Kings interview Del Negro, Jackson and Mitchell for Head Coach position (Yahoo News)

Scary name.

Would have to interview well. Either a reformed man, or a straight liar. If he's the liar, we'd be screwed sooner or later as his rep was always as a guy who wanted absolute power.
I hear you!

Great coach in Europe where the old school approach still works but not convinced his style translates to the NBA as a head coach. Appreciate the wealth of knowledge but I am not sure how the approach fits, especially on this team.
 
Here is a nice video of Elston speaking on his team vs. the Kings:

Love Elston Turner. I have always been impressed with him and he is a very easy guy to talk to. He appears genuine when you interact with him (he was always very available to fans back in the day) He always had a very clear vision of what he wanted defensively and was able to get buy in and execution from a team in the old Kings that was lauded for and made up of guys whose prowess, for the most part, aside from Doug, lay on the other end of the court. Team defense. I would be very, very happy if he was our next coach, especially if we brought in Doug as an assistant.
 
In the eyes of the person hired as head coach, one or two of these could be seen as playing the Ty Corbin roll. I can make areal paranoid mess of this. :)
When Malone was interviewed in Denver, he was told, that he needs help with offense and overall strong staff, and he agreed to that. If, for example, Vogel is on the radar, he looks like he certainly needs an offensive coordinator.
Whoever gets the HC job, I think Corliss should be carried over to the new regime.
 
Boogie reminds me a lot of Tim Duncan in this regard. Duncan has repeatedly stated that he wants to be treated just like everyone else. Chew his butt out if he is playing poorly and give him the atta-boys when he is playing well. Even go to the extremes to set an example if you have to. Calipari is a master at this. There were many times that Boogie would have lackluster play at Kentucky or he would do that trademark walk back on offense. Cal would yank him out of the game and scream at him for about 30 seconds and then put him back in with a slap on the bottom. When DMC did what Coach asked, he would give him a hug, a fist bump, or that trademark scream of passion that Cal has. Most importantly though, when Boogie did something bad or good, it was an example for the team. Josh Harrellson, who was buried deep on that bench gave credit to DeMarcus for showing him what it is like to be a leader on the team as a big man and how to improve his game. Calipari gave an interview once where he said that one of the WORST thing a coach can do is play favorites with Boogie. DeMarcus will see it as pandering and it will hurt the team. John said to be real and treat him like family. Do not try to make an example or power-play by singling him out but at the same time, if he makes a bone-head play, call him out on it. There are guys like Rondo, Casspi, Darren, and Caron on this team that have Boogie's respect to call him out. Let them. That is part of why I am afraid a little bit to let Rondo walk. A strong high-IQ PG works well with Boogie, or at least a strong personality that does not mind calling Boogie's crap. Wall and Bledsoe both did that.

Coaching Boogie isn't rocket science but it does mean letting him be a leader on and off the court. Essentially, having a Pop and Duncan relationship is the goal.
This. and it is not like DeMarcus has not explicitly said this himself, time after time. People scoff when he says hold me accountable, like he is lying, when in reality, it is his ultimate truth. Loyalty is love. You can scream and yell at him, curse at him, call him on his crap, if he knows you have the same goal, win, and you have his back against enemies, pat him on the back when he does things right, go to war WITH him, you will find no one more loyal, more invested. It's his code.
 
so in the grand scheme of things, he went to the Spurs to boost his name recognition under Pop so he can possibly land a head coaching role elsewhere because he is smart enough to know that the Pop coaching tree gets head coaching positions.
Cone on man that's absurd. First Pop recruited him saying he can learn from Messina offense. Also Messina coached with the Lakers couple years back so how would that he explained. Messina said he went yo tge spurs to learn even more about the nba game before becoming a head coach. I'm sure he's learned to ease up on guys in the nba.

Also DMC and Messina can get along as long as He keeps it 100 with Boogie.
 
I trust Vlade with his choice but it doesn't make me any less nervous about some of the options.

Messina has a great basketball mind BUT I am not sure how his style of coaching translates to NBA. I suspect he would be good in a franchise like the Spurs where there is strong foundation and strong culture but to rebuild the culture of an NBA team is a whole other ball game.
 
NBA has a different culture than European basketball. Blatt was sort of thrown in as he got Cavs job without any assistant experience, so that was his first acquaintance with NBA locker-room, and apparently he read praise from players "very good for a rookie coach" as condescending, so he took offense as he believed, that his success shouldn't have been a surprise given his wealth of experience. This pushback was his undoing. He admitted this after being fired, and regarded that reaction as a clear mistake on his part

Messina got a lot of assistant mileage by now, and he has spent quite some time near Kobe. He's a smart guy, and knows by now, how NBA works. And Blatt does as well, so, come to think of it, they're both should be fine.
 
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funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
Of the coaches that have reportedly interviewed or scheduled for interviews, the two I like the most are Messina and McHale. Lots of other names that I'd be okay with (Del Negro, Woodson, Hornacek, Blatt, McMillan) but those two are far and away my favorite options. If Vogel leaves Indiana then he's immediately in that top 3.

I've been vocal about liking Udoka but it doesn't seem like he's on Vlade's radar, or possibly he's not receptive to being the Kings head coach which is understandable. So I've been looking more and more at Messina. He's the superior coach of the two with a long track record of success, but he's older (56), he's had a reputation as an authoritarian, he'd be the first foreign born head coach in the NBA (not a bad thing by any means, but it ties into both how he relates to NBA players as well as the propensity for the media to view Vivek as a sideshow barker despite Messina's pedigree), has a somewhat fiery sideline demeanor and he's not a former NBA player, which helps in quickly establishing relationships.

To me Udoka seems like a good choice because he's a young Pop disciple (since 2012-2013, twice as long as Etorre) with a very calm demeanor who bounced around the NBA and his been in a number of different systems and locker rooms. But of course, he's also only 38 years old.

It's one interview but I really like what Messina has to say here:


And the more I've read about his European teams, the more I like his approach offensively. He's focused on controlling pace and creating spacing and advantages either by swinging the ball side to side or going into the post to force the defense to shift. He's shown a preference over the years for not having a dedicated ball handler but preferring bigger initiators that move the ball rather than orchestrate an offense (Ginobili and Trajan Langdon for instance) so I doubt he'd be in favor of having Rondo return. Of course, I'd say the same about Blatt and his modified Princeton offense. I think to suit both of those coaches strengths you'd be looking at significant roster changes.

McHale I think would be more adaptable and more plug and play. I could see him working with the roster more or less as it is - re-signing Rondo, keeping Gay etc.

I can make an argument for either approach. But honestly I'd lean towards Messina. It's time to create a lasting culture with the Kings and he seems better positioned to do that. Give him a young, bright assistant coach who can relate to the players and be groomed as a long term replacement and let he, Vlade and Catanella create a lasting franchise structure instead of constant band-aid moves in an attempt to just make the playoffs. I'm a Kings fan for the long term, I'm fine with slow growth as long as it's in a positive direction.

I also think Messina would be good for Cousins in terms of maximizing his good looks down low but also in terms of lowering his usage and getting him to learn to react quickly by either attacking the basket or moving the ball. But this hire can't be about Cousins. If Vlade brings in HIS guy as coach the onus is now on Boogie to be part of making it work. Because I can pretty much guarantee that if he doesn't, it won't be the coach that moves on this time.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
But this hire can't be about Cousins.
Oh yes it absolutely can.

And if you hire another guy Cousins clashes with it likely costs you Cousins, quite possibly Vlade as Vivek looks for scapegoats and Vlade has to own the msitake, and maybe even eventually that coach, who then gets to lose for years in a full rebuild until Vivek gets tired of it and cans him.

I really almost don't care how "good" a coach is or how "good" his schemes are. If he can't reach NBA guys...peacefully reach and inspire love, not hatred -- he can go **** himself, because he WILL **** us up in the short term, and through the short term, into the long term.

If Ettore were to come here I'd pray that he'd matured past his inner Putin instead of into it as happens with two many aging guys, but my nose for trouble was set twitching with George Karl despite the resume, and Ettore has me feeling like Bugs Bunny. Maybe Ettore and his basketball chops are going to outweigh his personal abrasiveness, but then again it also could well be the stupid tone deaf hire that this franchise has ALWAYS made. And in an offseason when we suddenly are interviewing almost every big name established coach on the market, why oh why would we get cute again if there is even a chance of a problem?
 
lol the Godfather theme music in the Ettore video. "Don't worry I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse".

He does have a chillingly authoritarian vibe. Now I think Vlade has a similar vibe but he's got big time people skills too... maybe Ettore can be the same.

Seems like either one (Vlade or Ettore) would pull a trigger without hesitation - you could cast either as a cold ass sniper in a war movie.

Overall, with the slate of candidates we know about... hard to see Vlade messing this up too bad. Unless he hires the guy who was catching the passes in the Pete Maravich video up above
 
I think hiring Blatt and Ettore would potentially be mistakes based on their ability or lack of in communicating with players.
Communication is a 2 way street. If this next relationship fails, both sides will have to take the blame. I think if things don't work with the new coaches and DeMarcus, DeMarcus will be gone. This next coach WILL be Vlade's guy. People all praise how intelligent he is, so you'd have to be confident in him hiring a man who thinks he can take this franchise to the next level. If DeMarcus can't get along with it, I think he will be traded before the deadline.

We ABSOLUTELY cannot fire this next coach until his contract is up. If we fire this guy, it means we pick Cousins over him. How many coaches would want to come here after that? Probably only Calipari for 15mpy.....or Mark Jackson.

I think Messina would be a good pair for Cousins. We all said he needs somebody who can hold him accountable. Someone who can be flat out brutal honest. Messina is that guy. He will not let Cousins step on his toes. He will not be trying to earn Cousins' respect, instead, he'll be trying to get him to respect.

Does Cousins need a more friendly player coach? Does he need someone like Mark Jackson who will kiss his ass? Or does he need someone who can control situations? A few people have said he just needs a coach who is loyal and truthful. Do you think he'd rather have someone like Mark Jackson who's loyal, but untruthful? Or would he rather have more of a leader type figure who won't let him get away with anything?

I think Blatt falls right in the middle. If he's given full authority, he will take lead of this team. When he needs to, he'll come down and cool it (Lebron). When he doesn't need to do that, he'll keep your ass in check. I just feel like Blatt would be the best HC for this team moving forward AND Cousins. If we give him full authority and allow him to coach (unlike Cleveland), he can be a real leader for this team...the one that we desperately lack.
 

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
Oh yes it absolutely can.

And if you hire another guy Cousins clashes with it likely costs you Cousins, quite possibly Vlade as Vivek looks for scapegoats and Vlade has to own the msitake, and maybe even eventually that coach, who then gets to lose for years in a full rebuild until Vivek gets tired of it and cans him.

I really almost don't care how "good" a coach is or how "good" his schemes are. If he can't reach NBA guys...peacefully reach and inspire love, not hatred -- he can go **** himself, because he WILL **** us up in the short term, and through the short term, into the long term.

If Ettore were to come here I'd pray that he'd matured past his inner Putin instead of into it as happens with two many aging guys, but my nose for trouble was set twitching with George Karl despite the resume, and Ettore has me feeling like Bugs Bunny. Maybe Ettore and his basketball chops are going to outweigh his personal abrasiveness, but then again it also could well be the stupid tone deaf hire that this franchise has ALWAYS made. And in an offseason when we suddenly are interviewing almost every big name established coach on the market, why oh why would we get cute again if there is even a chance of a problem?
Regardless of who the next coach is, if Cousins has a blow up with him I'm fully onboard with trading him.

It's a strange mindset to have that this front office is somehow capable of taking this 33 win team and building a winning team around Cousins with limited assets but is somehow completely incapable of rebuilding with the assets they'd receive from trading he, Rudy, Collison and anyone else of value. If Vlade is incompetent then it really shouldn't matter whether the team rebuilds or not. They'll lose with or without Cousins. If Vlade is competent then he should be able to win with Cousins or rebuild if forced to trade him.

The onus is on Cousins to make things work. He's the most talented big man I've seen in years but if he's incapable of being coached then that talent is a waste. If he's incapable of keeping his composure and leading his team rather than melting down and quitting on them it's a waste.

Would you trade Cousins for Lillard? Because I just saw the Trailblazers drop in four new starters and Dame lead that motley crew to the postseason. If what was really keeping this Kings team from making the playoffs was George Karl and his drastic misuse of his talent and a coach is brought in with a legendary resume and two years as Pop's right hand man with offensive and defensive schemes that can get the most out of this roster and it doesn't work because Cousins "clashes" with him then I have to wonder how much Boogie really wants to win.

I want to see a Boogie led Kings team start really competing. But I'm also ready to cut ties with him if he's incapable of being part of a team concept.

I think hiring Blatt and Ettore would potentially be mistakes based on their ability or lack of in communicating with players.
Blatt maybe. He certainly demanded respect right off the bat despite the players not knowing who he was. Messina has clearly learned quite a bit about the NBA and how things work under Pop.
 
Pop has already sent one trojan horse our way (Belinelli). I just hope Vlade has a "trust but verify" attitude when it comes to further recommendations from his buddy Gregg.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
We all said he needs somebody who can hold him accountable. Someone who can be flat out brutal honest. Messina is that guy. He will not let Cousins step on his toes. He will not be trying to earn Cousins' respect, instead, he'll be trying to get him to respect.

Does Cousins need a more friendly player coach? Does he need someone like Mark Jackson who will kiss his ass? Or does he need someone who can control situations? A few people have said he just needs a coach who is loyal and truthful. Do you think he'd rather have someone like Mark Jackson who's loyal, but untruthful? Or would he rather have more of a leader type figure who won't let him get away with anything?

That is NOT what we said.

People are confusing "holding accountable" with being an authoritarian dickhead. There is a huge gulf there. Cousins wants somebody to lead and set standards and say we can win this way, everybody get on board. Cousins does NOT want some strongman to get in his face and say "drop and give me 50 maggott!" In fact he won't tolerate that for an instant. Cousins' doesn't need to be pandered to, but he has shown again and again and again if you create an advesarial relationship, its over.

I know this attitude. This is the part I have always understood with Cousins. The emotional oncourt stuff? No. I prided myself on never letting anybody get under my skin no matter what they tried, and I'd whisper in their ears about their mothers too. But the absolute 100% intolerance for anybody getting in my face? Oh yeah. Nobody ever gets in my face. And the flip side of this is I also understand Cousins' loyalty thing. Nobody is ever going to drive me to do anything. You break out a whip, and I'll turn on you in a flash and shove it right where the sun don't shine. But on the other hand, I'll do anything for a friend. If I can trust you then I'll bust my ass for you. That is Cousins.

If somebody comes in and says "I'm the boss, you're the peon, respect my authoritah!!!" we're screwed. If somebody comes in and says "alright big guy, its time to turn this, give me everything you've got and I'll have your back all the way" we're golden.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Regardless of who the next coach is, if Cousins has a blow up with him I'm fully onboard with trading him.

It's a strange mindset to have that this front office is somehow capable of taking this 33 win team and building a winning team around Cousins with limited assets but is somehow completely incapable of rebuilding with the assets they'd receive from trading he, Rudy, Collison and anyone else of value. If Vlade is incompetent then it really shouldn't matter whether the team rebuilds or not. They'll lose with or without Cousins. If Vlade is competent then he should be able to win with Cousins or rebuild if forced to trade him.

The onus is on Cousins to make things work. He's the most talented big man I've seen in years but if he's incapable of being coached then that talent is a waste. If he's incapable of keeping his composure and leading his team rather than melting down and quitting on them it's a waste.

Would you trade Cousins for Lillard? Because I just saw the Trailblazers drop in four new starters and Dame lead that motley crew to the postseason. If what was really keeping this Kings team from making the playoffs was George Karl and his drastic misuse of his talent and a coach is brought in with a legendary resume and two years as Pop's right hand man with offensive and defensive schemes that can get the most out of this roster and it doesn't work because Cousins "clashes" with him then I have to wonder how much Boogie really wants to win.

I want to see a Boogie led Kings team start really competing. But I'm also ready to cut ties with him if he's incapable of being part of a team concept.



Blatt maybe. He certainly demanded respect right off the bat despite the players not knowing who he was. Messina has clearly learned quite a bit about the NBA and how things work under Pop.
Dame Lillard didn't win for them. He did nothing but be Dame Lillard.

The key guy there is Stotts. Arguably should have been COY. Lillard just did what Lilard does. He took more shots with Aldridge gone, but the game was the same, and its not even one centered around making people better. He's a 3pt bomber, not a passer, not a defender. The team was barely better with him on the court than off. He's a great player, but the straw there is Stotts. Take away Stotts and give them Byron Scott instead, and that Portland team is probably every bit as bad as everybody thought it would be.
 
Blatt and Messina are straight shooters like Malone/Calipari I don't see them clashing with Cousins. DMC values Vlades opinion you add that plus there track record and honesty and they should be good together.

I'd still favor Blatt over Messina though. He got that cavs team to play elite defense it's too bad Lebron wouldn't let him run his offense. His Princeton offense would lower DMC usage and have us moving the ball. I think we'd be at our best if DMC was at 23-12-4 instead of 27-11.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Interesting question about Messina and Vlade just occurred to me. Messina failed in real Madrid and was gone by 2011. He was there for a year and half, so he might have been hired in 2009? When was Vlade's own stint with real Madrid's front office? I know it was mostly a ceremonial post, but was he there for Messina's fighting with the front office? Or was he only there for the hiring when they thought Messina was going to lead them back to the promised land? Or was he gone before they even brought Messina in?
 
Interesting question about Messina and Vlade just occurred to me. Messina failed in real Madrid and was gone by 2011. He was there for a year and half, so he might have been hired in 2009? When was Vlade's own stint with real Madrid's front office? I know it was mostly a ceremonial post, but was he there for Messina's fighting with the front office? Or was he only there for the hiring when they thought Messina was going to lead them back to the promised land? Or was he gone before they even brought Messina in?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlade_Divac#Real_Madrid
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
Cousins wants somebody to lead and set standards and say we can win this way, everybody get on board. Cousins does NOT want some strongman to get in his face and say "drop and give me 50 maggott!" In fact he won't tolerate that for an instant.
Then again, in the Carmichael Dave interview Cousins talked about Malone forcing him to run suicides - Cousins objected, Malone stood his ground, and Cousins did it and respected him for it. And I actually have a hard time seeing Karl being a guy who would run his discipline that way. It seems to me that Cousins actually respects strong authority, and that what he really dislikes is politicking and two-faced behavior, at least from his own words. You got something to say, say it to his face and he'll deal with it. Go behind his back and he'll lose all respect for you.
 
That is NOT what we said.

People are confusing "holding accountable" with being an authoritarian dickhead. There is a huge gulf there. Cousins wants somebody to lead and set standards and say we can win this way, everybody get on board. Cousins does NOT want some strongman to get in his face and say "drop and give me 50 maggott!" In fact he won't tolerate that for an instant. Cousins' doesn't need to be pandered to, but he has shown again and again and again if you create an advesarial relationship, its over.

I know this attitude. This is the part I have always understood with Cousins. The emotional oncourt stuff? No. I prided myself on never letting anybody get under my skin no matter what they tried, and I'd whisper in their ears about their mothers too. But the absolute 100% intolerance for anybody getting in my face? Oh yeah. Nobody ever gets in my face. And the flip side of this is I also understand Cousins' loyalty thing. Nobody is ever going to drive me to do anything. You break out a whip, and I'll turn on you in a flash and shove it right where the sun don't shine. But on the other hand, I'll do anything for a friend. If I can trust you then I'll bust my ass for you. That is Cousins.

If somebody comes in and says "I'm the boss, you're the peon, respect my authoritah!!!" we're screwed. If somebody comes in and says "alright big guy, its time to turn this, give me everything you've got and I'll have your back all the way" we're golden.
Who is the coach that got in Cousin's face and said these kinds of things? I never heard about Karl doing it. The other way around - absolutely. It is well documented that Cousins called-out and disrespected Karl in front of everybody in the locker room as early as Nov. 8th. He also did it in front of our eyes on the bench later in the season. Does DMC think that these tirades are going to help unify the team? I actually can't believe the restraint that Karl showed.
 

funkykingston

Super Moderator
Staff member
That is NOT what we said.

People are confusing "holding accountable" with being an authoritarian dickhead. There is a huge gulf there. Cousins wants somebody to lead and set standards and say we can win this way, everybody get on board. Cousins does NOT want some strongman to get in his face and say "drop and give me 50 maggott!" In fact he won't tolerate that for an instant. Cousins' doesn't need to be pandered to, but he has shown again and again and again if you create an advesarial relationship, its over.

I know this attitude. This is the part I have always understood with Cousins. The emotional oncourt stuff? No. I prided myself on never letting anybody get under my skin no matter what they tried, and I'd whisper in their ears about their mothers too. But the absolute 100% intolerance for anybody getting in my face? Oh yeah. Nobody ever gets in my face. And the flip side of this is I also understand Cousins' loyalty thing. Nobody is ever going to drive me to do anything. You break out a whip, and I'll turn on you in a flash and shove it right where the sun don't shine. But on the other hand, I'll do anything for a friend. If I can trust you then I'll bust my ass for you. That is Cousins.

If somebody comes in and says "I'm the boss, you're the peon, respect my authoritah!!!" we're screwed. If somebody comes in and says "alright big guy, its time to turn this, give me everything you've got and I'll have your back all the way" we're golden.
A year and a half ago, Messina said this:

The Spurs do things together. There’s a lot of respect for everybody, and everybody is expected to give his or her opinion and help the group. It’s a unique philosophy of working together and facing adversity together as well. Coach Popovich has this rare ability to combine his demanding nature with the most sincere care for everyone within the organization. Players, management, coaches, doctors, physiotherapists – he cares about all of them. And that makes everyone proud to be a part of the organization. This is family first, basketball club second.
David Blatt came straight over from Macabi Tel Aviv. Messina came over and worked as an assistant for the Lakers under Mike Brown for a season before coaching CSKA Moscow for two seasons and then spent the last two years on the Spurs bench. He wouldn't be coming in blind to the NBA and what it's about. I can't find the quote now but elsewhere he talked at significant length about the NBA being player driven where individual stats take on a lot of importance vs the international game which is very coach driven where team performance and their contribution to it is a bigger part of how players are perceived.

I think he gets it. I'd be surprised if Messina tried to be a dictator. But I'd fully expect him to say, "this is exactly how I want us to play" and explain why. I think his brilliance with basketball strategy can only now allow him to be successful in the NBA as a head coach because he understands the differences and how he needs to adapt. It's also an area where his assistants will help. And I have to think that some of the guys Vlade is talking to (Turner, Bibby, Borreago, maybe Corliss) are being eyed as assistant coaches, maybe lead assistant/assistant head coach. I'd love Elston Turner back in that role.

Anyway, I have confidence that Vlade will hire a guy that he knows he can work with to create a positive culture around the team. And if Messina turns out to be that guy I have to believe that it's because Divac feels he can relate to the players in a positive way. If there's a singular strength that you can identify with Vlade it's his ability to bring people together. It's a trait I think he'll insist on from his coach too. He already saw up close and personal a HOF coach with a history of being divisive and a stubbornness of "his way or the highway". I doubt he'd sign up for a second round of that with a different coach.

The onus will be on Cousins to show that he really wants to win - not on the coach to show that he's Boogie's best friend and lead cheerleader. The coach's job is to be upfront and honest with his players and instill a system that helps them win as many games as they can.


Dame Lillard didn't win for them. He did nothing but be Dame Lillard.

The key guy there is Stotts. Arguably should have been COY. Lillard just did what Lilard does. He took more shots with Aldridge gone, but the game was the same, and its not even one centered around making people better. He's a 3pt bomber, not a passer, not a defender. The team was barely better with him on the court than off. He's a great player, but the straw there is Stotts. Take away Stotts and give them Byron Scott instead, and that Portland team is probably every bit as bad as everybody thought it would be.
Which is why the Kings need to hire the best coach they can. One who can maximize the talent of the roster (especially Cousins) not the one who Cousins will get along best with.

Because if Boogie really cares about winning, he'll get on board with a guy that can help him succeed. And if he doesn't? Then he's not the guy I thought he was and certainly not a guy worth building around.
 
Then again, in the Carmichael Dave interview Cousins talked about Malone forcing him to run suicides - Cousins objected, Malone stood his ground, and Cousins did it and respected him for it. And I actually have a hard time seeing Karl being a guy who would run his discipline that way. It seems to me that Cousins actually respects strong authority, and that what he really dislikes is politicking and two-faced behavior, at least from his own words. You got something to say, say it to his face and he'll deal with it. Go behind his back and he'll lose all respect for you.
Those are not mutually exclusive though. If you come in and your first words are "look at me, I'm the captain now!" - Cousins will have a much harder time following you, regardless of what ideas you have. If you come in with "here's how we're going to kick NBA's ass, and if you trust me, big guy, I'll go to bat for you" (and follow up on that) - he'll do whatever the hell you want. He'll still challenge your authority occasionally, but will respect you slapping him back down because you earned his trust. So he'll know that you're slapping him down because your idea is better, not because you're on a power trip. It's really not as hard as most media types are making it out to be.

In some ways, it's similar to handling rebellious teenagers. Sure you can strong-arm them and then complain when they start dating meth-heads just to spite you, or you can give them enough space to feel like their own selves while establishing strict, fair and consistent guidelines. And yes, Cuz absolutely should have matured beyond being compared to a teenager by now, but come on - he had Sacramento Kings as his "parents" for the past 6 years. I'm surprised he's not in NBA juvy by now.

Good news is that Vlade knows all that, so I'm much more comfortable with him picking his guy for a coach.