Bee: Mark Kreidler: Finally, let's say goodbye to Divac
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/13741941p-14583863c.html
There's no easy way to say goodbye, which must be why Vlade Divac didn't do it. He just kept waving and waving and waving, and it wasn't until later that you realized it was the end.
Or, in the case of the Kings' front office, you didn't realize it.
Divac actually pulled a fast one this week, and if you saw the big man labor to get up and down the court in those final two seasons in Sacramento, you might have thought it impossible. But, perhaps unwittingly, Divac did it.
His retirement as a player? A done deal, expected by all.
His signing with the Lakers as a scout? A bit of a shock, Internet reports notwithstanding - and especially considering that as recently as two weeks ago Divac had told Kings executive Geoff Petrie that he wanted to lie low for a year, perhaps move his family to Europe for that time, then consider his future.
"In numerous conversations," Petrie said Wednesday, "he's consistently told me he was taking a year off. So it was (surprising) in the sense that it's a change from what I thought he might do."
And even then, in the wake of the Lakers news, the Kings - and, judging by Divac's overwhelming popularity here, a goodly chunk of the fan base - held out hope that this was just a make-good deal. Perhaps Divac scouting for the Lakers for a year was his way of compensating for the fact that they got so little out of his $7 million, two-season contract as a player because of his injuries.
He'd put in his time, give the Lakers a little return on investment. It would be a very Vlade thing to do. And then he'd be free to come back north, to the place that embraced him as, essentially, its own.
This just in: Missed it by that much.
"I signed (for) four years to scout," Divac said by phone from Los Angeles. "We're going to move to Europe next year, be there a couple of years and then come back."
You know what, then? This must really be the time to say goodbye.
Divac doesn't want to do it, of course. He won't disconnect from Sacramento. He has two restaurants here, and he is keeping them. He was here recently to put together an aid shipment for Hurricane Katrina victims, and Petrie spoke with him then.
"I'm going to be there next week, in fact," Divac said. "Just see some friends, Peja (Stojakovic) and others, and maybe if Kings are playing, stop by. Kings in Sacramento is always going to be kind of home for me."
It could have been a permanent home, but, as Kings fans have always known about their players, that has to be a two-way street. And as much as Divac enjoyed Sacramento, his first real place in the United States was Los Angeles, and his first NBA family the Lakers. In his own way, Divac already has gone home.
This all came about quickly, as things tend to do. Divac had long known, from both Petrie and owner Joe Maloof, that he had a job waiting for him with the Kings anytime he was ready to accept one. But when the Lakers bought out the second year of his player contract this month, they followed immediately with the four-year offer to scout.
For Divac, it was too good to pass up. He had wanted to move his family to Europe so they could experience the sensation of being a citizen of the world, as Vlade really always has been. The Lakers deal offered that ability. The Divac family will move to Madrid after the end of the school year next spring - "So we can all learn Spanish, which will come in handy, you know, when we come back to California," Vlade said with a chuckle.
It's too bad Divac didn't check in with Petrie, because the same kind of European offer might well have been extended to him by Sacramento. What the Kings want to establish here is some sort of legacy, and to do that they'd like to have the really well-liked, successful former players - like Vlade, exactly - on board in some capacity, be it ceremonial or genuinely productive.
That chance still might exist. Informed by a reporter of Divac's new deal with the Lakers, Joe Maloof, who was in Las Vegas on Wednesday, said, "Great guy. Love the guy. I wish him well. Anytime he wants to come back to Sac, we'd have a job for him, I know that." It won't be soon. Four years is an eternity in pro sports. Might as well say goodbye to the big lug now, from the city and team to which he really did matter - and, let's face, it, always will.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/13741941p-14583863c.html
There's no easy way to say goodbye, which must be why Vlade Divac didn't do it. He just kept waving and waving and waving, and it wasn't until later that you realized it was the end.
Or, in the case of the Kings' front office, you didn't realize it.
Divac actually pulled a fast one this week, and if you saw the big man labor to get up and down the court in those final two seasons in Sacramento, you might have thought it impossible. But, perhaps unwittingly, Divac did it.
His retirement as a player? A done deal, expected by all.
His signing with the Lakers as a scout? A bit of a shock, Internet reports notwithstanding - and especially considering that as recently as two weeks ago Divac had told Kings executive Geoff Petrie that he wanted to lie low for a year, perhaps move his family to Europe for that time, then consider his future.
"In numerous conversations," Petrie said Wednesday, "he's consistently told me he was taking a year off. So it was (surprising) in the sense that it's a change from what I thought he might do."
And even then, in the wake of the Lakers news, the Kings - and, judging by Divac's overwhelming popularity here, a goodly chunk of the fan base - held out hope that this was just a make-good deal. Perhaps Divac scouting for the Lakers for a year was his way of compensating for the fact that they got so little out of his $7 million, two-season contract as a player because of his injuries.
He'd put in his time, give the Lakers a little return on investment. It would be a very Vlade thing to do. And then he'd be free to come back north, to the place that embraced him as, essentially, its own.
This just in: Missed it by that much.
"I signed (for) four years to scout," Divac said by phone from Los Angeles. "We're going to move to Europe next year, be there a couple of years and then come back."
You know what, then? This must really be the time to say goodbye.
Divac doesn't want to do it, of course. He won't disconnect from Sacramento. He has two restaurants here, and he is keeping them. He was here recently to put together an aid shipment for Hurricane Katrina victims, and Petrie spoke with him then.
"I'm going to be there next week, in fact," Divac said. "Just see some friends, Peja (Stojakovic) and others, and maybe if Kings are playing, stop by. Kings in Sacramento is always going to be kind of home for me."
It could have been a permanent home, but, as Kings fans have always known about their players, that has to be a two-way street. And as much as Divac enjoyed Sacramento, his first real place in the United States was Los Angeles, and his first NBA family the Lakers. In his own way, Divac already has gone home.
This all came about quickly, as things tend to do. Divac had long known, from both Petrie and owner Joe Maloof, that he had a job waiting for him with the Kings anytime he was ready to accept one. But when the Lakers bought out the second year of his player contract this month, they followed immediately with the four-year offer to scout.
For Divac, it was too good to pass up. He had wanted to move his family to Europe so they could experience the sensation of being a citizen of the world, as Vlade really always has been. The Lakers deal offered that ability. The Divac family will move to Madrid after the end of the school year next spring - "So we can all learn Spanish, which will come in handy, you know, when we come back to California," Vlade said with a chuckle.
It's too bad Divac didn't check in with Petrie, because the same kind of European offer might well have been extended to him by Sacramento. What the Kings want to establish here is some sort of legacy, and to do that they'd like to have the really well-liked, successful former players - like Vlade, exactly - on board in some capacity, be it ceremonial or genuinely productive.
That chance still might exist. Informed by a reporter of Divac's new deal with the Lakers, Joe Maloof, who was in Las Vegas on Wednesday, said, "Great guy. Love the guy. I wish him well. Anytime he wants to come back to Sac, we'd have a job for him, I know that." It won't be soon. Four years is an eternity in pro sports. Might as well say goodbye to the big lug now, from the city and team to which he really did matter - and, let's face, it, always will.
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