Kings Journeyman Moore Preaches About Pride

The Sacramento Kings aren’t particularly good. So far, most of what you hear about them has involved rumored trades for Brad Miller or the endless absence of their star, Kevin Martin. But none of that’s going to stand in the way of journeyman Mikki Moore, who has had it up to here with all this losing and lack of motivation. ↵↵In fact, yesterday he delivered the NBA’s equivalent of Herm Edwards’s immortal “we play to win the game” speech. From The Sacramento Bee:↵

↵↵⇥“There’s how many people in the world, 10 billion? And there’s only 300 people in the NBA. Wouldn’t you have enough pride to go out there and compete? (I’m) not even saying (how) you’re getting paid to do it, that it’s your job, that’s your 9 to 5, (that) you get a check for this. You could be on the corner slinging dope or at KFC working a drive-thru or the post office. (I’m) not even saying that. Wouldn’t you have enough pride to say, ‘Well, I’m one of the 300 people who’s in the NBA,’ and go out there and compete for your recognition? That’s how I feel about it.”↵↵Moore has a unique perspective on the matter, having bounced around, and until recently needing to prove himself every fall. But, at the risk of complete and total moralizing, imagine if the Clippers -- who have tons of talent, but have to deal with drama like Baron Davis having to refute Stephen Jackson’s claims that he wants to return to Oakland, and Ricky Davis’ drug suspension -- had a copy of Mikki’s sermon framed over their respective lockers. Sometimes you wish there were more Mikki Moores in the world. No matter how difficult that is to say.↵