Pivotal year for Clippers center Chris Kaman
LOS ANGELES - You got the idea that Chris Kaman was serious about atoning for last season when he showed up in Las Vegas in July to join the Los Angeles Clippers' summer league team.
He didn't have to be there, you understand. The summer team is a developmental opportunity for draft choices and free-agent wannabes. Guys who have been in the NBA for a while normally don't need, or want, to hang with the kids.
But Chris Kaman, who enters his fifth year in the league this fall, has little use for the way things might look to the outside world. He had a bad season, he took it seriously, and he felt he could use the extra work.
"Coach (Mike Dunleavy) had talked after the season about me playing summer league, just to try and improve on my confidence," Chris Kaman said. "It was short, and I had a good time.
"Maybe it helped, maybe it didn't. I just know I want to get better at basketball, and I want to do whatever it takes."
This could be a pivotal season for the 7-footer from Central Michigan, who prepared by shedding 20 pounds.
A year ago the Los Angeles Clippers were the hot new story in LA, coming off an extended playoff run and seemingly destined for bigger things. Instead they backslid, finishing 40-42 and missing the playoffs by a game.
Chris Kaman's stats in 2006-07 were down in every significant category but blocked shots. And there was speculation that the five-year, $52 million extension he signed before the season weighed on him and affected his performance, even though the contract doesn't kick in until this year.
"I couldn't even tell you one specific (reason) because I don't really know," he said. "Maybe it was a mental thing.
"I just know it wasn't the season I was anticipating. ... It could have something to do with going to Russia (for training camp last year). I mean, I don't know."
The Los Angeles Clippers couldn't afford his drop-off last year. They definitely can't afford it this year, not with Elton Brand (torn Achilles' tendon) and Shaun Livingston (reconstructive knee surgery) out for at least the first few months of the season.
The most optimistic projections have Elton Brand back in January, maybe. February seems more realistic, and that's still pushing it. Until then, it will be up to people such as Chris Kaman, Sam Cassell and Corey Maggette to keep the team within striking distance of a playoff spot.
Dunleavy, in fact, said he had calls from a number of players right after Elton Brand's injury in July, saying they were ready to step up their games. One of them was from Chris Kaman.
"He doesn't have to prove anything," Dunleavy said. "We know what he can do. That's not even an issue. That's the good news. We're not wondering whether this guy's got the skill level to do what he needs to do.
"His game is growing directly in relationship to his maturity on the floor. He's got skills. He can shoot the ball in the low post, left-handed and right-handed. He can go out on the floor and shoot a jump shot. He shoots 75 percent plus from the free-throw line. He rebounds. He can block shots. He does a nice job defensively for us."
The dilemma, as it often has been with Chris Kaman, is mental and emotional.
He was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder as a child, and took medication for a while but stopped because of the side effects. One result is that Chris Kaman is more receptive to visual instruction than to verbal.
Another: There are times when his mind wanders, infuriating as that might be to his teammates, coaches and fans.
"He seems more focused," Corey Maggette said with a chuckle as training camp began. "I mean, that's a positive with Chris. You never know what you're going to get from Chris Kaman. But just by the way he's been this summer, being dedicated to being better as a player, it shows that he's grown up.
"He's maturing. We need that. We definitely need that."
The act of humbling himself and going to 'Vegas with the rookies and undrafted free agents would seem in itself a signal of Chris Kaman's commitment. But Sam Cassell pointed to another summer vignette: watching Chris Kaman competing against Kevin Garnett during summertime pickup games at UCLA.
"When Chris Kaman comes to play and competes with that, you don't get no better summer league than Kevin Garnett goin' at you," Sam Cassell said. "And he goes hard. The way he plays in the winter, that's how he plays in the summertime."
But if Chris Kaman felt burdened by the responsibility of his $52 million extension last year, that's kid stuff compared to the responsibility he faces now.
"He's gotta step up," Sam Cassell said. "If he feels there's no pressure on him, I'm sorry to tell him, it is some pressure on him.
"But Chris has worked his butt off this summer. He's lost some weight, he's stronger, his core's better, his mind is better. I'm looking forward to competing (alongside) Chris Kaman this year."
Traditionally, the athlete rebounding from a poor year talks of having something to prove. But have we mentioned that Chris Kaman is about as non-traditional as it gets?
"I have something to prove to myself," he said. "But I don't care what other people think. It's about what I think."
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