Bower, Scott, Shinn on Stojakovic Signing
July 12, 2006
LAS VEGAS – With Hornets executives in Las Vegas this week to watch the Hornets participate in the Vegas Summer League, the organization was unable to arrange press conferences to announce Peja Stojakovic’s signing in both New Orleans and Oklahoma City on Wednesday, as was the original intention.
Instead, the Hornets staged a press conference at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, then later held a conference call involving media members from New Orleans and Oklahoma City. Attended by Hornets owner George Shinn, general manager Jeff Bower and head coach Byron Scott, Wednesday’s conference call yielded interesting pieces of information on numerous topics.
A few highlights:
(on reasons why Hornets signed Peja)
Byron Scott: Because he was the best free agent available, first of all. Second of all, we talked about our needs when the season was over, and we needed a shooter. I think one of the things people forget about Peja is that he’s not just a shooter. He’s also a very good passer, an excellent rebounder and he can run the floor well. He brings so many other things to help us in a lot of areas.
(on what position Peja will play)
Byron Scott: He’ll probably start at (shooting guard), and when (Desmond Mason) comes out, he’ll slide to (small forward). Obviously some of it is going to depend on matchups and who we’re playing against. We want to take advantage of his ability as much as possible. We’ve just added another great player who is going to give us an even better offensive team and even a better running team.
(on message it sends to NBA)
Byron Scott: Now everybody around the league knows that we’re serious about getting better and being a competitive basketball team. We’re serious about winning. Obviously none of this happens if we don’t get the OK from Mr. Shinn, but he was real gung-ho about going after Peja Stojakovic. He knew this would make us a much better basketball team.
(on how Stojakovic signing affects salary cap)
Byron Scott: I think we did what we thought was best for this organization as far as improving this team and making it a winning organization. By adding Peja, we’ve taken that first step. You don’t get this done unless you have an owner who is willing to do it. And Mr. Shinn was the first one on board to say, ‘Go get him.’
(on what role Byron Scott played in landing Stojakovic)
Byron Scott: I have a relationship with Peja, and I think that played a little bit into (him signing) because he knows me on a personal level, as well as on a professional level. He knows what to expect of me, and I know what to expect of him. More so than anything, though, I think the fact that we were so aggressive in going after him showed him that the Hornets are all about winning.
(on whether big-money signings will cause future salary-cap problems)
Jeff Bower: The important thing to understand is that we have made a lot of acquisitions that are really important to us and are big attention-getters. But we’re still going to be a team that’s operating at, or under, the salary cap. As we continue to go forward in the next two or three years, we’ve been able to add these quality players, and yet still be able to maintain all of that cap flexibility. Contracts are staggered, in order of priority. They all fit. We are going to have a sound financial base, but still have quality players. The key is to put your money into players that are worth it, and that you’re getting value for your money. We think we’ve targeted the right ones.
(on if there was hesitancy to offer a sbig-money deal after Baron Davis’ max contract did not pan out for Hornets)
George Shinn: The contract with Baron Davis didn’t work for us not because he wasn’t a very talented player; he was very, very talented. There were other reasons why it didn’t work. You have to accept that and move on. Our goal is simple: To spend our money wisely and get the best players available. We’re going to continue to do that. We feel like our fans deserve it.
(on upcoming moves by Hornets)
Jeff Bower: The moves to follow in upcoming days… the sequence of them all, they’re in that order because of the effect on the salary cap. Each thing has a big impact on it. When it’s all said and done, we’re going to be at or around the cap. In addition to the (future) moves that everyone is already reporting, we really have (devoted) a lot of energy and attention to Rasual Butler. It’s something where we’ve had talks on a daily basis. Both sides have great interest in each other. We’d like to see something come together, but we’re not at that point yet. We’re happy that we’re in rather extensive talks. But it’s something we have to finish off.
(on how Stojakovic affects Hornets’ playoff aspirations)
Byron Scott: I think Mr. Shinn put it best. We definitely made our team better. I always talk to my team about what our goals are for every season. (But) I think we’re going to try to keep that to ourselves. George Shinn: He won’t even tell me [laughs]!
(on the potential Bobby Jackson signing)
Jeff Bower: You saw that Arvydas Macijauskas was waived this afternoon. When he clears waivers, we’ll be able to address the Bobby Jackson situation. Obviously right now we intend to enter into a contract with him. But we’ve got to follow the sequence of events.
LAS VEGAS – With Hornets executives in Las Vegas this week to watch the Hornets participate in the Vegas Summer League, the organization was unable to arrange press conferences to announce Peja Stojakovic’s signing in both New Orleans and Oklahoma City on Wednesday, as was the original intention.
Instead, the Hornets staged a press conference at the Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas, then later held a conference call involving media members from New Orleans and Oklahoma City. Attended by Hornets owner George Shinn, general manager Jeff Bower and head coach Byron Scott, Wednesday’s conference call yielded interesting pieces of information on numerous topics.
A few highlights:
(on reasons why Hornets signed Peja)
Byron Scott: Because he was the best free agent available, first of all. Second of all, we talked about our needs when the season was over, and we needed a shooter. I think one of the things people forget about Peja is that he’s not just a shooter. He’s also a very good passer, an excellent rebounder and he can run the floor well. He brings so many other things to help us in a lot of areas.
(on what position Peja will play)
Byron Scott: He’ll probably start at (shooting guard), and when (Desmond Mason) comes out, he’ll slide to (small forward). Obviously some of it is going to depend on matchups and who we’re playing against. We want to take advantage of his ability as much as possible. We’ve just added another great player who is going to give us an even better offensive team and even a better running team.
(on message it sends to NBA)
Byron Scott: Now everybody around the league knows that we’re serious about getting better and being a competitive basketball team. We’re serious about winning. Obviously none of this happens if we don’t get the OK from Mr. Shinn, but he was real gung-ho about going after Peja Stojakovic. He knew this would make us a much better basketball team.
(on how Stojakovic signing affects salary cap)
Byron Scott: I think we did what we thought was best for this organization as far as improving this team and making it a winning organization. By adding Peja, we’ve taken that first step. You don’t get this done unless you have an owner who is willing to do it. And Mr. Shinn was the first one on board to say, ‘Go get him.’
(on what role Byron Scott played in landing Stojakovic)
Byron Scott: I have a relationship with Peja, and I think that played a little bit into (him signing) because he knows me on a personal level, as well as on a professional level. He knows what to expect of me, and I know what to expect of him. More so than anything, though, I think the fact that we were so aggressive in going after him showed him that the Hornets are all about winning.
(on whether big-money signings will cause future salary-cap problems)
Jeff Bower: The important thing to understand is that we have made a lot of acquisitions that are really important to us and are big attention-getters. But we’re still going to be a team that’s operating at, or under, the salary cap. As we continue to go forward in the next two or three years, we’ve been able to add these quality players, and yet still be able to maintain all of that cap flexibility. Contracts are staggered, in order of priority. They all fit. We are going to have a sound financial base, but still have quality players. The key is to put your money into players that are worth it, and that you’re getting value for your money. We think we’ve targeted the right ones.
(on if there was hesitancy to offer a sbig-money deal after Baron Davis’ max contract did not pan out for Hornets)
George Shinn: The contract with Baron Davis didn’t work for us not because he wasn’t a very talented player; he was very, very talented. There were other reasons why it didn’t work. You have to accept that and move on. Our goal is simple: To spend our money wisely and get the best players available. We’re going to continue to do that. We feel like our fans deserve it.
(on upcoming moves by Hornets)
Jeff Bower: The moves to follow in upcoming days… the sequence of them all, they’re in that order because of the effect on the salary cap. Each thing has a big impact on it. When it’s all said and done, we’re going to be at or around the cap. In addition to the (future) moves that everyone is already reporting, we really have (devoted) a lot of energy and attention to Rasual Butler. It’s something where we’ve had talks on a daily basis. Both sides have great interest in each other. We’d like to see something come together, but we’re not at that point yet. We’re happy that we’re in rather extensive talks. But it’s something we have to finish off.
(on how Stojakovic affects Hornets’ playoff aspirations)
Byron Scott: I think Mr. Shinn put it best. We definitely made our team better. I always talk to my team about what our goals are for every season. (But) I think we’re going to try to keep that to ourselves. George Shinn: He won’t even tell me [laughs]!
(on the potential Bobby Jackson signing)
Jeff Bower: You saw that Arvydas Macijauskas was waived this afternoon. When he clears waivers, we’ll be able to address the Bobby Jackson situation. Obviously right now we intend to enter into a contract with him. But we’ve got to follow the sequence of events.
