from Rich Hammond of the OC Register,
Kings general manager Dean Lombardi talked to reporters about the decision to put Mike Richards on waivers. Here's what he said...
(on how Richards took the news…)
LOMBARDI: ``You can ask him. The process isn’t done, obviously, because he still has to clear tomorrow, so we’ll probably talk again tomorrow. I’m sure it’s not easy on anybody, but these are the tough decisions you’ve got to make.’’
(on not buying out the contract…)
LOMBARDI: ``We expect loyalty from our players, and I think it’s a two-way street. Under the circumstances, with what he had done for us, I thought he deserved a chance to get back to where he knows he’s capable of. That’s a hard balance. Obviously I thought about that a lot, but there’s the new-wave thing about there where players are commodities, and things like passion and loyalty are values that I thought made sports special. Commodities guys will tell you that doesn’t matter. Well that’s been a big part of the success of this team, I certainly believe. That’s kind of the way I came down on it. If you’re going to expect loyalty from your players, then you, at times, have to show loyalty to them....
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