Space Cadet to Leader? B/R Chats with Ex-Laker & Now Warrior Vlade Radmanovic

As any long-time Los Angeles Laker fan will tell you, current Golden State Warrior forward Vladimir Radmanovic had many ups and downs during his nearly four years with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Most specifically, Vlade was in and out of head coach Phil Jackson’s dog house constantly.

But boy the times have changed.

The player once known as a “space cadet” as labeled by Jackson and famous (or is it notorious?) for injuring himself while illegally snowboarding during the NBA All-Star break, is a different, grown up player.

Seriously?

I know you don’t want to believe it. But, it’s true.

Vlade is now not only a solid basketball player for the Golden State Warriors, but one of that young team’s veteran leaders.

I had the chance to sit down, one on one, with Vlade after practice this past Monday at the Warriors facility in downtown Oakland and had to throw out all of my preconceived notions about the ex-Laker.

First off, Vlade is thicker in person but didn’t seem as tall or as lanky as on TV. He is also very cordial and open. He came over, we introduced each other, and the interview began.

He was relaxed and answered all my questions, even offering some new insights as well as a few dodgeballs.

We talked about going from Space Cadet to Veteran Leader and I asked him if he had any thoughts about the recent Ron Artest vs. Jackson feud.

And, we discussed the coaching styles of Jackson compared to Vlade’s current coach, Keith Smart. Lastly, we talked about how the Warriors were preparing for the upcoming Laker game.

Here’s a slide by slide recap of my questions and Vlade's candid answers.

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