Author Topic: Laker Media-Day Interviews: Kwame Brown & Maurice Evans.  (Read 215 times)

Now_Im_Not_Banned

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Laker Media-Day Interviews: Kwame Brown & Maurice Evans.
« on: October 03, 2006, 06:57:58 PM »
Kwame Brown

Kwame Brown's inaugural season in purple and gold began as something of a mixed bag, but he finished on a very optimistic note after taking over at center for an injured Chris Mihm.  His already strong post defense began to feature more flashes of offensive prowess, often creating a strong presence down low.  So which half illustrates the "real Kwame Brown?"  2006-2007 will likely answer that question, but for what it's worth, the dude doesn't seem to be lacking for confidence at the moment.  Here's what Kwame had to say while addressing some media members for a few minutes.

What has the staff told the team going into this season?

They just told everybody we're real deep at every position and everybody's basically at ground zero and you're gonna have to earn your spot.

What did you need to work on during the offseason to continue your end of season momentum?

Free throws.  (laughs)  My legs.  I tried to beef up my legs to get them stronger, so they can handle the wear and tear throughout the season.  Just keep working on your jump shot and the parts of the game that you don't do well.

I gotta sink my free throws.  I don't know what was going on in the first part of the year.  Probably more mental than anything.  I just gotta get those free throws down, because you don't want to be a liability.  When guys are fouling you, you don't want to get nothing out of it.
 
Why can 2007's team do better than last year's?

Well, with the addition of (Vlad) Radmanovic.  I watched him make probably 200 shots the other day.  He's a great shooter.  I think, just the experience of one more year.  We lost Chris (Mihm), who was our original starter.  Whether I'm starting or he's starting at center, we're both gonna be comfortable at the position, so we'll have a great 1-2 punch.  We'll have matchup problems with Lamar at his size, and them not being able to double because we have such good shooter in Radmanovic.

Are returning players feeling confident both in the system and playing with Kobe, knowing "where he is at all times."?


He's gonna be where the ball is. (laughs)  Once you understand that and once you know when he's gonna take his shots, just go hard at the rebounds.  And there'll be times when he passes the ball and you can kind of use their aggressiveness (in guarding) Kobe to your advantage and get offensive rebounds and get open.  So it's kind of a give and take.

He makes the game a lot easier once he gets going, so my job was to come into the game and get him open.  Once I was set, I would try to hit the guy as hard as I can on a screen and get him open and get him going.  Once he gets going, it's easier for everyone else, because they're gonna key on him.  You kind of sneak your little points in here and there.  I learned that it was very important to get him going and get him some jump shots.  Get him that rhythm and everything else falls into place.

Is your confidence high, especially coming off the end of the last season?

I was very fortunate to be ready for that opportunity that Chris opened up by his unfortunate injury.  It could have went either way.  I could have not been ready and that would have opened some bad times for me.  So I was happy that I stayed focused and I stayed quiet and kept working down low on my game.  When he went down, I was ready to go.

Is the team ready to go into camp with Phil Jackson out for hip replacement surgery?


I don't know.  He's our captain.  He's our leader, but he told us in the locker room that he has some health issues with his hip that he put off and he has to go take care of them.  What are you gonna do?  Gotta let them go take care of his health, first and foremost.  Hopefully, he comes back when we need him the most.  The later part of the season.

Given most of the team's experience in the triangle, are they far enough along that Phil could be absent for a little while without it being a concern?

Yes and no, because we still have a lot of work to do on the defensive end.  I'm not concerned about the triangle as much as our screen and roll defense.  They ran screen and roll at us a lot and we didn't defend it well, so that's what we're gonna have to work on.

Do you not have a "target" win total in mind?


We just want to not have a letdown.  Now that we went to the playoffs, I think it would be a letdown in the season if we don't get to the second round.

How important is it for the team to carry last season's good momentum into a good start at this season's beginning?


It's very important.  We still don't have the respect of anybody.  Nobody expected us to do well.  When Kobe's out, Lamar is gonna what he's gonna do.  I'm still a little worried about the season.  Hopefully, we'll get everybody back, everybody healthy and we'll see what we got.  We're definitely gonna miss our captain in Kobe, so hopefully Von Wafer can step it up.  (laughs)

(Note: Von Wafer had just passed by within earshot of us.)

We're gonna definitely have to band together more, because we don't have a guy that's gonna come out and drop 40 points.

And along those lines, what do you specifically want to be doing to help step everything up?

Well, I want to be the one that's vocal and talking on defense.  We have enough offense.   I just want to see us band together as a unit more while Kobe's not there, so when he comes back, we're that much better.  Like I said, we're not gonna have a guy we can just drop the ball to and isolate.

And what do you specifically want to improve defensively on your end?

I want to improve screen and roll defense.  And it's both people.  It's not just the point guard and it's not just the big man.  It's about the lines of communication and it starts with the back line, which is the big man.  So it starts with me, but everybody has to follow suit.

You're arguably coming off the strongest finish of your career...

It's either this one or my third year in Washington.  I had a pretty good run there and then I broke my foot.  I'm just hoping I'm healthy for the whole season.  I'm always having injuries or some little problem here and there.  Hopefully, I can just play all 82 games with no injuries, no mistakes.

Does it feel different for you, though, coming into this season having finished both strong and healthy?

Yeah.  It feels good.  That was my second time in the playoffs.  I had a brief stint in Washington and the playoffs, there's nothing like it.  That's the best feeling ever.  That's what you play for.  That's what you go to training camp for.  You play for the chance to win a championship.

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Maurice Evans

While Vladimir Radmanovic has understandably been labeled this offseason's "high profile" acquisition, I actually think the comparatively "low-pro" swap for shooting guard Maurice Evans may end up making just as big an impact. An absolute steal for a second-round pick, this was a pickup I've been very high on. The guy sports two assets that the Lakers very much crave. Athleticism and the ability to defend. As I watched Miami shred Detroit during last season's playoffs, I actually said out loud a few times (to no one in particular, since I live by myself), "Dude, put Mo Evans on Wade and at least make him work for those baskets!" For whatever reason, "Dude" — also known in some circles as "Flip Saunders" — didn't listen, keeping his bench short and his postseason run shorter. Evans is getting a fresh start in L.A and I'm predicting he'll be better utilized. He's not "the missing piece," but he could definitely help. Here's what Evans had to say in our brief conversation.

For starters, what was your reaction when you heard about being traded?

I was very excited, especially to be here in L.A. An up and down team. They get up and down the court. They transition. Great coach. Great, great, player, one of the top players in the league in Kobe. I'm very excited for a lot of reasons. I think I can help this team. I think it's great opportunity. A great time in my career to come to a team like this. I really think it'll be a great fit.

How do you specifically think you can help?

I think that I'm versatile and my versatility is definitely what I can bring to the table. I can shoot. I can score. I can defend. I can run up the court and finish in transition. I think I can do a lot of things well and I think in the triangle offense, you can take advantage of all those type of things. I'm excited. In Detroit, we had a lot components. We had chemistry. We had all those things, but at the same time, we didn't have an offense that would allow everybody to be effective at the same time. But the triangle does allow people to be effective at the same time.

Speaking of Detroit, towards the end of the season and especially during the playoffs, you started seeing a decrease in your minutes. Did you ever get a reason as to why?

No. They didn't discriminate. Everybody's minutes went down, so I guess that gives you some sort of consolation. But it was unfortunate, because I believe if we did use our bench, I think we could have won the championship without a problem. For whatever reason, we used our starters a little bit more than maybe we wanted to. Maybe that was a lack of trust in our bench. Maybe that was just the pressure to succeed after such a great regular season. Once the wins started compiling and the media came in and everyone started to make a big deal about 43-3, all those types of things, I think those had a large thing to do with it. It's just hard in that situation. Flip, that was new to him as well, to his credit. And that was new to the Pistons. They had never had that kind of success that early. Normally, they were the team that comes from behind and were still the underdog. Now we're the favorite and we didn't handle it as well as we could.

 Does a situation like that make you froth at the mouth even more to get out on the court?


Yeah, definitely, but I've feeling like this throughout my whole career. This is my 6th year as a pro and I have yet to have the type of success in the NBA that I feel I'm capable of having. I had in success in Europe. I went to Europe for a reason and I had great success there, because I was able to play. And I feel like the times that I've gotten to come into games and play in the NBA, I've been successful. I've contributed and been a rotation player. And I'm not disappointed with that. But I really want to go to the next level and be that type of dominant player that can really help a team. And I think that opportunity's here.

You're often described as an "energy" player. A guy that brings that immediate impact. Do you feel you can bring that playing at a couple positions or matching up defensively against a variety of positions? Small forwards? Shooting guards? Point guards?

Yeah, I definitely feel like I can. The great thing that I like when they describe me as an "energy" player is it's not in the negative sense. A lot of times you hear people say "energy" for a guy who just can't play and runs on a lot of energy. But I think when I do come in, a lot of times I don't know how long I'm going to be in there, I come in and immediately try to make something happen. When you're coming off the bench, you have to try and come in and provide a spark or try to do something to help the team.

I think I can do that in a number of ways, because I can guard a lot of positions. I can guard taller guys, shorter guys. I've had everyone from LeBron to big tall 3 guy to guarding Antoine Walker sometimes playing the four to guarding Marbury and Baron Davis and guys like that. So as far defensively, I feel very comfortable guarding a number of guys. And offensively, I feel very comfortable playing a lot of positions as well.

Have you been studying tape of the Lakers as well?

Definitely, I have been. The funny thing was in college, Tex Winter came down and gave a preliminary introduction to the triangle, so I think that helped me be familiar with it a little bit. And plus, you're defending guys in the triangle for a long time, so obviously you gotta understand kinda how it works. I'm just looking forward to opening camp, to learning from Phil, from Kobe. I'm just getting excited.

« Last Edit: October 03, 2006, 06:59:32 PM by Now_I_Know »