Do other newspapers do this??

[JoMal]

In today's Sacramento Bee, we were treated to an intense article about the success or failures of former King's players around the NBA. Probably because as a result of so many transactions by the team last month, there are many more to judge now. Most who were interviewed all agreed that their best times as NBA players were experienced in Sacramento, where we tend to fawn over our pro athletics a bit, I have to say.

http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story...-13420914c.html

The Fraternal Order of Former Kings


Many struggle in their new environments after years of adulation and success.
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Tuesday, March 15, 2005
The emotions were still raw a month ago.
The sadness of leaving Sacramento, the frustration at the new stop, the maddening timing of karma going south, insults and injuries turning a once-joyous NBA career into a less joyful job.

And that was Scot Pollard. Doug Christie was having a hard time, too.

Three days after Christie was traded from the Kings to Orlando, Pollard - an Indiana Pacer three years removed from his trade from the Kings - approached his former teammate before the Pacers hosted the Magic.


  "I went over to him, and I just said, 'I know how you feel,' " Pollard said. "It was a shock to him to get traded and a shock to me to get traded."
The Kings' alumni association gets together from time to time, via cell phone or on common destinations in the rogue life of an NBA player. They reminisce about the glory days, recanting what, for many, were the best years of their careers. They remember the adulation of the fans in a one-team town, that free-flowing offense full of fun, the feeling that came with forming a franchise. All so sweet.

And leaving? Pure sorrow.

Christie, whose Orlando team arrives without him to face the Kings tonight, simply went public with a sentiment shared by many of the departed. He broke down on the local sports radio station when the trade for Cuttino Mobley occurred Jan. 10. Then weeks later, his wife, Jackie, said the hurt was still lingering, her husband getting "choked up" when he would watch a tape of his Kings highlights. Christie's season ended last week, when he decided to have surgery on the bone spurs and foot injury that plagued him before the season.

"Doug is distraught," Jackie told The Bee on March 2. "He's still not over the trade, and it's not even the basketball part of it. It's the feel of Sacramento, the fans, the community. ... The one good thing is that we'll be out there on March 15."

Nothing good about leaving now. But at least he's not getting booed.


Longing for the old days
Up the coast from Orlando, Chris Webber's honeymoon in Philadelphia was over before he unpacked his bags. The former King has already been booed more times (twice) than he was all last season, the 76ers going 4-5 since he arrived and his production dropping like a Vlade Divac flop.On that sour note, Divac has played a total of 37 minutes for the Los Angeles Lakers since he left the Kings as a free agent during the offseason, this after playing in 80-plus games for five straight seasons with the Kings. A preseason back injury came shortly after he left, followed by surgery and a life of obscurity down south for the 16-year veteran who some used to consider the true face of the Kings franchise.
Pollard is still the same zany character, just not the same player. A nagging back injury and a system that has been less receptive to his talents in Indiana have led to his demotion from folk hero in Sacramento to bench "bum," as Pollard said, with the Pacers.

Ah, for the good old days.

In Sacramento, Pollard said his biggest worry came during weekly trips to the grocery store, where Kings fans would clog the aisles while he and his wife tried to fill their cart. He "was treated like a King, a rock star" from 1998 to 2003, while fitting perfectly into a Kings system that capitalized on his scrappy style. Now, the highlights of yore are rare. Such as last week in Utah, when a fan hollered his way to show off the Pollard Kings jersey he was wearing at a Jazz-Pacers game. The fan had traveled from Sacramento to see him.

"I don't think there's any doubt that Sacramento is a special place to play basketball," Pollard said. "The amount of attention you receive, the support, is strong out there. It makes it easy to play basketball, just focus. You don't have people giving you crap. People bother you, but to ask for an autograph, or say, 'Hey good job the other night.' "

And now?

"(Pacers fans) think I'm a funny guy," Pollard said. "But they know how much I'm making, and they see me at the end of the bench, so they're thinking, If we got rid of this bum, we could get somebody who'd play more."


Doing well
Still, not all the alumni have suffered frustrating fates.The Kings afterlife of Jason Williams is the most perplexing. Since he was traded to Memphis in 2001, his production has nearly mirrored his statistical achievements in Sacramento. His persona, however, has only diminished.
The flash of J-Will's star power has dulled, from the freewheeling point guard nicknamed "White Chocolate" to yet another average NBA point guard. His spot on the nightly highlight reel is no longer reserved, his Tennessee locale more obscure than Sacramento on the NBA map.

Christie's new teammate, guard Hedo Turkoglu, returns tonight in the midst of his finest season as a pro and perhaps the only player who could come back to haunt Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie. He's a possible Sixth Man of the Year candidate, averaging 14.3 points and 26.4 minutes per game after scoring a career-high 32 points against Minnesota on Friday.

Jon Barry has managed to find a fit outside of Sacramento, though he didn't want to.

If Barry had his way, he would have avoided the four moves he has made since being traded from the Kings in 2001. He called his exit "the worst thing that had happened to me to that point in my career," leaving behind the fans he still considers the best in the league.

Against the alumni grain, Barry had the best season of his career just after leaving the Kings for Detroit in 2002, followed by trips to Denver, Atlanta and Houston. When the Rockets came to town Sunday, Barry took a moment to remind Kings co-owner Joe Maloof that trading him was a mistake.

"I wish they'd never broke us up originally, when they'd started with me," Barry said. "I'd like to have seen where that team would have been right now. I'd have taken my chances with it.

"I had great times here, great memories. It's not the same (outside Sacramento). These fans are the best in the league. It's the only show in town. It's a college atmosphere, and you don't really get that in other NBA cities."

[Guest_Randy]

Umm, this has an INCREDIBLY biased slant to it, doesn't it?  I mean, where's the interview with Vlade?  Oh, yeah, perhaps he wouldn't be as kind as to the way the Kings organization lied to him?  

I think there is some MAJOR slanting here -- sure, most of these guys have struggled.  But where the Kings USED to be isn't where the Kings are any more.  You can't go back to the past -- you have to live in the present and while the Kings squad USED to be like family, the organization has broken up the family and they are simply another group of guys learning to play like a team.

Ever hear the glory days of the Blazers?  IMO, SacTown was the reincarnation of the way the Blazers ruled Portland and the chemistry they experienced as a squad.  It went downhill after Clyde the Glide retired.

Ever hear Jeff Hornicek talk about his days in Utah?  

Ever hear about GP and Kemp (during the glory days of the Sonics) talk about their days in Seattle?

There are a LOT of organizations who can say these things at "one time."  However, how many players are going to say based on the next two years as a Sacramento King?

They traded SEVERAL players as they are sliding down the hill toward retirement to teams that are struggling to even make a playoff run and this article seems to make us believe that SacTown is the promised land?

But the biggest example is Jason "White Chocolate" Williams, the article basically states that Williams was at least as good a player in SacTown as he is today.

The Kings afterlife of Jason Williams is the most perplexing. Since he was traded to Memphis in 2001, his production has nearly mirrored his statistical achievements in Sacramento. His persona, however, has only diminished.

Umm, most of Williams stats are MUCH better than when he was in SacTown.  All of his percentages (FG, 3pt and FT) are up and while his assists aren't as high, his TO's are HALF of what they once used to be.  I think this article seems to FORGET the fact that SportsCenter used to show his ERRANT passes -- the ones that were thrown behind the back at 50 mph to a teammate who couldn't handle the ball and it went out of bounds.  Is THIS what the article is celebrating as a "better" environment?  PLEASE!  SacTown whined about Williams inability to harness his talent and play under control -- he NEVER managed that in SacTown and when he goes to a team that manages to "harness" his talent (yes, that DID hurt his image since they begin to teach him that the best pass is actually the one that completes the play) this article seems to lead us to believe that it's not as good as being in SacTown throwing the ball out-of-bounds or pulling up (and missing) a 3 point shot when no one for the Kings is under the basket and ready to rebound the ball.

I think MOST of the Kings players will tell you that playing in a small market is fun -- but wouldn't MOST players say that when a team is fun and exciting to watch (and winning games?).  

Ask Celtic players who were part of the glory days?

Or the Bad Boys in Detroit?

Or the Blazer players with Drexler, etc.

Or the Sonics players before the meltdown.

Or the Utah Jazz during their fun days.

I think the small market DOES have it's advantages when a team is fun, exciting and most of all, WINNING!  Ask Cleveland players now if they are having fun and enjoying the small market?  I think they are?  Why?  Because they are winning (well, esp. compared to what they used to do) and everyone knows them.  

I just question how "true" this article will be 2 years from now -- if the Kings AREN'T winning, if the chemistry the team experienced has left (as it seems to have now) -- when it's not the "in" thing to root for the team.  Utah USED to be the toughest place to play bball in the NBA because their arena was SOOOO loud -- those days are gone.  SacTown USED to have that advantage -- dare I say it's gone from that arena as well?