives Adelman three points guards behind Mike Bibby whom he's high on, as Flores joins fifth-year player Jason Hart and rookie Ronnie Price. And although Hart would seem to have the apparent edge because of his potency and paycheck ($1.54 million this season), even he said he's assuming nothing.
"I'm not going to rely on that," Hart said. "I'm competing, against the nonguaranteeds and the guaranteeds. Everybody. We've got some good young players, and even though I'm older, I'm learning from them, too."
Flores, who led the Nuggets in scoring during summer league but later was waived, took the first day seriously. He kept shooting even after the second practice, alone on the floor.
"It's going to be real tight with Jason and Ronnie and me," Flores said. "They're very competitive, play very hard, but I also understand it's an opportunity for me to come in and make the roster, so I'll be willing to do anything possible to accomplish that."
The forgotten ones - Sure, Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim have to adjust to the Kings' system - along with Hart, Price, and all the other campers who are new in these parts. But the forgotten fact about camp is that the players received for Chris Webber in last season's trade with Philadelphia haven't done this, either.
Among Williamson, Kenny Thomas and Brian Skinner, Williamson has the historical reference point of being a former King. Still, much has changed since he was here in 2000.
"It's like starting over," Williamson said. "It's going to be very intense as far as trying to learn each other, learn the new system, and try and get a new identity for this team. We're going to have to be very serious about training camp, from the start to the finish."
