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Rider on the storm

New Hawks guard meets media in Atlanta

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Posted: Saturday August 07, 1999 12:56 AM

Despite averaging a career-low 13.9 points, Isaiah Rider was still a top player on a deep Portland team. AP

ATLANTA (AP) -- Isaiah Rider dropped out of sight for a few days after learning of his trade to the Atlanta Hawks.

The talented guard with the stormy past didn't know what to make of another new team, another new start.

"Obviously, the first day or two was a transition," said Rider, who made his first appearance with his new team Friday -- four days after he was traded by the Portland Trail Blazers. "Now, I'm fine with it."

Rider and Jim Jackson went to Atlanta in a blockbuster trade that sent Steve Smith and Ed Gray to the Blazers. It didn't take long for the newest Hawk to begin answering questions about his checkered career.

"I've learned from my mistakes and I've paid for my mistakes," Rider insisted at a news conference. "But sometimes people build up certain things and make them worse than they really are. They make me out to be some kind of animal."

Rider, 28, has averaged 18 points per game during his six-year career, showing the ability to dominate at the offensive end and thrive in an up-tempo offense. From that standpoint, he is just the kind of player the Hawks were seeking to improve their speed, quickness and creativity after ranking as the second-worst offensive team in the NBA last season.

But the rest of the Rider resume provides serious cause for concern. He showed up late for his first pro practice with Minnesota in 1993 and has run afoul of either the he NBA every year since then.

Rider has feuded with coaches. He has missed flights and practices. He has been convicted of various offenses, including marijuana possession, assault and illegal possession of cellular phones. He even spent four days in jail for probation violation.

"I can't dwell on what I did," Rider said. "I can only dwell on what I'm doing. I think the positive things outweigh the negative. Sure, there are things I did at 22 that I wouldn't do at 28. The best way to put it is I've learned from my mistakes."

Maybe so, but he was suspended three more times by the NBA last season - once for leaving the bench during an altercation, another time for a flagrant foul and finally for leaving the bench to intervene in an argument in the stands involving a group of his friends.

Still, despite averaging a career-low 13.9 points, Rider was one of the top players on a deep Portland team that reached the Western Conference finals.

Now he goes to the Hawks, where he will try to replace one of Atlanta's most popular athletes. In addition to leading the team in scoring four years in a row, Smith was active in the community and renowned for his charitable contributions.

Rider, who is entering the final year of his contract, will come to Atlanta with a clean record in the eyes of coach Lenny Wilkens.

"I try not to judge people by what I've been told or things that have happened in the past," Wilkens said. "Everything is even here."

The stoic coach did concede that he ran his own background check on Rider, talking with people who knew the 6-foot-5, 220-pound guard.

"It kept coming back that he's good people," Wilkens insisted. "We all tend to forget what we were like when we were 19, 20 and 21. We all did crazy things. Even I did some crazy things."

Rider said he looks forward to injecting new life into the Hawks, who have never gotten past the second round of the playoffs since moving to Atlanta in 1968. Last season, the team was swept out of the postseason in four straight games by the New York Knicks, looking old and slow in the process.

Atlanta has traded away its starting backcourt, also sending point guard Mookie Blaylock to Golden State for a No. 1 pick that landed Arizona guard Jason Terry. The Hawks plan to run more as they move into a new 20,000-seat arena.

"The team I saw here was kind of reserved at times," said Rider, whose nickname is J.R. "I bring youth. I bring excitement. I bring enthusiasm. I think the fans here are going to like J.R. Rider."

While Wilkens and Rider seem more of an odd couple than Felix and Oscar, both coach and player insisted they'll be able to get along. For one day at least, that was the case.

"I hope to get my work ethic and professionalism from Lenny," Rider said. "I want to be a sponge. I'm definitely going to bounce some questions off him and get the most knowledge I can."

 

Related information
Stories
Hawks trade Smith, Gray for Rider, Jackson Report: Hawks' Smith to Portland for Rider, Jackson
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1998-99 Hawks Team Stats
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