Kirk Hinrich wasn’t exactly given much choice about having to a start over on a rebuilding team after making the playoffs in five of his first seven NBA seasons.
But that didn’t stop him from embracing a move to Washington and working as hard as anyone during Wizards training camp, earning effusive praise from head coach Flip Saunders, who labeled him one of the top performers over the course of a week at George Mason, an honor he shared with John Wall.
“It’s a compliment, but I’m still trying to get somewhat acclimated,” said Hinrich, who prefers to play down accolades as well as he mans up against ball handlers. “Defensively, I’ve pretty much got that down, but more just offensively, just where I can be effective, just getting a feel for things that way.”
Effective would only start to explain how Hinrich was a team-best +27 with 9 points, 4 assists and a pair of steals in his 28 minutes on the floor in Washington’s preseason opener at Dallas on Tuesday.
“The main thing is Kirk has fun playing,” said Saunders. “He says, ‘Let’s have fun doing the things we do.’”
Hinrich is the glue – the term Saunders used after Tuesday’s win – and he comes very cheap since the Bulls paid the Wizards an additional $3 million as part of a predraft trade that cleared salary cap space and was part of a failed strategy to lured prized free agents LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to the Windy City. There are other factors, too, that effectively set up the Wizards to have Hinrich cost them far less than his full $9 million salary.
But the 29-year-old’s veteran presence and keen basketball understanding could play a bigger role this season than any cost savings Washington garnered in the deal. Much has been said about the mentor role he played with Derrick Rose, but Hinrich’s best attribute is that he leads by putting his head down and playing to win. If Wall gets that message, Hinrich has done his job.
“The camaraderie is great, I think, chemistry and everything off the court,” said Hinrich. “It’s just on the court we still got a little ways to go as far as feeling each other out there and knowing how we can be most effective as a team.”
