Bee staff writer Scott Howard-Cooper and columnist Ailene Voisin are part of The Bee's coverage team blogging extensively from Kings training camp. Here are excerpts from entries late Wednesday and early Thursday. To read them in their entirety, go to www.sacbee.com/kingsblog.
Spencer Hawes is getting roasted. Being served up by fans after one exhibition game merely makes him the latest target of unhappy customers frustrated by a losing club, and getting the Marty Mac Treatment is simply the life of a lottery pick facing expectations, except that being called out by teammates and coaches nine days into camp is an actual bad sign.
If that's the feedback being offered for public consumption, you can imagine what's being said behind the walls. So if Reggie Theus is saying, "Spencer's got to find himself now," and Beno Udrih and Mikki Moore are essentially saying Hawes is flailing away, and Sam Amick is noting that Udrih is "exasperated" by the topic and that Theus is having to measure his words, this is a pretty bothered group.
Again: one exhibition game, nine days.
This is a long-term project, though, and always has been. Nothing has changed. The Kings were very realistic in their expectations of Hawes last season as a rookie – he would not have much impact in what would have been his sophomore year in college, and that assessment was right on. No one ever oversold him.
That's still the case. Hawes is 20. He averaged 13.1 minutes and didn't break 20 twice in a row until March. You'd like to think he would not get overwhelmed by Greg Oden on Tuesday, what with Oden in his debut after missing 2007-08 with a knee injury, but Oden is supposed to be that much better than Hawes.
Oden will be tearing through opponents the next 10 years. Hawes is striving to be Vlade Divac.
That's the realistic comparison: Hawes to Divac. Vlade was historically good passing the ball for a big man, and Hawes can easily be one of the best of his generation. Divac was not a great rebounder (averaging nine or more boards four times in 16 seasons) but had a long run as one of the better centers. Not someone who was going to make Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson or Shaquille O'Neal shiver in fear, but good.
If the Kings have a dependable starter for eight or 10 years at one of the hardest positions to fill, without being considered a star, the investment of the No. 10 pick in 2007 will have been worth it. If not, criticize away. Just don't think Hawes will ever be the muscleman who is feared as a rebounder or shot blocker. That never has been him.
– Scott Howard-Cooper
Wisdom from the Logo
I had an interesting and lengthy chat with Hall of Famer and former Lakers great Jerry West. What am I saying? Every chat with the Logo is interesting and often fascinating. After reaching him at his vacation home in West Virginia, we talked mostly about his ex-teammate and close friend Elgin Baylor, who was dumped as Clippers general manager Tuesday and replaced by Mike Dunleavy, another West friend. The loyalty to Baylor, though, prevails.
Jerry being Jerry, he weighed in on the league. And, Jerry being Jerry, he doesn't miss much. He analyzed the Western Conference for me – sorry, most of it was off the record – and when asked about the Kings, volunteered an opinion: He thinks rookie small forward Donté Greene is among the league's most talented prospects. No surprise there. A la Geoff Petrie, West favors skilled, versatile athletes, as opposed to one-dimensional players who are pursued because, say, they're tall, and everyone argues that you need a center. And come on. When West talks, you would be foolish not to listen.
– Ailene Voisin
