Kareem Rush, A Seattle Supersonic...

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

All things equal, Hill wants Rush for Sonics



FRANK HUGHES; The News Tribune
Published: October 17th, 2006 01:00 AM
 
All things being equal, it is pretty apparent that Seattle SuperSonics coach Bob Hill would like to keep free agent shooting guard Kareem Rush on the roster.
After all, Rush is a proven commodity in the NBA. He has played for four seasons, he has been in 31 playoff games with the Los Angeles Lakers and he knows what the league is about.

Rush on Monday practiced for the first time since injuring his groin on the first day of training camp. He is competing against second-round draft pick Denham Brown and free agent Desmon Farmer for the final spot on the team, assuming the team keeps 14 players.

"I would prefer the veteran because our team is so young," Hill concedes. "But I want to see him play first. But if our new owners let us keep 14 guys, veteran shooters would be a high priority."

Hill thinks the team needs another experienced shooting guard in case Ray Allen, who turned 31 during the summer, suffers a lengthy injury.

Hill said he wants use the next five exhibition games to determine if Rush fits in with the Sonics' style of play, though Hill said he did not think it would be an issue.

"I think I can fill a role that this team needs, which is to knock down shots consistently," Rush said. "That's what I do. I'm a veteran guy and I can step right in if somebody goes down."

The Sonics will continue to monitor which players get waived by other teams, and Scott Padgett is one name they have been mindful about.

But Hill seems almost giddy that the Sonics have the opportunity to keep a player like the left-handed Rush, who averaged 11 points a game the past two seasons in Charlotte, hitting 108 of his 3-pointers.

Toward the end of last season, Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff unexpectedly released Rush, telling reporters that he did not have a good work ethic, which wasn't conducive to building a young team.

Phil Jackson, who coached Rush in Los Angeles before he was taken by the Bobcats in the expansion draft, immediately defended Rush.

But it was like telling jurors to disregard something they already had heard - which made him available to an open-minded team like the Sonics.

"You never want to have a lazy tag next to your name, which is what Bernie said about me," Rush said. "I think it was very unfair, and it had a snowball effect this summer because a lot of teams wanted to stay away from me.

"I know I am a hard worker. I think my demeanor and the way I play throws some people off because I don't show a lot of emotion and it looks like I coast. All I know is one good year and all that stuff will be forgotten."

Rush said he had no pain in the torn groin muscle during practice and that his conditioning is far better than he thought it would be even though he had been working out on stationary equipment during his rehab.

Hill praised Rush's athleticism, which was apparent on several occasions during a spirited scrimmage. Because he is a veteran, Hill said the groin injury should not hurt Rush's chances for a roster spot.

And if Rush does make the team? Keep an eye on Nov. 10. That is when the Sonics visit Charlotte in the middle of a five-game trip.

"If I make this team, I am hunting for Charlotte," Rush said.

Thoughts on pivot

Though it is not "set in granite," Hill said, he is leaning toward starting Robert Swift at center in the regular season and bringing Johan Petro off the bench.

Some of it has to do with recent exhibition games in which Petro has appeared to have taken a step back in his development.

But Hill also said he thinks that Luke Ridnour, the team's starting point guard, and Swift play well together, while Earl Watson and Petro are well suited for each other.

Hill put the team through a 31/2-hour practice on Monday that included an hour-long film session. In the final scrimmage, Swift was playing with the starters.

Open practice tonight

The team will not practice this morning because it will hold a practice open to the public at 6:30 this evening at Renton's Hazen High School.

Hill said the team could make some personnel moves after the open practice.

The roster stands at 18.

Any cuts are likely to involve free-agent power forward Kenny Adeleke.

also see: http://www.nba.com/sonics/news/notebook061016.html




Now all the Lakers need to do is trade former Sonic Shammond Williams for Kareem Rush...

[Antonio_]

Shammond is a decent PG, but we already have Parker/Farmar/Vujacic who can play PG.
Rush is a good sharp shooter, i'd take him over Shammond in a moment.
But i doubt this trade will happen.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Shammond is a decent PG, but we already have Parker/Farmar/Vujacic who can play PG.
Rush is a good sharp shooter, i'd take him over Shammond in a moment.
But i doubt this trade will happen.

Of course it won't, it was just wishful thinking...

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

With Kareem Rush injured, Farmer gets a chance with Sonics

By Jayda Evans
Seattle Times staff reporter

Desmon Farmer spent time playing in Poland and Greece before returning to the U.S.
 
Farmer wasn't expected to last this long.

The Sonics opened training camp with a plethora of questions, from who'd start at point guard to who the reserves would be. And one of the holes coach Bob Hill wanted to fill was a sharpshooter off the bench.

But really, that guard job was pegged for Kareem Rush, a veteran who was cut by Charlotte last season. Players like Farmer and Denham Brown, a rookie from Connecticut, were invited to camp for a tryout, too, but Hill didn't expect much.

Yet, with Rush sidelined since Day 1 with a partially torn left groin, the 6-foot-5 Farmer has been able to grab a little attention. The lefty has intensified practice with his roars and three-point shooting while increasing the odds that he can break into the NBA after a journeyman's trek through seemingly every level of basketball since leaving USC in 2004.

"Both have done better than I thought they would do coming into camp and have deserved minutes," Hill said of Farmer and Brown. "Desmon only knows one speed, and that, most of the time, is too fast. He plays hard and has a lot of confidence in his three-point shot, so he doesn't drive it as much as I'd like him to, but he can make that shot."

Farmer arrived two weeks before camp opened to begin working out with new teammates. It's his second attempt to make an NBA team after being cut during Indiana's training camp due to injury in 2004. Once healthy, Farmer went on to play in Greece and Poland, but found he wasn't getting looks from NBA scouts.

He opted to play for the Tulsa 66ers in the NBA D-League last season, averaging 16.4 points while shooting 43 percent from beyond the arc, which helped reignite interest.

"Once you go overseas, if things aren't going super, super great, teams kind of forget about you over there," Farmer said. "That's why I decided to stay here in the development league to get my name back hot. I ended up being successful and that brought me here, but it was definitely a tough route."

Rush is questionable to make his exhibition game debut Friday against Portland. That gives Farmer more time to make an impression. He has already been pulled aside by guard Ray Allen for pointers and is learning the business side of the league while hanging out socially with forward Chris Wilcox.

Hill wants to keep his 18-man roster until Friday, but said cuts will be made prior to the team's trip to Los Angeles to play the Clippers.

"I'm not worried about who's here," said Farmer, who averaged 11 points with Seattle's summer-league team. "Things will have to work themselves out. I definitely think this is a great fit for me. I've definitely been performing in training camp, doing what they ask me to do. It's just about the choice — waiting it out and see."

One thing is certain, however: Hill is getting frustrated waiting to see what Rush can do for the Sonics.

"It's too bad," Hill said of Rush re-aggravating his groin during warmups Tuesday. "We'll just have to wait and see if he can go one of these next three games. But that gives the other guys a chance to stick around longer and make the team."