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Long Live the King
Vlade Divac's playing days may be ending. But he doesn't rule out a return to Sacramento - perhaps as a coach.
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, April 10, 2005
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The moment Vlade Divac took his stubble to Los Angeles, the Kings changed.
They still don't have that same look and feel, the same ebb and flow, in part because there's a big bearded void at the high post.
Divac changed, too.
The Lakers purple and gold didn't seem to fit. These were enemy colors for years, and before he could slip them on again, he was hurt, with black and blue thrown into the mix to mark Divac's aching back and his dreary basketball spirits this lost season, quite possibly his last.
His visit to Arco Arena today is shaping up to be a farewell tour Divac isn't entirely sure he is ready for or wants.
Either way, the Divac chapter is closing. He did, however, express a desire to work in the front office or coach with the Kings or Lakers as early as next season.
For now his legacy is assured. He has been called one of the greatest big-man passers in NBA history. He's regarded as the ultimate teammate, the heart and soul of a Kings franchise that pulled itself off the NBA canvas to championship contender.
The final pages of his fairy-tale ride have been painful, however. Surgery repaired a herniated disc, sidelining Divac for much of this season (he was activated last week). And he leans forward while lumbering upcourt in limited minutes, as if to hasten his gait.
"Bad luck," Divac said after a recent practice in El Segundo. "There's no justice in this league. It's brutal. You never know when the injury bug will get you, and it finally got me. I've got mixed feelings on whether or not I'll come back.
"Could it be the end? Yeah, probably, unless I can show something (the rest of the season). And if I retire, I would say I retired as a Kings player, since that was really my last year, and those were my best six years."
But that justice thing. Divac is talking of his body only.
He said he harbors no bitterness toward the Kings, that if anything, he appreciates his former bosses all the more now that he has had plenty of time to think and reflect. After last season, he dearly wanted to return and then retire with the Kings, but he instead elected the more lucrative contract (two years, $10.2 million) in Los Angeles, where he had played his first seven NBA seasons.
He wanted to walk on the beach in the late morning and pass to a cutting Kobe Bryant in the evening. He wanted to connect the dots as the man who capably replaced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1989 as a Lakers rookie from Yugoslavia who spoke only a few words of English. And this season, he was ready for the Herculean task of following Shaquille O'Neal as the Lakers' big man of quip.
The latter never happened, and that's what bothers Divac the most. Time never dimmed Divac's competitive nature.
For years, Divac was one of the NBA's most durable players. He played in 374 of 378 games in six sparkling seasons with the Kings, but he twisted his back during, of all things, a voluntary workout last summer. He wanted to get a head start on his Lakers return, to grind his 37-year-old body into shape, before his patented spin move spun Divac right to the floor.
"It's totally ironic," Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said. "No one wanted to see that. One thing about Vlade, he never missed games, never missed practice. Sometimes he had to drag his butt out of bed for practice, but he was always there."
Said Divac: "I thought I'd be back in a few days when I first got hurt, but the back never got better. I'm not used to not playing. It's not a familiar experience. The Lakers obviously had different plans. I thought I'd play a big role with this team. I thought we'd be in the playoffs."
So for the first time in his 16-year career, he was stashed at the end of the bench, behind it in the longest pair of denim jeans one could find, or back in the training room. He was Vlade in image and memory only, the bounce passes and flops and the head hugs for all put on hold.
And now he's wondering if this is it. He feels every bit his age, with a lot of mileage under the jersey - he started playing professionally in Yugoslavia at 15 - and he hinted that his body might be waving the white flag.
Divac wants to call it a career on his terms, not ushered out the door hastily because his body fails. He also wants to be able to bend over to slip on his sandals or to pick up his kids without yelping in misery.
So Divac will enter Arco today with mixed emotions. The last time he was here, Dec. 16, he was celebrated by Kings fans for what he did for their franchise. Now they might be saying goodbye.
Divac has a player option to return to L.A. next season at $5.3 million, but the Lakers can buy him out for $2 million. Lakers management isn't sure what to do at this point, with so many questions on a fading franchise. Lakers coach Frank Hamblen did say the remaining games will be used in part to see how much "Vlade has left in the tank."
And if the Lakers buy out Divac? "I'm going to retire," he said.
And what of the overall Vlade experience? His ability to relate to teammates, young and old, to reach out to the community, to still be effective late in his career when age stripped away his ability to move and run?
"Incredible career," Petrie said. "He's really been a positive force and spirit on all the teams he's played for. He's a very special player and person, one that you just don't see in the everyday walk of life."
Said Kings forward Peja Stojakovic, who calls Divac his mentor and close friend: "He was amazing here. I miss him very much. We all do. There's no one else like him."
In 1991, Divac was in the NBA Finals with the Lakers. In 1996, he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets for the draft rights to Bryant, and in 1998 became the first big-name free agent to come to Sacramento.
What's more, Divac always embraced his role as global goodwill ambassador. He was a European pioneer, leaping to the NBA when that just didn't happen. He shared the same NBA dreams as his childhood best friend, the late Croatian and NBA star Drazen Petrovic.
Along the way, Divac would visit Belgrade in the summer on humanitarian missions, conducting camps and clinics in an effort to help war orphans. He often dipped into his own pockets and played with a heavy heart while his homeland was bombed.
"Vlade's always gone far beyond his numbers and basketball skills because he's always been much deeper than that," said Vuja Jovic, Divac's agent and friend. "It's amazing what he's done, how he's grown. I can honestly remember when he first came to the NBA, he didn't know two or three words of English outside of 'Hi.' He made a remarkable transition."
Regardless of his future NBA employment, Divac plans to continue to visit his homeland, where he is revered.
"We joke about it, but if he were to run for president there, I guarantee he would get 80 percent of the vote, because people absolutely love him there," Jovic said.
And Divac has many NBA admirers. Seattle SuperSonics forward Vladimir Radmanovic, a fellow Serb, considers Divac a trailblazer.
"Vlade allowed all of us to come to the NBA," Radmanovic said. "He's the father of all of that."
Kings director of player personnel Jerry Reynolds agreed, saying, "Vlade, to me, is the Babe Ruth of the European players who came into the league, because before (Dirk) Nowitzki and Peja, it was Vlade."
Now Divac is wondering if he can't help mine foreign soil for more nuggets. He said he'd surely listen if the Kings wanted to bring him aboard as a coach and/or scout or front-office suit. He wants to remain a California guy, whose three kids (sons Luka, 13, and Matia, 11, and adopted daughter Petra, 6, herself a war orphan) and wife, Ana, also love the state.
The kids attend school in Southern California, and Ana regularly flies north, tending to her restaurants and boutique in Sacramento.
That Vlade Divac would even consider remaining in the NBA after his playing days is a far cry from the Divac of years past, who maintained then that he'd never want to stress over plays or players. But he has used firsthand experience as a guide for a potential new career.
Divac became a mentor. He found out the disappointment of leaving a family, his move back to the Lakers, of separating emotions and business.
"I'm not disappointed now about leaving the Kings because I understood the situation," Divac said. "It happens in this league. I know what we had, the great chemistry, the great team, the great runs we had. But it was a time to start making moves. We were all getting old. Geoff is a very smart man. He did what he had to do, and we all understood each other."
And his profound disappointment from last season with his reduced role down the stretch of the season? Part of the process, Divac said, and one he said he'd have to understand should he become a coach.
"I appreciate coach Rick Adelman more now than ever," Divac said. "It's not easy making decisions and being a coach, very hard. In all my career, he was my best coach. He was the one guy who really fit with me. "My Kings years, the best. No complaints. Maybe I'll be back. We'll see."
Long Live the King
Vlade Divac's playing days may be ending. But he doesn't rule out a return to Sacramento - perhaps as a coach.
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, April 10, 2005
Get the latest news in sacbee.com's Kings Alert newsletter. Sign up here.
The moment Vlade Divac took his stubble to Los Angeles, the Kings changed.
They still don't have that same look and feel, the same ebb and flow, in part because there's a big bearded void at the high post.
Divac changed, too.
The Lakers purple and gold didn't seem to fit. These were enemy colors for years, and before he could slip them on again, he was hurt, with black and blue thrown into the mix to mark Divac's aching back and his dreary basketball spirits this lost season, quite possibly his last.
His visit to Arco Arena today is shaping up to be a farewell tour Divac isn't entirely sure he is ready for or wants.
Either way, the Divac chapter is closing. He did, however, express a desire to work in the front office or coach with the Kings or Lakers as early as next season.
For now his legacy is assured. He has been called one of the greatest big-man passers in NBA history. He's regarded as the ultimate teammate, the heart and soul of a Kings franchise that pulled itself off the NBA canvas to championship contender.
The final pages of his fairy-tale ride have been painful, however. Surgery repaired a herniated disc, sidelining Divac for much of this season (he was activated last week). And he leans forward while lumbering upcourt in limited minutes, as if to hasten his gait.
"Bad luck," Divac said after a recent practice in El Segundo. "There's no justice in this league. It's brutal. You never know when the injury bug will get you, and it finally got me. I've got mixed feelings on whether or not I'll come back.
"Could it be the end? Yeah, probably, unless I can show something (the rest of the season). And if I retire, I would say I retired as a Kings player, since that was really my last year, and those were my best six years."
But that justice thing. Divac is talking of his body only.
He said he harbors no bitterness toward the Kings, that if anything, he appreciates his former bosses all the more now that he has had plenty of time to think and reflect. After last season, he dearly wanted to return and then retire with the Kings, but he instead elected the more lucrative contract (two years, $10.2 million) in Los Angeles, where he had played his first seven NBA seasons.
He wanted to walk on the beach in the late morning and pass to a cutting Kobe Bryant in the evening. He wanted to connect the dots as the man who capably replaced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1989 as a Lakers rookie from Yugoslavia who spoke only a few words of English. And this season, he was ready for the Herculean task of following Shaquille O'Neal as the Lakers' big man of quip.
The latter never happened, and that's what bothers Divac the most. Time never dimmed Divac's competitive nature.
For years, Divac was one of the NBA's most durable players. He played in 374 of 378 games in six sparkling seasons with the Kings, but he twisted his back during, of all things, a voluntary workout last summer. He wanted to get a head start on his Lakers return, to grind his 37-year-old body into shape, before his patented spin move spun Divac right to the floor.
"It's totally ironic," Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie said. "No one wanted to see that. One thing about Vlade, he never missed games, never missed practice. Sometimes he had to drag his butt out of bed for practice, but he was always there."
Said Divac: "I thought I'd be back in a few days when I first got hurt, but the back never got better. I'm not used to not playing. It's not a familiar experience. The Lakers obviously had different plans. I thought I'd play a big role with this team. I thought we'd be in the playoffs."
So for the first time in his 16-year career, he was stashed at the end of the bench, behind it in the longest pair of denim jeans one could find, or back in the training room. He was Vlade in image and memory only, the bounce passes and flops and the head hugs for all put on hold.
And now he's wondering if this is it. He feels every bit his age, with a lot of mileage under the jersey - he started playing professionally in Yugoslavia at 15 - and he hinted that his body might be waving the white flag.
Divac wants to call it a career on his terms, not ushered out the door hastily because his body fails. He also wants to be able to bend over to slip on his sandals or to pick up his kids without yelping in misery.
So Divac will enter Arco today with mixed emotions. The last time he was here, Dec. 16, he was celebrated by Kings fans for what he did for their franchise. Now they might be saying goodbye.
Divac has a player option to return to L.A. next season at $5.3 million, but the Lakers can buy him out for $2 million. Lakers management isn't sure what to do at this point, with so many questions on a fading franchise. Lakers coach Frank Hamblen did say the remaining games will be used in part to see how much "Vlade has left in the tank."
And if the Lakers buy out Divac? "I'm going to retire," he said.
And what of the overall Vlade experience? His ability to relate to teammates, young and old, to reach out to the community, to still be effective late in his career when age stripped away his ability to move and run?
"Incredible career," Petrie said. "He's really been a positive force and spirit on all the teams he's played for. He's a very special player and person, one that you just don't see in the everyday walk of life."
Said Kings forward Peja Stojakovic, who calls Divac his mentor and close friend: "He was amazing here. I miss him very much. We all do. There's no one else like him."
In 1991, Divac was in the NBA Finals with the Lakers. In 1996, he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets for the draft rights to Bryant, and in 1998 became the first big-name free agent to come to Sacramento.
What's more, Divac always embraced his role as global goodwill ambassador. He was a European pioneer, leaping to the NBA when that just didn't happen. He shared the same NBA dreams as his childhood best friend, the late Croatian and NBA star Drazen Petrovic.
Along the way, Divac would visit Belgrade in the summer on humanitarian missions, conducting camps and clinics in an effort to help war orphans. He often dipped into his own pockets and played with a heavy heart while his homeland was bombed.
"Vlade's always gone far beyond his numbers and basketball skills because he's always been much deeper than that," said Vuja Jovic, Divac's agent and friend. "It's amazing what he's done, how he's grown. I can honestly remember when he first came to the NBA, he didn't know two or three words of English outside of 'Hi.' He made a remarkable transition."
Regardless of his future NBA employment, Divac plans to continue to visit his homeland, where he is revered.
"We joke about it, but if he were to run for president there, I guarantee he would get 80 percent of the vote, because people absolutely love him there," Jovic said.
And Divac has many NBA admirers. Seattle SuperSonics forward Vladimir Radmanovic, a fellow Serb, considers Divac a trailblazer.
"Vlade allowed all of us to come to the NBA," Radmanovic said. "He's the father of all of that."
Kings director of player personnel Jerry Reynolds agreed, saying, "Vlade, to me, is the Babe Ruth of the European players who came into the league, because before (Dirk) Nowitzki and Peja, it was Vlade."
Now Divac is wondering if he can't help mine foreign soil for more nuggets. He said he'd surely listen if the Kings wanted to bring him aboard as a coach and/or scout or front-office suit. He wants to remain a California guy, whose three kids (sons Luka, 13, and Matia, 11, and adopted daughter Petra, 6, herself a war orphan) and wife, Ana, also love the state.
The kids attend school in Southern California, and Ana regularly flies north, tending to her restaurants and boutique in Sacramento.
That Vlade Divac would even consider remaining in the NBA after his playing days is a far cry from the Divac of years past, who maintained then that he'd never want to stress over plays or players. But he has used firsthand experience as a guide for a potential new career.
Divac became a mentor. He found out the disappointment of leaving a family, his move back to the Lakers, of separating emotions and business.
"I'm not disappointed now about leaving the Kings because I understood the situation," Divac said. "It happens in this league. I know what we had, the great chemistry, the great team, the great runs we had. But it was a time to start making moves. We were all getting old. Geoff is a very smart man. He did what he had to do, and we all understood each other."
And his profound disappointment from last season with his reduced role down the stretch of the season? Part of the process, Divac said, and one he said he'd have to understand should he become a coach.
"I appreciate coach Rick Adelman more now than ever," Divac said. "It's not easy making decisions and being a coach, very hard. In all my career, he was my best coach. He was the one guy who really fit with me. "My Kings years, the best. No complaints. Maybe I'll be back. We'll see."
