Joerger Status. (He’s Fired)

[macadocious]

This is certainly news to me.

Grant said on radio in terms of the hiring of Joerger in 2016, that Vlade gave the OK for Joerger, insinuating he wasn’t the one who actually hired him.

Ya, I heard that too. It insinuated Vlade didn't do the hiring, except that is opposite of everything they said and their gushing over each other for 2 seasons. Vlade flew to meet him the day he was released from Memphis. So I really don't know what to make of that because Grant moves the goals posts subtly like that all the time.

 

[burekijogurt]

At least these firings settle some older discussions. We now know who carries the Bat in the organization. Lets hope he can lay the rest of the bricks corectly and build a contender.

 

[burekijogurt]

stats also don't tell us what the eye test does but to each their own

obviously its not an either/or situation, both are important when evaluating a player. I just feel the eyes on this board have judged WCS too harshly.

 

[Kingz19]

Napear said a few days ago that he was going to be brutally honest on his show today. Think he knew what was coming?

Grant knew. He protected Joerger and Willie with fire until after the all star break. Around the time Vlade suggested he started questioning if Joerger was the guy for the next level. Then he was softly critical of Joerger and was actually giving names of guys he would like to replace Willie. Grant almost never entertains speculating on free agent targets by names just by rule(he doesn’t have a crystal ball) but especially to replace a current player(and restricted free agent) but he was throwing out names like a blogger. That’s when I knew Willie was out unless the market just totally collapses for him. I think they’ll extend the QO just in case however.

Anyway, Grant knows everything and for how little he actually says anything of substance. His attitude towards any given player or FO figure gives a pretty clear weather report

 

[Hoovtrain]

Yeah you can. They ran the same set this year in preseason until Elston got the chair for one game and the team never looked back. Fox was already looking totally inconsistent. He should be better in most sets as he progresses but spacing is key and sticking bigs at the bookends of what should be HIS lane makes zero sense.

No, you really can’t. But we will just have to disagree on that.
He has the option to drive in either direction off the the screen. Having another high post screener is not going to preclude that or completely restrict his lane(s).

 

[Kangztillidie]

Why hasnt Walton been fired yet? Magic fallout?

 

[ParniValjak]

If you connect the dots from the Napear show and Vlade's presser, Vlade didn't think Joerger believed in some of the players like he wanted him to. Namely, Bagley, Giles and Buddy. One caller read the Jones article to Grant and Doug and they didn't disagree; they didn't even disagree about Joerger wanting Doncic over Bagley, which was a surprise to me. Moreover, Vlade said in the presser that he wanted a coach who believed in the players, believed in the team. You don't say the obvious unless your coach lacks those attributes, at least that's my take. Lastly, Grant said there was no way Vlade would have let Joerger go if the players really liked him and wanted him to stay.

Grant is a mouth piece! Always has been! Always will be! He is one of those ass wipes that will stick so far up someone’s ass as long as he has some self interest. He never has his own opinion or if he does, he doesn’t air ir because it might affect his self interest in the long run. This is the same guy that supported Maloofs in wanting to move the team because he could still keep his job. He is Kings PR machine and he will say what he is told. A typical mouth piece.

 

[Hoovtrain]

If you connect the dots from the Napear show and Vlade's presser, Vlade didn't think Joerger believed in some of the players like he wanted him to. Namely, Bagley, Giles and Buddy. One caller read the Jones article to Grant and Doug and they didn't disagree; they didn't even disagree about Joerger wanting Doncic over Bagley, which was a surprise to me. Moreover, Vlade said in the presser that he wanted a coach who believed in the players, believed in the team. You don't say the obvious unless your coach lacks those attributes, at least that's my take. Lastly, Grant said there was no way Vlade would have let Joerger go if the players really liked him and wanted him to stay.

I knew when DJ made that passive aggressive little dig about Doncic that it was not harmless. He was clearly taking a shot at the FO...and Bagley to an extent. Thought it was a ***** move then and still think it was a ***** move now

 

[KingsFanSince85]

I am kind of surprised. A month ago I thought there was no way Joerger would be gone before his last contractual year but the odds went up as the Kings bumbled their way though the final third of the season.

Anyway, Kings are deciding to get rid of Joerger maybe a year too early than finding out that they waited a year too late.

The more I’ve thought about it, the more it makes sense. With only one year remaining on DJ’s contract and to avoid a ‘lame duck’ coach situation, they had to make the choice between extending his contract or doing what they did. With all that’s gone on in recent months, I can understand why Vlade didn’t want to extend.

 

[Iced Espresso]

Can a mod make some kind of poll about this decision, maybe in a clean thread? I'm curious what the numbers look like.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

The more I’ve thought about it, the more it makes sense. With only one year remaining on DJ’s contract and to avoid a ‘lame duck’ coach situation, they had to make the choice between extending his contract or doing what they did. With all that’s gone on in recent months, I can understand why Vlade didn’t want to extend.

Agreed. And the more I've thought about the last month and a half or so of the season the more I think it was completely unacceptable. Letting him go doesn't erase what he did for this franchise but holding on an extra year definitely could have undone some of the steps we made.

At least it wasn't a mid-season move, I think if we nail the hire we come out ahead. I just don't know who that guy is gonna be. I sure hope Vlade does.

 

[kingsboi]

I liked Joerger at the time of the hire. I didn't expect him to be fired after three seasons and I liked the fact that they had stability at the head coaching position. However, when you look back, there was a reason he didn't last in Memphis and that same reason happened in Sacramento as well. I trust Vlade, I have no other choice but to, he's here for another four seasons, barring a total collapse and Vivek pulling the plug on him. That said, after some of the Playoff teams are eliminated is when we will get a better picture of who Vlade is eyeing.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Seriously one of the more appealing options I've been running through my mind is promoting Elston to head coach. The man has been one of the top assistant coaches in the league for over two decades now, is thoroughly connected with Vlade, Peja, et al. and would provide some sort of continuity with the previous system without the passive aggressivity of another season of Joerger.

I offered a similar take in another thread. I just don’t know if Elston will be fully considered.

 

[jcassio]

Seriously one of the more appealing options I've been running through my mind is promoting Elston to head coach. The man has been one of the top assistant coaches in the league for over two decades now, is thoroughly connected with Vlade, Peja, et al. and would provide some sort of continuity with the previous system without the passive aggressivity of another season of Joerger.

I thought about that, too. But the thing that was most disappointing to me about the Kings this year was their inability to stop other teams from scoring (when they needed to). Surely Elston, as a defensive specialist coach, has to take some of the responsibility for that. It'll never happen, but I'd like to hear Elston speak about why the Kings weren't a better defensive team this year. Not the obvious, like "you're going to give up a lot of points if you're going to be first in pace." Spare me that drivel. I want Elston to give us his insights into why we weren't better at stopping other teams players from scoring on us at will.

 

[John Galt]

I thought about that, too. But the thing that was most disappointing to me about the Kings this year was their inability to stop other teams from scoring (when they needed to). Surely Elston, as a defensive specialist coach, has to take some of the responsibility for that. It'll never happen, but I'd like to hear Elston speak about why the Kings weren't a better defensive team this year. Not the obvious, like "you're going to give up a lot of points if you're going to be first in pace." Spare me that drivel. I want Elston to give us his insights into why we weren't better at stopping other teams players from scoring on us at will.

there was that very odd game against Miami where we stopped them for like the last 6 minutes or something. But I don't know what happened to the defensive heart after that

 

[Larry89]

vlade said he is satisfied with the communication had with his players before what went down this morning.

This press conference was night and day to his PC when Demarcus was traded.

Did he find a better coach two days ago?

 

[kingsfan101]

Haven't read all the posts, so apologies if I am repeating thoughts already expressed, but here is my $0.02. I think we will regret this move for a long time. The worst move we have made since the Malone firing. I really wish I'm proven wrong.

With the issues we have faced with revolving door for coaches, lack of leadership on the sidelines, a consistent culture, etc., one would have thought that the coaching staff that oversaw the development of kids and had them play hard most of the times, even when they were losing lot more games, and led the team to first reasonably good season in forever, would deserve an extension. Moreover, unless we are not privy to some information (or I have missed the news), there was no rebellion against the staff. Except from some noise from the Bagley camp (justified to some extent, but he was getting consistent minutes anyway), I didn't hear of any gripe from the team.

I can understand some of the reasons for the action
1. Vlade/Vivek blamed both Brandon and Dave for escalating the feud and fired both as a message to the team/other potential candidates that certain level of discipline will be expected. If so, probably a little extreme, but still understandable.
2. With Dave entering the final year of his contract, the choice was either to extend him, or to fire him. If they were not comfortable with the former, the latter option should have been exercised as early as possible to reach out to other potential candidates.

Despite this, firing the only coach who had some success with the team other than Malone since the RA era, was a BAD move in my opinion, particularly if the plan is to search for a replacement. I can live with it, if they have someone in the crosshair.

Our situation is a lot better than last year, and lot more established coaches looking for a job will give us a serious look this year than years past. That said, the available pool might change as the post season progresses, and established names will wait till the rosters firm up after the draft and FA periods. So unless we already have some tentative candidate in mind, the position will not be filled soon.

Moreover, we will be looking to hire not just a new coaching staff, but also assistant GM. I would hope that we can hire a good, respected, analytical mind to fill that position soon. Vlade has certainly shown himself to be capable, but we don't know how much Brandon was helping him behind the scenes. I hope

 

[kingsfan101]

Some folks pointed to the serious slide the team showed since the break. I didn't realize the stats were that bad, and the coaching staff has certainly to take some blame for that. I do wonder though, if they got a feeling that their time was up. Even the best of professionals will lose some interest in such a case.

Purely conjecture from my end though.

 

[Joshoua]

LOL GG to all the people who are happy Joerger is gone and want to bring in Messina. Unless he's chilled since joining Pop's staff(I doubt it considering Pop is the same way), I don't see a difference between him and Joerger in attitude and demeanor.

Not all about attitude and demeanor maybe Messina also has people skills and isn’t clashing with FO at every stop.

 

[Peja]

If we are on the path to reach the Playoffs finally next season, we need something better than Walton or Messina in my opinion. I mean, what sort of upgrade they bring compared to Joerger?

I like Messina and have a lot of respect for him, but he did very little with very strong teams in Europe (Serbian coaches destroyed him every time), failed a lot of times with Italy as their head coach and yes, he did some good job in Spurs. But to me, it's very unknown whether he has the capacity to get us to the PO next year.

Walton... inexperienced coach, short biography, no major successes.

If you're gonna get rid of Joerger, bring in someone with vast experience and proven winning track record. Otherwise, we'll spend the next 365 days talking about "super talented team who's only 3 yrs away from reaching the Playoffs".

 

[sono]

You don’t fire good young energetic coaches

I’d sooner talk about Vlade’s status

I don't like his rotations, but he's the best coach we had since Adelman.
Wondering if Vivek is behind it.

 

[SLAB]

I don't like his rotations, but he's the best coach we had since Adelman.
Wondering if Vivek is behind it.

Na. It’s pretty clearly Vlade’s team now.

Dave isn’t innocent in this situation at all. It goes deeper than bad rotations.

 

[sactowndog]

I don't like his rotations, but he's the best coach we had since Adelman.
Wondering if Vivek is behind it.

No. This move was 100% Vlade and not just about rotations.

 

[dude12]

No. This move was 100% Vlade and not just about rotations.

Had nothing to do with rotations or small ball or any x’s And o’s. More about Joerger not getting along with Brandon Williams and who knows who else. Stubbornness might have gotten him in the butt

 

[Smills91]

Rick Pitino is in the market for an nba head coaching gig.

Defensive emphasis. Uptempo pace and space guy. Proven track record that can coach and develop young players.

 

[pdxKingsFan]

Rick Pitino
...
Proven track record

Maybe you don't recall his last NBA stint? I do.

 

[whozit]

Rick Pitino is in the market for an nba head coaching gig.

Defensive emphasis. Uptempo pace and space guy. Proven track record that can coach and develop young players.

In college. There is dirt on him, self-inflicted

 

[fansinceday1]

Na. It’s pretty clearly Vlade’s team now.

Dave isn’t innocent in this situation at all. It goes deeper than bad rotations.

Jason Jones was just on 1140 talking about joeger and his lack of relationships with our key guys, both on the team and the FO. Joerger sounds more and more like Jim harbaugh. Both guys sound like they have set shelf life’s. Both eventually just wear out their welcomes.

 

[SacTownKid]

No, you really can’t. But we will just have to disagree on that.
He has the option to drive in either direction off the the screen. Having another high post screener is not going to preclude that or completely restrict his lane(s).

Yes it did. It happened, there is no debate about it. While seemingly subtle there is a huge difference in spacing and in timing between a guard with a live dribble versus a dribble hand off.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Jason Jones was just on 1140 talking about joeger and his lack of relationships with our key guys, both on the team and the FO. Joerger sounds more and more like Jim harbaugh. Both guys sound like they have set shelf life’s. Both eventually just wear out their welcomes.

I really buy into this being the core of the problem. His attitude and the manner in which he carries himself are just off putting. Then factor in the childish behavior with Williams. There you have it. It’s just not emblematic of the type of leader Vlade envisions for this team.