<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>"They say when you sign a contract you can take it easy. But that is not at all how I feel. Hardest work should be in the offseason. Basketball is not just my job, it's my passion. So it is not hard to dedicate summers to basketball. I had done it since I came to the league." Behind every successful basketball player there is usually a great family, providing guidance in a dynamic world that can give a lot, but that also requires a lot. Vujacic's family has lived here in States since his NBA career started four years ago, because of -- among other things -- some good advice from New Orleans Hornets' forward Peja Stojakovic, one of the best international players of the last decade. "My family has not traveled since we got here. I am working out all the time anyway, I wanted them to go take a vacation, so I sent them to Hawaii." As far as what Vujacic will enjoy this summer between his workouts and DVD sessions, the number one thing will probably be job security. It will be great to know that the Lakers really wanted him there, he explains, and that he can now concentrate on the Lakers and his life in Los Angeles. It could have, however, easily been somewhere much colder. As Vujacic's contract negotiations with the Lakers were reduced to a waiting game, his name started appearing in various combinations which increasingly included European teams. Sasha already has extensive experience with both Italian basketball and language as he had played there for three years, but powerful teams that were interested in him this offseason are located further inland. "There were a few teams asking about me. It was very, very interesting," Vujacic explained, but would not reveal exactly what teams his agent was speaking with, other than saying that they were from Russia. Days after the verbal offer from the Lakers was put down on paper, Vujacic started what he calls the hardest part of the season. He is practicing either by himself or with a few helpers, working on being more aggressive off the dribble, and of course on his shot. "It is not a secret that I want to be the best shooter in the NBA," Vujacic explains. "We already have the best shooting guard and probably the best player that ever played. I want to be the best shooter, and that's my goal." And then there is all the stretching. Few exercises are as deceptive as the stretching routine, whereby the player is laying on the ground while trained professionals around him push the body to its limits. Vujacic has hired a special assistant just to help with the stretching before and after his practice sessions. And all of this is just in preparation for the team workouts when the Lakers training camp starts in less than two months. "I started working out a few weeks ago and will do it pretty much until it kills me. I want to be totally ready for training camp. I will not stop during the summer. I am practicing once a day and will increase to two a day. But now I also know how much rest is also important. I don't want to overdo it. I want to be able to deliver next season."</div> http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=9756 Loving the attitude.
Im really lovin vujacic, hope he takes this attitude into next season, uses his offseason momentum to become a greater threat for the lakers. Good news, very good man.
Cool to hear that kind of attitude out of him. He sounds pretty cool. Too bad Ray Allen crossed him out of his mind in game 2!
