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Shaquille
O'Neal: "When you are 60, hang out with 60-year-olds, not 20-year-olds.
That is all I got to say about Jerry Buss."
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HoopsHype.com Interviews Paul
Silas: "I couldn't be happier"
Paul Silas: Even before LeBron was picked, I had interviewed and I felt they had a good nucleus of players and we were gonna get no less than the fifth pick. With that pick, I thought we could be competitive this coming year. But now, everything has changed. I just like where I am right now. What type of coach do you see yourself as, and why are you the right coach for this team at this time? PS: I think that the players look up to me, some as a father figure, which is good, especially for younger guys. I've been through the wars myself as a player and, of course, as a coach. I have a good system for the game. I love my players, respect them and give them confidence, and likewise, they respect me. And I think if you look at my history, players do improve under my tutorship. So that's why I think I'm the best man for this job. Were you bitter at all at how the Hornets situation ended up because you obviously did a real good job there? PS: Not at all, because if it hadn't happened the way it did, then I wouldn't have had this opportunity. So when one door closes another opens is the way I look at it, and I couldn't be happier. It does seem like you come into this job at an opportune time? PS: Absolutely. There is going to be a lot of media scrutiny. I think there will be a lot of pressure on me, on the players. But we're up to the challenge. That's why we're here. We're in the pressure business. We understand that, and it's all how you deal with it. Do you succumb to it or do you rise above it. And I most certainly think we will rise above it. Have you had a chance to talk to LeBron yet about where you see him fitting in? PS: No, not specifically yet. He's been so busy. I'll have to see him play first before I make that determination. But I think any one of four positions he could be competent at. I plan to hopefully look at him at some point, and see if he can handle that. If he can, I think that will make us a much better ballclub. What would you like to see him concentrate on in terms of work? PS: As he said, his total game is what he has to really concentrate on. Most kids who come into this league are not the shooters that they do become, so I'm not worried about that, but if anything, I'd like to see him concentrate on his long-range shooting. You've played against the best. Looking at him at 18 years old, have you ever seen anybody like him at that stage? PS: I have not, especially with the poise that he has. There's been so much thrown at him so fast, and how he handles it; he just remains humble, he says the right things, doesn't get into confrontations with other guys about who's the best. That just bodes well for him as he moves into training camp, I think everyone is gonna welcome him with open arms. He knows how to blend in, which is most important. What about dealing with outside influences. How do you think he'll be able to deal with that, and what will be your role in helping him do so? PS: Well he seems to be a very level-headed young kid. I've never seen anyone with the poise he has an 18-year-old. But he's been through it, as he says, for a lot of years. As an organization, we're gonna have to devise a plan that can shield him away from a lot of this stuff as much as possible. Of course, what happens on the court is what the main thing is, is how he handles the court situation. Do we win ballgames? Ultimately, that's what's going to be the determining factor. How much are you looking forward to getting him out there? PS: I mean, I can't wait. He's just beginning, you know, and I just want to lead him and hopefully advise him and make him as good as he can be. You know he naturally has the talent right now, but there's a lot of things to learn about our game, about situations, about offenses and defensives, so forth and so on. And he's got a lot of growing to do. Are you going to throw LeBron right into point guard in the summer league and just see what's there? PS: We probably will. We'll probably look at him there to start and see how he handles things. That's the only way you get a look-see about what a player's about if you throw him right out there. So we probably will. Is it important that LeBron plays in all the summer games? Is that going to be a big deal? PS: Whatever we decide. I'm not looking to kill anyone. We're gonna decide that, Jimmy and I along with his agent, as well as him, how many he's going to play. I'm open to almost anything at this point. What can you tell us about Jason Kapono, the Cavs second-round pick? Some people were thinking maybe Luke Walton? PS: Jason is a pure shooter. And that's something that we kind of lacked. (Cavs GM) Jim (Paxson) and I, as we talked about it, if that kind of guy was there, we'd certainly have to look at him. Not a great athlete by any means, but he knows how to play, knows how to put the ball in the hoop, knows how to get his own shot off. And although he's not really athletic, he finds a way to be successful, and that's even more important, I think. Having gone through college for four years, he has a certain amount of maturity. So we couldn't be happier with that pick. It's kind of a God-send, I think. We saw Luke and like him a lot, but for our basic needs, we felt that Jason would fit in a lot better than Luke. Obviously, the Cavs had a lot of problems last year. No offensive direction. Bad defense. What order will you go about trying to tackle these problems? PS: Well you always look at the defense first. If you can get a competent defensive team, that always gives you a chance to win every night. So that will be our major focus. But we're gonna have an exciting offense also. Hopefully a running style of basketball, as well as when we set up have some definite things we want to get done. You said you think the team needs to get older. What types of moves do you think will be made? PS: We need an experienced point, as well as another experienced shooter, I think. We're large, we have a lot of size, and I think that is what is gonna carry us through. But we do need some veteran leadership. As you interviewed for the job, how much talk was there about specific minutes for younger players and things like that? PS: I don't recall anything like that, so I can't even get into that. So basically whoever earns the minutes will play? PS: That's the way I've always coached. You earn your minutes. If you're getting it done you're going to play, if you're not, you're not going to play. It's that simple with me. Who else on the team have you talked with so far? PS: Well I've been working out Carlos Boozer, Darius Miles, Chris Mihm came in for a weekend, Diop, and Ilgauskas. Those guys have been coming in for two weeks now. We've been having a ball. They're excited about this season and improving. I think you guys will be pleasantly surprised at how these guys are gonna play this year. Bruce Meyer is a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com Tell us what you think about this interview. E-mail us at HoopsHype@HoopsHype.com _____________________ |
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