It's weird that nobody still posted this, I found it on kings.com, here's the link - http://fullcourtpress.kingsconnect.com/archives/3469
I'll post a few interesting questions and answers.
1. As it stands now, the Kings don't have a true backup center behind Spencer Hawes. Do you envision playing more small-ball with Jason Thompson and Sean May at the five this season, or are we likely to see another trade or signing before the season begins?
PW: Right now, the way that our roster is constituted, we do not have a lot of tall centers. Spencer Hawes certainly qualifies as a legitimate NBA 7-footer. And Jason Thompson has size. We have Kenny Thomas who had shown us that he also can defend the low post better than anyone else on our roster, but he is a little short to play center. There is also Sean May as an option. Those guys are the primary options to give us some minutes at that position. Whenever Spencer is not at center, then I guess we will be playing small ball, if that is what you want to call it.
2. How do you balance the need to win today (putting your best team on the floor) with the need to win next year (putting youth on the floor).
PW: I would say that I don’t quite look at it like that. I look at it like that as our mission is to win playoff games, and we want to make it happen as soon as possible. We need to become a team that gets to the playoffs so that we can win playoff games. Having the worst record in the league to build on, it certainly is a stretch to predict playoff success this year. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a hope or a goal, but it is a long way to go to get there. What we want to do is take positive steps toward putting our team in a position to win playoff games as soon as possible. A lot of that will be in terms of developing young players and giving them playing time to make mistakes and learn from them.
I'll post a few interesting questions and answers.
1. As it stands now, the Kings don't have a true backup center behind Spencer Hawes. Do you envision playing more small-ball with Jason Thompson and Sean May at the five this season, or are we likely to see another trade or signing before the season begins?
PW: Right now, the way that our roster is constituted, we do not have a lot of tall centers. Spencer Hawes certainly qualifies as a legitimate NBA 7-footer. And Jason Thompson has size. We have Kenny Thomas who had shown us that he also can defend the low post better than anyone else on our roster, but he is a little short to play center. There is also Sean May as an option. Those guys are the primary options to give us some minutes at that position. Whenever Spencer is not at center, then I guess we will be playing small ball, if that is what you want to call it.
2. How do you balance the need to win today (putting your best team on the floor) with the need to win next year (putting youth on the floor).
PW: I would say that I don’t quite look at it like that. I look at it like that as our mission is to win playoff games, and we want to make it happen as soon as possible. We need to become a team that gets to the playoffs so that we can win playoff games. Having the worst record in the league to build on, it certainly is a stretch to predict playoff success this year. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a hope or a goal, but it is a long way to go to get there. What we want to do is take positive steps toward putting our team in a position to win playoff games as soon as possible. A lot of that will be in terms of developing young players and giving them playing time to make mistakes and learn from them.
