Malone fired

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
I was thinking today, but it seems that a real loser in all this mess is PDA, fans were very much behind him after the early success this season. But his crazt press conference "its not about wins and losses" and obviously the firing itself seems to have put him back in the hot seat. I wonder if he ends up regretting the decisions of the last few days in the future!*

*hopefully not after we make the playoffs this season
PDA has been in the hot seat since his name was announced. There have been some very vocal fans who have pretty much objected to almost everything he's done. I've met the man - I don't believe he has any regrets. He may not be doing things the way some fans (and sports pundits) think is the right way, but I got the very real impression he's very confident about his actions - which (like him or not) is pretty much what you'd want and expect from your GM.
 
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GQ_Gabriel

Guest
If the qualification is that the team is healthy (and by that I have to assume, we mean the main guys only missing a handful of games since no team is 100% healthy) then we're going have to compare Corbin's record against the team's 9-6 start under Malone before Cousins went out.

That's a .600 winning percentage which (even being generous and not counting Corbin's first game) would mean that the Kings would win 34 or more of their remaining games to finish with 45 wins or more.

Even if we go with Malone's record with all the games where Boogie was out and STILL stipulate that Corbin will only be judged if he has a relatively healthy roster then that means that the Kings must finish with 38 wins or more as the bare minimum of what's acceptable considering Cousins' viral meningitis AND the team's brutal early schedule.

So is it safe to say that anything less than 38 wins is an unmitigated disaster and anything less than 45 wins represents little to no improvement over Malone?

If not, why not?

Bear in mind, the move was made because the GM and ownership wanted immediate improvement. So Malone's record last year doesn't play into things and any notions of Corbin needing time to get acclimated are not valid either. The point was to get better now and in Ranadive's words, to make the playoffs.
funkykingston, keep in mind that I'm just as much of a hardcore Kings fan as you are. I am desperate and dying for this team to make the playoffs. I am as optimistic as they come, so if you ask, the homer in me will tell you that we will sneak into the playoffs.
 
PDA has been in the hot seat since his name was announced. There have been some very vocal fans who have pretty much objected to almost everything he's done. I've met the man - I don't believe he has any regrets. He may not be doing things the way some fans (and sports pundits) think is the right way, but I got the very real impression he's very confident about his actions - which (like him or not) is pretty much what you'd want and expect from your GM.
But reading on here and listening to the phone in show on local radio (Khtk is it??) even vehement critics of him were praising his signings and deals just a few weeks back and now he is being criticized again
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
But reading on here and listening to the phone in show on local radio (Khtk is it??) even vehement critics of him were praising his signings and deals just a few weeks back and now he is being criticized again
I don't disagree with what you're saying. My only point was that it's never been all rosy for him. :)
 

funkykingston

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Staff member
funkykingston, keep in mind that I'm just as much of a hardcore Kings fan as you are. I am desperate and dying for this team to make the playoffs. I am as optimistic as they come, so if you ask, the homer in me will tell you that we will sneak into the playoffs.
Noted and accepted. I'm not trying to tell anyone how to think or of the opinion that my views are all the correct ones.

But I am curious about where those who are okay with or in favor of this move stand and why.
 
Like I've said, why would the FO keep a coach who didn't share their same vision?
The problem is because a "vision" in pro sports, bottom line, should be about winning and improving, which is exactly what Malone was doing. Pro sports is an industry based on winning. Everything else is secondary. Considering our history, winning and improving means even more since we've sucked for closing in on a full decade.

To let your "preference", let's call it what it is, a preference for a more up-tempo style, override winning and improvement, in the middle of the season is asinine. If there was a true vision, this would have been handled before the season or after the season, or Malone's true replacement would already be signed and coaching tonight. Do you really think there'd be an uproar if we hired Karl this past Aug, or rode out the season with Malone, then replaced him next summer? No there wouldn't as that "preference" for style would have fit into a larger, better planned out vision that didn't sacrifice the ****ing season.

When a so called "vision" causes you to blow up your season, the best season since the Adelman era, your vision frankly ain't s***. And why are people acting like a vision can't be molded, take multiple considerations into account, show flexibility, etc? People are presenting this vision as if there was some requirement of this vision to fire our successful coach mid season and throw the entire thing off course.
 
I dont blame PDA for doing what he did, ultimately he didnt want to be exposed and malones phillosophy was showing real results. His analytics, data type stuff would eventually be overridden if the winning continued possibly deeming him irrelevant. Once Malone continued ignoring him and showing results he jumped on a jet to plead vivek to let him fire Malone by selling him hopes and dreams before it was too late.

By firing Malone he shows that its about winning only if its his way and he gets the credit. He realized that If we win by not using his ideas he is no longer needed. Vivek who may be a basketball novice but is still a genius might have realized that in Malone vs. PDA, PDA needed to go.

Even though in front of the cameras its about the fans and trying to win (before he said it wasn't) in actuality its about protecting his Rep and Job by using the two things he had on malone, power and being buddys with the bosses bestie. So he fired Malone in order to secure his gig for a longer amount of time as well as increasing his chances of being responsible for our possible future turn around.

So yeah PDA succeeded in setting himself up for the glory but did so at the expense of this season and ruining the morale of the fans, but hey if it comes downs to protecting his money/family or keeping us fans happy and continuing the teams early season chemistry, you already know what he is going to chose.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Noted and accepted. I'm not trying to tell anyone how to think or of the opinion that my views are all the correct ones.

But I am curious about where those who are okay with or in favor of this move stand and why.
Since the thread is now approaching "War and Peace" length, perhaps it's time to start a new thread, including a poll, to find out where people stand now that they've had a chance to mull it over (no pun intended).
 

VF21

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SME
The problem is because a "vision" in pro sports, bottom line, should be about winning and improving, which is exactly what Malone was doing...
The improving part is a given. But, based solely on reactions of a lot of members of this forum, weren't there a number of games the majority blamed Malone for losing, games pretty much all concerned felt we really should have won?

That, in a nutshell, is what I keep thinking about. There were early wins, sure, but then there were the incomprehensible losses that are much harder to move on from...
 
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GQ_Gabriel

Guest
Noted and accepted. I'm not trying to tell anyone how to think or of the opinion that my views are all the correct ones.

But I am curious about where those who are okay with or in favor of this move stand and why.
I'm okay with the move because of the tendencies that I have observed, whether it's adjustments or rotations. I haven't been happy with Malone's decision-making to say the least. Our talent, when healthy, was able to hide these limitations to an extent until Cousins got sick.
 
Since the thread is now approaching "War and Peace" length, perhaps it's time to start a new thread, including a poll, to find out where people stand now that they've had a chance to mull it over (no pun intended).
Wait, what? Most of the board has real concerns that the front office is a total cluster, not just now but going forward on lots of fronts ... a proposition you clearly disagree with ... and you'd like to close the thread to see if it: (1) goes away; or (2) is spread more diffusely over several other threads?

I think that's a bad idea. If this thread give you too much of a sad, there is other stuff to read.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
Wait, what? Most of the board has real concerns that the front office is a total cluster, not just now but going forward on lots of fronts ... a proposition you clearly disagree with ... and you'd like to close the thread to see if it: (1) goes away; or (2) is spread more diffusely over several other threads?

I think that's a bad idea. If this thread give you too much of a sad, there is other stuff to read.
OMG. Over-react much. I asked a question, nothing more. Why would I want the thread to go away?

In the past, for your information and edification, we have taken hot topics and started new threads because, after initial reactions, some posters feelings may change/adapt. This thread now contains nearly 2,000 posts.

Don't get your panties in a bunch by making erroneous assumptions about my comments or intentions.
 
The improving part is a given. But, based solely on reactions of a lot of members of this forum, weren't there a number of games the majority blamed Malone for losing, games pretty much all concerned felt we really should have won?
There were maybe 3 or 4 fans I saw blaming losses 100% on Malone? If that? And wasn't that like 2-3 games? Most of what I saw was criticism of his rotations, or some who didn't like a iso heavy offense. I complained about our sets and lack of movement at times. It's also however a function of our roster and not having Cuz drawing attention, as well as our crap bench.

In general though, players make mistakes, coaches make mistakes. If we're bringing up the "majority", from what I saw the majority saw things Malone needed to improve on but knew growing pains were expected with a young coach. One thing I never saw was anyone asking to fire Malone. Ever. Think about that for a second. Westy, Musclehead, Natt, Theus, Smart, many were calling for him to get fired. For months. Many said there's no way any of these are our coach of the future.

I saw nothing like that about Malone. Plus, a coach having weaknesses doesn't mean firing him, throwing away the season and ignoring all the good is the better approach, and that's what most have an issue with. Some were concerned about certain aspects of Malone but the overall trend was upwards and going back to the majority, I think just about everyone wanted us to hold on until Cuz got back so we could get back to what we were earlier, under Malone.

BTW, part of the frustration over Malone's sub patterns or a blown game or two was because we knew with Cuz, under Malone, we were a legit playoff threat and we didn't want to see that opportunity slide away. That frustration was actually a product of what Malone showed we could do with a healthy starting 5 and a result of him as coach, raising the expectations of making the playoffs across the fanbase. Malone helped make what was a pipe-dream this summer into a reality. I personally am happy complaining about rotations here or there with the playoffs being the backdrop to that debate(haven't had that in years), rather than what's going on now which is a franchise in a tailspin with no apparent plan to salvage this season.
 
I was thinking today, but it seems that a real loser in all this mess is PDA, fans were very much behind him after the early success this season. But his crazt press conference "its not about wins and losses" and obviously the firing itself seems to have put him back in the hot seat. I wonder if he ends up regretting the decisions of the last few days in the future!*

*hopefully not after we make the playoffs this season
PDA fired and Malone rehired next year???
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
...In general though, players make mistakes, coaches make mistakes. If we're bringing up the "majority", from what I saw the majority saw things Malone needed to improve on but knew growing pains were expected with a young coach. One thing I never saw was anyone asking to fire Malone. Ever.
I readily concede that point.
 

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
There were maybe 3 or 4 fans I saw blaming losses 100% on Malone? If that? And wasn't that like 2-3 games? Most of what I saw was criticism of his rotations, or some who didn't like a iso heavy offense. I complained about our sets and lack of movement at times. It's also however a function of our roster and not having Cuz drawing attention, as well as our crap bench.

In general though, players make mistakes, coaches make mistakes. If we're bringing up the "majority", from what I saw the majority saw things Malone needed to improve on but knew growing pains were expected with a young coach. One thing I never saw was anyone asking to fire Malone. Ever. Think about that for a second. Westy, Musclehead, Natt, Theus, Smart, many were calling for him to get fired. For months. Many said there's no way any of these are our coach of the future.

I saw nothing like that about Malone. Plus, a coach having weaknesses doesn't mean firing him, throwing away the season and ignoring all the good is the better approach, and that's what most have an issue with. Some were concerned about certain aspects of Malone but the overall trend was upwards and going back to the majority, I think just about everyone wanted us to hold on until Cuz got back so we could get back to what we were earlier, under Malone.

BTW, part of the frustration over Malone's sub patterns or a blown game or two was because we knew with Cuz, under Malone, we were a legit playoff threat and we didn't want to see that opportunity slide away. That frustration was actually a product of what Malone showed we could do with a healthy starting 5 and a result of him as coach, raising the expectations of making the playoffs across the fanbase. Malone helped make what was a pipe-dream this summer into a reality. I personally am happy complaining about rotations here or there with the playoffs being the backdrop to that debate(haven't had that in years), rather than what's going on now which is a franchise in a tailspin with no apparent plan to salvage this season.
Before the season started I looked at the early schedule and guessed the Kings would be 3-14 going into December. Instead they were 9-8.

I was crushed by the Memphis loss and it never should have happened. But taking a step back it's worth noting that Memphis is the second best team in the league and the Kings (the Kings who have won 28 games in both of the last two seasons and whose only change the the starting lineup was Darren Collison for IT) were thumping the Grizzlies at home. Up 16 at the half and at one point with a lead of 26.

I hated that the Kings lost that game. But I never expected them to come in guns blazing against the Grizzlies. Or the Mavericks. Or to be above .500 with the second toughest schedule in the NBA.

Malone's Kings needed to learn how to close out games. The offense was iso heavy and sometimes stagnant. There were too many turnovers and too few assists. There was absolutely room for improvement. But I have a hard time understanding how anyone could think Malone wasn't doing a good job.
 
People like to harp on Cuban for being too involved but look at his team. He's kept the same coach for years, he's recently gotten Monta Ellis, Chandler Parsons, Tyson Chandler and now Rondo.

Meanwhile here we are with our overly involved owner, throwin away a coach that had us going in the right direction in the middle of the best start to a season in a decade, trying to emulate the Warriors before they got good, and Vivek's 12 year old daughters basketball team
 
i don't think the firing was fair especially with the way the team was playing when DMC was healthy but i wish him all the best. hopefully the team can perform with a new head like GSW is doing with Steve Kerr even though the Mark Jackson firing was generally opposed
 

funkykingston

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Staff member
i don't think the firing was fair especially with the way the team was playing when DMC was healthy but i wish him all the best. hopefully the team can perform with a new head like GSW is doing with Steve Kerr even though the Mark Jackson firing was generally opposed
That's a much easier task for a new coach when he has the offseason to plan and training camp to install his system. Not only did I not think the firing was fair to Malone, I thought it was unfair to Tyrone Corbin. He's not being put in a position to succeed.

I guess that what flabbergasts me about this whole thing. If Malone wasn't your guy then why not replace him this summer? And if you weren't prepared to replace him this summer, what exactly did he do in the first third of this season to completely change your mind?
 
Is Malone like Harbaugh though? Is he just a notorious red-a** whose hard driving style alienates players, pisses off opposing coaches and wears thin with everyone in the front office? I don't know. But it sure seems like the players universally supported Malone. And I don't remember Trent Baalke coming out and saying he wants a different style or for Harbaugh to change his offensive or defensive scheme. So I'm not sure there's much of a parallel beyond a nearby team that also has internal friction.

Vivek hired Malone first. He made the commitment to a coach and THEN hired a GM who later told Vivek to fire that coach because his coaching style clashed with D'Alessandro's vision.

In your mind is Malone responsible for that dysfunction? Because I'd put it on Vivek hiring two people who couldn't work things out.

I saw a coach getting results from a mismatched roster. I saw improvements on defense and a big leap from McLemore. I saw an offense that was ragged at times but geared towards the strength of a team that lacked 3 point shooting and bench contributions.

I wasn't about to get a Mike Malone tatoo but he was making obvious gains. Why not letting him keep working and start fresh next offseason? This just seems like a poor decision with even worse timing to me and with the capper that there doesn't even appear to be a real plan in place to move forward. The only reason we know it was ugly behind the scenes is because Vivek and D'Alessandro have told us that. Unlike the 49ers I don't remember tweets, rumors and reports of clashes. Certainly not from the players.

It became an issue not because the team wasn't winning enough, but because PDA didn't like HOW they were winning.

For what it's worth I think this situation is much uglier and at the same time much more ridiculous/laughable than the 49ers situation. As Uncia03 points out, at least the 49ers rolled with Harbaugh and let him do what he could with the team before things got ugly. The Kings bailed on Malone right when it seemed the team was making improvement.

There are better coaches than Mike Malone. But the Kings don't have them. The Kings haven't even identified who those options are and we're less than a third into the season.

What I fear is seeing Corbin finish the year with the team winning 30 something games, (maybe just enough to lose that first rounder) and then have Mullin step in as coach and be a disaster. And THEN have to do another complete rebuild. My fear is not just that we let a good coach go, but that PDA is about to cost this team another few years of ineptitude before having to start from scratch again, likely with Cousins moving on out of frustration.

I'm a Kings fan. I've been on that ride and bought the T-shirt.
How is the 49er's position not worse? You've said it yourself
And I don't remember Trent Baalke coming out and saying he wants a different style or for Harbaugh to change his offensive or defensive scheme. So I'm not sure there's much of a parallel beyond a nearby team that also has internal friction.
So what is the reason on why Harbaugh will most likely not remain a 9ers HC next year?

Would you rather it be because of friction of the coach vs FO, or would you rather it be disagreement on team's scheme?
After Demarcus Cousins was injured, I saw the same 2013 Kings. So when your all star player goes down, you're supposed to accept sucking?

Why would they continue to stick with Malone if they felt like he wasn't going to impliment their plan for this team? Why would you keep an employee who kept doing all the things opposite of what you want them to do?

We all fear losing, no doubt. How do you know we wouldn't have continued our losing pattern even with Malone though? There's no way we can tell. You can say we were on track to win 30-40 more games, but how do you know? With our 5-1 start, we were on track to win around 60 games this year.

It's like those who said that losing Isaiah Thomas would make our team terrible. And if he were on this team, we'd win 50 games and he'd be the solution to all of our bench problems. We don't know any of that for sure.

It's all the what if's that no one will ever know.
 
That's a much easier task for a new coach when he has the offseason to plan and training camp to install his system. Not only did I not think the firing was fair to Malone, I thought it was unfair to Tyrone Corbin. He's not being put in a position to succeed.

I guess that what flabbergasts me about this whole thing. If Malone wasn't your guy then why not replace him this summer? And if you weren't prepared to replace him this summer, what exactly did he do in the first third of this season to completely change your mind?
i believe they wanted to get rid of him in the summer but didn't want to look bad for only giving him 1 season, half a season with Rudy on the roster, so they expected the team to start slowly giving sufficient reason to pull the trigger but the team started off so strong that they couldn't justify his firing at the time and when DMC went down and the losing started they had to jump on the opportunity
 

Warhawk

Give blood and save a life!
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The improving part is a given. But, based solely on reactions of a lot of members of this forum, weren't there a number of games the majority blamed Malone for losing, games pretty much all concerned felt we really should have won?

That, in a nutshell, is what I keep thinking about. There were early wins, sure, but then there were the incomprehensible losses that are much harder to move on from...
Frankly, I think the majority are likely more upset that our margin of error is pretty thin with Boogie healthy and tilted to the negative without him playing. We just don't have the talent; look at the disparity between +/- of the starters and the bench for an easy example. Essentially, we HAVE to significantly outscore the other team when Boogie is in to withstand the run the other team takes when he isn't.

Some may complain about rotations, but if you don't have higher-quality players even the rotation issue is somewhat a moot point. But in the middle of a game, it is the rotations that would be the easiest target to harp on. Missed FT, careless TOs, and the like he doesn't have much control over. But better bench players would help there, too.
 
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If we lose this game tonight, against the Bucks, who are missing Jabari Parker and their starting Center, in our building, with Cousins returning, the heat on our front office is only going to get worse