Voisin: Can Kings front office get along?

#2
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/ailene-voisin/article15203723.html

What a mess. Ailene writes about a chilly reception, but this is about dysfunction. Owners not on the same page. Mullin didn't want Divac to get in a spot where he could cut into Mullin's seat right next to Vivek. PDA is circling the drain and is of course not on the same page.
god... what a nightmare. none of the business conducted by this new regime seems to occur with consensus or without unnecessary drama. it also pisses me off royally that vlade divac, a sacramento kings legend and one of the nba's most well-respected global ambassadors, should receive anything but a welcome reception in the offices of the franchise he believes to be his nba home...
 
#3
god... what a nightmare. none of the business conducted by this new regime seems to occur with consensus or without unnecessary drama. it also pisses me off royally that vlade divac, a sacramento kings legend and one of the nba's most well-respected global ambassadors, should receive anything but a welcome reception in the offices of the franchise he believes to be his nba home...
The "cool reception" aside, if it benches Mullin, good. That Karl and Divac are on the same page is good. Hopefuly Petey will see what way the wind is blowing and get on board or leave.
 

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#4
http://www.sacbee.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/ailene-voisin/article15203723.html

What a mess. Ailene writes about a chilly reception, but this is about dysfunction. Owners not on the same page. Mullin didn't want Divac to get in a spot where he could cut into Mullin's seat right next to Vivek. PDA is circling the drain and is of course not on the same page.
This probably deserves its own thread, it's important. MOD NOTE: I agree.

This is what I've been greatly concerned about for months now and brought up the opposing factions in our FO will not suddenly disappear because Karl was brought in. Far from it and once again we have evidence here suggesting some key players within our organization were and are against Karl, now Vlade too. There's the clear suggestion that PDA was against Karl. This is why you never take a weasel at his word and why you'd need to bury your head in the sand to believe Karl was PDA's guy, he wanted him and went out and got him because he felt he was the right guy. No, it's been quite clear the PDA/Mullin faction have been against Karl and the two month delay in hiring him was proof of that and when adding this Vlade situation into the equation, everything points to PDA/Mullin being fearful of losing control.

And that's what this internal struggle is about, not winning, not success, not having everyone developing a plan and sticking to it, it's a power struggle behind the scenes with clashing philosophies, backstabbing(the leaks speak to that), power-plays and guys looking out for their own careers rather than moving this team forward together.

And this all falls on Vivek. As of right now he's a terrible leader overseeing a toxic culture. He's allowing, even encouraging total disarray in his organization and is bringing in guys who not only aren't on the same page, but see one another as a threat to their jobs and their careers. What a mess.

What this team needs is for Vivek to hire a GM who he's comfortable enough with to step back and let run the show. We need some top down discipline. We need PDA and Mullin sent packing. This situation isn't going to fix itself until the weasel and Mullin hit the road. We have opposing factions fighting it out behind closed doors and we're never going to right the ship until it's fixed.

Two more thoughts.

One, I find it very promising that Pop schooled Vlade on how to build and organization. That's good to hear. Problem is it won't come to fruition until Vivek mans the F up and clears out those with opposing visions.

Two, I need to change my avatar again! SMH, I knew I was being too hopeful with that.
 
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Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#5
This probably deserves its own thread, it's important.

This is what I've been greatly concerned about for months now and brought up the opposing factions in our FO will not suddenly disappear because Karl was brought in. Far from it and once again we have evidence here suggesting some key players within our organization were and are against Karl, now Vlade too. There's the clear suggestion that PDA was against Karl. This is why you never take a weasel at his word and why you'd need to bury your head in the sand to believe Karl was PDA's guy, he wanted him and went out and got him because he felt he was the right guy. No, it's been quite clear the PDA/Mullin faction have been against Karl and the two month delay in hiring him was proof of that and when adding this Vlade situation into the equation, everything points to PDA/Mullin being fearful of losing control.

And that's what this internal struggle is about, not winning, not success, not having everyone developing a plan and sticking to it, it's a power struggle behind the scenes with clashing philosophies, backstabbing(the leaks speak to that), power-plays and guys looking out for their own careers rather than moving this team forward together.

And this all falls on Vivek. As of right now he's a terrible leader overseeing a toxic culture. He's allowing, even encouraging total disarray in his organization and is bringing in guys who not only aren't on the same page, but see one another as a threat to their jobs and their careers. What a mess.

What this team needs is for Vivek to hire a GM who he's comfortable enough with to step back and let run the show. We need some top down discipline. We need PDA and Mullin sent packing. This situation isn't going to fix itself until the weasel and Mullin hit the road. We have opposing factions fighting it out behind closed doors and we're never going to right the ship until it's fixed.

Two more thoughts.

One, I find it very promising that Pop schooled Vlade on how to build and organization. That's good to hear. Problem is it won't come to fruition until Vivek mans the F up and clears out those with opposing visions.

Two, I need to change my avatar again! SMH, I knew I was being too hopeful with that.
Well Vivek isn't your traditional leader, he's an "agitator".
 
#6
This will never end until Mullin is gone. His name keeps coming as reasons why this front office is in disarray. My opinion of where PDA stands in all this keeps changing, but I still dont like him.

I agree that Mullin and PDA need to go. Vlade may be even better for this franchise than we had originally though in that maybe he will finally be the respectable catalyst we need to convince Vivek to get of his two current sidekicks.

What a mess. This is Vlade's house. Mullin should learn to respect that sooner rather than later.
 
#7
This probably deserves its own thread, it's important.

This is what I've been greatly concerned about for months now and brought up the opposing factions in our FO will not suddenly disappear because Karl was brought in. Far from it and once again we have evidence here suggesting some key players within our organization were and are against Karl, now Vlade too. There's the clear suggestion that PDA was against Karl. This is why you never take a weasel at his word and why you'd need to bury your head in the sand to believe Karl was PDA's guy, he wanted him and went out and got him because he felt he was the right guy. No, it's been quite clear the PDA/Mullin faction have been against Karl and the two month delay in hiring him was proof of that and when adding this Vlade situation into the equation, everything points to PDA/Mullin being fearful of losing control.

And that's what this internal struggle is about, not winning, not success, not having everyone developing a plan and sticking to it, it's a power struggle behind the scenes with clashing philosophies, backstabbing(the leaks speak to that), power-plays and guys looking out for their own careers rather than moving this team forward together.

And this all falls on Vivek. As of right now he's a terrible leader overseeing a toxic culture. He's allowing, even encouraging total disarray in his organization and is bringing in guys who not only aren't on the same page, but see one another as a threat to their jobs and their careers. What a mess.

What this team needs is for Vivek to hire a GM who he's comfortable enough with to step back and let run the show. We need some top down discipline. We need PDA and Mullin sent packing. This situation isn't going to fix itself until the weasel and Mullin hit the road. We have opposing factions fighting it out behind closed doors and we're never going to right the ship until it's fixed.

Two more thoughts.

One, I find it very promising that Pop schooled Vlade on how to build and organization. That's good to hear. Problem is it won't come to fruition until Vivek mans the F up and clears out those with opposing visions.

Two, I need to change my avatar again! SMH, I knew I was being too hopeful with that.
Trying to be an optimist, hopefully this is part of the "cleansing." Need new blood before purging all of the old.
 
#8
Two levels of chaos are becoming clear.

As we saw with Karl, the ownership is not functioning a one cohesive group with Vivek as the decider in chief. Whether it is failed consensus building or the lack of a true over 50% stake in ownership, Vivek is trying to get the group pointed in one direction and that hasn't always gone well. Even Dave was really critical and frank about the owners not seeing eye to eye and the paralysis caused by the lack of either a consensus or a decision on Corbin/Karl as things were frankly collapsing around them.

And there are clearly camps forming with the basketball side of the front office.

Such a bush league story, Vivek botches his first 18 months so he responds by: throwing the other owners and the fans a bone by finally agreeing to hire Karl; and creating yet another executive position out of the blue and staffing it with perhaps the most beloved King ever. Great on the surface, except that on the basketball side you typically have a GM and coach below him. Other teams, have a head of basketball operations, a lesser GM post below that, and then the coach (if he's not the head of operations who is over the day to day GM.) We've now got a Hand of the King (Mullin), King of the East (Vlade), embattled GM, and coach that wants his voice heard in basketball decisions. Seems like he's set up a bigger mess trying to clean up his last one. Too many camps, who see each other as threats, not on the same page, with not enough duties and power to divide.

Say what you will about the Maloofs, until they had their NY press conference, they had a plan and they executed that plan with constant thought and attention to the franchise. Even when not good at the job and under funded, they actually often had the right balance of involvement and attention.

It's starting to seem to me that Vivek is both a meddler (because he is more than willing to impose his ignorant and half baked ideas on the franchise) and at other times too far removed because he's not always present in the day to day up here.. Unless, he's going to blow out PDA and marginalize Mullin in two months ... seems like band aid fixes applied from the Bay Area are going to create festering wounds up here.
 
#9
What a mess you say. Well, it may be a mess but it seems a positive situation to me, management affairs are moving in the right direction. Hiring Vlade was and is a good sign to me. I don't know what relationships were before and now, either, but we're better off with Vlade in place.
 
#11
The Kings are 1 year away from being a small market team, with no revenue sharing, an ownership group as dysfunctional as the early 2000s Hawks, and front office that is either embroiled in or just removed from an ugly power struggle that will spill into the papers. I fail to see how this much churn or chaos at the end of year two is positive.

Happy we have a new team and fired up for the new arena and the surrounding development. But, the quality of basketball ops and ownership is bleak.
 

rainmaker

Hall of Famer
#12
What a mess you say. Well, it may be a mess but it seems a positive situation to me, management affairs are moving in the right direction. Hiring Vlade was and is a good sign to me. I don't know what relationships were before and now, either, but we're better off with Vlade in place.
How is it positive? If you're someone who's a fan of Vlade and backed his hiring, then it should be of great concern that two of the more powerful individuals in our FO are not on board with Vlade, or Karl for that matter.

Likewise, if you back PDA and Mullin, you should be against both the hiring of Vlade and Karl.

You can't support both opposing factions and simply say it's positive. You're essentially backing Vlade/Karl while also backing those who oppose their hiring. How can you support hiring Vlade, then support those who don't want him here? I love Vlade and think he's a good hire, but isn't the obvious next step to ensure everyone is on board with it to give Vlade the best chance at having success? He's not a miracle worker.

This isn't only a bad situation, it's getting worse as the most important off season in the franchise's history is only 3.5 months away.
 
#14
How is it positive? If you're someone who's a fan of Vlade and backed his hiring, then it should be of great concern that two of the more powerful individuals in our FO are not on board with Vlade, or Karl for that matter.

Likewise, if you back PDA and Mullin, you should be against both the hiring of Vlade and Karl.

You can't support both opposing factions and simply say it's positive. You're essentially backing Vlade/Karl while also backing those who oppose their hiring. How can you support hiring Vlade, then support those who don't want him here? I love Vlade and think he's a good hire, but isn't the obvious next step to ensure everyone is on board with it to give Vlade the best chance at having success? He's not a miracle worker.

This isn't only a bad situation, it's getting worse as the most important off season in the franchise's history is only 3.5 months away.
It's only a positive if it means "that two of the more powerful individuals" are no longer powerful and better yet removed entirely.
 
#15
If I'm DMC and my widely criticized owner goes through 3 coaches, 2 GMs, and 2 right-hand-man NBA legend advisers in 2 or 3 season, I'm sure that would have no bearing upon entrusting that person with the remainder of my prime.
If I'm boogies agent I'm setting the table to demand a trade this offseason. Enough is enough. Anywhere (except the knicks) is better than here.
 
#16
"I just enjoy winners; I enjoy leaders. And he is a man of substance and character.”

As the kids say nowadays, "game recognize game."

This is what it's about. The people of substance and character are the ones who are truly successful. And by that, I mean ones that build something real. Vivek hasn't been about building something real. He's been about pace, entertainment, etc. He wants to get basketball into India. He's about trying to maximize his brand and his profit. His heart isn't on the court, it's in the marketing. Mullin hasn't been advising from a pure place. He advises based on his own agenda. Pete is just a yes man. Vlade is beloved EVERYWHERE. He speaks honestly, he has no ulterior motives. He just is. And people see that immediately. And people stick around for that. Vlade's never gone to grab power, he's had power placed on him. And those are the best leaders.
 
#17
What a mess you say. Well, it may be a mess but it seems a positive situation to me, management affairs are moving in the right direction. Hiring Vlade was and is a good sign to me. I don't know what relationships were before and now, either, but we're better off with Vlade in place.
I agree with you, I think there are a lot of positives here! I know I may be reading way too much into this, but let's look at the timeline. Ranadive finally gets the team, with only a few months before the season starts. The draft is coming up and free agency is coming up, he needs to build a front office fast because he isn't equipped to handle this stuff. So he hires people that he knows from his previous location to help guide him, Chris Mullin and Michael Malone (I know he didn't officially hire Mullin until later, but I think it's a safe bet that he had been talking to him during this time). He uses Mullin's advice and hires D'Alessandro and Bratz, friends of Mullin. D'Alessandro is a numbers guy, we know he is good working the salary cap and contracts which fits his attorney and agent background while Bratz is the main talent evaluator, how good he is we have no idea. Remember that Mullin probably didn't suggest hiring Malone, that was done separately. So what happens is you have Mullin's crew against Malone so of course Malone loses, not a fair fight there.

With all of the problems of the team after Malone is fired Ranadive has to step in to help clean this up. So he goes with what he wants and the wishes of his fellow owners over the front office and brings in Karl and Divac, very respected NBA people. Mullin's crew no longer has full control and they don't like that.

I'm sure there is more here than has been said, but this actually makes a lot of sense. None of us could really understand why Malone was fired and what was going on behind the scenes. In fact I was one of the ones who blamed Ranadive. While I'm sure there is some blame there too it does make sense that he had to rush and bring in front office quickly without having the time to really think things through. Also I would like to believe that he has learned a lot over these last two years. This front office needs a change and getting rid of Mullin's crew might be what the best step to take is. If that happens the only question is who becomes the general manager? Ranadive has repeatedly said that his big mistake was hiring a coach before a general manager. Well it looks like that may happen again, unless Karl or Divac get that job, perhaps one of them will.
 
#18
I agree with you, I think there are a lot of positives here! I know I may be reading way too much into this, but let's look at the timeline. Ranadive finally gets the team, with only a few months before the season starts. The draft is coming up and free agency is coming up, he needs to build a front office fast because he isn't equipped to handle this stuff. So he hires people that he knows from his previous location to help guide him, Chris Mullin and Michael Malone (I know he didn't officially hire Mullin until later, but I think it's a safe bet that he had been talking to him during this time). He uses Mullin's advice and hires D'Alessandro and Bratz, friends of Mullin. D'Alessandro is a numbers guy, we know he is good working the salary cap and contracts which fits his attorney and agent background while Bratz is the main talent evaluator, how good he is we have no idea. Remember that Mullin probably didn't suggest hiring Malone, that was done separately. So what happens is you have Mullin's crew against Malone so of course Malone loses, not a fair fight there.

With all of the problems of the team after Malone is fired Ranadive has to step in to help clean this up. So he goes with what he wants and the wishes of his fellow owners over the front office and brings in Karl and Divac, very respected NBA people. Mullin's crew no longer has full control and they don't like that.

I'm sure there is more here than has been said, but this actually makes a lot of sense. None of us could really understand why Malone was fired and what was going on behind the scenes. In fact I was one of the ones who blamed Ranadive. While I'm sure there is some blame there too it does make sense that he had to rush and bring in front office quickly without having the time to really think things through. Also I would like to believe that he has learned a lot over these last two years. This front office needs a change and getting rid of Mullin's crew might be what the best step to take is. If that happens the only question is who becomes the general manager? Ranadive has repeatedly said that his big mistake was hiring a coach before a general manager. Well it looks like that may happen again, unless Karl or Divac get that job, perhaps one of them will.
It may be as simple as that. Put Petey where he may be best, a numbers guy, agent, lawyer and let him finalize the details. Exorcise Mullin. Let Karl and Divac dictate who they want AND don't want.
 
#20
It may be as simple as that. Put Petey where he may be best, a numbers guy, agent, lawyer and let him finalize the details. Exorcise Mullin. Let Karl and Divac dictate who they want AND don't want.
That could work, but it just seems like D'Alessandro is on his way out. Carmichael Dave made the comment on his morning radio show a couple of weeks ago that he's guessing that D'Alessandro is gone this offseason and he does know things. Also look how involved Divac is here. This isn't a part-time job, he is moving here and working every day as his main job. He also went on that long road trip with the team, why would he do that? It seems like he was spending a lot of time with George Karl, they reference a lot of discussions together. I think they are building something and it's not with the input of this front office, that's why they feel threatened all of a sudden.
 
#21
"But Monday, Mullin’s normal seat to Ranadive’s right was occupied by a 7-foot-1, bearded Serb, who has long been known as a consensus builder, not a power grabber. This is Vlade’s home, and he has every intention of sticking around."

Popcorn.....a little salty most likely, but I'll reserve opinion for now.

I find this quite amusing today, but may not tomorrow.
 
#22
How is it positive? If you're someone who's a fan of Vlade and backed his hiring, then it should be of great concern that two of the more powerful individuals in our FO are not on board with Vlade, or Karl for that matter.

Likewise, if you back PDA and Mullin, you should be against both the hiring of Vlade and Karl.

You can't support both opposing factions and simply say it's positive. You're essentially backing Vlade/Karl while also backing those who oppose their hiring. How can you support hiring Vlade, then support those who don't want him here? I love Vlade and think he's a good hire, but isn't the obvious next step to ensure everyone is on board with it to give Vlade the best chance at having success? He's not a miracle worker.

This isn't only a bad situation, it's getting worse as the most important off season in the franchise's history is only 3.5 months away.
You paint a very clear black and white picture. I don't share your view that it is any where near black and white. Let me assure you that I back Mullin, Divak, D'Alessandro, and Karl. Three of them are "basketball" minds, one is a "transactions" mind. Coach Karl is here to stay. D'Allessandro can do an effective job no matter who's advice Ranadive takes. At this point I would say that if differences continue between Divak and Mullin, Divak will survive. The hiring of Divak indicates a move in the right direction, it indicates that Ranadive realizes errors have been made
and he's working to avoid them in the future. If Mullin has lost some stature with personal friend Ranadive do you think he would be fired now on March 18? No, not likely. Signs are good for moving on to a better place.
 
#23
i know this is a terrible terrible terrible thing to say, but this awful disfunction and incompetence kind of makes me wonder how much better off DMC and the rest of the team would be had they gone to Seattle....
 

Capt. Factorial

ceterum censeo delendum esse Argentum
Staff member
#25
i know this is a terrible terrible terrible thing to say, but this awful disfunction and incompetence kind of makes me wonder how much better off DMC and the rest of the team would be had they gone to Seattle....
Here, I got a task for you. Next time you're talking to a parent and they mention that their child is ill, turn to that parent and say, "Oh, is little Tommy sick AGAIN? Maybe it would have been better if he had just died in infancy." Go!
 
#26
That could work, but it just seems like D'Alessandro is on his way out. Carmichael Dave made the comment on his morning radio show a couple of weeks ago that he's guessing that D'Alessandro is gone this offseason and he does know things. Also look how involved Divac is here. This isn't a part-time job, he is moving here and working every day as his main job. He also went on that long road trip with the team, why would he do that? It seems like he was spending a lot of time with George Karl, they reference a lot of discussions together. I think they are building something and it's not with the input of this front office, that's why they feel threatened all of a sudden.
If he is, no tears will be shed on my part.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#27
This probably deserves its own thread, it's important. MOD NOTE: I agree.

This is what I've been greatly concerned about for months now and brought up the opposing factions in our FO will not suddenly disappear because Karl was brought in. Far from it and once again we have evidence here suggesting some key players within our organization were and are against Karl, now Vlade too. There's the clear suggestion that PDA was against Karl. This is why you never take a weasel at his word and why you'd need to bury your head in the sand to believe Karl was PDA's guy, he wanted him and went out and got him because he felt he was the right guy. No, it's been quite clear the PDA/Mullin faction have been against Karl and the two month delay in hiring him was proof of that and when adding this Vlade situation into the equation, everything points to PDA/Mullin being fearful of losing control.

And that's what this internal struggle is about, not winning, not success, not having everyone developing a plan and sticking to it, it's a power struggle behind the scenes with clashing philosophies, backstabbing(the leaks speak to that), power-plays and guys looking out for their own careers rather than moving this team forward together.

And this all falls on Vivek. As of right now he's a terrible leader overseeing a toxic culture. He's allowing, even encouraging total disarray in his organization and is bringing in guys who not only aren't on the same page, but see one another as a threat to their jobs and their careers. What a mess.

What this team needs is for Vivek to hire a GM who he's comfortable enough with to step back and let run the show. We need some top down discipline. We need PDA and Mullin sent packing. This situation isn't going to fix itself until the weasel and Mullin hit the road. We have opposing factions fighting it out behind closed doors and we're never going to right the ship until it's fixed.

Two more thoughts.

One, I find it very promising that Pop schooled Vlade on how to build and organization. That's good to hear. Problem is it won't come to fruition until Vivek mans the F up and clears out those with opposing visions.

Two, I need to change my avatar again! SMH, I knew I was being too hopeful with that.
Well, your right, anyone that thought bringing Karl in was going to smooth relations within the organization truly did have their head in the sand. Whether you like or dislike Karl, he is his own man, and he's more likely to have his hand in your business, than the other way around. Karl likes to have as much power as possible, and just about everywhere he's been, he's tried to grab as much power as he can. I don't blame him. What coach wouldn't like to have total control over all personnel decisions? This whole mess almost makes you yearn for the old Petrie days. They bordered on boring by comparison.

Vivek screwed up right from the get go by picking the coach first. Not that Malone was a bad choice, but that the process was. His second bad decision was his choice for GM. PDA is probably a smart guy and I have no doubt he knows the CBA inside and out. But I doubt that he feels secure right now, and one thing you want your GM to feel, is secure. That's why Vivek should have looked for an experienced GM. Someone with some battle scars, and hopefully a good track record. Instead he went with a young inexperienced guy, and then took his first most important decision away from him. Right now, PDA is looking over both shoulders at two different people he see's as a threat.

He knows from experience that Karl will be threat. It's why he was fired in Denver, despite being named coach of the year. And now, he has a new threat in Vlade. He probably feels he's one bad decision away from being fired. To make matters worse, Karl and Vlade seem to get along and like each other. If I'm PDA, and I read that Vlade is getting advice from Pop's on how to build and organization, I start getting worried. It's almost as if were watching a reality show on television. Sadly entertaining. Not sure how Mullins fits into this. I've always pictured him as the little man whispering in the kings ear. It appears that ear, and now his seat have been taken by Vlade, which to my mind is a good thing. If anyone can calm things down, and bring everyone together, its Vlade. It's what he does best. And hopefully, if your not willing to get on the same page with Vlade, you'll be scouring the want adds for work.
 
#28
it's pretty sad to see what this dysfunctional clusterblank front office has done to this team.

11 wins in 24 games under Mike Malone. 10 of which, were sans DeMarcus Cousins.
Since? 11 wins as well. IN 42 GAMES!. :(