Collison reached out to McLemore

[King Baller]

Jon Santiago: Interesting tidbit from my convo w/ Ben McLemore: Darren Collison reached out to Ben this summer & the 2 worked out together in L.A. Twitter @itsjonsantiago

I find this to be a great gesture by the Kings new PG. Collison can help Ben and together they can be more than they can be individually. This is leadership.

KB

 

[kingsboi]

It's been obvious that Darren is really trying to get things churning with his new teammates and as soon as possible, he is very team orientated and that is a breath of fresh air around here. I look forward to him building that chemistry once Rudy and Cuz come back from Spain.

 

[hrdboild]

This is what's been missing from this team -- guys taking an active interest not only in their own careers, but in the careers of their teammates as well. Collison wants to hold down the starting PG job and he's been around long enough to know that entails learning the tendencies of his teammates and how to make them look better. Rudy and DeMarcus getting a chance to play together on team USA this summer is another example. I think they both understand that this team goes as far as they dare to take it next season and they're both at a point in their careers where they're ready for the responsibility. Hopefully this will bleed into pre-season as well once the whole team comes together. The best thing the new front office has done since they took over operations is clear out the players who seemed more interested in their own production than the team's success. Wins are going to come in time, really what I hope to see this season is a group of players who look like they enjoy playing together.

 

[The Hammer]

There's no way I can imagine IT doing this, except for some ulterior motive to make himself look good.

Collison at 4 mil vs. IT at 7 mil... such an easy choice. In fact I'd still take Collison if they were both at 4 mil.

 

[Gary]

There's no way I can imagine IT doing this, except for some ulterior motive to make himself look good.

Collison at 4 mil vs. IT at 7 mil... such an easy choice. In fact I'd still take Collison if they were both at 4 mil.

Didn't IT get everyone together over the summer last year to practice?

 

[funkykingston]

Didn't IT get everyone together over the summer last year to practice?

I couldn't find anything online about that. I thought maybe it could have been during the lockout summer but I didn't find any articles on that either. I'm not saying he didn't, just that I didn't find anything in a quick search.

But I DID see that IT and Thornton practiced with the summer league squad last offseason to speed up their acclimation to Malone's schemes and to help out the youngsters.

 

[jcwkings]

Didn't IT get everyone together over the summer last year to practice?

Yeah he did do that, but only with a ulterior motive to make himself look good to the public and the organization, inside he is brooding with selfishness, an absolute cutthroat human being who will stop at nothing to make sure Isaiah Thomas gets his.

 

[whozit]

Yeah he did do that, but only with a ulterior motive to make himself look good to the public and the organization, inside he is brooding with selfishness, an absolute cutthroat human being who will stop at nothing to make sure Isaiah Thomas gets his.

Dang, why don't you just call him the devil incarnate? I have no idea what his true motives where but even if his motives where about getting his, making himself look good AND helping the team are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

 

[pshn80]

Yeah he did do that, but only with a ulterior motive to make himself look good to the public and the organization, inside he is brooding with selfishness, an absolute cutthroat human being who will stop at nothing to make sure Isaiah Thomas gets his.

Come on now. IT may not be perfect but an ogre he is not. He's gone anyway so we can quit pounding.

 

[funkykingston]

Sarcasm alert, three posts up.

 

[HndsmCelt]

Sarcasm alert, three posts up.

Wheeew I was honestly worried for a second.

 

[The Hammer]

Sarcasm alert, three posts up.

I stand by my original comment.

 

[swisshh]

Didn't IT get everyone together over the summer last year to practice?

Yeah, IT would try to get the team in over the summer to practice together.

 

[Glenn]

Sarcasm alert, three posts up.

Sarcasm should be banned. Too confusing.

 

[The Hammer]

Yeah, IT would try to get the team in over the summer to practice together.

So he could train them on how to defer to him on the court.

 

[SacKings384]

I'm just excited for Collison to be a game manager. I don't think he's a shot creator (like CP3, Rondo, Irving, etc.). He isn't a great shooter. But he plays killer defense, can dribble, and he can get the ball MOVING. That's what is important. The Kings have ZERO ball movement. I like the Collison signing more and more when I think about it.

I just hope he understands his role. He's not our offensive ceterpiece. He doesn't need to dominate the ball. Just make sure the ball gets moving and play D. Floor manager.

 

[Livinthedream]

I like the fact that Collison is not out to prove he belongs in the NBA. He's not trying to prove he's better than someone drafted higher than him. He's not trying to prove he should be paid the same as player X or be on the all-star team. Those are selfish motives.

Collison wants to be a leader, contribute in ways the team needs and help win games. When you take a young player aside and personally mentor him, it shows what you're about. Building trust and a personal relationship with your teammates is what a leader does. That's exactly what we need.

 

[Glenn]

I'm just excited for Collison to be a game manager. I don't think he's a shot creator (like CP3, Rondo, Irving, etc.). He isn't a great shooter. But he plays killer defense, can dribble, and he can get the ball MOVING. That's what is important. The Kings have ZERO ball movement. I like the Collison signing more and more when I think about it.

I just hope he understands his role. He's not our offensive ceterpiece. He doesn't need to dominate the ball. Just make sure the ball gets moving and play D. Floor manager.

If he doesn't understand his role, and I mean when we signed him, he is beyond dull.

 

[jcwkings]

I like the fact that Collison is not out to prove he belongs in the NBA. He's not trying to prove he's better than someone drafted higher than him. He's not trying to prove he should be paid the same as player X or be on the all-star team. Those are selfish motives.

Collison wants to be a leader, contribute in ways the team needs and help win games. When you take a young player aside and personally mentor him, it shows what you're about. Building trust and a personal relationship with your teammates is what a leader does. That's exactly what we need.

Collison also just signed the fattest contract he will get in his NBA career. IT was on a contract year making the NBA minimum wage for 3 years and was way outperforming it. You guys forget that this is their JOBS, these guys have a decade if they're lucky to make as much money as they can. Every NBA player has some selfish motive to an extent(especially the journeymen or fringe guys). Once guys are rewarded with a nice contract and get backing from a franchise, then those guys are the ones that get viewed as great team players. IT got his payday and backing from the Suns, pretty sure he will be a much better team player from here on out(even though the me first stuff was way overblown here). Good to see Collison trying to take the young guys under his wings. Any hope of this team being any good is highly dependent on the backs of Cousins, Gay and Collison.

 

[Glenn]

If I made a million a year for 10 years (probably very much a low number for an NBA player) I wouldn't need to work another day in my life. This idea that they are in a poor position because they will only work a limited number of years does no bring tears of sadness from me. They make enough.

 

[Livinthedream]

Collison also just signed the fattest contract he will get in his NBA career. IT was on a contract year making the NBA minimum wage for 3 years and was way outperforming it. You guys forget that this is their JOBS, these guys have a decade if they're lucky to make as much money as they can. Every NBA player has some selfish motive to an extent(especially the journeymen or fringe guys). Once guys are rewarded with a nice contract and get backing from a franchise, then those guys are the ones that get viewed as great team players. IT got his payday and backing from the Suns, pretty sure he will be a much better team player from here on out(even though the me first stuff was way overblown here). Good to see Collison trying to take the young guys under his wings. Any hope of this team being any good is highly dependent on the backs of Cousins, Gay and Collison.

I stand by my comment that what the Kings need is someone of Collisons maturity and situation. Whatever IT was going through, the Kings didn't need it. It doesn't matter the reasons.

 

[pshn80]

If I made a million a year for 10 years (probably very much a low number for an NBA player) I wouldn't need to work another day in my life. This idea that they are in a poor position because they will only work a limited number of years does no bring tears of sadness from me. They make enough.

But you feel as comfortable as that being a $890,000 player when for the last several years those beside you playing the same minutes are making six to ten times as much? Sort of is an attitude changer.

 

[Tetsujin]

Sarcasm should be banned. Too confusing.

Humor is no longer allowed on Kingsfans.com! It makes things too hard to understand!

 

[pshn80]

Humor is no longer allowed on Kingsfans.com! It makes things too hard to understand!

Don't make fun of us old guys. Wink, wink. Ha ha! Ho ho! Sniff.

 

[Henkel]

I stand by my original comment.

Don't let reality slow you down.

Casting IT as the villain is wishful thinking. The on court evidence that Collison is a better basketball player isn't there. The idea that he's a better fit is still undetermined. So in order to sell this as a upgrade this has devolved into taking baseless shots at Isaiah's character and conjecture about the effect he had on the locker room. Enjoy it while you can, but once the season start and players have to be evaluated on performance I suspect that a lot of you will have a lot less to say about IT.

 

[VF21]

Don't let reality slow you down.

Casting IT as the villain is wishful thinking. The on court evidence that Collison is a better basketball player isn't there. The idea that he's a better fit is still undetermined. So in order to sell this as a upgrade this has devolved into taking baseless shots at Isaiah's character and conjecture about the effect he had on the locker room. Enjoy it while you can, but once the season start and players have to be evaluated on performance I suspect that a lot of you will have a lot less to say about IT.

Since bottom line it's about the name on the front and not on the back, I expect a LOT of us will have pretty much nothing to say about IT. I wish him well, but he's no longer a King and thus is no longer of any relevance except perhaps when the Kings play the Suns.

 

[Glenn]

But you feel as comfortable as that being a $890,000 player when for the last several years those beside you playing the same minutes are making six to ten times as much? Sort of is an attitude changer.

I can live on $890,000 a year and put away quite a bit for savings. These athletes are living in a fantasy world.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Since bottom line it's about the name on the front and not on the back, I expect a LOT of us will have pretty much nothing to say about IT. I wish him well, but he's no longer a King and thus is no longer of any relevance except perhaps when the Kings play the Suns.

I'll admit I was more than moderately curious to see how Reke did last season, I can't imagine I'll ever find myself in the same position with IT.

He didn't want to be in Sac, he didn't seem to have particular chemistry with the better players on the team and he left. Jury is out on DC but at least he seems happy to be here. We've overpaid for plenty of scrubs that I don't think you can say the same about.

 

[The Hammer]

Don't let reality slow you down.

Casting IT as the villain is wishful thinking. The on court evidence that Collison is a better basketball player isn't there. The idea that he's a better fit is still undetermined. So in order to sell this as a upgrade this has devolved into taking baseless shots at Isaiah's character and conjecture about the effect he had on the locker room. Enjoy it while you can, but once the season start and players have to be evaluated on performance I suspect that a lot of you will have a lot less to say about IT.

We can be reasonably sure he'll play better D. We can be reasonably sure he'll have a better effect on ball movement. We can be reasonably sure he will readily defer to Cuz and Rudy... the better players.

We can be reasonably sure he'll be a better fit. Especially when you consider his departure makes room for McCallum, who is also better than IT in all the above categories. Individual scoring is the most overrated statistic in the NBA.

We can be damn sure he'll be a better locker room presence. That is not even debatable. This is not a character attack.

You're adherence to empirical evidence as the only valid source of an opinion is silly. Guys change, but both these guys have a past. That's what I'm going on for now.

In the long run (after this year) I see McCallum starting anyways. Collison will have no problem coming off the bench, which was a gigantic problem with IT. So absolutely a better fit.

 

[HighFlyingMonkey]

We can be reasonably sure he'll play better D. We can be reasonably sure he'll have a better effect on ball movement. We can be reasonably sure he will readily defer to Cuz and Rudy... the better players.

We can be reasonably sure he'll be a better fit. Especially when you consider his departure makes room for McCallum, who is also better than IT in all the above categories. Individual scoring is the most overrated statistic in the NBA.

We can be damn sure he'll be a better locker room presence. That is not even debatable. This is not a character attack.

You're adherence to empirical evidence as the only valid source of an opinion is silly. Guys change, but both these guys have a past. That's what I'm going on for now.

In the long run (after this year) I see McCallum starting anyways. Collison will have no problem coming off the bench, which was a gigantic problem with IT. So absolutely a better fit.

In talking about a guy who has been kicked out of the last two places he was handed the keys to start for a team, "reasonably sure" sounds more like "cross your fingers and hope"