(资料图片仅供参考)

When Caron Butler and I were on the Lakers together, we clicked immediately. He would come to my house all the time; he would work out with me all the time. We would play one-on-one before and after practice. We would really push each other. In time, he adopted a lot of my footwork. You could see it, once he was traded, in his pull-up jumpers and turnarounds in the post.

It was really hard for me when he got traded. I had invested a lot of time in him that summer, and we worked together constantly. I thought he was poised to have a breakout year for us.

I thought that because Caron was a great student of the game, and someone who, dating back to college, always excelled at the fundamentals. It’s weird, actually— fundamentals aren’t really fundamental anymore. A lot of players don’t understand the game or the importance of footwork, spacing. It’s to the point where if you know the basics, you have an advantage on the majority of players.