http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/13276429p-14118710c.html
Ailene Voisin: Kings need Peja, for all he brings to the court - and off it
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Friday, July 22, 2005
Peja Stojakovic is trim and tanned, committed to the Kings, eager to demonstrate his improved dribble moves and low-post maneuvers, and intent on doing everything necessary to distance himself from his turbulent 2004 offseason.
Twelve months is a long time.
Trades occur. Teammates leave. Memories fade.
Players mature.
While it seems like only yesterday that Chris Webber vented, a bruised Vlade Divac left, and an emotionally crushed Peja requested a trade - his verbal shot last August resonating all the way from Serbia - the Kings' veteran small forward is dressing down but appearing all grown up. He seems comfortable despite the heat, unfazed by the challenges ahead.
The Kings need him more than ever.
OAS_AD('Button20');The Kings need ... more.
Given the evolving nature of the roster, Peja, who is entering the final year of his contract, won't be able to shoot his way out of this one. In his role as the offensive fulcrum of a nucleus that features Mike Bibby and Brad Miller, this is the season to pursue all his options. Rebound. Create. Lead. Flash some dribble penetration, a few floaters and runners near the basket, a variety of muscular drives now and then.
And he gets it. He knows. Seated in the gym at Folsom High during the first week of his annual basketball camp that benefits his children's foundation, dressed in shorts and sneakers and a golf shirt, Stojakovic says he understands that with his advancing age and experience, comes added responsibility and the need to expand his game. Thus, his offseason has been spent in Greece, Turkey, Hawaii and Sacramento, but also in assorted gyms around the globe. And also in the film room.
"There are things I need to improve on," he said between brief conversations with straggling campers, "and those are the things we see on the scouting report. I have talked with Geoff (Petrie) and coach (Pete) Carril. The way guys are guarding me now, I have to find ways to get away from my guy and get my shot off. I have to learn to create my shot.
"What I have been doing mostly is scrimmaging against guys who are smaller and quicker, because they get into you. I can't say what I will be next year, or how much better. Everyone has limits. But I can say that I am working very hard to improve."
Work ethic has never been the issue. A native of the basketball-crazy Balkans who moved to northern Greece in his mid-teens, Stojakovic is a gym rat, a restless soul who becomes out of sorts unless he spends at least two hours per day on the court. Rather, his issue has been one of stubbornness, of an unwillingness to stretch his game and attack his weaknesses.
That jump shot has long been a museum piece, with only polishing required. That defense also has improved significantly in recent seasons. But along with rebounding that remains erratic - and this is another facet that suffers from bouts of attention deficit - the 6-foot-10 Stojakovic has yet to display either consistent low-post skills or the individual dribble moves that would enhance his mid-range abilities and enable him to set up teammates.
"Peja is a very, very good player," offered Petrie, the Kings president of basketball operations, "and you want to do everything to help him be even better. But he listens. He understands. He works hard. We want him to have the best year he's ever had. Some things off the dribble, off a live dribble. When to cut, when not to cut. Recognizing when somebody is guarding you, that you are not doing the same thing all the time. But a big part of this is that they (Peja, Bibby, Miller) know what's going on and how to play off each other."
Peja also knows he is no longer a kid. He is 28, approaching the period when most NBA players experience their last major growth spurt, their bodies approaching a physical peak. And should he study the competition presented by his fellow slick-scoring forwards, he can't help but notice the ongoing development and increasing threat presented by past or present All-Stars Dirk Nowitzki, Andrei Kirilenko, Richard Hamilton, Shawn Marion, Carmelo Anthony, to name a few.
"I know what I have to do," he continued, nodding, "but I would like to see us start running again. We kind of stopped running and getting easy baskets. And we have to play better defense. I think we can be good if we improve in those areas. The key for us ... sometimes I don't blame our big guys when they don't leave their guys (to help) because we never covered their back. We have to help each other. There has to be trust in team defense."
With a shrug, he added, "I feel good about next year. And you know Geoff (Petrie) will do something. He always does."
As for the 2006 offseason, when his contract expires, Stojakovic laughed. "Sacramento is the priority," he said. "I don't want to go anywhere. Last summer was a long time ago."
I am definitely liking that... a lot, and that last paragraph brought a grin to my face.
Ailene Voisin: Kings need Peja, for all he brings to the court - and off it
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Friday, July 22, 2005
Peja Stojakovic is trim and tanned, committed to the Kings, eager to demonstrate his improved dribble moves and low-post maneuvers, and intent on doing everything necessary to distance himself from his turbulent 2004 offseason.
Twelve months is a long time.
Trades occur. Teammates leave. Memories fade.
Players mature.
While it seems like only yesterday that Chris Webber vented, a bruised Vlade Divac left, and an emotionally crushed Peja requested a trade - his verbal shot last August resonating all the way from Serbia - the Kings' veteran small forward is dressing down but appearing all grown up. He seems comfortable despite the heat, unfazed by the challenges ahead.
The Kings need him more than ever.
OAS_AD('Button20');The Kings need ... more.
Given the evolving nature of the roster, Peja, who is entering the final year of his contract, won't be able to shoot his way out of this one. In his role as the offensive fulcrum of a nucleus that features Mike Bibby and Brad Miller, this is the season to pursue all his options. Rebound. Create. Lead. Flash some dribble penetration, a few floaters and runners near the basket, a variety of muscular drives now and then.
And he gets it. He knows. Seated in the gym at Folsom High during the first week of his annual basketball camp that benefits his children's foundation, dressed in shorts and sneakers and a golf shirt, Stojakovic says he understands that with his advancing age and experience, comes added responsibility and the need to expand his game. Thus, his offseason has been spent in Greece, Turkey, Hawaii and Sacramento, but also in assorted gyms around the globe. And also in the film room.
"There are things I need to improve on," he said between brief conversations with straggling campers, "and those are the things we see on the scouting report. I have talked with Geoff (Petrie) and coach (Pete) Carril. The way guys are guarding me now, I have to find ways to get away from my guy and get my shot off. I have to learn to create my shot.
"What I have been doing mostly is scrimmaging against guys who are smaller and quicker, because they get into you. I can't say what I will be next year, or how much better. Everyone has limits. But I can say that I am working very hard to improve."
Work ethic has never been the issue. A native of the basketball-crazy Balkans who moved to northern Greece in his mid-teens, Stojakovic is a gym rat, a restless soul who becomes out of sorts unless he spends at least two hours per day on the court. Rather, his issue has been one of stubbornness, of an unwillingness to stretch his game and attack his weaknesses.
That jump shot has long been a museum piece, with only polishing required. That defense also has improved significantly in recent seasons. But along with rebounding that remains erratic - and this is another facet that suffers from bouts of attention deficit - the 6-foot-10 Stojakovic has yet to display either consistent low-post skills or the individual dribble moves that would enhance his mid-range abilities and enable him to set up teammates.
"Peja is a very, very good player," offered Petrie, the Kings president of basketball operations, "and you want to do everything to help him be even better. But he listens. He understands. He works hard. We want him to have the best year he's ever had. Some things off the dribble, off a live dribble. When to cut, when not to cut. Recognizing when somebody is guarding you, that you are not doing the same thing all the time. But a big part of this is that they (Peja, Bibby, Miller) know what's going on and how to play off each other."
Peja also knows he is no longer a kid. He is 28, approaching the period when most NBA players experience their last major growth spurt, their bodies approaching a physical peak. And should he study the competition presented by his fellow slick-scoring forwards, he can't help but notice the ongoing development and increasing threat presented by past or present All-Stars Dirk Nowitzki, Andrei Kirilenko, Richard Hamilton, Shawn Marion, Carmelo Anthony, to name a few.
"I know what I have to do," he continued, nodding, "but I would like to see us start running again. We kind of stopped running and getting easy baskets. And we have to play better defense. I think we can be good if we improve in those areas. The key for us ... sometimes I don't blame our big guys when they don't leave their guys (to help) because we never covered their back. We have to help each other. There has to be trust in team defense."
With a shrug, he added, "I feel good about next year. And you know Geoff (Petrie) will do something. He always does."
As for the 2006 offseason, when his contract expires, Stojakovic laughed. "Sacramento is the priority," he said. "I don't want to go anywhere. Last summer was a long time ago."
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