Reaction To Mohammed Trade

On Friday, the Charlotte Bobcats acquired Nazr Mohammed from Detroit in exchange for Primoz Brezec and Walter Herrmann. Bobcats Head Coach Sam Vincent spoke with the media about the trade in his pre-game press conference, while some other members of the media caught up with Brezec in the team locker room after the trade:

Bobcats Head Coach Sam Vincent
(On Nazr Mohammed)
I feel like he’s a guy that can definitely come in and give us playoff experience. He’s coming from two of the most successful organizations in the league. He’s played with some incredibly good players. I think both Rod (Higgins) and Michael (Jordan) did a heck of a job navigating through the process of getting him. I think he can definitely help the team.

(On if Mohammed will start right away)
I think it’s going to take him some time to pick up what we’re doing. I don’t see him coming in tomorrow or the next day and starting until he has a feel for what we’re trying to do. He has to learn the team. He has to learn the system a little bit. I think from everything I hear, he’s a real nice guy to have around. He’s great in the locker room. He’s definitely a winner. He gives us more rebounding, which we sorely need. He gives us another low-post presence. He’s all the things we’ve been talking about we wanted to add to the team. He really brings a lot of that.

(On why Walter Herrmann wasn’t able to work into the rotation) I like Walter (Herrmann). I really do. I think he was a great kid. I think he is a good player. I think once the decision was made to try Emeka (Okafor) at the four, it completely spun our rotations into something different. We really wanted to see if Emeka could play the four because that gives us a chance to do some different things at the five. Once that was the case and also when we identified the fact with Jeff (McInnis) in the lineup for a small lineup and Gerald (Wallace) moving to the four was very effective, it completely spun Walter out of getting playing time. He was a just a victim of the circumstance of our rotations, not because we don’t think he’s a good player or he can’t be somewhere and be successful. He’s definitely a great player. Walter and Primoz (Brezec) – I’ll miss both those guys.

(On Primoz Brezec’s struggles this season)
When you miss an NBA training camp and an NBA preseason, it sets you back. The NBA train is moving so fast. You don’t have time to get behind, whether you’re a coach or a player. Trying to catch back up is very difficult. Primoz missed a lot of preparatory time and then found himself struggling trying to catch up. He was working as hard as he could and he made some improvements, but he hadn’t gotten to the point where he could effectively go out and give us 14 or 15 points. Not to say he wouldn’t by the end of the year or somewhere in the middle, but he just hadn’t gotten to that point yet. He was working hard to try to get there.

(On what the trade means for Jared Dudley)
For Jared Dudley, he’ll be along with D.A. (Derek Anderson) probably in that backup three spot. We like the progress Jared has been making. This may create more spot minutes for him. The one thing I’ve been trying to do is narrow my rotation to about eight or nine, and I’m really focused on trying to get to that point. Here, over the next few games, I’ll get to that and if fits in he does and if he’s out, it’s just a matter of him getting time when he can get time.

(On making a big trade the day the Bobcats are on national television)
That’s how it is in this world of sports that we deal with. Sometimes decisions have to be made quickly and abruptly and major consequences are on the line. This is one of those times. It was nice to be able to talk to Rod and Michael and kind of get through it. There’s a lot going on and this is a big day for us. We have a nationally televised game and we come up with a trade. I think the great thing coming from those guys is that we are always looking to better the team. This was a decision that needed to be made and made quick in the spirit of improving our team.

(On the trade opening up and additional roster spot)
I’m not even thinking about the additional roster spot. Right now we feel like we made an improvement. We’re welcoming him and wishing some guys who are leaving well and then we’ll think about the other roster spot that’s available. We see this deal as a major improvement for the team, not that we were down on Primoz and Walter, but we’re trying to continually improve the Bobcats and we feel we have a big guy who can come in and score and help us in rebounding and give both Gerald and Emeka a little rest and keep us moving forward and we have a little versatility in that roster spot. You hate to see guys go, but in the end it’s all about the team getting better and feel Michael and Rod did a good job in making us better.

Primoz Brezec
(On if he was surprised by the trade)
Yes and no. I’m an emotional guy. It’s pretty tough right now.

(On why he thinks the trade came about)
It didn’t work out. It didn’t work out for me here. It’s a different system. But Sam (Vincent) is a great coach. I think this team is going to be good. We work hard. But I didn’t have a role here. I was a scorer. I worked hard on my defense (with Sam’s team). It’s eventually going to help my career.

(On when he will be in Detroit)
I’m expecting a call from Joe Dumars and from Coach Flip (Saunders). I’m ready to go to play tomorrow. I’ll be there like always.