Jason Williams is the starting point guard for the Kings, but that doesn't mean he's always going to be on the floor at the end of games. So says coach Rick Adelman, basically about anyone not named Chris Webber, and that's that.
Well, not entirely.
Williams wasn't on the court during the fourth quarter of last week's game in Vancouver that was won by the Kings in part because of the performance of his backup, guard Bobby Jackson.
Williams showed his displeasure with Adelman's decision by sulking and staying away from the team's huddle. It was not the first time Williams has been angered by not being on the floor. It happened a couple of times during the previous two seasons when Adelman went with Jon Barry and either Vernon Maxwell or Tony Delk.
Those occasions, however, were rare. Williams generally is an extremely team-oriented player, one who would rather assist on a basket than score.
Yet, Williams, who certainly has had experience in committing errors in judgment, knew he was wrong in Vancouver.
He owned up to it during a meeting this week involving his representative, Bill Pollak, Adelman and vice president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie.
So should Adelman opt to go with Jackson late in the game of today's nationally televised game at Arco Arena between the Kings and Philadelphia 76ers, Williams will not make a spectacle of himself with isolationist tactics.
"Obviously, I was mad because I wanted to be playing," Williams said, "but I wasn't mad at my teammates or any of the coaches. It was just something that was within me.
"I'm just like any other player. I hate to sit on the bench, especially with the game on the line. But I guess Rick thought that was the best thing for the team, and if that's the case, then I'm all for it.
"It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, I got (upset). I think it's over with, and I'm ready to move on."
Williams, in fact, stayed after practice Friday afternoon to work on the pick-and-roll play with none other than Adelman. Hopefully, Williams will receive better picks today than he did Friday in the Kings' practice facility.
"The only issue I had with Jason," Adelman said afterward, "and he knows it, we talked about it, is that everybody noticed it. He apologized.
"He needs to just talk to me. And he's got to face facts, and I told him this.
"If he does something like that, it's going to be noticed because of his notoriety. Someone else on the team may do it and it might not be noticed."
Adelman said Williams' apology facilitated the opening of communication.
"He really apologized," Adelman said. "He knew he'd made a mistake, and we were able to talk, Geoff and Bill and Jason and I, and we talked about a lot of things.
"That's good. He's not like a lot of other players. He's not real comfortable coming and talking to the head coach. I tried to make it clear the other day that he needs to do that. And maybe I need to approach him if I know he's not real happy, which I try to do with all the players.
"He just needs to know that I'm in his corner and want him to do well, because he's going to make us a better team. But he can't hide things, because they just build up in him."
Williams said apologies do not come easily to him.
"It's hard for me to apologize," he said, "but if I mess up, I mess up, and I'll tell you. But getting an 'I'm sorry' out of me might be a little difficult."
An apology is one thing, but Williams will admit to error.
"One of the good things about him is he always bounces back," Petrie said. "He's pretty much the first to say when he screws up. The fact of the matter is he still wants to improve and is trying to add things to his game that are going to help him be a better player."
