<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The practical jokes are gone, yet Reggie Evans' aura is still apparent at Sonics training camp every time rookie forward Kenny Adeleke snatches a rebound. Like Evans, who re-signed with Denver last month, Adeleke is hampered by his height, an undersized 6 feet 9. Like Evans, Adeleke was left undrafted despite being named MVP of a predraft camp in Orlando. Like Evans, Adeleke made his way to Seattle to prove he can play professionally. And like Evans, Adeleke is drawing the same criticisms. "He's going to be a very good professional rebounder," Sonics coach Bob Hill said of Adeleke, who at 6 feet 9 is an inch taller than Evans. "But he's got to work on his shot and low-post moves." Every season Evans, dubbed "The Joker," had the same criticisms hover over him like a dark cloud, but he worked on his rebounding and defensive skills to start 189 games in 3-? seasons with the Sonics, gradually improving on offense. Adeleke, a native New Yorker, is using Evans' success story as motivation to do the same as he transitions a frame that played power forward and center at Hartford into small forward as a professional. Adeleke, 23, is making strides. He has talked to All-Star Ray Allen about their Connecticut connections and learning from the veterans. But he is overmatched by the other forwards at training camp. "You've got to love his heart," Hill said. "He plays so hard. I don't know if he's ever been in these kinds of practices, so you've got to give him a lot of credit."</div> Source
Difference with Evans is we needed that sort of player. Now, with questions over where we're going to fit Collison into the rotation, adding another power forward makes no sense at all.
