Salt Lake City – Spokane, Wash., is far from a hot spot for NBA players before the opening of training camp. But when former NBA great John Stockton invited Utah Jazz rookie Deron Williams there, he couldn’t wait to go.
Stockton is the NBA’s all-time leader in assists and steals. His No. 12 was retired by the Jazz and a statue of him stands in front of the Delta Center. Since his retirement in 2003, the Jazz has struggled to find a quality replacement. Utah thinks it got its man with the third pick in this year’s draft.
After being asked by coach Jerry Sloan and general manager Kevin O’Connor for help, Stockton invited Williams to his hometown for some pointers.
“I’m not going to turn that down,” Williams said. “It was a chance to learn from one of the best.”
Stockton did not have the physical gifts Williams does. He was 6-feet-1, 175 pounds. Williams is 6-3, 210.
But Stockton made up for his lack of size with toughness. He was a confident leader, a clutch shooter, picked players’ pockets with ease, made the right pass and ran the pick-and-roll as well as anyone in league history.
“He’s one of the greatest point guards ever to play,” Williams said. “He just did everything well. The way he approached the game, it’s a business. He did his job every night.”
Stockton tried to serve as a mentor to Williams during the two-day visit.
“He showed me the shooting drills he used to do in the summertime,” said Williams, a second-team All-American as a junior at Illinois last season. “The weightlifting routine. We worked on pick-and-roll. Just little pointers. Anytime he had something to say, we just stopped.”
Williams might feel more pressure than any rookie this season. He is not only playing a tough position, point guard, but is the X factor in whether Utah returns to the postseason.
“A lot of rookies went to teams where they didn’t have the same type of opportunity as our team does,” he said. “We have a lot of good guys here. If injuries didn’t happen, we might have made it to the playoffs (last year). We definitely have a chance this year.”
Williams knows it’s inevitable he’ll be compared to Stockton.
“You can’t really pay attention to that,” he said. “John Stockton is John Stockton. He has a statue in front of the Delta Center. Nobody is going to forget about that. I’m just going to try to be me, pave my own way.”
Movin’ out of Memphis
Bonzi Wells was traded to Sacramento. Earl Watson signed with Denver. Jason Williams and James Posey were traded to Miami. And Stromile Swift signed with Houston. What do these former Memphis Grizzlies have in common?
Wells said Memphis coach Mike Fratello didn’t want them back.
“Nobody was feeling Fratello,” he said. “Fratello got all the guys out of there that wasn’t feeling him. It was basically all the guys that were on the second unit: me, Earl, Stromile, James Posey, and he got J-Will out of there. We weren’t going to kiss his butt, and he knew it.”
Wells averaged 11.3 points last season, but was removed from the Grizzlies’ playoff roster in the team’s first-round loss to Phoenix after he clashed with Fratello. Wells said he is still disappointed by the playoff slight.
So far he’s getting along well with Sacramento coach Rick Adelman. He has done everything the franchise has asked and is starting.
“Memphis was a great situation,” Wells said. “I don’t have nothing bad to say. The only thing bad was Coach Fratello. He came in there being Napoleon trying to go on a power trip on people.”
Through a spokesperson, Fratello declined comment. The Kings play the Grizzlies for the first time Jan. 10 at Memphis.
Got big men?
If the Nuggets get a disabled-player exemption worth as much as $1.52 million because of Nene’s season-ending knee injury, they would have 45 days to use the money and could add it into a trade.
Players on the trading block include Miami’s Michael Doleac and New York’s Maurice Taylor and Malik Rose. While Rose and Taylor have hefty contracts, Doleac is making $2.6 million this season and $8.6 million over the next three years.
Atlanta has interest in Doleac, possibly for a second-round pick. But Miami center Shaquille O’Neal’s recent ankle injury could cause the team to hold onto Doleac.
Word around the league is that the best offer Nene received from the Nuggets was upward of $30 million over five years, with incentives that could have pushed the deal to between $45 million and $50 million.
Focus on Japan
USA Basketball is taking the 2006 World Championships in Japan very seriously.
Not only is it the first opportunity for Team USA to re-establish itself as a power, but by winning the World Championships, USA would qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics – something it hasn’t done since 1994 with the Dream Team in Toronto.
Instead of competing in 2007 in the Tournament of Americas for an Olympic spot, Team USA could have a couple exhibition games and lessen the three-year commitment required by the players. Selection of NBA players is expected to begin in January. Word is several sharpshooters, even some without big names, such as Philadelphia’s Kyle Korver, will be on the team.
Footnotes
Actor Diego Luna, a fixture of Mexican film and television, is expected to come to Denver soon to interview Nuggets forward Eduardo Najera for a documentary about famous Mexicans. Najera is the NBA’s lone Mexican player. …
The NBA is considering putting a regular-season game in Puerto Rico during the 2006-07 season involving the Detroit Pistons. The big Pistons draw is guard Carlos Arroyo, who is from Puerto Rico. Considering Carmelo Anthony is half Puerto Rican, the NBA should consider the Nuggets, too. …
With natives Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto in mind, the San Antonio Spurs would like to play a preseason game in Argentina next season. Argentina, however, doesn’t have an NBA-quality arena.
Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com. Spears also talks NBA on ESPN 560 AM on Thursday mornings and at 4 p.m.
