With retirement looming, Kukoc deserves some praise
by Kelly Dwyer (cnnsi.com/nba/)Toni Kukoc is still waiting to see if either the Milwaukee Bucks or Chicago Bulls want to make him a late roster addition, but the 6-foot-11 forward has made it clear he plans to call it quits soon enough.
This would hardly be a blow to teams hoping to secure his services -- the soon-to-be 38-year-old averaged just 4.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 15.7 minutes per game with the Bucks last year -- but it would close the book on one of the more remarkable careers we've seen over the last 20 years.
Kukoc wasn't the first European player of significance to make the jump to the NBA. Sarunas Marciulionis, Drazen Petrovic and Vlade Divac were each able to ply their trades Stateside for several years before Kukoc's 1993 debut. And Kukoc was hardly the best European import we've seen; MVP candidate Dirk Nowitzki has them all beat in that regard.
What Kukoc was able to accomplish, a trait that may have set him apart from all the rest, was his ability to translate his international-style play into a skill set perfect for NBA ball.
It was quite an amalgam: Kukoc succeeded in showcasing European basketball on the NBA stage, keeping his teammates and coaches happy (most of the time, at least) without betraying his own sense of style and abilities. This isn't to say there weren't numerous roadblocks and near-pratfalls along the way, as their numbers rivaled even his most satisfying accomplishments.
Tipped off by his European scout Ivica Dukan, Chicago Bulls GM Jerry Krause made securing Kukoc's rights a significant priority after selecting him in the second round of the 1990 draft. The Bulls had yet to win a championship at that point, and Krause's near-obsessive courting of a player international scouts compared to Magic Johnson rubbed current Bulls like Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen the wrong way.
Already rife with lingering resentment toward Krause's role on the team, Pippen and Jordan made a point to make life miserable for Kukoc in their matchup with Croatia during the gold-medal game in the 1992 Olympics, hounding their future teammate defensively even with the U.S. win assured.
Things didn't get any easier upon his introduction to Chicago in October 1993. Kukoc's American arrival came just days before Jordan's initial retirement from basketball, and the rookie-to-be could be spied weeping quietly off to the side of the podium where Jordan made his announcement.
Starting just eight games in his rookie year, Kukoc was still a revelation. He easily outran most of his power forward counterparts and seemed to see the court better than most of the game's veteran point guards. Even as coach Phil Jackson harped on his every move, Kukoc feigned translation issues and continued apace, averaging 10.9 points, four rebounds and 3.4 assists while playing 24.1 minutes a game. Even without Jordan, Chicago still won 55 games, two off the pace of the championship season a year earlier.
Though his minutes dwindled a bit in the playoffs, Kukoc still made noise by winning Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals with an arching 20-footer as time expired. The shot is best known for the chaos that led up to it. Pippen, exasperated by a lunkheaded play Kukoc made during an offensive possession just seconds before, sat out the final 1.8 seconds in protest after Jackson called the final shot for Kukoc. Chicago eventually lost to the Knicks in seven games.
Jordan and his massive strike zone were still down in the minor leagues for the next season, but a starting power forward slot opened up for Kukoc, and he averaged just under 16 points and a combined 10 rebounds and assists in 31.7 minutes per game. Yet, his defense remained porous, and Kukoc was still acclimating to the NBA lifestyle -- which meant altering his pregame routine of eating seven-course meals including salad, pasta, steak and watered-down glasses of wine. Chicago trainer Chip Schaefer later told author David Halberstam that Kukoc's meals ventured into the territory of 4,000 calories, though the Bulls were later able to steer him in a healthier direction.
More distressing was Chicago's play, with a recently unretired Jordan, in the conference semifinals against Orlando in 1995. J
ackson had chosen to double team Shaquille O'Neal at all costs, which meant the entire defense then had to recover in time to check shooters like Anfernee Hardaway, Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott, leaving Horace Grant open for elbow-extended 18-footers. It was a shot Grant was entirely capable of making, but it was also a low-percentage try, and much more preferable to an O'Neal throwdown or open 3-pointer. Still, Grant nailed his fair share, and the sight of Kukoc struggling to rotate toward the open ex-Bull was enough for Chicago to trade for the defensive-minded Dennis Rodman in the upcoming offseason.
Kukoc was not happy with his banishment to the bench, but though his per-game statistics dipped, his overall efficiency improved, netting him the 1995-96 Sixth Man Award. To Kukoc, it was a dubious honor, made worse during that year's playoffs when a back injury robbed him of a chance to showcase his considerable talents on a larger stage.
Though the Bulls won the championship that year and the next, a nagging foot injury also hampered Kukoc's 1997 playoff run. By 1998, however, he was healthy -- and his clutch performance in a Game 7 win over the Indiana Pacers vaulted Chicago into the Finals.
From there, Kukoc's star dimmed a bit. He enjoyed the best statistical year of his career in 1999 (19 points, seven boards, five assists), but it was during the truncated lockout season, and on a Bulls team -- sans Jackson, Jordan, Pippen and Rodman -- that won just 13 games. He offered more of the same the next season, but was sent to Philadelphia in a three-team deal that netted Chicago a lottery pick.
Stuck on the bench again, Kukoc struggled on a team dominated by defense and Allen Iverson, and was shipped to Atlanta before the Sixers made their Finals run. Kukoc actually enjoyed his finest NBA stretch to close out the 2000-01 season, running an effortless pick and roll with Jason Terry for an also-ran Hawks team, but injuries and step-slow teammates hindered his efforts during the next season.
This was to become a theme. Though injuries often hindered his touch from the outside and ability to drive, Kukoc usually boasted a basketball IQ that was often greater than the sum of the four teammates on the flour with him. His expression usually vacillated between bemusement and frustration as the cutters never cut, the give-and-goes never went and ball movement was quashed in the face of one-on-one play. Kukoc's final great season was for a Bucks team that underachieved horribly in 2002-03, leading to the trade of its best player (Ray Allen) and the dismissal of coach George Karl.
Even with all the impediments, Kukoc was still a joy to watch. He was a loping, lengthy player who seemed able to orchestrate with the best of them, yet chose to pick his spots among NBA types who never seemed on the same page with him. When Kukoc did force the action, his play always stood out -- always going left, always with a pained expression on his face, always in control, a mix of elegance and function.
It probably ends here, which seems natural; Kukoc doesn't seem interested in the game as much if the circumstances (a Midwest locale, especially) aren't ideal, but it was interesting while it lasted.
Kukoc proved to a generation that international play could thrive within NBA confines, an achievement that will someday outshine the three championship rings he earned. For international NBA imports, he is due myriad thanks. And to Stateside NBA observers, he is due just as many plaudits for turning everyone on to an entirely different style of play.
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