A steady, pass-first point guard, the 6-2 Price spent the first three seasons of his career in Indiana, averaging six points and two assists and shooting 35.7 percent from the floor. “What I do best, is control the offense,” Price said. “Try to get everybody touches. As a point guard, if you do that, the game is so much easier.
Price’s minutes, scoring and shooting declined each year with the Pacers, and they renounced their rights to him last summer in order to sign free agent point guard D.J. Augustin. He said his approach to the upcoming season hasn’t changed with Wall going down, but the situation around him has, after the team added Pargo.
“Competition is great. Competition is always great. It’s going to bring the best out of everybody,” Price said. “I embrace it.”
The competition is more intense than just earning minutes because Mack and Pargo are both on partially-guaranteed deals and the Wizards are unlikely to carry four point guards on the roster when Wall returns.
“Every year, someone’s coming into the NBA and someone has to leave,” Mack said. “It always keeps you on your Ps and Qs, you just want to stay on top of your game and make sure you’re always working because if you’re not working, someone else is.”
The 6-1 Pargo was such a late arrival that he didn’t have a number on his jersey until Wednesday, but he expects to pass along some wisdom to a relatively young team.
“I’ve been a leader my whole career,” said Pargo, who has career averages of 6.5 points and two assists. “I have a lot of experience. I’ve been to the playoffs on a number of different teams. When you work hard and guys see that ,it will be easy for them to follow.”
Pargo chose to sign with the Wizards after spurning a standing offer from the Chicago Bulls, one of five teams for which he has previously played. He has a reputation for being a streaky shooter from long distance and connected on 38.4 percent from three-point range last season in Atlanta.
“The spot is definitely open. It’s not given to me or anyone else. If you want it you’ve got to go out there and prove you want it and show you can handle that position until John gets back,” Pargo said. “You never want to see anyone go down but it’s an opportunity for myself and I want to make the most of it.”
Loading...
Comments