This is an excellent article.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12858402p-13707820c.html
Kings still lack primary leader
The team currently has no one willing - or able - to take over that role.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, May 8, 2005
The method, if you're a professional athlete, wasn't politically correct.
Chris Webber, so angry and upset after another disappointing end to a championship-less season, used the media as the messenger of his frustrations after the Kings' 2003-04 campaign ended with a second-round playoff loss to Minnesota.
There were changes that needed to be made, he said, pressing problems of attitude and action that needed to be addressed, and he touched on them all in a lengthy interview with The Bee.
Whether fans and pundits agreed, no one could argue Webber was taking the title of leader upon himself. This squad, Webber was saying, is "going to take my tone."
Translation: It's my team.
A year later, and the Kings still have an opening for the job Webber once held. Point guard Mike Bibby wants the ball for the big shots, but there are mice that make more noise than he does on most days. Center Brad Miller has never been comfortable as the go-to guy, preferring to play second fiddle and not the type to shake his fist at others. And forward Peja Stojakovic likes the leadership-by-committee approach, reiterating as much after the Kings' latest season ended Tuesday with a five-game, first-round loss to Seattle.
All good guys, no one willing to play the bad guy, a role Hall of Famer Rick Barry once knew well. Nearly 30 years after his Golden State Warriors won the franchise's only title in Oakland, Barry still is being criticized for his basketball bedside manner.
On a recent one-on-one interview segment dubbed "Hot Seat" on ESPN, broadcaster Matt Winer relentlessly grilled Barry on his leadership tactics as a player. Barry kept his cool, answering question after question while Winer seemed desperate to incite a reaction. Barry could have ended the discussion by flashing his title ring at the camera, making the only statement that truly matters in the world of the NBA.
"It helps to have somebody who's willing to be a leader, that one guy to step up and make guys be accountable," said Barry, the former forward who hosts a daily radio sports talk show on San Francisco's KNBR.
"Ideally, one is great," Barry said. "More than one, and you might have a problem. I got vilified for being the type of (vocal) player I was, yet everyone praises (Lakers great) Magic (Johnson) and (Boston legend) Larry (Bird) for doing that. You need to have somebody in that role."
The kink in the logic comes with the reigning champion Detroit Pistons. Among starters Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince, the leadership duties are as balanced as the team itself. They are collectively cohesive, even without having one distinct floor foreman.
"It's a unit mind-set," Pistons guard Lindsay Hunter said. "I think collectively is where we've got everybody beat. We hold each other accountable. If a guy doesn't do what he's supposed to do, a teammate will come up to him and be like, 'C'mon man, what are you doing?' That makes a difference."
It's the sort of chemistry the Kings didn't have time to create. With Doug Christie dispatched to Orlando in January and Webber traded to Philadelphia in February, the team that once had near-telepathic abilities entered new territory.
Guard Cuttino Mobley came in with a background in a two-man game much different than the five-man offensive system of Kings coach Rick Adelman.
Former 76ers Kenny Thomas, Corliss Williamson and Brian Skinner simply couldn't replicate the Vlade Divac factor, which some believe loomed larger than that of Webber both on the floor and in the locker room.
"I had different communication on the court with Doug and Vlade and Chris," Stojakovic said Friday. "I'd been with those guys for five years, and all you needed was eye contact. Everything will take time to get better and some practicing time."
For now, the new world order will be ruled by a three-headed King of Bibby, Miller and Stojakovic. Although Mobley showed flashes of being the vocal one, he might not return next season. He could exercise his player option and return for $6.3 million or test free agency for more. So Stojakovic said the role will be shared among the familiar faces.
"I think a team around me, Mike and Brad can be built," he said. "I like the team. I think that next (season), if we stay together from the beginning to the end, stay healthy and work on our game, we can be pretty good. I think we have good talent here. And at the end of the day, the team that wins is going to get the recognition. That's what I believe."
As does Miller. But ironically, Miller's first item on his offseason to-do list was to get stronger and more fit to take on the league's more muscular centers.
That was Webber's advice in his infamous rant, when he said of anonymous Kings big men, "There's no way you're a big man and I've never seen you touch a weight. It's no way ... and you've got to check (Shaquille O'Neal). It's no way. It's just preparation."
Suddenly, Miller is the one sending the messages. "We've got to lead by example," Miller said of himself, Bibby and Stojakovic. "We also have to kick guys in the (butt), kick ourselves in the (butt). If we want to do it like this, us three have to be much more accountable for ourselves, especially over the summer and getting ready for next year."
Edited to include title of article and name of writer. VF21
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12858402p-13707820c.html
Kings still lack primary leader
The team currently has no one willing - or able - to take over that role.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, May 8, 2005
The method, if you're a professional athlete, wasn't politically correct.
Chris Webber, so angry and upset after another disappointing end to a championship-less season, used the media as the messenger of his frustrations after the Kings' 2003-04 campaign ended with a second-round playoff loss to Minnesota.
There were changes that needed to be made, he said, pressing problems of attitude and action that needed to be addressed, and he touched on them all in a lengthy interview with The Bee.
Whether fans and pundits agreed, no one could argue Webber was taking the title of leader upon himself. This squad, Webber was saying, is "going to take my tone."
Translation: It's my team.
A year later, and the Kings still have an opening for the job Webber once held. Point guard Mike Bibby wants the ball for the big shots, but there are mice that make more noise than he does on most days. Center Brad Miller has never been comfortable as the go-to guy, preferring to play second fiddle and not the type to shake his fist at others. And forward Peja Stojakovic likes the leadership-by-committee approach, reiterating as much after the Kings' latest season ended Tuesday with a five-game, first-round loss to Seattle.
All good guys, no one willing to play the bad guy, a role Hall of Famer Rick Barry once knew well. Nearly 30 years after his Golden State Warriors won the franchise's only title in Oakland, Barry still is being criticized for his basketball bedside manner.
On a recent one-on-one interview segment dubbed "Hot Seat" on ESPN, broadcaster Matt Winer relentlessly grilled Barry on his leadership tactics as a player. Barry kept his cool, answering question after question while Winer seemed desperate to incite a reaction. Barry could have ended the discussion by flashing his title ring at the camera, making the only statement that truly matters in the world of the NBA.
"It helps to have somebody who's willing to be a leader, that one guy to step up and make guys be accountable," said Barry, the former forward who hosts a daily radio sports talk show on San Francisco's KNBR.
"Ideally, one is great," Barry said. "More than one, and you might have a problem. I got vilified for being the type of (vocal) player I was, yet everyone praises (Lakers great) Magic (Johnson) and (Boston legend) Larry (Bird) for doing that. You need to have somebody in that role."
The kink in the logic comes with the reigning champion Detroit Pistons. Among starters Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince, the leadership duties are as balanced as the team itself. They are collectively cohesive, even without having one distinct floor foreman.
"It's a unit mind-set," Pistons guard Lindsay Hunter said. "I think collectively is where we've got everybody beat. We hold each other accountable. If a guy doesn't do what he's supposed to do, a teammate will come up to him and be like, 'C'mon man, what are you doing?' That makes a difference."
It's the sort of chemistry the Kings didn't have time to create. With Doug Christie dispatched to Orlando in January and Webber traded to Philadelphia in February, the team that once had near-telepathic abilities entered new territory.
Guard Cuttino Mobley came in with a background in a two-man game much different than the five-man offensive system of Kings coach Rick Adelman.
Former 76ers Kenny Thomas, Corliss Williamson and Brian Skinner simply couldn't replicate the Vlade Divac factor, which some believe loomed larger than that of Webber both on the floor and in the locker room.
"I had different communication on the court with Doug and Vlade and Chris," Stojakovic said Friday. "I'd been with those guys for five years, and all you needed was eye contact. Everything will take time to get better and some practicing time."
For now, the new world order will be ruled by a three-headed King of Bibby, Miller and Stojakovic. Although Mobley showed flashes of being the vocal one, he might not return next season. He could exercise his player option and return for $6.3 million or test free agency for more. So Stojakovic said the role will be shared among the familiar faces.
"I think a team around me, Mike and Brad can be built," he said. "I like the team. I think that next (season), if we stay together from the beginning to the end, stay healthy and work on our game, we can be pretty good. I think we have good talent here. And at the end of the day, the team that wins is going to get the recognition. That's what I believe."
As does Miller. But ironically, Miller's first item on his offseason to-do list was to get stronger and more fit to take on the league's more muscular centers.
That was Webber's advice in his infamous rant, when he said of anonymous Kings big men, "There's no way you're a big man and I've never seen you touch a weight. It's no way ... and you've got to check (Shaquille O'Neal). It's no way. It's just preparation."
Suddenly, Miller is the one sending the messages. "We've got to lead by example," Miller said of himself, Bibby and Stojakovic. "We also have to kick guys in the (butt), kick ourselves in the (butt). If we want to do it like this, us three have to be much more accountable for ourselves, especially over the summer and getting ready for next year."
Edited to include title of article and name of writer. VF21
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