SacBee: Take the sprint test? Not so fast, says Kings' Hawes

[Revrag]

Once was enough for Spencer Hawes. One tweak of his left knee last September while performing a team-wide conditioning test before training camp. One more arthroscopic surgery to fix the damage and push back his NBA debut six weeks. One more reason to be cautious about his already problematic knee.

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[One and Done]

Not too promising of news for our supposed "future center."

 

[FakeInjury]

I was for drafting thorton, dont look at me. Hawes is still a kid, and its possible he doesn't know what it really means to have a knee problem. But it sounds like he thinks he does, and thats good enough for me...Hawes' new nickname is mr. glass

 

[Prince_XY]

Not too promising of news for our supposed "future center."

Absolutely right.

I'd suggest we get rid of this player. It will be a waste of time and effort to even try to develop this kid. He is a high-risk, physically and psychologically-damaged good; and most likely will never reach full potential to become a great championship caliber center. There is no way that we can be assured that he will play his best. He will always have reservation to work his hardest, lest he ends up with a career ending injury, and ends up losing $millions which he may never get from working outside the NBA.

A good GM should have known this, especially Petrie who has had the mistake of taking in a damaged good like Abdur Rahim. These kind of players just couldn't be counted as players who will give it their best to win, lest risking the millions of dollars they get paid.

These players will always protect their $$millions by not playing their hardest and wouldn't take the risk to get those WINS. Most likely than not, they will play at the average level.

It is common sense.

 

[kennadog]

He isn't asking to opt out of all the conditioning tests, just one. Let's not go overboard. And did everyone skip right over the fact that his body fat is down by 6% and he's looking much trimmer?

 

[NME]

Wow, what an overreaction. The guy got hurt doing specifically this test last year, and Hawes feels it puts more stress on his knee than anything that occurs in games or any of the other practice drills they do all year long. It's done once per year and is more a hazing ritual than anything with real basketball application. There's no reason for him to take the risk for something so meaningless. It's not as if he's been slacking in the conditioning department; by all accounts he showed up stronger and in better shape than ever before.

 

[One and Done]

He did have another option...

Instead of the drill, Hawes could've showed up to Sac 2 weeks early and worked out with the team trainer. According to team policy, that option would substitute for the required drill. So basically, had he showed up early, he wouldn't be having this problem right now.

Also, he was injured last year in a scrimmage game & was seen hobbling before this drill...so supposedly it wasn't the drill that hurt his knee afterall.

 

[NME]

Taking that option would probably has kept him from completing this summer's portion of his accelerated college degree program. He appears to have accomplished the basketball goal of getting into good shape. They can give him some other alternative if it needs to be proven.

 

[mac]

Yeah I don't see the problem here, if Petrie said "It's not a major issue at this point. He's in the best shape I've ever seen him."

It's not like Hawes is trying to be problematic, he just knows his body best and feels that this specific test has probably more downside than benefits for him. If he injures himself doing the test people will blame him blablabla. I think it's really over reacting to suddenly want to get rid of Hawes over 1 sprint test.

 

[Bricklayer]

Now ornery guy that I am, I have a fine appreciation for telling disciplinarian coaches/higher ups to stick your test where the sun don't shine. You like it, you run it. But that said, the two basic options here is that you either have a) Spenser Hawes, budding young locker room lawyer -- a distinct possibility given his personality; or b) Spenser Hawes with a truly significant knee issue as has been suspected. Neither is great news. Which doesn't warrant getting rid of him talk. But this is a test which apparently Brad Miller and creaky old now retired Shareef Abdur-Rahim have passed without us even knowing it existed. for a 20 yr old second yr player to have a problem with it...

 

[kennadog]

But that said, the two basic options here is that you either have a) Spenser Hawes, budding young locker room lawyer -- a distinct possibility given his personality; or

It being Hawes, I'd say "a" is the most likely answer. He IS ornery. I also think it will get worked out, most likely by him doing what he's told he has to do, eventually.

 

[NME]

It being Hawes, I'd say "a" is the most likely answer. He IS ornery. I also think it will get worked out, most likely by him doing what he's told he has to do, eventually.

I think it's more "a" too. I doubt that he couldn't physically do the test or that it's likely anything would really go wrong; he just has a specific fear about it. I just don't think it's that big an issue to be a dealbreaker if it isn't spilling over to opting out of other things. The insistance on doing it feels like hazing mentality to me: "everybody else put the bucket on their head and got paddled, so you have to too."

 

[kennadog]

I think he'll have to do it. Everyone has to and had to do it last year, too. He'll just have to get over it.

 

[NME]

I think he'll have to do it. Everyone has to and had to do it last year, too. He'll just have to get over it.

Winner. He did it today, and it was fine:

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/sports/kings/archives/015820.html

 

[kennadog]

Winner. He did it today, and it was fine:

http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/sports/kings/archives/015820.html

WOW! I'm writing this down on the calendar. I may never get anything this right ever again.

Yes, it was a meaningless win, but it was my win!