Bazemore Ready to Soar with Hawks

[RonMexico]

Interesting article on Bazemore

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/69693/kent-bazemore-ready-to-soar-with-hawks

 

 

 

 

[Gianluca]

good read. I really hope he exceeds expectations and makes a name for himself. ( then leaves in 2 years when his contract is up and Ferry doesn't want to over pay him. )  just speaking on behalf of the basketball prophets who post here...

[GrimeyKidd]

Thanks for sharing michael Vick

[Admin]

Interesting thing about that is I tried to post it 2 days ago when it originally went up and then was quickly taken down. Not sure what happened but it's kinda fishy. 

 

 

 

You’d think NBA players would get stressed about free agency. So many decisions, the potential of living in disparate locations, and a constant stream of social media information with updates on the movements of potential co-workers. 

When I sat down with Kent Bazemore a few days before he signed with the Atlanta Hawksfor two years, $4 million, I assumed he’d be caught up in the frenzy like so many of us NBA news addicts. I figured Bazemore’s fingerprints would be callused from keeping up with news on Twitter all week. He’s no LeBron James, but I’d seen Bazemore mentioned in so many free-agency rumors that I’d just believed his entire existence had been reduced to a swirl of confusing speculation. The rangy, athletic guard probably couldn’t get his arms around all the rumors, even with a 6-foot-11 wingspan. 

Not quite. Bazemore wasn’t checking Twitter -- he says he glances at it roughly once a day, usually in the afternoon. “You can’t control it,” was his succinct answer for why he doesn’t obsess over the transaction game. Also, he has people to do that for him. 

"We got a group chat, me and my roommate, my little brother, my agent, financial advisor, two of my other best friends,” Bazemore said. “They just rant on about that stuff all day. I just watch the Tour de France, I play 'FIFA' downstairs. I actually won the Scottish Premier Cup with my team just now right before you got here." 

It’s easy to forget athletes are more than skill sets on the court. They get approached by fans who know them only from their games, so even the redundancy of idle compliments can get annoying. Though a bench player for most of his career, Bazemore gets recognized. Sadly, that recognition doesn’t come with praise of his stellar FIFA play, his golf game, or his recent painting of an eye-shaped sun setting itself over an ocean. 

Paintings aside, Bazemore’s Bay Area apartment was something more spartan than you’d expect from an NBA player, which makes sense when you consider his transient lifestyle. After getting traded to Los Angeles, he’d been living out of a hotel near the Lakers practice facility. Though he maintains strong ties with the Warriors organization, he wasn’t expecting the kind of offer from Golden State that would keep him in this Oakland-area apartment. 

Bazemore had gotten back from Atlanta the night before, where he’d met with Danny Ferry, Darvin Ham and others in the Hawks organization. It was more like a classic job interview than anything we associate with the NBA, but he enjoyed what can be a nerve-wracking process for others. Unlike what happens on Twitter, there’s a degree of control in a face-to-face meeting. “A lot of guys can’t hold a conversation,” Bazemore said. He knows he can, and appreciates the chance to set himself apart. 

What becomes apparent with Bazemore is that he has more energy than you. It’s not a coincidence that his sideline celebrations were known as the league’s most elaborate. Though he’s coming off foot surgery, his days include 20-mile bike rides. On weekends, he tends to go over 40 miles when biking with his girlfriend in the East Bay Hills. 

He’s drawn to the fatigue, addicted to the point at which a body no longer functions. "You'll be in the middle of a bike ride and you're just like, man, I don't know if I can turn another rep." 

"Do you like that, though?" I ask. A Tour de France race is on TV, and it looks like torture with consent. 

The response is fast and unambiguous. "I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it.” 

His attention turns to the cyclists suffering at the craggy hands of a French mountain. He’s updating me, filling me in on which guys are running on fumes, which guys are about to fall from the pack. He’s keyed in on the process of exhaustion, interested in how effort takes you to a place where even effort ultimately lets you down. 

He might be a little jealous. Bazemore said he wished he’d gotten to run in even more unglamorous D-League games last season. He just wanted to play. He always wants to play. 

Bazemore believes it's what carried him to the NBA. In the beginning, his skills didn’t seem to presage an NBA career. "I sucked,” he said. “I was terrible all the way up until eighth grade. When it was time to go to AAU camps, I would score, like, six points in a weekend." 

But his mom kept bringing him, and he kept improving. "I've been a pretty optimistic guy my entire life,” he said. “Especially where I come from, optimism really helps you." Bazemore grew up in Kelford, North Carolina, a tiny town where the per capita income is less than $10,000 per year. His family struggled. "No heat in the winter, no air conditioning in the summer, food gets scarce. Four people in the house and my dad got laid off and my mom was the only one making any money." 

The desperation of that situation was integral to getting him here, to a point where multiple NBA teams call for his services. "That's why I applaud people like Steph [Curry],” Bazemore explains. He doesn’t understand how anyone gets here without the hunger of poverty. So in some ways his good friend Stephen Curry, a man from comfortable means, is a mystery. 

Bazemore used that hunger to get here, but there’s a downside to the trait he trusts. All that gnawing energy took him to a place where energy couldn’t help him: the bench. At times, he was miserable riding pine. People loved his sideline celebrations, but those were as much expressions of frustration as they were of joy. He was antsy in his seat. “I went to a dark place,” Bazemore recalled of all his DNPs. “You only can contain the tiger in the cage for so long.” 

There’s a cruelty to how a lifetime of physical preparation can lead to hours and hours of spectating, eons of interminable waiting. It’s the plight of the many players we don’t see in commercials or All-Star Games. Bazemore has an intense desire to use what got him to the top of his profession. Maybe he'll get that opportunity with a fun, floor-spacing Hawks team. His success would be as much about achieving a dream as it would be quelling what made the achievement possible.

[Guest]

Interesting thing about that is I tried to post it 2 days ago when it originally went up and then was quickly taken down. Not sure what happened but it's kinda fishy.

Most likely the fact that the article says he signed with the Hawks when he hasn't.

If this ran and the Hawks legal beagles let this go, then we must have signed him.

[skimaskway23]

My fav acquisition of the summer so far, although that isnt saying much. Im intrigued because his skillset is unlike any other sg/sf we have on the team right now.

[Vol4ever]

Excellent read.  Hope then kid does well with us.  Has he actually signed yet?

[Bahamut]

Who???

[Diesel]

In 23 games for the Lakers, Bazemore averaged 13.1 points and 3.1 assists, shooting 45.1% from the field. His season ended a few weeks early after he tore a tendon in his right foot, an injury that required surgery in April.

 

 

13, 3, and 3 in 28 mpg with the Lakers.   Not bad.  He also showed some pretty good three point shooting.  His best game was arguably against the Pacers who were known for their defense.  While I was thinking he may be a BU, he just may challenge for starter.  The Swiss Army Knife might be ready to show up as a prime time player.  If you look at the article, you will see his attention to defense and his ability to run the PNR just like we play it with our bigs.

Needless to say, I'm getting excited about this guy.

[DrReality]

Bazemore was the 2011 winner of theLefty Driesell Award, given to the best defensive player in college basketball.  The two guys we added bring something we lacked last year on the defensive end.  With that will come improved offense with the second year of Bud's system. will that be worth 10 wins? 

[frosgrim]

A cyclist! My new favorite Hawk. 

He’s drawn to the fatigue, addicted to the point at which a body no longer functions. "You'll be in the middle of a bike ride and you're just like, man, I don't know if I can turn another rep." 

That is cycling. Of course he's only doing 40 mile rides. Maybe I can invite him up to do 6-gap in the fall  

 

I really hope this guy is a 15+ ppg guy (w/ good efficiency). Probably not, but if he takes the starting position over Korver he might just do that. 

[turnermx]

Bazemore was the 2011 winner of theLefty Driesell Award, given to the best defensive player in college basketball. The two guys we added bring something we lacked last year on the defensive end. With that will come improved offense with the second year of Bud's system. will that be worth 10 wins?

Might even be worth 15 wins if the offensive improvement is combined with luck on the health front. horford and Antić together against big lineups will help us avoid getting killed on the boards. Bazemore and sef add to the perimeter D = more missed shots and chances at defensive rebounds and transition offense .. Our roster is very solid i like it. There isnt a bigger name but there is a lot of depth which should allow us to win in the mid to high 40s even with injuries imho

[turnermx]

A cyclist! My new favorite Hawk.

He’s drawn to the fatigue, addicted to the point at which a body no longer functions. "You'll be in the middle of a bike ride and you're just like, man, I don't know if I can turn another rep."

That is cycling. Of course he's only doing 40 mile rides. Maybe I can invite him up to do 6-gap in the fall

I really hope this guy is a 15+ ppg guy (w/ good efficiency). Probably not, but if he takes the starting position over Korver he might just do that.

Maybe not 15+ ppg but i could see him duplicating what he did in LA with us. Our offense will really help him continue to be efficient. .450 FG from a wing player is pretty darn good

[Guest]

Good Stuff!

Has he been officially signed as yet?

[turnermx]

I dont think he has been Ferry might be able to sign him with one of the exceptions if we use our caproom

[Diesel]

I really hope this guy is a 15+ ppg guy (w/ good efficiency). Probably not, but if he takes the starting position over Korver he might just do that. 

 

 

The way I see it, he was a 13 ppg player at 28 mpg in his first real season with starters minutes.  I think he will easily fit in with our system and I can see him as being better than a 15 ppg player.  Maybe 17-18 if he's starting.

 

If we run:  Horf, Sap, DMC, Bazemore, and Teague.  My guess is that we will be very hard to matchup with for teams that still play isolation.  With our Zone buster Korver coming off the bench for the 2 and 3 position...  teams better watch out.

[Guest]

A cyclist! My new favorite Hawk.

He’s drawn to the fatigue, addicted to the point at which a body no longer functions. "You'll be in the middle of a bike ride and you're just like, man, I don't know if I can turn another rep."

That is cycling. Of course he's only doing 40 mile rides. Maybe I can invite him up to do 6-gap in the fall

I really hope this guy is a 15+ ppg guy (w/ good efficiency). Probably not, but if he takes the starting position over Korver he might just do that.

Fros, is that you in your avatar? Always wanted to bike. Not sure if I'm down for 40+ mile rides though. I'm more if a hit it n quick it type guy. I go hard but not for distance. Lmao ...

[ATLSmith]

I've probably posted this elsewhere, but I'm pretty darn excited to have this guy on the team.

[Ryaan]

I'm excited to, seems like he has a level head and wants to succeed, also might bring a few highlights with his dunking ability woo

[frosgrim]

Fros, is that you in your avatar? Always wanted to bike. Not sure if I'm down for 40+ mile rides though. I'm more if a hit it n quick it type guy. I go hard but not for distance. Lmao ...

yes, from about, wow 10 years ago at a race in Ecuador. Most ridiculous course I've ever tried. It was all around an extinct volcano. Elevation went from 9,300' to about 10,800', and it was mountain biking. I lived with the family #2 mountain biker in the country and he convinced me that i could do it. I did but it was incredibly painful by the end. Cycling is the greatest sport to do if your into pushing yourself past what you think you can actually do (well for me at least). 

 

The distance rides are awesome once you figure out how to do them.