Green and gold and out for a bargain
There were two highlights of Deron Williams' news conference Thursday, at least as far as I was concerned. The first came with Williams wearing a lime green shirt and matching lime green Nikes. Clearly, he got a little tired of all that red, white and blue in Beijing.
The second came at the very end of things, when Williams was asked what sort of souvenirs he brought home (in addition, of course, to the gold medal) from China. He said he bought some trinkets when he visited the Great Wall.
"I just wanted to bargain, really, with the people," said Williams, who, it must be noted, just signed a max contract extension worth at least 340 million Chinese yuan. "You walk off and they're like, 'OK, OK.'"
Although he didn't want to go at first, Williams said visiting the Great Wall was one of the highlights of the trip.
"I'm not really a sightseer," Williams said, "but once I got up there and just saw how special it was and to think of how many people died building that and how big it was, it was just amazing that that could be man-made."
We also laughed when Williams said he ate every meal at the team hotel in Beijing. The only times he ventured out to eat, Williams went to California Pizza Kitchen and Tony Roma's while the U.S. was in Shanghai.
Among other topics, Williams was asked about the experience of playing with Carlos Boozer on the U.S. team.
"It was great for me and Carlos to go through that experience together," Williams said. "It makes us stronger as teammates for the season and just gives us a chance to spend more time together and get to know each other better."
What about playing off guard at times in the same backcourt as Chris Paul?
"It was a little different, a little adjustment," Williams said. "But it was fun. I had a great experience. Playing the 1, 2, it really didn't matter. Just to be a part of the team and have a chance to represent my country was the main goal and the main objective."
So is Williams going to ask Jerry Sloan to play a little at shooting guard this season?
"Naw," he said. "We went through that my rookie year, so we'll stay away from that."
Williams said U.S. coach MIke Krzyzewski had to adjust to coaching a team of professionals. After cutting short one practice after only 45 minutes, Williams said Krzyzewski joked that he'd be "practicing his [Duke] team to death right now."
Williams also played around a little when asked about Brevin Knight, asking what happened and who had been traded. Although he was away from home for five weeks, the news of the Knight/Jason Hart swap did reach Williams.
"I think a guy like Brevin can definitely help our team," Williams said. "He's somebody I can learn from as well. I'm still a young guy and he's been in this league for 12, 13 years. So I think it's a great pick-up for us, a guy who can definitely give us some energy off the bench, is a great defensive player and a great distributor."
--Ross Siler
The second came at the very end of things, when Williams was asked what sort of souvenirs he brought home (in addition, of course, to the gold medal) from China. He said he bought some trinkets when he visited the Great Wall.
"I just wanted to bargain, really, with the people," said Williams, who, it must be noted, just signed a max contract extension worth at least 340 million Chinese yuan. "You walk off and they're like, 'OK, OK.'"
Although he didn't want to go at first, Williams said visiting the Great Wall was one of the highlights of the trip.
"I'm not really a sightseer," Williams said, "but once I got up there and just saw how special it was and to think of how many people died building that and how big it was, it was just amazing that that could be man-made."
We also laughed when Williams said he ate every meal at the team hotel in Beijing. The only times he ventured out to eat, Williams went to California Pizza Kitchen and Tony Roma's while the U.S. was in Shanghai.
Among other topics, Williams was asked about the experience of playing with Carlos Boozer on the U.S. team.
"It was great for me and Carlos to go through that experience together," Williams said. "It makes us stronger as teammates for the season and just gives us a chance to spend more time together and get to know each other better."
What about playing off guard at times in the same backcourt as Chris Paul?
"It was a little different, a little adjustment," Williams said. "But it was fun. I had a great experience. Playing the 1, 2, it really didn't matter. Just to be a part of the team and have a chance to represent my country was the main goal and the main objective."
So is Williams going to ask Jerry Sloan to play a little at shooting guard this season?
"Naw," he said. "We went through that my rookie year, so we'll stay away from that."
Williams said U.S. coach MIke Krzyzewski had to adjust to coaching a team of professionals. After cutting short one practice after only 45 minutes, Williams said Krzyzewski joked that he'd be "practicing his [Duke] team to death right now."
Williams also played around a little when asked about Brevin Knight, asking what happened and who had been traded. Although he was away from home for five weeks, the news of the Knight/Jason Hart swap did reach Williams.
"I think a guy like Brevin can definitely help our team," Williams said. "He's somebody I can learn from as well. I'm still a young guy and he's been in this league for 12, 13 years. So I think it's a great pick-up for us, a guy who can definitely give us some energy off the bench, is a great defensive player and a great distributor."
--Ross Siler
7:12 PM
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