Otis Smith
Otis Smith
adjustment family fun good hard heard members nephew nowhere parts senior stressful though
It's been a hard and stressful adjustment on everyone. But it was my family, and they had nowhere to go. One of the fun parts though will be getting to see my nephew play for his senior year. I've heard from family members how good he is, but now I'll see firsthand.
gotten opportunity player potential run
He's a young big (man) with a lot of potential that hasn't gotten an opportunity to play. In my mind, if you take a run at a player, you want to take a run at a 7-foot player that has potential.
anyone attention coaches details dividends happen lose losing paid players seen
I've seen coaches lose players many times when things go badly. That didn't happen here. He wouldn't let anyone quit. And the attention to details he had when we were losing paid dividends when we started winning.
calculated frantic looking move
Everyone is looking at this like it is a frantic move. It's not a frantic move. It's a calculated move to get better, and to get better in the future, and to get better in '07. If you look at things in '07, things look a lot better.
moved moving steve
You want me to tell you that moving Steve was big? I told you that when we moved him.
far guys page room thrown understand
Unfortunately and fortunately, we're not that far out. We have to make hay, but there's still room for us to make the playoffs. Guys have to come together, get on the same page and understand that we haven't thrown in the towel.
based continue conversation engage evaluate extend games numbers sure whether
We've had a conversation, but whether we're going to extend him based on 30 games or not, I'm not sure yet. We'll continue conversations and evaluate it, and if it makes sense and it's something we want to do from a numbers standpoint, we'll do it. But if we can't keep the numbers down, we won't engage it.
bumps due guys hit injuries mostly playing
We've hit a lot of bumps in the road, mostly due to injuries and some due to guys not playing particularly well.
decent four games
We have glimpses of four games where we play decent basketball. And then we have four games where we look like a different team.
means order playoffs stop talking understand
We have to stop talking about the playoffs. The playoffs is a means to an end, with the end being a championship. But you've got to get to the playoffs in order to get that far, so I do understand that part of it.
came decided dollars fit five four games liked opposed people player rather trading
We thought about Crawford and we liked him a lot, but it came down to is he going to make us three, four or five games better? Or do you want to just go get the people who will fit what you want to do as opposed to trading for another contract? We decided to go for the player we wanted rather than just the one who fit the dollars of the trade.
brought energy miss passion steve
We'll miss Steve in a lot of ways. We'll miss the passion he brought for the game, we'll miss the energy he brought for the game, but I think we'll be better off in the future.
dislike goes instinct killer kobe players smells special talented whether
Whether you like him or dislike him, Kobe is a special player. He has the killer instinct in him that a lot of the talented players don't have. When he smells blood, he goes for the jugular. That's a (Michael) Jordan-like quality.
forward leader moving point reached steve traded trading
We're moving forward with him as our point guard. We traded for him to be our point guard, to be our leader and that really hasn't changed. We really haven't reached that point yet to where trading Steve Francis.