Shelden Williams talked. He actually talked.
The power forward who retreated from interviews and avoided eye contact last season appears to have lightened up. And not just physically.
With the deadline approaching for the Kings to pick up the team option for the final season of Williams' contract ($4.3 million for 2009-10), his timing is impeccable. The organization is noting his effort, which began with an impressive summer league performance that continued in the opening days of training camp.
"I think he just wants to be a better player regardless of contract situation," said Kings assistant coach Rex Kalamian, who tutored Williams in Southern California during the offseason. "He accomplished a great deal in college and was an unbelievable college player. I think he has a lot of pride and wants to be the best he can be."
Which meant he had to work on certain aspects of his game and improve his conditioning. Kalamian targeted Williams' jumper and ballhandling during workouts at a private gym in Los Angeles. The 6-foot-9 former Duke standout also shed the weight he gained from a relatively inactive second NBA season.
"Shelden, at the end of the season last year, was 10 to 15 pounds overweight," Kings coach Reggie Theus said. "And probably rightfully so. He played very sparingly here. He fought it a little bit when I talked to him. Somewhere along the way, workout-wise, he dropped 10 or 15 pounds. He's doing great right now."
Williams, who averaged 12.9 minutes in 28 games, admitted to frustration and confusion over his inconsistent playing time. Intent on expanding his role this season, he said he wanted to enter training camp at his best playing weight of approximately 250 pounds.
"I'm a guy who is going to go out and play hard," Williams said. "What I think about are the little things that don't really come out in stat books – hustle plays and little stuff like that."
Theus is thinking about what Williams can add to the Kings.
"He's important to us, from my perspective, because he has a different game than anyone else on our team," Theus said. "He is sort of a low-post bruiser – a space eater is what we call him – and we don't have anyone else on the team like that. I think (he's) very valuable in that sense."
Valuable enough to pick up the option on him? The deadline is Oct. 31.
"He's come in this year in better shape than last year, and we'll see," Kings basketball president Geoff Petrie said. "He seems a lot more comfortable. There is still a great opportunity for him to prove himself."
That opportunity isn't lost on Williams, who said he recognized the need to work on, among other things, his relationship with Theus.
"When I first got here, with me being reserved and not really outspoken, it's kind of hard to get to know me in that short period of time," said Williams, who arrived in February from Atlanta in the Mike Bibby trade. "I think that's something I'm still working on."
The fifth overall pick in 2006, Williams said he feels a level of stability in Sacramento, but uncertainty remains.
"There is a little bit of both in the back of my mind," Williams said."
Call The Bee's Melody Gutierrez, (916) 326-5521.
