July 11, 2007
Editor's note: This article ran in the July 7, 2007 edition of the Indianapolis Star. The full story can be found on the paper's website.
By Mark Montieth
mark.montieth@indystar.com
July 7, 2007
On the surface, Kareem Rush seems a perfect fit for the Indiana Pacers.
They need a 3-point threat. He is a good 3-point shooter.
They are making a fresh start. Rush needs one too.
They aren't in position to award a major free agent contract. He wasn't in position to receive one.
They have been dogged by controversies in recent seasons. So has he.
"It's a new start for me," Rush said. "Hopefully I can have a long career here."
He will have just a short time to prove himself, having signed a one-year contract that makes him a low-risk acquisition for the Pacers. He should, however, have plenty of opportunities to contribute in coach Jim O'Brien's offense, which places a high premium on 3-point shooters.
Rush shouldn't lack for motivation, given the curious detour his career took two seasons ago. In what must have struck him like an April Fool's prank at first, Charlotte released him on April 1, 2006, with nine games left in the season.
He had averaged 10.1 points in 47 games that season for the Bobcats, 25 as a starter. He had hit 35 percent of his 3-point shots, scored a career-high 35 points against the Pacers in November, and had scored 21 points and grabbed five rebounds in a game at Memphis just six days prior to his release.
Contrary to normal protocol, Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff didn't simply release Rush. Bickerstaff threw in an insult as well.
"The Bobcats are about two things -- hard work and maximum effort," Bickerstaff said in a released statement. "With that in mind, we think that it is best to go in a different direction with Kareem."
Rush found a supporter in Phil Jackson, the Lakers coach for whom he had played his first two-plus NBA seasons. Jackson called Bickerstaff's move "vindictive." Bickerstaff fired back, sarcastically noting that Jackson hadn't been in Charlotte's locker room and adding that Jackson had "no credibility" because he had written a book that revealed confidences in the Lakers' organization.
Bickerstaff could not be reached to reflect on the episode. Rush remains bewildered by it.
"I'm still confused," he said. "If you look back at my career, you never see any of my coaches say I was a problem. I've never been that type of guy.
"Something like that has to be personal. He could have just sat me down. There were only nine games left in the season."
Rush had to go to great lengths to regain his footing in the NBA. All the way to Lithuania, in fact.
Seattle released Rush in training camp last fall after he suffered a torn left groin muscle and the Sonics needed to sign a center to replace the injured Robert Swift.
That left Rush with the option of signing with Lietuvos Rytas from Lithuania's capital city of Vilnius. Rush was named Most Valuable Player of the Lithuanian Basketball League All-Star Game in February, and was named Final Four MVP when his team won the Baltic League championship in April.
Jackson showed interest in bringing Rush back to the Lakers late in the regular season, but his European contract wouldn't allow it. He had tryouts with Denver, Miami and the Pacers upon returning to the U.S., ultimately accepting the Pacers' offer because of the fit with O'Brien's offense and the opportunity for playing time.
Five years after he was the 20th selection in the NBA draft, Rush returns to the league with something to prove. He recognizes the pressure he faces to salvage his NBA career, calling it a "career-defining moment."
"I didn't deserve to be out of the league, but I'm fighting my way to get back in," he said. "Hopefully I can show everybody all those rumors weren't true."
The Pacers are betting they're not -- or at least that Rush can prove to be a good value by filling a glaring need.
"I don't know what the situation was (in Charlotte)," O'Brien said. "It really doesn't matter too much to me, because we do a thorough check on who we sign. I can assure you that in checking into Kareem, we're very pleased with who he is as a person.
"(Team president Larry Bird) and I both have a pretty good understanding of him. We're confident he has what's necessary to help our team."
Rush thought he was going to join the Pacers five years ago, when they held the 14th pick and brought him in for two workouts. He thought they would have been a good fit for him then, and still does.
"I thought I was going to be here," he said. "It kind of threw me off when they took Fred Jones.
"But I'm a Midwest boy (from Missouri) and my family is close, so I'm excited about this opportunity."
It's the opportunity to play. And the opportunity to prove a point.