Two days after Spencer Hawes refused to take a mandatory conditioning test because of concerns about his knees, the second-year Kings center submitted and completed the exercise on his first try Thursday.
Hawes, who likely will be fined for his initial decision to skip the test, was apprehensive because of his knees' history. He has had three operations on his left knee (including microfracture at age 14) and an arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. What's more, he injured his left knee doing this very conditioning test before last season, leading to an arthroscopic procedure that kept him out for the first six weeks of his NBA career.
Hawes, who consulted Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie and his personal doctor in Seattle again Wednesday about the situation, said he had planned to stop the test if he felt discomfort in his knees while running. There was, however, no such struggle. The test was unchanged from its original state: 10 full-court sprints that had to be completed in 62 seconds, constituting one of four such sets with short breaks in between.
"I got to the point where I felt like it bothered me a little bit," Hawes said. "But I just decided if I could get through it and I didn't think it would pose a significant risk, I'd go ahead and do it."
Kings coach Reggie Theus, who had said he didn't want "one guy making the rules," was relieved the situation didn't become a standoff.
"(Hawes) looked like there was a building lifted off his shoulders (when he finished the test)," Theus said. "He saved us all a lot of grief. I'm happy that he decided to do the test."
Player appearances – As part of the NBA Cares "Paint the Town" event, the Kings have organized eight area appearances for today and Saturday.
The sites range from Sacramento to Old Sacramento, Roseville, Rocklin and Lincoln with various combinations of the entire training camp roster taking part.
Visit www.sacbee.com/kingsblog for more information on times and locations.
Read the Kings blog at www.sacbee.com/kingsblog.
