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A few members of the Sacramento Kings met with the local media on Friday, May 6 after meeting as a team for the last time during the 2004-05 season. Here's what they had to say afterwards:
Peja Stojakovic
“I think we all should understand what our coach has done for us and for this organization and the city and maybe we should appreciate him more than we do. He should deserve more respect.”
“It was a weird season, losing three starters through free agency and trades, and having injuries—we tried to mix in new guys. Everything was a part of this year. Still we were able to make the playoffs as the sixth seed, we didn’t have home court advantage and Seattle played good basketball all year long. They deserved it and they played better basketball all series long.”
“I really believe that this team has talent. So what is going to bring next year, what kind of moves are going to be made—I don’t know. But I do believe that this team has talent.”
What do you need to work on this offseason?
“Besides the regular things, for sure I need to work on my post game and get some new move into my repertoire and try to get better. It’s tough in Greece to find guys to play basketball because they’re all chasing around the beach and no one wants to play ball in the summertime.”
Brad Miller
“It’s probably my second-hardest season basketball-wise and emotionally, with everything that goes into it, right behind winning 17 games in a year. It was just something that there was a mindset with everyone who was here at the beginning of the year thinking that we would make a run at a championship. But after everything that has happened, there was just a lot of curveballs. We would have never had guessed any of these moves that happened at the beginning of the year. It was just tough with all the injuries.”
On the injuries?
“That’s the curse out here it seems like. Before I got here it seemed like someone was getting a major injury of some sort and missing 30 or 50 games out of the season—if we can just eliminate that, hell, I’d love to see what happens.”
“We just have to work on ourselves and our bodies and make ourselves a lot stronger. That’s my main goal, to really get stronger so I can deal with Jerome James, guys that aren’t great basketball players, but they’re good where they bang and do the physical stuff.”
Greg Ostertag
“It wasn’t anything like I’d hoped it would be, but I got playing time. I hope to come back, have a really good summer, and come back and get into a situation where they have to play me. I believe deep down I can help this team go achieve the goals they want to, but again, a lot of it falls on me.”
On the season
“It was frustrating, but it was Rick’s decision. All I can do is prepare and when he calls my name be ready to go as far as this year, but next year I’m gonna do my best to come in good shape and have it where if I’m not playing it’s because I’m in foul trouble.”
If he is going to exercise the option on his contract?
“What kind of idiot do you think I am? Yeah (sarcasticlly), I’m going to go out and play the field and see who’s going to give me that much money for my production this year. That’s like a Marty (McNeal)-type question.”
http://aol.nba.com/kings/news/End_of_the_Season_Quotes-141071-58.html
“I think we all should understand what our coach has done for us and for this organization and the city and maybe we should appreciate him more than we do. He should deserve more respect.”
“It was a weird season, losing three starters through free agency and trades, and having injuries—we tried to mix in new guys. Everything was a part of this year. Still we were able to make the playoffs as the sixth seed, we didn’t have home court advantage and Seattle played good basketball all year long. They deserved it and they played better basketball all series long.”
“I really believe that this team has talent. So what is going to bring next year, what kind of moves are going to be made—I don’t know. But I do believe that this team has talent.”
What do you need to work on this offseason?
“Besides the regular things, for sure I need to work on my post game and get some new move into my repertoire and try to get better. It’s tough in Greece to find guys to play basketball because they’re all chasing around the beach and no one wants to play ball in the summertime.”
“It’s probably my second-hardest season basketball-wise and emotionally, with everything that goes into it, right behind winning 17 games in a year. It was just something that there was a mindset with everyone who was here at the beginning of the year thinking that we would make a run at a championship. But after everything that has happened, there was just a lot of curveballs. We would have never had guessed any of these moves that happened at the beginning of the year. It was just tough with all the injuries.”
On the injuries?
“That’s the curse out here it seems like. Before I got here it seemed like someone was getting a major injury of some sort and missing 30 or 50 games out of the season—if we can just eliminate that, hell, I’d love to see what happens.”
“We just have to work on ourselves and our bodies and make ourselves a lot stronger. That’s my main goal, to really get stronger so I can deal with Jerome James, guys that aren’t great basketball players, but they’re good where they bang and do the physical stuff.”
“It wasn’t anything like I’d hoped it would be, but I got playing time. I hope to come back, have a really good summer, and come back and get into a situation where they have to play me. I believe deep down I can help this team go achieve the goals they want to, but again, a lot of it falls on me.”
On the season
“It was frustrating, but it was Rick’s decision. All I can do is prepare and when he calls my name be ready to go as far as this year, but next year I’m gonna do my best to come in good shape and have it where if I’m not playing it’s because I’m in foul trouble.”
If he is going to exercise the option on his contract?
“What kind of idiot do you think I am? Yeah (sarcasticlly), I’m going to go out and play the field and see who’s going to give me that much money for my production this year. That’s like a Marty (McNeal)-type question.”
http://aol.nba.com/kings/news/End_of_the_Season_Quotes-141071-58.html
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