DeMarcus Cousins: "...what's bigger than my name in Sacramento?"
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EXACTLY.
If I were in DMC's shoes I wouldn't care what the kings did in the final years of his contract. This FO is what it is, a bunch of backstabbing wanna be know it alls and thats not gonna miraculously change in 2 years. They don't care about DMC and he really should be looking for a way out next year. Scr*w wasting another couple of years of a short career.
If I were in DMC's shoes I wouldn't care what the kings did in the final years of his contract. This FO is what it is, a bunch of backstabbing wanna be know it alls and thats not gonna miraculously change in 2 years. They don't care about DMC and he really should be looking for a way out next year. Scr*w wasting another couple of years of a short career.
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The Kings arent trading him for any reason over the next 14 months and are unlikely to move him before the 2017 deadline.
Whether DMC is already leaning strongly toward leaving or intending to stay no matter what, it probably looks the same for at least another 10 months. DMC can earn respect around the league for his conduct by quietly biding his time and doing his best in crummy conditions. It will earn him more credit and leeway in the press and league office. DMC knows this and so do his agents. Even if DMC knows what he plans to do (may just be gods plan) I doubt fans will have a good read (let alone objective)
I think it's fair to assume DMC will value having a decent shot of contending for a title in the near future, franchise stability, and a style of play that suits him. To that end, we've got a lot of work to do
Whether DMC is already leaning strongly toward leaving or intending to stay no matter what, it probably looks the same for at least another 10 months. DMC can earn respect around the league for his conduct by quietly biding his time and doing his best in crummy conditions. It will earn him more credit and leeway in the press and league office. DMC knows this and so do his agents. Even if DMC knows what he plans to do (may just be gods plan) I doubt fans will have a good read (let alone objective)
I think it's fair to assume DMC will value having a decent shot of contending for a title in the near future, franchise stability, and a style of play that suits him. To that end, we've got a lot of work to do
Carmichael Dave @CarmichaelDave 7m7 minutes ago
Newspaper articles and gossip don't mean a thing. @boogiecousins was a BEAST tonight, and that's all that matters. Dude wants to win.
Newspaper articles and gossip don't mean a thing. @boogiecousins was a BEAST tonight, and that's all that matters. Dude wants to win.
He's not checking out. The people who are so anxious to see him do so are going to be disappointed. If you watch his interviews, you can learn a lot about him. What you see with Demarcus is what you get. He just wants to win. And as long as he believes that's what the coach and the organization want, he's not going to stop trying.
I think tonight's game was a bit of a turning point. Yeah, it was against another non-playoff team, but George Karl did what it took to turn them around at the half and get them pointed in the right direction. And you could tell by watching DMC, Rudy, Omri, Dre and the rest of the crew that they were going to do their best to show that they were willing to follow him.
I think tonight's game was a bit of a turning point. Yeah, it was against another non-playoff team, but George Karl did what it took to turn them around at the half and get them pointed in the right direction. And you could tell by watching DMC, Rudy, Omri, Dre and the rest of the crew that they were going to do their best to show that they were willing to follow him.
i know he hasn't and i applaud him along with many on the board for staying strong in the face of continued adversity, im not sure there's many here that are willing him on and counting down to see him check out - anxious as you put it. We've seen him grow into something special and achieve some of the nation recognition he deserves, long may it continue. This organisation needs to sort themselves out however fast. We need to go beyond a turnaround next season
This is very true. I get the feeling Pete is already gone. I'm sure Vlade has told him to lay low with the tweets and other public displays because his work here is done. In the meantime, Vlade is conversing with Pop and Riley and others who he knows know what they're doing. He could care less what Mullin and PDA have to say. Regardless of the wins and losses on the court, there seems to be a calmness in the organization without seeing PDA and Vivek and with the addition of Karl and Vlade.
You can usually break things faster than they can be put back together. I think we're slowly putting the pieces back together. Including Cousins, who has been beasting again on the court.
You can usually break things faster than they can be put back together. I think we're slowly putting the pieces back together. Including Cousins, who has been beasting again on the court.
Vlade is my favorite King. Maybe in 3-4 years he will be ready to be an NBA GM. I don't think its a great idea to hire a rookie GM with no NBA front office experience heading into both our two most important off seasons in many years and 3 years of uncharted NBA cap waters as the old norms are thrown on their ear by the biggest cap jump ever and then a new CBA.
His Olympic executive experience does not provide him with any cap or transaction experience, which are hugely important. With no working experience with his scouts, he doesn't know whose opions he values most. I love me some Vlade, but we really think the answer is to give a guy with zero NBA experience a cap doctor, Karl input, and a few meetings with Pop the car keys because he's smart and a good dude? That seems like a lot of risk and we will see rookie mistakes when we can least afford them if we want to resign DMC.
I want Mullin to go, which probably means his ally PDA needs to go as well. Vlade becomes the new Mullin. We get a good GM. I don't think Ferry will get his job back in Atl and he might take our job to get back in. Karl can give input but can't make decisions. In 3-5 years the Kings can reassess whether Vlade wants or is ready for the GM job
His Olympic executive experience does not provide him with any cap or transaction experience, which are hugely important. With no working experience with his scouts, he doesn't know whose opions he values most. I love me some Vlade, but we really think the answer is to give a guy with zero NBA experience a cap doctor, Karl input, and a few meetings with Pop the car keys because he's smart and a good dude? That seems like a lot of risk and we will see rookie mistakes when we can least afford them if we want to resign DMC.
I want Mullin to go, which probably means his ally PDA needs to go as well. Vlade becomes the new Mullin. We get a good GM. I don't think Ferry will get his job back in Atl and he might take our job to get back in. Karl can give input but can't make decisions. In 3-5 years the Kings can reassess whether Vlade wants or is ready for the GM job
Why does everyone assume you have to be a numbers guy to be a good GM? The Association™ is filled with good GMs who aren't. They're also filled with bad GMs who are. Honestly, all you need is a number cruncher in your office if it's really that big of a deal. We have at least 2 people on this site who do such math on a weekly basis.
Vlade: (who right now I'm picturing using a Stallone voice): "Hey Gil, give me a spreadsheet of all the players we can get this year given our cap situation. On the next sheet, add a list of players we can get if we include contracts of x and y."
Gil: "Yes sir! Ol' Gil won't let you down!"
There are people to do those things for you. Being a cap guy isn't the same as being the GM. There's value in farming out duties that aren't necessarily relevant to being a GM.
Vlade: (who right now I'm picturing using a Stallone voice): "Hey Gil, give me a spreadsheet of all the players we can get this year given our cap situation. On the next sheet, add a list of players we can get if we include contracts of x and y."
Gil: "Yes sir! Ol' Gil won't let you down!"
There are people to do those things for you. Being a cap guy isn't the same as being the GM. There's value in farming out duties that aren't necessarily relevant to being a GM.
Has Mullin been to a game since Vlade was hired? Or has Vlade been in that seat every night? With any luck, we've seen the last of 'ol flat top.
If they keep Pete on board but he answers to Karl on personnel, that is fine with me - if you're gonna pay him, might as well avail yourself of his expertise. Pete can be Karl's salary cap boy.
I can't imagine that George Karl took this job for fairly modest money, without final say on personnel. He will be the GM for all practical purposes with or without the title.
If they keep Pete on board but he answers to Karl on personnel, that is fine with me - if you're gonna pay him, might as well avail yourself of his expertise. Pete can be Karl's salary cap boy.
I can't imagine that George Karl took this job for fairly modest money, without final say on personnel. He will be the GM for all practical purposes with or without the title.
Who are some of these good GMs that aren't "good at the numbers." Can you throw me a couple of names?
Other than Pop, most coaches make crappy GMs. While Pop makes the final call, he also has and relies on RC Buford as a GM. Who isn't here. GM Doc Rivers isn't very good and is killing coach Doc Rivers. Karl's never done it, so he'd also be a rookie.
Valde has no executive track record either evaluating NBA talent, paying them appropriately, or managing a cap which are three of the biggest jobs. To me, that's kind of a big deal.
I get fans are optimistic, love Vlade, and constantly fed team talking points of "the past is the past" "moving forward" and "you should believe DMC is coming because because he values loyalty" ... but the team hasn't been loyal to DMC this year , which is why he is mad. That's kinda the point. Which is why our efforts to win him back need to show winning, competence, and stability. The overall perception around the league is that the team is a mess and Vivek isn't (yet) a good owner. In his first three years, we're going to have 3 coaches, 2 GMs, and 2 former player advisers. Well then, the next two years better be pretty flawless from the front office. I think trying to meet that standard with a rookie GM is a very tall task.
Other than Pop, most coaches make crappy GMs. While Pop makes the final call, he also has and relies on RC Buford as a GM. Who isn't here. GM Doc Rivers isn't very good and is killing coach Doc Rivers. Karl's never done it, so he'd also be a rookie.
Valde has no executive track record either evaluating NBA talent, paying them appropriately, or managing a cap which are three of the biggest jobs. To me, that's kind of a big deal.
I get fans are optimistic, love Vlade, and constantly fed team talking points of "the past is the past" "moving forward" and "you should believe DMC is coming because because he values loyalty" ... but the team hasn't been loyal to DMC this year , which is why he is mad. That's kinda the point. Which is why our efforts to win him back need to show winning, competence, and stability. The overall perception around the league is that the team is a mess and Vivek isn't (yet) a good owner. In his first three years, we're going to have 3 coaches, 2 GMs, and 2 former player advisers. Well then, the next two years better be pretty flawless from the front office. I think trying to meet that standard with a rookie GM is a very tall task.
Vlade was there for the first part of the game, Mullin was there for the last part.
First game I have been to since Malone was fired. Vivek does not look happy, he was sitting there with his arms crossed, no emotion, most of the game. Was very odd. That being said, it was like a playoff game from the crowd last night, so that was nice to see.
Cousins was at the center of a controversy not of his own doing when it was leaked that “Cousins's camp” was opposed to Karl's hiring. Eventually, Cousins had to release a statement explaining how he wasn't against Karl’s arrival. When asked if it bothered him that his name was mentioned as the obstacle to Karl, Cousins angrily shook his head ....
“I felt like a line was crossed ... I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m in Sacramento,” Cousins said. “And not to sound arrogant, but what’s bigger than my name in Sacramento? It could be a damn forest fire in Sacramento, my name will come up. ‘It was near DeMarcus Cousins’s house!’ ”
There are two separate but related items here. Being thrown under the bus by the team and it blowing up because the Sacramento fish bowl is small. me.
First, it appears that: he knows that owners of the team he works for could not collectively decide either whether or when Karl should be hired; instead of publicly admitting that the owners weren't on the same page about what should be done with the coach, somebody leaked that Cousin's camp was opposed to the hiring and thus, Cousins was portrayed the cause of the delay; Cousins strongly disagreed with that contention; Cousins believes the team should have clarified the situation to clear his name and get him out of the press on an issue he did not control; and eventually, his camp had to release a statement when the team failed to do so.
This is what caused the "God's plan" angry outburst. That makes sense. If Viveck, PDA, and say Mark Mastrov can't get on the same page as to whether the team should hire Karl asap or wait until the summer to see who else became available, the team has a duty to clear up the record when their best player is getting blamed in the press for uncertainty and dysfunction. The situation is much worse if somebody within or associated with the team leaked the Cousins story to give the owners cover, and the team didn't fix the problem immediately. With the "I feel like a line was crossed," it appears that Cousins believes the team acted very inappropriately toward his public reputation (which he is taking great strides to repair and protect this season). Compounding the problem, they fired a coach he liked playing for and then didn't clear the air on the false claim that he was holding up the Karl hire (which he didn't control) This is probably not completely in the past, because when asked about it much later he was perceived to be still angry about what happened by the reporter.
I think the Sacramento fish bowl is related, because he knows that stories like "DMC is holing up the Karl story" are city wide new in Sacramento, but also a separate point. Small market towns like Sacramento are the best when you are winning. Everybody loves you, everybody is behind you, the stories are positive, and the bad news slips away pretty fast.
But, when the team is down and things are not going well, most of the town comes to you for answers about what is wrong and solutions.
DMC is wrong that he wouldn't get picked apart in Philly or Houston, but it is a little easier to get physically off the radar from time to time in big cities with multiple pro teams and more folks that don't follow the team even causally. VF21, I get why you think it's unfair to make it sound like DMC thinks he's better than the town. Particular since he was careful to qualify his statement. That's not fair. But, there is a fair reading that DMC is saying both: (1) the front office crossed a line with the Karl situation that was wrong; (2) I've also finally come to conclusion that the Karl situation was a huge story in Sacramento, because I'm perpetually in a fish bowl in Sacramento and that is what it is. He's not saying he's better than the town, but he might be wondering if the size of the town is a good fit (something that Webber used to deal with and talk about when he was here).
“I felt like a line was crossed ... I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m in Sacramento,” Cousins said. “And not to sound arrogant, but what’s bigger than my name in Sacramento? It could be a damn forest fire in Sacramento, my name will come up. ‘It was near DeMarcus Cousins’s house!’ ”
There are two separate but related items here. Being thrown under the bus by the team and it blowing up because the Sacramento fish bowl is small. me.
First, it appears that: he knows that owners of the team he works for could not collectively decide either whether or when Karl should be hired; instead of publicly admitting that the owners weren't on the same page about what should be done with the coach, somebody leaked that Cousin's camp was opposed to the hiring and thus, Cousins was portrayed the cause of the delay; Cousins strongly disagreed with that contention; Cousins believes the team should have clarified the situation to clear his name and get him out of the press on an issue he did not control; and eventually, his camp had to release a statement when the team failed to do so.
This is what caused the "God's plan" angry outburst. That makes sense. If Viveck, PDA, and say Mark Mastrov can't get on the same page as to whether the team should hire Karl asap or wait until the summer to see who else became available, the team has a duty to clear up the record when their best player is getting blamed in the press for uncertainty and dysfunction. The situation is much worse if somebody within or associated with the team leaked the Cousins story to give the owners cover, and the team didn't fix the problem immediately. With the "I feel like a line was crossed," it appears that Cousins believes the team acted very inappropriately toward his public reputation (which he is taking great strides to repair and protect this season). Compounding the problem, they fired a coach he liked playing for and then didn't clear the air on the false claim that he was holding up the Karl hire (which he didn't control) This is probably not completely in the past, because when asked about it much later he was perceived to be still angry about what happened by the reporter.
I think the Sacramento fish bowl is related, because he knows that stories like "DMC is holing up the Karl story" are city wide new in Sacramento, but also a separate point. Small market towns like Sacramento are the best when you are winning. Everybody loves you, everybody is behind you, the stories are positive, and the bad news slips away pretty fast.
But, when the team is down and things are not going well, most of the town comes to you for answers about what is wrong and solutions.
DMC is wrong that he wouldn't get picked apart in Philly or Houston, but it is a little easier to get physically off the radar from time to time in big cities with multiple pro teams and more folks that don't follow the team even causally. VF21, I get why you think it's unfair to make it sound like DMC thinks he's better than the town. Particular since he was careful to qualify his statement. That's not fair. But, there is a fair reading that DMC is saying both: (1) the front office crossed a line with the Karl situation that was wrong; (2) I've also finally come to conclusion that the Karl situation was a huge story in Sacramento, because I'm perpetually in a fish bowl in Sacramento and that is what it is. He's not saying he's better than the town, but he might be wondering if the size of the town is a good fit (something that Webber used to deal with and talk about when he was here).
After making an initial response to your post, I took the time to re-read it (which is why my response disappeared for a few minutes).
You make some good points but I think you're omitting one key factor - loyalty. It is clear based on a wide variety of sources that DMC values loyalty above just about everything else. I think this has been a big question mark for DeMarcus this year. He has to have questioned the loyalty of the front office to him at the time of the Malone firing. He has been on the ultimate roller coaster ride of his professional career this season, including the all-star snub that was rectified by none other than the commissioner of the NBA.
I think DMC knows the fans are behind him. I think he retains a loyalty to those fans and the franchise that drafted him. I also think he wants/needs to believe that the guys stepping on the court every night with him are loyal to each other and to him and want the same thing - to win.
When George Karl was finally brought on board, I think it may have been the beginning of restoring DMC's faith in the organization. Adding Vlade to the mix was most likely another step in the right direction.
Has DMC questioned his future? Most certainly. Does he want to leave for greener pastures? I don't think so; it doesn't seem to be part of his character. Again, his own loyalty trumps all, which is partially why perceived disloyalty of others could cut him so deeply.
I didn't mean to make this some kind of amateur psycho-analysis of our franchise center. I only meant to point out that I think some people are way too hard on him because they haven't looked at him as a person.
There are different ways to interpret DMC's comments. I will continue to vehemently protest when someone (not you) tries to take his words out of context to put DMC in an unfair light. That's not fair to him and it's not fair to us.
You make some good points but I think you're omitting one key factor - loyalty. It is clear based on a wide variety of sources that DMC values loyalty above just about everything else. I think this has been a big question mark for DeMarcus this year. He has to have questioned the loyalty of the front office to him at the time of the Malone firing. He has been on the ultimate roller coaster ride of his professional career this season, including the all-star snub that was rectified by none other than the commissioner of the NBA.
I think DMC knows the fans are behind him. I think he retains a loyalty to those fans and the franchise that drafted him. I also think he wants/needs to believe that the guys stepping on the court every night with him are loyal to each other and to him and want the same thing - to win.
When George Karl was finally brought on board, I think it may have been the beginning of restoring DMC's faith in the organization. Adding Vlade to the mix was most likely another step in the right direction.
Has DMC questioned his future? Most certainly. Does he want to leave for greener pastures? I don't think so; it doesn't seem to be part of his character. Again, his own loyalty trumps all, which is partially why perceived disloyalty of others could cut him so deeply.
I didn't mean to make this some kind of amateur psycho-analysis of our franchise center. I only meant to point out that I think some people are way too hard on him because they haven't looked at him as a person.
There are different ways to interpret DMC's comments. I will continue to vehemently protest when someone (not you) tries to take his words out of context to put DMC in an unfair light. That's not fair to him and it's not fair to us.
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We'll have to wait and see. Could work out, or not. It's tough to know ahead of time if a new GM has an eye for talent, an eye for fit and recognizes/understand how to build a winner. Successful GMs have come from all walks of life.
Riley was a great coach, made a great GM. Phil Jackson, great coach, so far lousy GM. Jerry West, great player, great GM. Mullin, very good player, much worse GM. R.C. Buford has a great track record but never set foot on an NBA court. Kevin Pritchard spent half his career overseas but also a good GM.
It's hit and miss, you never know. What gives hope as far as Vlade is it appears those he's worked with think he's a pretty intelligent guy and he's been a member of some very successful basketball teams. He wasn't head of the Serbian Olympic Committee simply because he's a celebrity over there. Pop doesn't waste his time tutoring guys who he thinks it'll be a waste of time tutoring. If Vlade understands how and why the Lakers and Kings teams he was on were built as they were and the reasons for their success, well he's already a fair amount ahead of everyone else involved in our FO and ownership.
But in the end, no matter how much Kings fan love Vlade because of the player he was or what he meant to community, that doesn't impact whether he'll be a good GM or not. And right now we simply don't know. I can't imagine he's any worse than PDA though. That's bottom of the barrel level GMing although if its been Vivek pulling the strings, the question then becomes would Vlade or any future GM see Vivek step the F off and let them do their job.
Riley was a great coach, made a great GM. Phil Jackson, great coach, so far lousy GM. Jerry West, great player, great GM. Mullin, very good player, much worse GM. R.C. Buford has a great track record but never set foot on an NBA court. Kevin Pritchard spent half his career overseas but also a good GM.
It's hit and miss, you never know. What gives hope as far as Vlade is it appears those he's worked with think he's a pretty intelligent guy and he's been a member of some very successful basketball teams. He wasn't head of the Serbian Olympic Committee simply because he's a celebrity over there. Pop doesn't waste his time tutoring guys who he thinks it'll be a waste of time tutoring. If Vlade understands how and why the Lakers and Kings teams he was on were built as they were and the reasons for their success, well he's already a fair amount ahead of everyone else involved in our FO and ownership.
But in the end, no matter how much Kings fan love Vlade because of the player he was or what he meant to community, that doesn't impact whether he'll be a good GM or not. And right now we simply don't know. I can't imagine he's any worse than PDA though. That's bottom of the barrel level GMing although if its been Vivek pulling the strings, the question then becomes would Vlade or any future GM see Vivek step the F off and let them do their job.
CWebb had the same issue when he was here. When you're a Kings all-star, you're the biggest celeb around as long as Arnold isn't Governor. So you get name dragged into news.
As Kings fans, there's focus on that statement and Boogie's feelings about the Kings, when the article at large deals with Boogie v The Narrative, and his general placing in NBA circles.
We forget that draft profiles were comparing Cousins to Eddy Curry and Erick Dampier. We still get lines from people like David Thorpe that tread familiar quotes, "Maybe one day he'll get it." while the Cousins is putting up hall of fame numbers.
In the current climate, due to how the news and media has changed, the narrative often matters more than the actual events that transpire or the facts themselves. So, don't get lost in the narrative.
As Kings fans, there's focus on that statement and Boogie's feelings about the Kings, when the article at large deals with Boogie v The Narrative, and his general placing in NBA circles.
We forget that draft profiles were comparing Cousins to Eddy Curry and Erick Dampier. We still get lines from people like David Thorpe that tread familiar quotes, "Maybe one day he'll get it." while the Cousins is putting up hall of fame numbers.
In the current climate, due to how the news and media has changed, the narrative often matters more than the actual events that transpire or the facts themselves. So, don't get lost in the narrative.
http://media.espn1320.net/a/103671389/the-rise-guys-james-ham.htm
Around 8:45 James Ham chimes in on DMC story with the Rise Guys. Thinks story really "captures something," "there are still issues" and once you burn DMC, you often don't get a second chance with him.
Around 8:45 James Ham chimes in on DMC story with the Rise Guys. Thinks story really "captures something," "there are still issues" and once you burn DMC, you often don't get a second chance with him.
I know I'm in the minority, but I think Pete is perfectly fine to be that guy, and I think he'll still be our GM next year (but wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't - I'd peg it at 70% that he returns).
I don't think he should be out in press conferences or the face / voice of the team. But if he's answering to Karl first and foremost, there's no reason he can't be fine.
The only reason people hate him so much is because he was the face of the Malone firing and subsequent PR nightmare (similar to the embarrassing Iggy offer withdrawal).
He's not going to fire Karl. I don't care about his chops as a PR guy. So I'm fine with him staying.
I don't think he should be out in press conferences or the face / voice of the team. But if he's answering to Karl first and foremost, there's no reason he can't be fine.
The only reason people hate him so much is because he was the face of the Malone firing and subsequent PR nightmare (similar to the embarrassing Iggy offer withdrawal).
He's not going to fire Karl. I don't care about his chops as a PR guy. So I'm fine with him staying.
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