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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/14143176p-14971671c.html
Mark Kreidler: It's a new beginning for Wells with Kings
By Mark Kreidler -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, February 2, 2006
Story appeared in Sports section, Page C1
As I was saying just Wednesday to my close personal friend Bonzi Wells, character ain't everything.
Well, it could be. But the public perception of "character" in pro sports is largely a function of the famous mathematical equation by Albert Einstein, put forth on the day Al got chosen last for dodgeball during gym class: Character equals Production minus Salary divided by General Aggravation.
Memo to Ron Artest: There must be a lesson in there somewhere.
This all came up because Bonzi Wells is only a couple of months removed from being the "character" question on the Kings. Wednesday, as he stood sweating and panting on the team's practice floor after surviving his second full workout since returning from his groin injury, Wells clearly had morphed into a new identity with the franchise: the guy they couldn't wait to get back into uniform.
That went for the fans, not just the front office and the locker room. Over the past few weeks, people were suddenly remembering how much tougher the Kings felt with Wells on the floor, what a better chance of winning they felt they had. They missed seeing Bonzi play. They missed hearing him gab and dish after playing.
Heaven help us, they like the man.
"I'm glad that I got a chance to rehab my body and still get the love for being on the sideline in a suit," Wells said with a smile. "It was great to hear that people wanted me back."
They really did. They didn't care that the Kings, even with Wells, were only 10-14 at the time he got hurt (he played only six minutes of the next game before missing the following 19 contests). What they cared about was how Bonzi played out there, which was like a man possessed - but only on the basketball court.
Wells' transformation from Dude With a Past to local demigod didn't even take half a season to complete. The formula? Do good things on the court (Wells averages about 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and a physical presence on defense per game). Set nothing on fire away from it. And allow a needy, forgiving basketball community to take care of the rest.
It's the same for Artest - and I say this acknowledging that personal baggage is often a matter of scale. Wells was considered a bad actor and a part of the problem in Portland, and he took almost no time wearing out his welcome with coach Mike Fratello in Memphis. That's baggage, but that's not Artest-weighted baggage.
Still, the basic components of the Einstein formula remain intact. As long as Artest is productive and doesn't put the rest of his life (or anybody else's) in an uproar, he will be embraced in Sacramento in a way that he'd have found impossible in any number of larger markets.
Chris Webber. Vernon Maxwell. Jason Williams, Jon Barry, Jimmy Jackson ... you know the drill.
"It's something I said to both of them," coach Rick Adelman said of Wells and Artest. " 'If you come in and play hard and do things to help the team, you're going to be fine here.' "
Adelman mentioned the case of Rasheed Wallace, who was a personal train wreck while playing on dysfunctional Portland teams. Now, playing for the winning Detroit Pistons, Wallace is simply eccentric. Presto.
Wells was considered a character risk not only because of the way he flamed out with Fratello, but because the Kings in the deal gave Memphis a good guy in Bobby Jackson. Yet it took so little time for Wells to erase his past (at least among the local faithful) that even he has to be amazed by it.
He has a team standing behind him, too. It didn't escape Wells' notice that his replacement, Kevin Martin, turned in some eye-opening performances in Wells' absence.
"Some teams would just replace you," Wells said. "Kevin Martin came in and did an excellent job, and they could have just said, 'OK, it's Kevin's time.' But they didn't do that."
Just the opposite: They tapped one foot impatiently, waiting for the instant they could plug Wells back into the lineup - and into his new life as the guy the fans all want to see. Ron Artest, your future is calling.
Mark Kreidler: It's a new beginning for Wells with Kings
By Mark Kreidler -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, February 2, 2006
Story appeared in Sports section, Page C1
As I was saying just Wednesday to my close personal friend Bonzi Wells, character ain't everything.
Well, it could be. But the public perception of "character" in pro sports is largely a function of the famous mathematical equation by Albert Einstein, put forth on the day Al got chosen last for dodgeball during gym class: Character equals Production minus Salary divided by General Aggravation.
Memo to Ron Artest: There must be a lesson in there somewhere.
This all came up because Bonzi Wells is only a couple of months removed from being the "character" question on the Kings. Wednesday, as he stood sweating and panting on the team's practice floor after surviving his second full workout since returning from his groin injury, Wells clearly had morphed into a new identity with the franchise: the guy they couldn't wait to get back into uniform.
That went for the fans, not just the front office and the locker room. Over the past few weeks, people were suddenly remembering how much tougher the Kings felt with Wells on the floor, what a better chance of winning they felt they had. They missed seeing Bonzi play. They missed hearing him gab and dish after playing.
Heaven help us, they like the man.
"I'm glad that I got a chance to rehab my body and still get the love for being on the sideline in a suit," Wells said with a smile. "It was great to hear that people wanted me back."
They really did. They didn't care that the Kings, even with Wells, were only 10-14 at the time he got hurt (he played only six minutes of the next game before missing the following 19 contests). What they cared about was how Bonzi played out there, which was like a man possessed - but only on the basketball court.
Wells' transformation from Dude With a Past to local demigod didn't even take half a season to complete. The formula? Do good things on the court (Wells averages about 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and a physical presence on defense per game). Set nothing on fire away from it. And allow a needy, forgiving basketball community to take care of the rest.
It's the same for Artest - and I say this acknowledging that personal baggage is often a matter of scale. Wells was considered a bad actor and a part of the problem in Portland, and he took almost no time wearing out his welcome with coach Mike Fratello in Memphis. That's baggage, but that's not Artest-weighted baggage.
Still, the basic components of the Einstein formula remain intact. As long as Artest is productive and doesn't put the rest of his life (or anybody else's) in an uproar, he will be embraced in Sacramento in a way that he'd have found impossible in any number of larger markets.
Chris Webber. Vernon Maxwell. Jason Williams, Jon Barry, Jimmy Jackson ... you know the drill.
"It's something I said to both of them," coach Rick Adelman said of Wells and Artest. " 'If you come in and play hard and do things to help the team, you're going to be fine here.' "
Adelman mentioned the case of Rasheed Wallace, who was a personal train wreck while playing on dysfunctional Portland teams. Now, playing for the winning Detroit Pistons, Wallace is simply eccentric. Presto.
Wells was considered a character risk not only because of the way he flamed out with Fratello, but because the Kings in the deal gave Memphis a good guy in Bobby Jackson. Yet it took so little time for Wells to erase his past (at least among the local faithful) that even he has to be amazed by it.
He has a team standing behind him, too. It didn't escape Wells' notice that his replacement, Kevin Martin, turned in some eye-opening performances in Wells' absence.
"Some teams would just replace you," Wells said. "Kevin Martin came in and did an excellent job, and they could have just said, 'OK, it's Kevin's time.' But they didn't do that."
Just the opposite: They tapped one foot impatiently, waiting for the instant they could plug Wells back into the lineup - and into his new life as the guy the fans all want to see. Ron Artest, your future is calling.
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