Stojakovic Discusses Decision to Sign with Hornets
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July 12, 2006
LAS VEGAS – The newest member of the Hornets, Peja Stojakovic, held a press conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday, which was attended by a handful of national reporters and Hornets beat writers. Following the press conference, the three-time All-Star chatted with Hornets.com’s Jim Eichenhofer about his new team and his outlook on playing for New Orleans/Oklahoma City. Following an MVP-caliber season in 2003-04, over the past two campaigns Stojakovic has dealt with several minor injuries, the steady departures of his longtime Sacramento teammates, as well as his own trade to Indiana midway through 2005-06.
The 6-foot-10, eight-year veteran explains the reasons behind his decision to sign with the Hornets and discusses his fondness for his former Sacramento teams, which were the talk of the NBA early in this decade. The Kings came within one game of reaching the NBA Finals in 2002, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in a classic seven-game Western Conference title round.
Eichenhofer: Your new head coach, Byron Scott, has never been known to sugarcoat things when he talks about what he wants from his players. Some guys can’t handle that kind of honesty. Having had him as an assistant coach in Sacramento during your first two years in the NBA, what is your opinion of his coaching style? You’ve never seemed like the kind of guy who has a problem with receiving criticism.
Stojakovic: (Scott’s approach) is great for players, because they know exactly what they have to do on the court. To be successful, you have to have that. You have to be professional. As you said, things aren’t always going to go well for you. You have to take some of the criticism and use it to make you a better player.
Eichenhofer: Is that the kind of coaching that you were accustomed to when you were a young player coming up in Europe?
Stojakovic: Yes. That was the coaching I learned from. The coach is always the (final) word. You cannot change that. You cannot always be arguing with your coach, be causing problems or be shaking up the team.
Eichenhofer: A few years ago when you were with Sacramento, the Kings were known as the most fun team to watch play in the entire NBA. You guys also seemed to be having the most fun on the court of any squad in the league. When you decided to sign with the Hornets, how much did you look forward to trying to get back to the style of play you used in Sacramento, with a fast-paced offense?
Stojakovic: That was important. Having a guy like Chris Paul, and someone like Bobby Jackson, someone like David West, I think we have the kind of team that is capable of running and playing that up-tempo style. I’m used to it. And basketball is a lot of fun when there is passing and cutting.
Eichenhofer: How much do you think you’re going to be able to recreate the atmosphere and kind of team you guys had in Sacramento?
Stojakovic: I’m hoping for that. The kind of atmosphere we had was great, where everyone was on the same page and getting along on and off the court. When you have that, you can be really successful.
Eichenhofer: How important was it for you to go to a team that had an unselfish point guard like Chris Paul? It seemed like when Sacramento was a title contender, you guys created a situation where the stars like yourself, Chris Webber and Vlade Divac played unselfishly, and that approach spread throughout the team. Chris Paul has started to set that same tone with the Hornets.
Stojakovic: That was the most important thing that we had in Sacramento. Nobody ever cared who scored the points. The only thing we cared about was winning, but even when we lost, we stuck together as a team. We had a lot of togetherness.
Eichenhofer: Throughout much of the 2003-04 season, when you averaged a career-best 24.2 points per game, you were mentioned as a potential MVP candidate. What do you think coming to this team is going to do for your career?
Stojakovic: I think all of the individual recognition I got came from team success. That’s how I got recognized. That’s my thing: We should all be on the same page, and that we should all have the same goal, of team success. If you get those results, you’re going to get recognition.
Eichenhofer: How do you look back at the last couple years? Has it been less enjoyable for you as a player the way the last two seasons have unfolded, with Sacramento’s familiar core group of players being dismantled, then you were dealt to Indiana?
Stojakovic: Well, last season, with all of the rumors that I might be traded or not traded [pause]… I got traded in the middle of the season, I had some minor injuries and was dealing with that. Everything came at a bad time. But it’s something every professional athlete goes through. It’s not always nice. You have to fight through it and prove yourself.
Eichenhofer: How overwhelming was the Hornets’ contract offer?
Stojakovic: It was a feeling that every player wants to have. That a team really respects you, recognizes your skills and sees you as a big part of their team. I never thought that NBA teams worked that late [referring to the Hornets’ calling Stojakovic’s agent at 12:01 Eastern a.m. on the first day of free agency]. There was an eight-hour time difference between where I was (in Europe), so my agent called me and woke me up at 7:30 a.m. I was really excited when I heard about the offer. The contract is important for every player – you can’t lie about that. But over the first seven years of my career, I was really lucky, because I was enjoying myself. I never thought (about whether) I was overpaid or underpaid. It never came through my mind. When you’re playing with a group of guys where you can’t wait to step out onto the court with them, that’s the best feeling. When I was looking at free agency, I thought being in the right situation, and being surrounded with the right people, was really important.
LAS VEGAS – The newest member of the Hornets, Peja Stojakovic, held a press conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday, which was attended by a handful of national reporters and Hornets beat writers. Following the press conference, the three-time All-Star chatted with Hornets.com’s Jim Eichenhofer about his new team and his outlook on playing for New Orleans/Oklahoma City. Following an MVP-caliber season in 2003-04, over the past two campaigns Stojakovic has dealt with several minor injuries, the steady departures of his longtime Sacramento teammates, as well as his own trade to Indiana midway through 2005-06.
The 6-foot-10, eight-year veteran explains the reasons behind his decision to sign with the Hornets and discusses his fondness for his former Sacramento teams, which were the talk of the NBA early in this decade. The Kings came within one game of reaching the NBA Finals in 2002, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers in a classic seven-game Western Conference title round.
Eichenhofer: Your new head coach, Byron Scott, has never been known to sugarcoat things when he talks about what he wants from his players. Some guys can’t handle that kind of honesty. Having had him as an assistant coach in Sacramento during your first two years in the NBA, what is your opinion of his coaching style? You’ve never seemed like the kind of guy who has a problem with receiving criticism.
Stojakovic: (Scott’s approach) is great for players, because they know exactly what they have to do on the court. To be successful, you have to have that. You have to be professional. As you said, things aren’t always going to go well for you. You have to take some of the criticism and use it to make you a better player.
Eichenhofer: Is that the kind of coaching that you were accustomed to when you were a young player coming up in Europe?
Stojakovic: Yes. That was the coaching I learned from. The coach is always the (final) word. You cannot change that. You cannot always be arguing with your coach, be causing problems or be shaking up the team.
Eichenhofer: A few years ago when you were with Sacramento, the Kings were known as the most fun team to watch play in the entire NBA. You guys also seemed to be having the most fun on the court of any squad in the league. When you decided to sign with the Hornets, how much did you look forward to trying to get back to the style of play you used in Sacramento, with a fast-paced offense?
Stojakovic: That was important. Having a guy like Chris Paul, and someone like Bobby Jackson, someone like David West, I think we have the kind of team that is capable of running and playing that up-tempo style. I’m used to it. And basketball is a lot of fun when there is passing and cutting.
Eichenhofer: How much do you think you’re going to be able to recreate the atmosphere and kind of team you guys had in Sacramento?
Stojakovic: I’m hoping for that. The kind of atmosphere we had was great, where everyone was on the same page and getting along on and off the court. When you have that, you can be really successful.
Eichenhofer: How important was it for you to go to a team that had an unselfish point guard like Chris Paul? It seemed like when Sacramento was a title contender, you guys created a situation where the stars like yourself, Chris Webber and Vlade Divac played unselfishly, and that approach spread throughout the team. Chris Paul has started to set that same tone with the Hornets.
Stojakovic: That was the most important thing that we had in Sacramento. Nobody ever cared who scored the points. The only thing we cared about was winning, but even when we lost, we stuck together as a team. We had a lot of togetherness.
Eichenhofer: Throughout much of the 2003-04 season, when you averaged a career-best 24.2 points per game, you were mentioned as a potential MVP candidate. What do you think coming to this team is going to do for your career?
Stojakovic: I think all of the individual recognition I got came from team success. That’s how I got recognized. That’s my thing: We should all be on the same page, and that we should all have the same goal, of team success. If you get those results, you’re going to get recognition.
Eichenhofer: How do you look back at the last couple years? Has it been less enjoyable for you as a player the way the last two seasons have unfolded, with Sacramento’s familiar core group of players being dismantled, then you were dealt to Indiana?
Stojakovic: Well, last season, with all of the rumors that I might be traded or not traded [pause]… I got traded in the middle of the season, I had some minor injuries and was dealing with that. Everything came at a bad time. But it’s something every professional athlete goes through. It’s not always nice. You have to fight through it and prove yourself.
Eichenhofer: How overwhelming was the Hornets’ contract offer?
Stojakovic: It was a feeling that every player wants to have. That a team really respects you, recognizes your skills and sees you as a big part of their team. I never thought that NBA teams worked that late [referring to the Hornets’ calling Stojakovic’s agent at 12:01 Eastern a.m. on the first day of free agency]. There was an eight-hour time difference between where I was (in Europe), so my agent called me and woke me up at 7:30 a.m. I was really excited when I heard about the offer. The contract is important for every player – you can’t lie about that. But over the first seven years of my career, I was really lucky, because I was enjoying myself. I never thought (about whether) I was overpaid or underpaid. It never came through my mind. When you’re playing with a group of guys where you can’t wait to step out onto the court with them, that’s the best feeling. When I was looking at free agency, I thought being in the right situation, and being surrounded with the right people, was really important.
