In one case,Boston, Danny Ainge was helped significantly by a friend(Kevin Mchale) and was able to get KG for a bucket of nails. In the other, Miami, they all wanted to be together. Pat Riley did nothing special, but be along for the ride and put on a pep rally.

quote:
I know, from interviews, that most star players were mentored by Vet players and that molded who they became (Magic-Kareem, Nash-Dirk, Barkley-Dr.J, Duncan-Robinson, I could go on and on).

Who mentored Kevin Durant? Who mentored LeBron?

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Posted by DeionDeion

New Orleans, LA

Member since Apr 2010

6110 posts

Posted on 3/20/13 at 9:27 am to Fleur de Diable

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Look at Indiana, they added then 30 year old David West after their young core made the playoffs for the first time. I think that's a pretty good model. This team probably will need to add a savvy vet at some point, but adding a guy that will be 33 next season when the team is probably 2 seasons away from the playoffs is a waste of a savvy veteran, not to mention cap space that could be used to build your young core.

this dude gets it I couldnt have said it better +1000

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Posted by brmark70816

Atlanta, GA

Member since Feb 2011

9830 posts

Posted on 3/20/13 at 10:08 am to Fleur de Diable

quote:
Who mentored Kevin Durant? Who mentored LeBron?

Fair point, I had to look. Maybe it's a generational thing. But this is what I found..

"When LeBron James was a rookie, he preferred to learn by doing.

He kept in touch with several friends around the NBA who were veterans, but for the most part, he wanted to experience everything for himself. But not every young star feels that way, including the Seattle SuperSonics' budding franchise player, Kevin Durant, and James is happy to oblige.

After getting to know each other last summer when Durant trained with Team USA in Las Vegas, James and Durant have built a relationship and often the Cavaliers' star serves as a mentor.

''I was in the same position Kevin was coming into the league and trying to be the face of a franchise and try to lead the team to victory,'' James said. ''He's having his difficulties in his first year, just like I had my difficulties.''

Durant and James talk or text message each other every few days, discussing everything from the game to their personal lives to injuries. Durant recently had a sprained finger and James, who suffered the same injury last month, gave advice about how to treat it.

''He's been like a big brother to me,'' Durant said. ''I'm very fortunate to have a relationship with probably the best player in the world, and I'm going to take advantage of it.''

James is embracing the role. Not only has he grown into the captain of the Cavs, but he's also built a core of friends around the league who come to him for advice, even though he just celebrated his 23rd birthday last week.

''It's kind of funny because sometimes I'll be a mentor to guys who are older than me,'' James said. ''But I was in the league before them, so I kind of know the ins and outs. It's kind of cool.''

I just hate the thought of Davis being mentored by guys on other teams. It just doesn't seem right. But maybe that is how things are these days.

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Posted by drake20