Malone fired

rainmaker · Dec 16, 2014

This is really one of the worst parts about this.

Firing Malone at this point is ridiculous, especially because he didn't fit the "style" our higher-ups wanted, but doing so without a replacement lined up? Without a plan? At least if Karl was on his way I could accept there was a plan, a thought out blueprint they were going to run with. This is just off the cuff insanity.

We just sacrificed our season and Cuz's 5th year because even though we were off to our best start in years, it wasn't sexy enough? We threw away this season and possibly more going forward, because our higher-ups wanted a few more fastbreaks?

I've had fears about this FO and ownership ever since the immediate handling of Reke and the weird pulling of the offer to Iggy, but not in my wildest dreams did I think it would get this bad. We don't appear to have bottomed out yet. All signs point to it getting worse. How much worse is the question as this could literally cost us a once in a generation, HOF talent which Sac would have to wait a decade or more to have again.

Sac.Kings · Dec 16, 2014

lawlman91 said:

We can only love PDA more if PDA was actually intelligent, but since PDA is acting like a completely clueless imbecile (not sure if it's an act) we have no choice but to pretty much hate everyone. Vivek I hate the most because he is a liar and thinks he knows what he is doing, when in fact he is even more clueless than I am.

Chubbs · Dec 16, 2014

When PDA says "we aren't looking to make any moves", or "Corbin is our coach,". Those are present tense statements, made by a sleazeball. He's only committing to the moment. It says nothing about tomorrow.

He just meant I'm not maing any moves as we speak, and Corbin is our coach today. There's no longterm implications.

Firing Malone is a move, isn't it? Thought we weren't going to do that?

You have to speak gerbil to realize what he means. Luckily, I speak the language.

Spike · Dec 16, 2014

peacelate said:

MULLIN.

Chubbs · Dec 16, 2014

rainmaker said:

This is really one of the worst parts about this.

Firing Malone at this point is ridiculous, especially because he didn't fit the "style" our higher-ups wanted, but doing so without a replacement lined up? Without a plan? At least if Karl was on his way I could accept there was a plan, a thought out blueprint they were going to run with. This is just off the cuff insanity.

We just sacrificed our season and Cuz's 5th year because even though we were off to our best start in years, it wasn't sexy enough? We threw away this season and possibly more going forward, because our higher-ups wanted a few more fastbreaks?

I've had fears about this FO and ownership ever since the immediate handling of Reke and the weird pulling of the offer to Iggy, but not in my wildest dreams did I think it would get this bad. We don't appear to have bottomed out yet. All signs point to it getting worse. How much worse is the question as this could literally cost us a once in a generation, HOF talent which Sac would have to wait a decade or more to have again.

Or my munchausen by proxy theory. They are pretending to be crazy, but they really have a plan.

I'm going with crazy though. Technically, either scenario is the sign of mental illness from where I'm sitting.

New Era · Dec 16, 2014

Spike said:

lol...I was wondering why so many posters were saying "Mullins." I thought it was his nickname or something.

rainmaker · Dec 16, 2014

Chubbs said:

You've got to really screw the pooch to create an environment where no one wants to coach one of the two best young bigs in the game.

If Monty was fired, numerous coaches would be jumping at the opportunity to fill the NO head coaching position.

SacKings384 · Dec 16, 2014

"Hewing to Ranadive's naive stylistic ideas would be like buying a refrigerator full of steak only to convert to veganism."

That is beautifully worded lol.

funkykingston · Dec 16, 2014

Chubbs said:

Yes. And more specifically I was talking about Mitch Lawrence's statements that Mullin was the frontrunner and that Mullin planned to model himself after Don Nelson. That's not even getting old king junk ball himself. That's getting a 51 year old first time head coach (with zero experience as an assistant and a disasterous stint as a GM) who hopes to ONE DAY be just like old king junk ball.

Section 101 said:

I'm not opposed to George Karl. I'm very opposed to Chris Mullin. And when I say I'm not opposed to Karl, that's not a ringing endorsement. I think he's a very good coach, but I also think he's only got a few years left in the tank at this point. Hard to build a stable organization when you target a head coach that you know has a short window. Not only that, I can't imagine any coach being able to come in cold at this point of the season and install his system successfully, let alone do a better job here on out than Malone showed he was capable of.

As for Mullin, can anyone give me a single reasonable argument as to why he'd be a better coach than Reggie Theus?

If Malone's not the guy, then you fire him at season's end, not 24 games again. Again, that's a loser move.

bajaden · Dec 16, 2014

My emotions are extremely high at the moment, and I have the urge to say things that I can't take back. So therefore, I'll hold my tongue for now until there's something I can really comment on. The idea of Mullins coaching the Kings had me in my bathroom retching into my toilet. And this isn't just about whether I think Mullins can be a good coach or not, its about me not wanting to find out.. We've had enough experiments. We've had enough first year wanna be NBA coaches. We're tired of being the laughing stock of the NBA. Vivek has gone from looking like a savior and a brilliant guy, to an idiot in a very short period of time. He's actually making the Maloofs look good by comparison, to when they originally took over the Kings.

It appears that Vivek is so determined to think outside the box, that he rejects the obvious answer to his problem because its too easy. It's not radical enough for him. No, lets choose someone that never won a championship with idea's that never won a championship, but whose idea's make for exciting TV. Lest anyone forget, Mullins played for both Karl and Nelson while with the Warriors, and he favors Nelson as his mentor. Karl had a more disciplined offense, where Nelson's offense allowed players to freelance more. More and more Mullins is starting to look like Isaiah Thomas of the Knicks, poisoning the ear of Vivek with his stupid ideas. I sincerely hope this rumor is just that, a rumor. And I'll withhold any further comment until the situation is settled one way or the other. But I'm dangerously close to becoming a Warriors fan. A team, that as Rainmaker pointed out, looks nothing like the mickey mouse teams Mulliins played on. I can only take so much insanity.

Larry David · Dec 16, 2014

The plan is for Corbin to coach the remainder of the season, while Mullin interferes with Corbin's leadership as he kicks the tires on coaching this team for 3 months.

Unless, the Kings go into a tail spin, then the team will want to make another splashy move and do something after the All-Star break: which means that Mullin is either thrown onto bench cold or somebody like George Karl shows up with 20 games to go and limited practice time.

There is no plan beyond Corbin will make the team play faster and use more small ball lineups. He will take on the unenviable task of both: winning over .500 of his games and implementing all of the front offices lineup and style of play adjustments without practice time. That's the plan. They expect the team to keep winning, while experimenting with new "stuff" and PDA spinning more players in and out of the roster to that can play his envisioned style.

It's now clear as day, the same 8 teams that made the playoffs last year, are probably going to make it this year. If they haven't figured it our already, it will soon be clear to the players that this season has no meaning beyond the front office experimenting with style of play and lineups and Mullin deciding whether he wants to coach.

Kings have a worse coach and at some point, the effort and focus of the players is going to slip. This is going to suck.

Hoovtrain · Dec 16, 2014

SacKings384 said:

It's not so much him being insane...it's that he is a typical know it all who thinks he has everything figured out. It was a freaking joke when he first came aboard and starting spouting off about the offenses he ran for his daughters under 12 b ball team while basically announcing to everyone that this game of basketball is so simple ...but I let it slide because he rescued the Kings. Then he began hiring all of the GSW cast offs...but I let it slide because he rescued the Kings. He then hired a GM before hiring a coach. Ok, he’s just learning the ropes, honest mistake and he saved the Kings. He (yes, this was him) then burned a valuable lottery pick on another SG after investing a valuable lottery pick on a SG the year before. Ok we need shooting and he saved the Kings. Then word started leaking out that he was apparently serious about playing cherry picking basketball…ok, that’s cute, but you saved the Kings so it’s ok even though I think you are a moron. Now dumping a coach (who is far from perfect) who has gotten his guys to buy in to what he is teaching, gets along with the players, while getting them to know/embrace their roles, rebound and play D...oh and he helped get the team off to the best start in years with a less than ideal roster, even without their best player(by far) for a chunk of time, 24 games into the season?? Ok, well the timing may be off and it may be in poor taste, but he has an excellent coach lined up as a part of his grand plan…right? No. Instead he is going to roll with a mediocre interim coach who was run out of Utah and who has now become a lame duck coach, for the rest of the season. Ok, well that universally respected, excellent coach will be lined up for next season right? No, it appears his stellar choice is his buddy who has zero coaching experience, has a shoddy record as a FO guy and is a firm believer in Nellie ball. It's become apparent that he does not have a true understanding of how winning NBA (not 12 year old girls rec league) teams are built and, more importantly even scarier, is that he truly believes he is the smartest guy around when it comes to EVERYTHING and only surrounds himself with yes men who agree with everything he wants. I’m glad that this guy saved the Kings, but the honeymoon is officially over and I am officially worried about him and the rest of his small ball, cherry picking, 4 on 5 defense, position less basketball loving cronies running the show…because I don’t think they know what the hell they are doing.

annihilator_33 · Dec 16, 2014

NBA on ESPN ‏@ESPNNBA 3m3 minutes ago
Sources: Chris Mullin resists Kings' coaching job (via @Chris_Broussard and @ESPNSteinLine) -- http://es.pn/1uVCkK6

annihilator_33 · Dec 16, 2014

Welp, according to Kenny Anderson.......lol

Kenny Anderson ‏@chibbs_1 22m22 minutes ago
Mark Jackson to coach kings my sources say !

Sac.Kings · Dec 16, 2014

Just make the obvious best choice and get George Karl. Great coach, great history, immediate respect from players. Really not that hard. If Mullin is coach, I will not watch a single game. I can't take that garbage.

PurpleHaze · Dec 16, 2014

annihilator_33 said:

Good, if true. And guy we want (most of us) George Karl is practically standing on his head to get the job. BTW, he's not too old at 63. Gregg Popovich is 66.

swisshh · Dec 16, 2014

This is surely not turning into a mess that's become a distraction for players trying to squeeze into the playoffs.

MassachusettsKingsFan · Dec 16, 2014

This is getting out of control. Do I believe Kenny Anderson? Hell no. But I'd take VDN before Jackson. I'd take anyone before Jackson.

Glenn · Dec 16, 2014

Sac.Kings said:

Hiring Karl makes sense if you think winning is the goal. I actually believe the gerbil wants style. A flashy team will draw international fans who don't understand basketball..

Larry David · Dec 16, 2014

When Viveck took over a team that was a nightmare, he shouldn't have hired a coach without getting his GM in place, but he hired the hot assistant coach hoping that he would be able to turn around the locker room, get the players to play hard, and start to execute basic defensive concepts. That part worked. It was going to fail at some point, but the patient was dying on the table. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Malone / PDA thing did not need to come to a head this quickly.

In little over a year,

* Viveck allowed the relationship between his GM and coach to get super toxic.
* He privately and publicly (NBA circles) undermined the coach by trying to hire an acceptable interim replacement coach.
* After Malone met his season one goals, he was micro and macro managed by people with less experience and knowledge to "do better, while also doing it very differently"
* When the coach decided that he was hired to win games (which he did) and chose substance over style, Viveck essentially fired him for insubordination.
* Instead, of trying to decide who is the best replacement coach the team can get, Viveck is going to let his tightest confidant with the team think about whether he'd like to give coaching a try.

Save the NBA 3.0 talk. That's bad rookie owner 1.0.

lawlman91 · Dec 16, 2014

funkykingston said:

Yeah the longetivity of Karl worries me. What maddens me more is the potential relationship between Malone and DeMarcus that could have ruled the Kings for 10+ years, in very much the same way that Pop and Duncan ruled the Spurs. It would bring an identity to the team that we haven't seen in a long time, and identity is what keeps teams together. Looking to the future, this is why I don't like the current FO.

ForlornKing · Dec 16, 2014

PurpleHaze said:

most likely resisting to take the job right now....but would will take it in the offseason

Sac.Kings · Dec 16, 2014

Glenn said:

That's kind of a crazy way to think because we barely have anyone on the roster that suffices for flashy. They basically need to trade 80% of the roster in order to reach that goal. On the other hand they could just make one move and become better that way saving themselves a ton of work. Just hire Karl. There should be a chant tonight "WE WANT KARL WE WANT KARL"

rainmaker · Dec 16, 2014

annihilator_33 said:

Beyond the actual coaching issues, I'd worry about Jackson's religious atmosphere he brings and the culture he employs, when dealing with Cuz.

His non-stop talk of religion down here was an issue. He ran the Warriors like a catholic high school. Players just tried to go along, but Cuz doesn't strike me as a guy who's going to be that open to a Jackson led environment after seeing the one coach he had a great relationship with fired.

Want to make clear I have no problem with those who ascribe to a religion, just that it was an issue down here in GS, as was the environment Jackson created.

SacKings384 · Dec 16, 2014

I'm so sick of these "sources say" this is like LeBron's decision all over again on a smaller scale. Just a bunch of schmucks saying "sources say" and throwing out whatever they can to get clicks.

- Sources say job is Corbin's
- Sources say job is Mullin's
- Sources say Mullin wants job
- Sources say Karl a candidate
- Sources say Karl not a candidate
- Sources say Mullin does not want job
- Sources say Jackson is going to get the job

I mean come on... By all means please keep posting them because I keep refreshing looking for more news, but these guys have no shame.

Glenn · Dec 16, 2014

Sac.Kings said:

That's kind of a crazy way to think because we barely have anyone on the roster that suffices for flashy. They basically need to trade 80% of the roster in order to reach that goal. On the other hand they could just make one move and become better that way saving themselves a ton of work. Just hire Karl. There should be a chant tonight "WE WANT KARL WE WANT KARL"

Of course it is crazy.

Section 101 · Dec 16, 2014

MassachusettsKingsFan said:

I'd rather have Kayte.

fairlane1964 · Dec 16, 2014

Vivek is obviously wildly successful in his professional career. But this seems to me to be an example of the Peter Principle. He has moved into a new position (NBA Team owner) and he is no longer competent in that capacity. But since he is the owner and very rich and used to getting his way the team and fans will suffer.

Swaze · Dec 16, 2014

Pretty simple why they have not hired George Karl.

Karl is no puppet, he's not going to be pushed around and have crazy ideas like 4 on 5 defense forced on him. You really think a coach with his credentials and strong-will is going to come in and take orders from Vivek on how to coach the team like he does his daughters.

If the Kings really wanted George Karl he'd already be the coach as of yesterday. When you bring in George Karl you have to hand him the reigns and let him coach the team as HE sees fit. Clearly Vivek and PDA are not interested in that.

Chubbs · Dec 16, 2014

The latest news is that Mullin will just coach from the wings while Corbin remains the puppet.

Congrats on landing your dream job Ty Corbin (he says sarcastically)

https://twitter.com/sam_amick/status/544940277363134464

Malone fired

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