Re: Pierce's role: Co-star to leading man

[Kestutis.Kveraga@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Kestutis Kveraga)]

A verrrry interesting article from MacMullan :

On Walker:
"So which perception is correct? Was Walker a leader his teammates admired, or
an overbearing All-Star whose words rang hollow in his final days?

"A little of both," answered Williams. "He was a fiery leader in games, a good
leader. But, at times, he overdid it. Sometimes in practice, when he didn't
want to do stuff, the other side came out. But who do you blame for that? They
gave him the rein to do it by not bringing it to light."
--- end of quote ---

+++A thinly-veiled criticism of Obie and his staff from Ewill? Wow... 


On Pierce's leadership abilities:
"Based on interviews with his teammates, Pierce's leadership skills needed some
honing. He was often demanding and impatient with players who he felt had not
reached their potential. He was particularly hard on forward Kedrick Brown and
Vin Baker last season. Fellow veteran Tony Delk (who was traded along with
Walker to Dallas) often had trouble concealing his displeasure with Pierce's
tactics.

"What Paul has got to realize is his position is different from everyone else
on the team," Williams said. "Not everyone can get the shots he gets. A lot of
guys sacrifice their games for his glory. "But I've already seen a difference.
He's encouraging guys more. He's much more positive. Last year, I used to feel
for Kedrick. Paul would ride him so hard. It bothered Tony, too. You could
hear the two of them on the court going at it sometimes."

+++ Wow, St. Paul is not so saintly after all... The biggest thing that Baker
and Kedrick lack is confidence, and Pierce wasn't exactly helping the
situation. Also, the last bit might partially explain why Delk is gone. 

Pierce on his relationship with Walker:
"Most of the time, I deferred to him," Pierce admitted. "He was here first. He
had seniority. The times I stepped on Antoine's toes were the times we
clashed. It happened a lot on the court."

+++ A confirmation that this wasn't exactly a relationship of equals, despite
Pierce's superior abilities on the court. 


from Banks:
""Paul is the best," said rookie Marcus Banks. "I look up to him. I listen to
everything he says. He's been really positive with me. He knows what I'm
capable of doing."

+++ That's encouraging. I saw Pierce talking to Banks after that ill-advised
3pt attempt against Chicago, and he seemed to be chastising him. His body
language was somehow all wrong. Banks appeared to be defensive/defiant and I
was concerned about both Paul's attempts at leadership and Banks's attitude.
But maybe I needn't have been. 

Thoughts?

Kestas