Bogut: Why Davis brings X factor

Australian basketball champion and Sydney Kings assistant coach Andrew Bogut believes Kendric Davis’ ‘passion and willingness to push the limits’ is what will help him become a dominant force at a new club.

The 25-year-old was the runner-up in last season’s league MVP and Bogut says he can ge even better.

“KD wants to get better. He truly loves the game. He puts the time and effort in to be better,” Bogut said on basketball.com.au. 

“There is a public narrative that is out there when talking about KD. Is he a great teammate? Can he be coached? Is he too emotional? KD has a clean plate coming to Sydney, like any player. The only person who can change that public narrative, is KD himself. We are going to try to help him as much possible to do so.”

Bogut backed the Kings’ coaches, players and owners to give Davis the best possible chance to make the NBA, and if all goes to plan, bring another championship to Sydney along the way.

“I don't think anyone ever questions KD's commitment or passion or what he brings on a daily basis. I think that next step for any young player is to kind of mature as a pro and I think KD is in a great spot to learn from last season and we'll hopefully help him get better in all facets of his game,” he said. 

“Talent isn't what's preventing KD from playing in the NBA, it's just learning how to be a pro, the finer things, looking after your body, the mental side of the game - all of these factors become very, very important as you become a third, fourth, fifth, sixth year pro. He is still relatively fresh in the pro world.

“With Delly (Matthew Dellavedova), Goorj (Brian Goorjian), our coaching staff - we've got a plethora of people that can help him, even Luc (Longley) will be a great sounding board for KD at times. We're going to put him in a spot to be successful, but at the end of the day, it's going to be up to him and make sure that he's focused on the goal and making sure that he changes the public narrative.”

Davis will form a lethal combination with fellow signing Dellavedova, with the pair sure to get the best out of each other.

“At the end of the day, there will be many people watching KD, and the Sydney Kings with a microscope,” Bogut added. 

“We needed a scoring punch from the guard spot and he was a name that came up kind of inbound to us. He wanted to come to Sydney and we decided to have those conversations and got it done.

“The fit with Delly I think is great. Delly's a smart enough point guard to know 'hey, KD hasn't had a touch for four or five possessions, he might be getting a little frustrated, let's find him an easy basket'. As much as it will be coaching, it's also we have an elite basketball brain point guard on our squad now that will be able to figure that out on the fly. I don't think it's always going to be a case where Goorj needs to say 'you need to do this or that'. Delly's going to figure that out very, very quickly, probably quicker than us at times.

“Goorj likes players that have some shit to them. KD has some shit to him in a good way, like he's got some dog, it's not just bark, he's got bite as well.”

Read the full story here >> Why the Sydney Kings is the place for Kendric Davis