Bennett seeking to shake stigma of NBA draft bust
Veteran coaches optimistic No. 1 overall pick will bounce back by playing in hometown Former NBA star Lamar Odom found unresponsive
OTTAWA— Sam Mitchell and Doc Rivers have been around the block and back in NBA careers that span a combined 41 seasons and more than 3,200 games as players and coaches.
They have seen phenoms flame out majestically, have watched stars emerge from nowhere and know above all else that kids are kids and it takes time to humble even the best.
“They’re young and they read all the stuff that you guys write about them, they watch TV and Dick Vitale tells them how great they are, you watch them in the tournament and everyone’s singing their praises,” Mitchell, now the interim head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, said earlier this week.
“They watch the game and they project themselves playing in the NBA and they think it’s easy.
“They don’t understand the diligence that it takes to work (but) they figure it out, they realize it.”
The Raptors are hoping one highlytouted young player will finally turn the corner from suspect into prospect and reinvigorate a stalled career.
Anthony Bennett, a No. 1 overall draft pick trying to resurrect a career that’s now got him with his third team in three seasons, is one of the most intriguing Raptors training camp stories in years.
He’s on a non-guaranteed deal playing a position at which Toronto is deep and has to shake off the perception that he’s been a bust during stops in Cleveland and Minnesota.
He is personable and has skill and the Raptors staff, Mitchell and officials with Canada Basketball rave about the Toronto native’s personality but there is a stigma he has to overcome.
It’s not fair, but it’s reality. LAS VEGAS— Former NBA star Lamar Odom was on life support Wednesday, with estranged wife Khloe Kardashian by his side. Odom had spent four days in a brothel, and was found face down at Nevada’s Love Ranch Tuesday afternoon, brothel owner Dennis Hof said.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who visited the 35-year-old former Laker Wednesday, said he was on life support and that doctors believe he is recovering after being unresponsive Tuesday.
Investigators have sought a warrant
“He got a lot of criticism for his draft pick and when that happens, the player has to deal with that where the player really shouldn’t . . . worry about it,” said Rivers, the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers.
“It’s not his fault that he was drafted where he was drafted and the draft is for one day.”
Bennett took full advantage of an opportunity to show his stuff here Wednesday night, starting and scoring 10 points as the Raptors dropped an 89-87 decision to the Minnesota Timberwolves to fall to 3-2 in the pre-season.
With Luis Scola and Kyle Lowry each getting the night off, Bennett and Cory Joseph gave a true homecountry feel to what the NBA is touting as its “Canada Series” before 15,522 at the Canadian Tire Centre.
Bennett, trying to find a spot in the regular rotation, hit three threepointers in the first half. Delon Wright and James Johnson had 11 points each for Toronto.
Bennett, a six-foot-eight forward, has never really found his groove thanks to a series of injuries and the numbers game that often impacts to obtain a blood sample to determine if Odom suffered a drug or alcohol overdose, Nye County, Nevada, Sheriff Sharon Wehrly said.
Odom started “throwing up all kinds of stuff” when a 911 operator told them to turn him on his side, Hof said in a phone interview.
Odom spent most of his 14-year NBA career in Los Angeles with the Lakers and Clippers, and appeared on the reality shows Khloe & Lamar, Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Kourtney & Kim Take Miami. NBA playing time. He had shoulder woes in Cleveland in his rookie season — a holdover from his college career at UNLV and was hurt again last season in Minnesota.
Despite Bennett’s lofty draft status, the NBA doesn’t have much time to wait on some young players and jobs lost are sometimes hard to get back.
“For a young player, that’s tough with a lot of high expectations,” said Mitchell.
“It was just unfortunate that he got injured early and then when you get injured and you’re working your way back in, it’s tough to do.”
It’s doubly tough when the critics howl and confidence wanes. Those who have been around him the most this summer agree the best thing for Bennett would be to rediscover his enjoyment of the game and to forget the harping that’s followed him since his rookie season.
“Criticism is hard for young players, when people doubt you,” Rivers said. “I always say that when guys come in the league, they’ve never been criticized like that when people don’t think they’re that good. They’ve always been great so some handle it well and some don’t. I think he’ll find his way, he’s home, he’s probably in more comfortable surroundings so I think it’ll help him.”