ducks
06-06-2006, 09:06 AM
Performance in Nuggets camp surprising to Kemp
By Aaron J. Lopez, Rocky Mountain News
June 6, 2006
Shawn Kemp no longer is trying to corner the market on deadly sins.
In the midst of making millions of dollars as an NBA All-Star, he lived an indulgent lifestyle that derailed so many promising players before him.
Alcohol, drugs and women were at the root of his self-destruction, and a subsequent weight problem ultimately ushered him out of the NBA at age 33.
With his weight once again manageable and his body free of illicit drugs, Kemp was happily out of breath Monday as he completed another step toward an improbable career comeback.
Kemp, now 36, gave himself a positive review after wrapping up a three-day free- agent camp with the Denver Nuggets.
"I came here a few days ago and I wanted to make it through every drill, through every play and not come up hurt, not take any plays off - and I was able to do that," he said. "I actually surprised myself with my speed. I ran better than most of the big guys here. I was really surprised at my conditioning. I'm a little more advanced than what I thought I was."
Kemp, listed at 6-foot-10 and 272 pounds, by far was the oldest and most accomplished player to take part in the free-agent camp at the Pepsi Center.
A six-time All-Star for the Seattle SuperSonics and Cleveland Cavaliers, Kemp averaged double figures in points and rebounds six times during his career and helped the SuperSonics reach the 1996 NBA Finals.
He will attend the Finals again this year as a guest of the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas coach Avery Johnson showed a strong interest in Kemp as a possible injury fill-in two months ago, but the Mavericks were denied a roster exemption by the NBA.
The Mavericks and Nuggets are among a handful of teams interested in signing Kemp, who retired in 2003 after his weight ballooned to 320 pounds.
Kemp has spent the past three years losing weight and trying to shake his bad habits. Only 14 months ago, he was arrested in suburban Seattle after a police officer found marijuana and cocaine in his pickup truck.
Kemp, who violated the NBA's substance-abuse program three times during his career, later pleaded guilty to attempted possession of more than 40 grams of marijuana.
"Drugs and stuff like that, that was a little part of my life," Kemp said. "My deal was more of just control - self-control with what I wanted to do and being happy and accepting things for what they are."
Nuggets coach George Karl, who coached Kemp in Seattle from 1992 to 1997, said it is too early to make any predictions about Kemp's future, but he was encouraged by what he saw over a three-day period.
"He went through five practices at a very hard level - at the two-a-day mentality - and survived and had moments where he was very impressive," Karl said. "He's got to regroup and regain some of the specialness that he had.
"Can he do that? Is his body going to hold up? Can he sustain the discipline to keep himself in shape? All those things have to be answered over a two-month period rather than a two-day period."
Because he has 14 years of NBA experience, Kemp would draw a minimum one-year salary of about $1.18 million, with the league picking up more than $430,000 of the cost as part of the collective-bargaining agreement.
The Nuggets' interest will depend, in part, on whether they re-sign free-agent big men Nene, Francisco Elson and Reggie Evans.
"I'm sure they want to look at some other players, and that's fine with me," Kemp said. "I want to talk to a couple other teams. Me and George and (Nuggets director of player personnel) Mark Warkentien have worked together before, so we know each other pretty good.
They'll be in touch with me and let me know what they think. I look forward to hearing from them."
ETC.: Karl said he still has not spoken with Kenyon Martin since the power forward was suspended two games into the playoffs. "There's a lot of time," Karl said . . . Warkentien leads a contingent of Nuggets personnel who will attend the NBA's predraft camp in Orlando, Fla., today through Saturday. He will be joined by Karl and assistant general managers David Fredman and Jeff Weltman . . . Nuggets center Marcus Camby on Wednesday will present four East High School students with $5,000 in college scholarship funding. The students are the first graduates of Camby's mentoring program . . . Karl said 18-year-old prospect Ricky Sanchez looked "rusty" during the three-day camp. "He probably took too many weeks off since the last time he played basketball," Karl said. Sanchez averaged 8.0 points and 3.6 rebounds for the Idaho Stampede of the Continental Basketball Association last season, his first as a pro.
By Aaron J. Lopez, Rocky Mountain News
June 6, 2006
Shawn Kemp no longer is trying to corner the market on deadly sins.
In the midst of making millions of dollars as an NBA All-Star, he lived an indulgent lifestyle that derailed so many promising players before him.
Alcohol, drugs and women were at the root of his self-destruction, and a subsequent weight problem ultimately ushered him out of the NBA at age 33.
With his weight once again manageable and his body free of illicit drugs, Kemp was happily out of breath Monday as he completed another step toward an improbable career comeback.
Kemp, now 36, gave himself a positive review after wrapping up a three-day free- agent camp with the Denver Nuggets.
"I came here a few days ago and I wanted to make it through every drill, through every play and not come up hurt, not take any plays off - and I was able to do that," he said. "I actually surprised myself with my speed. I ran better than most of the big guys here. I was really surprised at my conditioning. I'm a little more advanced than what I thought I was."
Kemp, listed at 6-foot-10 and 272 pounds, by far was the oldest and most accomplished player to take part in the free-agent camp at the Pepsi Center.
A six-time All-Star for the Seattle SuperSonics and Cleveland Cavaliers, Kemp averaged double figures in points and rebounds six times during his career and helped the SuperSonics reach the 1996 NBA Finals.
He will attend the Finals again this year as a guest of the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas coach Avery Johnson showed a strong interest in Kemp as a possible injury fill-in two months ago, but the Mavericks were denied a roster exemption by the NBA.
The Mavericks and Nuggets are among a handful of teams interested in signing Kemp, who retired in 2003 after his weight ballooned to 320 pounds.
Kemp has spent the past three years losing weight and trying to shake his bad habits. Only 14 months ago, he was arrested in suburban Seattle after a police officer found marijuana and cocaine in his pickup truck.
Kemp, who violated the NBA's substance-abuse program three times during his career, later pleaded guilty to attempted possession of more than 40 grams of marijuana.
"Drugs and stuff like that, that was a little part of my life," Kemp said. "My deal was more of just control - self-control with what I wanted to do and being happy and accepting things for what they are."
Nuggets coach George Karl, who coached Kemp in Seattle from 1992 to 1997, said it is too early to make any predictions about Kemp's future, but he was encouraged by what he saw over a three-day period.
"He went through five practices at a very hard level - at the two-a-day mentality - and survived and had moments where he was very impressive," Karl said. "He's got to regroup and regain some of the specialness that he had.
"Can he do that? Is his body going to hold up? Can he sustain the discipline to keep himself in shape? All those things have to be answered over a two-month period rather than a two-day period."
Because he has 14 years of NBA experience, Kemp would draw a minimum one-year salary of about $1.18 million, with the league picking up more than $430,000 of the cost as part of the collective-bargaining agreement.
The Nuggets' interest will depend, in part, on whether they re-sign free-agent big men Nene, Francisco Elson and Reggie Evans.
"I'm sure they want to look at some other players, and that's fine with me," Kemp said. "I want to talk to a couple other teams. Me and George and (Nuggets director of player personnel) Mark Warkentien have worked together before, so we know each other pretty good.
They'll be in touch with me and let me know what they think. I look forward to hearing from them."
ETC.: Karl said he still has not spoken with Kenyon Martin since the power forward was suspended two games into the playoffs. "There's a lot of time," Karl said . . . Warkentien leads a contingent of Nuggets personnel who will attend the NBA's predraft camp in Orlando, Fla., today through Saturday. He will be joined by Karl and assistant general managers David Fredman and Jeff Weltman . . . Nuggets center Marcus Camby on Wednesday will present four East High School students with $5,000 in college scholarship funding. The students are the first graduates of Camby's mentoring program . . . Karl said 18-year-old prospect Ricky Sanchez looked "rusty" during the three-day camp. "He probably took too many weeks off since the last time he played basketball," Karl said. Sanchez averaged 8.0 points and 3.6 rebounds for the Idaho Stampede of the Continental Basketball Association last season, his first as a pro.