F
The two faces of Bonzi
Wells admits to mistakes, hopes Kings are his salve
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, February 26, 2006
Story appeared in Sports section, Page C1
Gawen Deangelo Wells has been called by many names throughout his 29 years.
Thanks to his mother's love of chocolate bonbons, he's best known as Bonzi.
But for pro basketball fans and some journalists in Memphis, Portland and other stops around the NBA, he has been called worse.
Troublemaker.
Con man.
Cancer.
Hated.
In February's GQ magazine, Wells is No. 7 on a list of the top 10 most hated pro athletes in America.
MLS
"The 10 most hated?" Kings assistant coach Elston Turner asked. "What is that? Is that like the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List? Who voted on that? Wow!"
Actually, the magazine claimed the story was based on interviews with peers, but only journalists were quoted.
"He would flip off a fan and the next day say, 'I blacked out,' " Jason Quick of the Portland Oregonian told GQ. "He's such a con man. When the TV lights went on, he'd put on that million-dollar smile, then be a (jerk) when they left."
Quick also told the magazine Wells threatened him after a negative story.
Wells, an eight-year veteran, has had his share of troubles.
In Portland, Wells was suspended for two games after cussing at coach Mo Cheeks after being removed from a game. Wells was fined after giving an unruly fan the finger late in a game and fined $10,000 for making contact with and verbally abusing an official. He also spit in the face of Danny Ferry, then with the San Antonio Spurs.
After Wells was traded to Memphis, his days with the Grizzlies had an ugly finish. Coach Mike Fratello benched Wells in Game 3 of a first-round playoff series against Phoenix, then banned him from the arena for the fourth and deciding game.
Wells admits he has made mistakes but said some of the reports have been overblown.
"Things did happen (in Portland)," Wells said. "I regret giving a fan the finger. He was talking so bad to us. He was talking about us and throwing profanities at us and saying stuff to us that, as a man, he's lucky that I wasn't the first Ron Artest and run into the crowd and get him."
And therein lies Wells' biggest liability - his candor. To anyone. Anytime. Anywhere.
"Bonzi never has tried to paint himself as Mother Teresa," said William Phillips, who became Wells' agent in June. "He's very down to earth. He's a small-town guy who is opinionated and not going to be bullied."
Kings forward Corliss Williamson said people and players who speak their mind often are misunderstood.
"Bonzi is a stand-up person," Williamson said. "He's going to say what is on his mind, and that's a good thing. That's something this team needed and still needs. But that doesn't mean everybody is going to be able to accept what he has to offer."
Kings coach Rick Adelman said he and team president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie did their due diligence on Wells before making the offseason trade that sent popular guard Bobby Jackson to Memphis and center Greg Ostertag to Utah.
"We talked to everybody we could and talked to Bonzi as well," Adelman said. "He was honest about the things he felt he'd done wrong. We haven't had any problems with him. He's a very competitive guy, and he likes to speak his mind."
With the Kings, Wells has been nothing but a positive influence, despite missing 28 games since December with a groin injury. He's likely still out another week.
Wells arguably was Sacramento's best player before sustaining the injury Dec. 19 at Charlotte with averages of 15.7 points and a team-leading 7.8 rebounds. His aggressiveness around the basket is sorely missed.
He returned Jan. 31 and played in two games but was forced back to the bench after re-injuring the groin.
In Wells' absence, second-year guard Kevin Martin has been surprisingly effective as the starting shooting guard. There now are questions whether Adelman will reinsert Wells into the starting lineup when he is healthy or leave Martin in the spot in which he has played so well.
The Kings also could face a difficult decision in the offseason: Re-sign Wells, who will become a free agent in the summer, or give the job to Martin.
"I think it's been great for Bonzi in Sacramento," Phillips said. "He got injured and tried to rush back. But the team and community (have) allowed him to play without prejudging him."
Wells also would like to stay put.
"Sacramento is great," Wells said. "I hope I can be here long term. I hope they sign me long term because I don't want to move anymore.
"Everybody has been great," the Muncie, Ind., native said. "The community has been even better. The fans are great, and this kind of reminds me of Indiana.
"In Indiana, people are passionate about their basketball, and I feel that same passion out here. Everywhere you go, people are saying: 'Bonzi Wells, Sacramento Kings. Sign this, sign that. Let me take a picture.' "
It was anything but picture-perfect in his last stop in Memphis.
Wells was frustrated with Grizzlies coach Mike Fratello, who replaced a burned-out Hubie Brown early last season. Wells averaged just 21.6 minutes and 10.4 points and said Fratello didn't communicate with him during the season.
"I just felt like he was scared of me," Wells said of Fratello, "for what, I don't know. He may be just a scary kind of dude and couldn't handle a cat like me, who allegedly had this bad kind of rap. And he just didn't want to deal with me. I think he fed into that.
"People never heard any reports of me doing anything in Memphis because I didn't do anything. I had a great time. I'm not that type of dude. I can be, but I'm not that type of dude, really. And he just found some reason not to play me."
In his postseason banishment, Wells said Fratello kept him from entering the gym for a team meeting after Game 3, then sent security guards to his house to tell him to stay away from the arena for Game 4.
"I called (team president) Jerry West, and he told me it was out of his hands," Wells said. "He said (Fratello) didn't want me around. (West) said he was upset about it, and the team wasn't going to take any money from me.
"I didn't understand that because he was the president. I asked him to tell me what I did. If I did something, then I could understand. But nobody ever told me what I did."
Wells said he never received an explanation from Fratello or West as to what happened. He holds no ill will against West, who traded Wells to a better situation in Sacramento.
When the Grizzlies visited Arco Arena on Feb. 7, Fratello refused to talk about Wells or the playoff exile.
"I can't get into that. I mean I could tell you, but it wouldn't serve any purpose at this point," Fratello said.
Former Kings and Grizzlies guard Jason Williams, now with Miami, said Wells didn't get an opportunity to play his game in Memphis.
"Bonzi's a good dude," Williams said. "He's not a troublemaker, but he's not going to take any stuff. You know what I mean. He didn't get treated right. Well, let me say I don't know if he got treated right, but he didn't get the minutes that he deserved."
Wells said what hurt most was that he had come to Memphis in hopes of reshaping the bad-boy image he made for himself in Portland.
"I tried to explain to Mr. West how I was trying to change my life and now that this happened," Wells said, "there was going to be a trickle-down effect. 'Oh, yeah, Bonzi has gotten into it with another coach. Bonzi has done this and that.'
"I didn't need that in my life at that point. I didn't want people to think I'd gotten into it with another coach especially after that (stuff) that was written like I'd gotten into it with coach Cheeks back in the day.
"Coach Cheeks is one of the best coaches I've ever had and one of the nicest men you ever want to meet. That whole thing was blown out of proportion by the media, who didn't understand our relationship."
Then there was an incident while with the Blazers when Wells spit on Ferry, now the Cleveland Cavaliers' president of basketball operations.
Phillips said part of that story always gets omitted.
"Ferry (allegedly) called him a (racist name)," Phillips said. "That part of it never gets reported. And Ferry becomes the president of basketball operations.
"Let me ask you this. If Bonzi was such a bad dude, why did Cleveland, before Ferry took over, try equally as hard to bring him to the Cavs as the Kings did bringing him to Sacramento. The guy in charge of the Cavs before Ferry was Mark Warkentien, who was the assistant general manager in Portland when Bonzi was there.
"If Bonzi had problems with Mo Cheeks, why did Mo make him a captain?"
Ferry did not return a phone call to The Bee.
Turner, who was with Wells in Portland when he had the altercation with the fan and was known for verbal outbursts, felt comfortable recommending that Sacramento pursue him.
"He said some things during his younger days that people are still holding him accountable for," Turner said. "I just told Geoff that the man can play. He was a little emotional when I was in Portland, but you also have to take into account that we had an emotional team."
Steve Smith, now a color commentator for the Atlanta Hawks, said Wells was his protégé. Smith long was regarded as one of the NBA's classiest performers.
"That's my guy," Smith said earlier this month when the Hawks were in Sacramento. "That was a no-win situation for us in Portland. Bonzi has a good heart. I tried to teach him all of the little tricks I had about how to score in the low post. He has the whole game, especially when he hits that 15-footer."
Wells' teammates and coaches in Sacramento have found him to be solid.
"I like him a lot," said Kings center Brad Miller, a fellow Indiana native. "I knew a little about him before he came here because I had some friends that went to Ball State with him and I had to hear about how he was the (Mid-American Conference) all-time leading scorer."
Wells looks forward to getting healthy and returning to action with the Kings.
"I just want to put it on the line every night for the fans because I know they really are watching," Wells said. "The way I play now, I mean, I haven't been this passionate about ball since I was playing a lot of minutes in Portland."
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14222908p-15048193c.html
Wells admits to mistakes, hopes Kings are his salve
By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, February 26, 2006
Story appeared in Sports section, Page C1
Gawen Deangelo Wells has been called by many names throughout his 29 years.
Thanks to his mother's love of chocolate bonbons, he's best known as Bonzi.
But for pro basketball fans and some journalists in Memphis, Portland and other stops around the NBA, he has been called worse.
Troublemaker.
Con man.
Cancer.
Hated.
In February's GQ magazine, Wells is No. 7 on a list of the top 10 most hated pro athletes in America.
MLS
"The 10 most hated?" Kings assistant coach Elston Turner asked. "What is that? Is that like the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List? Who voted on that? Wow!"
Actually, the magazine claimed the story was based on interviews with peers, but only journalists were quoted.
"He would flip off a fan and the next day say, 'I blacked out,' " Jason Quick of the Portland Oregonian told GQ. "He's such a con man. When the TV lights went on, he'd put on that million-dollar smile, then be a (jerk) when they left."
Quick also told the magazine Wells threatened him after a negative story.
Wells, an eight-year veteran, has had his share of troubles.
In Portland, Wells was suspended for two games after cussing at coach Mo Cheeks after being removed from a game. Wells was fined after giving an unruly fan the finger late in a game and fined $10,000 for making contact with and verbally abusing an official. He also spit in the face of Danny Ferry, then with the San Antonio Spurs.
After Wells was traded to Memphis, his days with the Grizzlies had an ugly finish. Coach Mike Fratello benched Wells in Game 3 of a first-round playoff series against Phoenix, then banned him from the arena for the fourth and deciding game.
Wells admits he has made mistakes but said some of the reports have been overblown.
"Things did happen (in Portland)," Wells said. "I regret giving a fan the finger. He was talking so bad to us. He was talking about us and throwing profanities at us and saying stuff to us that, as a man, he's lucky that I wasn't the first Ron Artest and run into the crowd and get him."
And therein lies Wells' biggest liability - his candor. To anyone. Anytime. Anywhere.
"Bonzi never has tried to paint himself as Mother Teresa," said William Phillips, who became Wells' agent in June. "He's very down to earth. He's a small-town guy who is opinionated and not going to be bullied."
Kings forward Corliss Williamson said people and players who speak their mind often are misunderstood.
"Bonzi is a stand-up person," Williamson said. "He's going to say what is on his mind, and that's a good thing. That's something this team needed and still needs. But that doesn't mean everybody is going to be able to accept what he has to offer."
Kings coach Rick Adelman said he and team president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie did their due diligence on Wells before making the offseason trade that sent popular guard Bobby Jackson to Memphis and center Greg Ostertag to Utah.
"We talked to everybody we could and talked to Bonzi as well," Adelman said. "He was honest about the things he felt he'd done wrong. We haven't had any problems with him. He's a very competitive guy, and he likes to speak his mind."
With the Kings, Wells has been nothing but a positive influence, despite missing 28 games since December with a groin injury. He's likely still out another week.
Wells arguably was Sacramento's best player before sustaining the injury Dec. 19 at Charlotte with averages of 15.7 points and a team-leading 7.8 rebounds. His aggressiveness around the basket is sorely missed.
He returned Jan. 31 and played in two games but was forced back to the bench after re-injuring the groin.
In Wells' absence, second-year guard Kevin Martin has been surprisingly effective as the starting shooting guard. There now are questions whether Adelman will reinsert Wells into the starting lineup when he is healthy or leave Martin in the spot in which he has played so well.
The Kings also could face a difficult decision in the offseason: Re-sign Wells, who will become a free agent in the summer, or give the job to Martin.
"I think it's been great for Bonzi in Sacramento," Phillips said. "He got injured and tried to rush back. But the team and community (have) allowed him to play without prejudging him."
Wells also would like to stay put.
"Sacramento is great," Wells said. "I hope I can be here long term. I hope they sign me long term because I don't want to move anymore.
"Everybody has been great," the Muncie, Ind., native said. "The community has been even better. The fans are great, and this kind of reminds me of Indiana.
"In Indiana, people are passionate about their basketball, and I feel that same passion out here. Everywhere you go, people are saying: 'Bonzi Wells, Sacramento Kings. Sign this, sign that. Let me take a picture.' "
It was anything but picture-perfect in his last stop in Memphis.
Wells was frustrated with Grizzlies coach Mike Fratello, who replaced a burned-out Hubie Brown early last season. Wells averaged just 21.6 minutes and 10.4 points and said Fratello didn't communicate with him during the season.
"I just felt like he was scared of me," Wells said of Fratello, "for what, I don't know. He may be just a scary kind of dude and couldn't handle a cat like me, who allegedly had this bad kind of rap. And he just didn't want to deal with me. I think he fed into that.
"People never heard any reports of me doing anything in Memphis because I didn't do anything. I had a great time. I'm not that type of dude. I can be, but I'm not that type of dude, really. And he just found some reason not to play me."
In his postseason banishment, Wells said Fratello kept him from entering the gym for a team meeting after Game 3, then sent security guards to his house to tell him to stay away from the arena for Game 4.
"I called (team president) Jerry West, and he told me it was out of his hands," Wells said. "He said (Fratello) didn't want me around. (West) said he was upset about it, and the team wasn't going to take any money from me.
"I didn't understand that because he was the president. I asked him to tell me what I did. If I did something, then I could understand. But nobody ever told me what I did."
Wells said he never received an explanation from Fratello or West as to what happened. He holds no ill will against West, who traded Wells to a better situation in Sacramento.
When the Grizzlies visited Arco Arena on Feb. 7, Fratello refused to talk about Wells or the playoff exile.
"I can't get into that. I mean I could tell you, but it wouldn't serve any purpose at this point," Fratello said.
Former Kings and Grizzlies guard Jason Williams, now with Miami, said Wells didn't get an opportunity to play his game in Memphis.
"Bonzi's a good dude," Williams said. "He's not a troublemaker, but he's not going to take any stuff. You know what I mean. He didn't get treated right. Well, let me say I don't know if he got treated right, but he didn't get the minutes that he deserved."
Wells said what hurt most was that he had come to Memphis in hopes of reshaping the bad-boy image he made for himself in Portland.
"I tried to explain to Mr. West how I was trying to change my life and now that this happened," Wells said, "there was going to be a trickle-down effect. 'Oh, yeah, Bonzi has gotten into it with another coach. Bonzi has done this and that.'
"I didn't need that in my life at that point. I didn't want people to think I'd gotten into it with another coach especially after that (stuff) that was written like I'd gotten into it with coach Cheeks back in the day.
"Coach Cheeks is one of the best coaches I've ever had and one of the nicest men you ever want to meet. That whole thing was blown out of proportion by the media, who didn't understand our relationship."
Then there was an incident while with the Blazers when Wells spit on Ferry, now the Cleveland Cavaliers' president of basketball operations.
Phillips said part of that story always gets omitted.
"Ferry (allegedly) called him a (racist name)," Phillips said. "That part of it never gets reported. And Ferry becomes the president of basketball operations.
"Let me ask you this. If Bonzi was such a bad dude, why did Cleveland, before Ferry took over, try equally as hard to bring him to the Cavs as the Kings did bringing him to Sacramento. The guy in charge of the Cavs before Ferry was Mark Warkentien, who was the assistant general manager in Portland when Bonzi was there.
"If Bonzi had problems with Mo Cheeks, why did Mo make him a captain?"
Ferry did not return a phone call to The Bee.
Turner, who was with Wells in Portland when he had the altercation with the fan and was known for verbal outbursts, felt comfortable recommending that Sacramento pursue him.
"He said some things during his younger days that people are still holding him accountable for," Turner said. "I just told Geoff that the man can play. He was a little emotional when I was in Portland, but you also have to take into account that we had an emotional team."
Steve Smith, now a color commentator for the Atlanta Hawks, said Wells was his protégé. Smith long was regarded as one of the NBA's classiest performers.
"That's my guy," Smith said earlier this month when the Hawks were in Sacramento. "That was a no-win situation for us in Portland. Bonzi has a good heart. I tried to teach him all of the little tricks I had about how to score in the low post. He has the whole game, especially when he hits that 15-footer."
Wells' teammates and coaches in Sacramento have found him to be solid.
"I like him a lot," said Kings center Brad Miller, a fellow Indiana native. "I knew a little about him before he came here because I had some friends that went to Ball State with him and I had to hear about how he was the (Mid-American Conference) all-time leading scorer."
Wells looks forward to getting healthy and returning to action with the Kings.
"I just want to put it on the line every night for the fans because I know they really are watching," Wells said. "The way I play now, I mean, I haven't been this passionate about ball since I was playing a lot of minutes in Portland."
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14222908p-15048193c.html
