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As If On Q, Kittles A Clipper - Los Angeles Times

Thirteen months ago, Kerry Kittles played in the NBA Finals, he and the New Jersey Nets chasing a championship for the second year in a row.

Thursday he was packed off, nearly gratis, to the Clippers.

The Clippers, accepting the generosity of a team intent on cutting costs and no longer willing to pay a luxury tax, gladly welcomed the 6-foot-5 guard, a seven-year NBA starter who cost them only a second-round pick in next year's draft.

The Nets also sent along $1.5 million.

Of course, there was a catch.

Kittles, 30, is under contract for one season, he'll be an unrestricted free agent next summer and to fit his salary of more than $10.2 million under their cap the Clippers had to renounce Quentin Richardson.

Richardson, six years younger than Kittles and coming off a breakout season, happily jetted off to join the Phoenix Suns, who two weeks ago signed the restricted free agent to a six-year, $42.6-million offer sheet.

But the Clippers, who had 15 days to match the Suns' offer and used every one of them to explore their options, didn't see the downside.

Coach Mike Dunleavy, winding down a working vacation on Nantucket, called Kittles "a perfect fit for our team," a "terrific defender, ballhandler and perimeter shooter" and "definitely the best option for us."

General Manager Elgin Baylor, in Los Angeles, said the Clippers would start right away to pursue a contract extension for Kittles.

Said Kittles: "If everything works out well there ... And they really want me to come back I'll definitely look into it and give it strong consideration."

Two and a half weeks ago, of course, Kobe Bryant was a perfect fit for the Clippers, a player who would make them a playoff contender in the West, but he re-signed with the Lakers and the Clippers started over.

Their search led to Kittles, who was the eighth pick in the 1996 draft and averaged 14.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists during seven seasons with the Nets, sitting out the 2000-01 season because of a knee injury.

A veteran of 54 playoff games, 54 more than the rest of his new teammates combined, Kittles helped the Nets win Eastern Conference titles in 2002 and 2003, joining All-Star point guard Jason Kidd in the backcourt. The Nets lost last season in the conference semifinals, falling to the eventual NBA champion Detroit Pistons in a seven-game series after leading, three games to two.

But the Nets, in the process of being sold, are in cost-cutting mode, last week sending Kenyon Martin to the Denver Nuggets in a sign-and-trade deal.

General Manager Rod Thorn, trying to put a good face on the latest deal, said that Kittles was "more of a role player," though he conceded, "Kerry certainly is a model of what you'd like a player to be, a terrific player."

But he's not Bryant.

"He's a superstar kind of player," said Kittles, speaking from New Jersey and laughing nervously when asked if he was Bryant's fill-in. "He's the cream of the crop. But what I bring to the table, I think everyone knows. I've been in the league for a while, people know my abilities and how I can help a team....

"There are intangibles I bring that are second to none."

Statistically, Kittles wasn't as good as Richardson last season, when Richardson was the Clippers' third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, averaging career highs of 17.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists.

Kittles averaged 13.1 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

Kittles, though, averaged nearly five fewer shots per game, is a better ballhandler, shooter and defender than Richardson and has shown greater durability. Last season, for the third time in his career, he played in all 82 regular-season games.

Richardson sat out 17 games last season, many over the last month of the season because of a back injury that the Clippers, privately, have said was worrisome.

Also, the Clippers believe Kittles to be more versatile.

"It always comes down to what you're looking for," Dunleavy said. "It has nothing to do with picking who's a better player, Q or Kittles. It comes down to what we think is a better fit from the standpoint of the direction we're going, how our team is evolving, what we'd like to become. Ultimately, that's the choice we made."

Richardson could live with it.

"I wish them the best of luck," he said, his Clipper career having ended after four seasons. "I want them to win unless they're playing the Suns. I'm still going to watch their games on NBA TV and I'm going to cheer for them. I've got a lot of friends on that team. I don't think it's a bitter departure.

"I'm not looking at it in any negative way. I'm just happy. I don't feel slighted. The biggest thing is, I'm happy about them giving me the opportunity to move on."

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

How They Compare

Comparing statistics of former Clipper Quentin Richardson and new Clipper Kerry Kittles, who spent his first seven seasons with the New Jersey Nets:

*--* RICHARDSON KITTLES 4 Years in NBA 7 6-5 Height 6-5 238 Weight 180 17.2 2003-04 Points 13.1 12.0 Career Points 14.3 6.4 2003-04 Reb. 4.0 4.6 Career Reb. 3.9 2.1 2003-04 Ast. 2.6 1.4 Career Ast. 2.6 398 2003-04 FG pct. 453 411 Career FG pct. 439 352 2003-04 3-Pt. Pct. 351 350 Career 3-Pt pct. 378 740 2003-04 FT pct. 787 710 Career FT pct. 781 1.03 2003-04 Steals 1.52 0.79 Career Steals 1.62

*--*

Yes, That's Former Villanova Superstar Kerry Kittles On The Princeton Bench - PhillyVoice

Kerry Kittles would rather give than receive. He began doing just that as a teenager growing up in New Orleans, working with inner-city youth and then being a life guard two summers for the city's recreation department. He was also an altar boy.

As a junior at Villanova University, a retreat led him to becoming a Eucharistic minister. He is still active in that role, volunteering at a church near his home in North Jersey.

After nine seasons in the NBA (8 years Nets, 1 year Clippers), Kittles is back on the court. The lights aren't as bright in the Ivy League, but as a coach for the first time, the assistant at Princeton is just fine in the shadows.

Actually, he prefers it.

Hard to believe he is now 42, married and the father of four daughters and a son – "We kept trying for the boy,'' he cracked recently, relaxing in a soft chair in the Frick Chemistry Lab building where he goes for coffee every day. "My wife kind of had everything managed at home and told me, 'Now is the time.'''

"He was one of the rookie leading scorers when he played for me, and even his second year I thought he was one of those guys,'' Calipari said. "He could score, he was long, he understood the grind. He was never gonna be late, never gonna be disruptive, never gonna be disrespectful to any player, any coach or any official. Just not who he is."

He'd been scratching the itch the past two winters by dropping by to help out at Fairleigh Dickinson.

"I've always had an interest in giving back everything I've learned about the game of basketball and the game of life. I'm not an attention-seeking person,'' he said; "I'm more mellow. I'm more like my dad in that way. Also, he has this quality of giving that just comes natural to him, that I've inherited. I'm always thinking about other people. Sometimes I forget to do things because my mind tends to go there. It's kind of weird.''

Kittles was raised Catholic. "It's one of the reasons I picked Villanova,'' he said. "Becoming the Eucharistic minister was to further my spirituality and growth in a different way. I still do it. Now it's a personal kind of reflection thing for me. It just keeps me humble is some ways and kind of gets me out of my own head and into that giving mode that I tend to want to embrace. It's more for me. It's my selfish. I give myself through that but I'm also centering me. It's more centering Kerry.''

Giving and receiving. Just like coaching.

"It's interesting, being on the other side and seeing all that it takes to prepare guys for the daily practices and get ready mentally. It's a puzzle,'' Kittles said. "So now, I can't have any physical control of the game. But for me, I think coaching is all about observing and listening. It's all about psychology and communicating. I should sign up for psychology and communications courses. That's all coaching is.''

Princeton coach Mitch Henderson, who played at Princeton during Kittles' college career, said the new guy in the gym is learning, getting better, and taking directions from the head coach.

"I think he brings an element to our program that maybe we haven't had in a long time,'' said Henderson, in his sixth year in charge of the Tigers. "He played against Michael and Kobe, and played in the NBA finals and played under a lot of pressure. So what he brings our guys is the understanding it's the same at all levels. Have a clear approach and play the game hard.

"We spoke on the phone and then in my office. Right away I knew he had a mind for the game and also attention to detail.''

John Calipari coached Kittles in the NBA during his first three seasons in charge.

"I couldn't be happier for Kerry,'' Calipari said this week before boarding a plane to Las Vegas. "I just think he'll be great as a coach, because one, he's a good person with a good heart, and he cares about people, and that's the number one thing.

"It's one thing to be about the profession; it's another thing to be about the people, and this has become something that you've got to be about these kids. And, he has something to add for a school like Princeton, because of all his experiences. And I told him that. I said, 'You will be the best for their players and challenging them to reach beyond.' And he loves the head coach.''

As a player in the Big East Conference, Kittles was the kid with the one white sock up to his knee and the other at his ankle. He left Nova as its all-time leading scorer, is 14th in career assists and is 21st in career rebounding.

As a junior in 1995, he was voted conference Player of the Year. He did that one better as a senior being named first-team All-America.

"Yet, he competed. We played Chicago, he had 17 in the first quarter against Chicago and Michael. So you're talking about a guy who terrific ability. I really enjoyed coaching him."

A 6-foot-5 shooting guard, Kittles began playing the game at age seven. "Ninety degrees, humid, mosquitoes,'' he said. "Every day I'd spray myself with 'Off,' all over my body, my head. Then I'd go outside and play. All day.''

He loved playing football, also played baseball ("I sucked at hitting"), and in track and field ran sprints and did the high jump at St. Augustine High School. That is the same high school that produced former NBA player Avery Johnson and current LSU running back Leonard Fournette.

Majoring in Business, after the NBA he never settled into a career job. He returned to Villanova to get his master's, but, in his words, "Nothing ever drew me in.''

Except basketball.

"Other sports touch different parts of your body,'' he began to explain. "You don't think about the hand-eye coordination, the balance, the speed, anticipation, jumping. I probably didn't realize what I was developing by playing other sports. They manifested into the game of basketball. The better you get, when you feel you can make every shot, and you start to make them, your body starts to yearn for the game. Like anything else, when you start doing something well it's a lot of fun.''

And a lot of work.

Before the start of the season freshman year, Kittles discovered a gift on campus that few knew. Almost no one. Looking for a hoop after nightly study halls, he found a three-quarter length court in the basement of a girls' dormitory. Alumni Hall.

"I would practice until 11-12. Once I found it, I'm telling you, dude, it was like walking around a corner and finding a bag of money. A treasure. I was like, 'What is this!' A maintenance guy got me a key, and once I had that it was, 'Oh my God.' I was there every night,'' he said. "It had a ball return net, so my passing got better. I'd pass to myself, catch, jump and shoot. I was in the gym until the girls would complain. 'It's bed time, get that guy out of the gym!' They'd hear the ball bouncing and it was, 'Sorry, Kerry, you gotta go.'

"By the start of the season I couldn't wait to come off a screen, catch and shoot. Didn't matter if I was going right, going left, and if you were on me I'd just drive right past you. So the game was really easy then.''

Knee injuries would eventually make the game difficult, and Kittles decided he didn't want to life out his life in pain.

"People ask me, 'What's the next step?' What does that mean? The next step is now,'' Kittles said. "It's the moment. I'm trying to learn everything I can learn now to become a better assistant coach. The better I'll be at that, over time, whatever happens I'll know. I'll know where my path is going and where it will take me. I will figure it out whenever I get there. I don't like to put any added stress on things I can't control; like the future. I worry about the now, in what I can accomplish now. Those paths will cross whenever I get there.

"I don't take life too serious,'' he added. "I laugh at myself all the time. You gotta have perspective. Some people are too anxious to get to the end goal, wherever the destination is, instead of enjoying the ride. Sometimes you can over-complicate things by thinking too much.

"I have a lot of stuff in my head from players and coaches, guys like Jason Kidd, John Calipari. I started to tell Mitch, 'You gotta pull it all out of me, man! It's in there!''' Rising from his chair and grabbing his backpack, Kittles said, "I still want to give.''

KITTLES' FUTURE STILL UP IN AIR - New York Post

NET NOTES

Kerry Kittles looks at this as his last chance. The Nets' shooting guard is rehabbing from his fourth knee surgery and has no idea when – or if – he'll return.

"This could be my last chance," said Kittles, who is in town for the holidays away from his California home. "If it doesn't respond and I have a lot of pain and a lot of complications, I don't know how much I can take.

"I'm 26 years old and I love basketball," said Kittles, who admitted he could not watch Nets games because they are "a tease" to him. "I pick up a ball and dribble in the house and it eats me alive."

Kittles is doing leg strengthening exercises, trying to "get my leg healthy again" in California with the Nets monitoring all his moves. He is doing light jogging on a trampoline-treadmill device.

General manager John Nash concedes that the Nets have proceeded "prepared to go the year without him." Nash said that doctors have given the team no indication that Kittles will return this season but stressed, "They also haven't said that he won't. Until somebody's back and playing, they're not back."

Kittles said the time off "is something that really made me realize what's at stake. I'm thinking about myself more, the future more, what's beyond basketball. And it's keeping my mind off the injury."

Scratch the building theory. Nope, Meadowlands Arena is not behind the Nets' dreadful shooting.

"The Meadowlands is good to me," insisted Stephon Marbury. "Some people don't like playing at certain arenas. I honestly could say that I hated playing in Chicago. I hated it. I mean, it was always cold. The backboard was slick. It would always feel like the temperature outside. But you know, I said to myself, 'I'm going to have to play in these arenas for the rest of my career. It's not like they're going to have it at a neutral site. Either I'm going to deal with it or continue to struggle in the arena."

While so much is being made of the Nets' poor shooting from the field, they collectively are struggling at the foul line as well. Entering last night, the Nets were shooting .723 on their free throws. Should that mark ever hold up, it would be the third- worst in the NBA history of the team and the worst since they bricked a .705 season percentage at the line in 1982-83, which was the team's worst in the NBA. In 1977-78, their second year away from the ABA, the Nets shot .717 on free throws.

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