Tully
07-06-2007, 12:00 AM
"It wasn't about going to Charlotte as much as it was leaving Golden State," Richardson said Thursday. "After I actually took some time and looked at the team, that changed my mind real quickly."
"I'm not looking at this as my team -- I'm looking at it as our team," Richardson said. "I think it's going to be a great opportunity for me to be on this team.
"It was tough to finally get to the level you want, and then you're shipped off," he said. "But you realize it's still a business. Now it's happened. It's over with. I've still got a contract. I've got my health. And I've got a new NBA team. What more can you want?"
Earlier in the day, Richardson met with his new coach, Sam Vincent -- who already is envisioning fast breaks with Richardson on one side and, he hopes, Gerald Wallace on the other. Wallace, the team's top scorer last season, remains unsigned and vice president of basketball operations Bernie Bickerstaff and Wallace's agent, Rob Pelinka, have been in talks since early Sunday.
"They've got a lot of guys that play hard," Richardson said. "That's the first thing you have to do to be a successful franchise. And, in the East, I think there's an opportunity for us. ... When I arrived, they told me (signing Wallace) was their first priority. It's going to be a pretty good tandem with him on one side and me on the other."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/07/05/bc.bkn.bobcats.richardson.ap/index.html
"I'm not looking at this as my team -- I'm looking at it as our team," Richardson said. "I think it's going to be a great opportunity for me to be on this team.
"It was tough to finally get to the level you want, and then you're shipped off," he said. "But you realize it's still a business. Now it's happened. It's over with. I've still got a contract. I've got my health. And I've got a new NBA team. What more can you want?"
Earlier in the day, Richardson met with his new coach, Sam Vincent -- who already is envisioning fast breaks with Richardson on one side and, he hopes, Gerald Wallace on the other. Wallace, the team's top scorer last season, remains unsigned and vice president of basketball operations Bernie Bickerstaff and Wallace's agent, Rob Pelinka, have been in talks since early Sunday.
"They've got a lot of guys that play hard," Richardson said. "That's the first thing you have to do to be a successful franchise. And, in the East, I think there's an opportunity for us. ... When I arrived, they told me (signing Wallace) was their first priority. It's going to be a pretty good tandem with him on one side and me on the other."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/07/05/bc.bkn.bobcats.richardson.ap/index.html