SVG & Kings verbal agreement, with wiggle room...

[HndsmCelt]

A good job rebuilding takes focus, direction and vision, this can come strictly from a GM who plugs in the right coach for the palyers he puts together for the style of play he envisons. If you want to leave it all up to GP he can plug in Porter and any other former RA/Coachie assistant and you have a shot at making the Prinction thing work. In fact during early rebuild years guided from the office coaches can be treated as disposable inteties untill the team mature and/or the right coach is available. These disposable coaches get a chacne to try new things and play new guys in an effort to make their bones.

On the other hand the other way to go is for the GM and coach to work together on the rebuild and if thats the case you need a guy inplace before the players are selected and trades go down. I'm not sure if this fits into Geoffs style or not but if they want Vangundy to be part of this kind of rebuild process then time is of the essence.

 

[Tha rizzock]

YA THINK?!!

We gave a shot to a guy like Rambis, and look where it got us. We need a coach that has not only proven to win but proven to gain the respect of NBA players. Sacramento needs a coach that has experience in being a head coach, not just another guy trying out a new job.

Not evry "proven coach" is going to turn out to be a don nelson and could be a total bust and its easy too see this now but musclemen didnt look like a bad higher at first. Rambis or any other assistant could be diffrent.

 

[Bricklayer]

It depends, by rebuldiung do you mean sucking for the lottery?
The kings dont need too rebulid becuse they have some good players despite there critics most teams dont have that and the kings are only one season removed from the playoffs with most of the same roster.

Oh. Now I begin to see the problem.

Er...no.

We are officially rebuilding. And the beauty of SVG is that regardless of where you are along that continuum, of all the coaches available he's the guy who in his short career has dealt with pretty much all of it. from rebuilding with youth, to struggling to make an unexpected playoff run, to an infusion of often cranky vets and a title run.

And as an aside, Stan was "replaced" by quite possibly the greatest coach ever to walk an NBA sidelines. Riley could have canned Larry Brown on grounds that he (Riley) was better/more likely to take the team to a title. Let alone a young third year coach.

 

[nbrans]

Not sure if this has been posted, but more confirmation that he's been offered the Kings job:

Orlando is trying to beat out the Sacramento Kings to land the former Miami Heat coach.
Brian Schmitz
Sentinel Staff Writer

June 5, 2007, 2:52 PM EDT

The Orlando Magic were racing against time Tuesday, trying to hire Stan Van Gundy as their coach while fearing they might lose him to the Sacramento Kings as they are entwined in the Billy Donovan legal mess.

According to those with knowledge of the situation, Van Gundy has been offered the job by the Kings, but Orlando is his top choice.

Van Gundy did not return a call from the Sentinel on Tuesday, but before Donovan was hired, he had made it clear he wanted the job and raved about the opportunity.

Van Gundy, however, doesn't want to be left out in the cold while the Magic try to force Donovan to break his contract -- and lose both jobs. He doesn't want the job until the Magic rid themselves of the Donovan contract.

The legal ramifications of the Magic basically working with two contracts --- one with Donovan and the other offered to Van Gundy --- was not known.

The Magic made contact with Van Gundy -- who was was the runner-up candidate to Donovan --- on Monday. Van Gundy has interviewed twice with the Kings.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...n05,0,2306513.story?coll=orl-sports-headlines

 

[John Galt]

If Orlando is smart, they will give Donovan a break - let him skate scott free.... and ink SVG today.

I think if we don't announce SVG as head coach today - we never will. Hopefully he has a "take it today or leave it forever" offer on the table from the Maloofs, and tomorrow we can either embrace him or drop him from our radar alltogether.

 

[Jerryaki]

no win situation. sacramento is van gundy's second choice, van gundy is orlando's second choice. lame

i was hoping he'd come out and say, "you know what? nothing's changed, i still think sacramento is the better opportunity." as facetious as that may be...

 

[Jerryaki]

Not evry "proven coach" is going to turn out to be a don nelson and could be a total bust.

that is a nice oxymoron. not everyone in this world is a larry brown, you know.

 

[kupman]

And as an aside, Stan was "replaced" by quite possibly the greatest coach ever to walk an NBA sidelines.

Yes - this is a sidebar, but,

Dude, pull it in a bit would ya. Not even close to "quite possibly." Red is the greatest NBA coach ever, followed by a clear second place in Phil Jackson. Riley is among those jockeying for third place - a looooooooong way from 1st place.

 

[BMiller52]

no win situation. sacramento is van gundy's second choice, van gundy is orlando's second choice. lame

i was hoping he'd come out and say, "you know what? nothing's changed, i still think sacramento is the better opportunity." as facetious as that may be...

Pretty much, now we're getting Billy Donovan'ed by SVG. Great, just great...

 

[VF21]

We don't know what's really going on. I think it's very dangerous right now to jump to conclusions.

I think Stan Van Gundy is a professional and he'll deal with this in the best manner possible. And I'm pretty sure if he and Petrie/the Maloofs are still in discussions, they'll make sure all the cards are on the table.

If SVG comes here, all parties concerned have to be sure he won't regret it.

As much as people want to know all the details right now - and have a decision - I think we need to keep in mind that things like this may take a bit of time. Until we hear something reliable (and I haven't heard anything yet BTW) the rumors are going to float around like the hottest urban legends.

Take everything with a grain of salt and wait...

 

[Bricklayer]

That Orlando would be his first choice, and had been all along (I remember he instantly made contact with them, rather than the other way around, as soon as Hill was fired) is no surprise. They have a better situation in almost all ways. Better young team, superstar in waiting, much closer to home for his family. Its one of the strongest situations that opened up this summer.

Which makes sense, but is unfortunate -- the strength of this particular candidate might be gauged by this rather remarkable fact: if indeed he is the guy we want, then that makes no fewer than three teams in one summer who have wanted him to be thier coach (2nd choice in Orlando, but I think 2nd only because of the arena politics which drove the Donovan hiring). There are no sure things, but its not too often you find young coaches available who's last full season included 59 wins and a trip to the Conference Finals.

 

[NewMonkey]

Agreed. But a good coach is going to help young players improve. Ergo, you'd like to have a good coach, right?

Oh, definitely. I just don't know that Van Gundy is any better than Rambis is any better than Scott Brooks in that regard, so I'm not going to get excited about any of them at this point.

 

[KevinSalvadori]

Oh, definitely. I just don't know that Van Gundy is any better than Rambis is any better than Scott Brooks in that regard, so I'm not going to get excited about any of them at this point.

Not to be dense, but at this stage, I would not be surprised if Brooks is in fact the man on the radar if we lose out on Van Gundy. He's familiar with the players, would save a little bit of explanation from the Maloof's since he was speculated to come in for a 2nd interview anyways, and is someone that, while not the most sexy name in the cards, seemed to make an instant impact when he was briefly in charge last season, thus answering questions about whether or not he can connect with the team (albeit for two measly games). Just a thought.

 

[Jerichoholic]

I respect SVG and think he's handled the situation just fine, but I'm a Kings fan first and foremost. I think SVG is the best coach we could get and even if this is his second choice I still would want him. However I see where he is coming from especially if he is from Florida. The Magic are in a much better place to contend right now, they've been through the rebuilding phase and are coming around while the Kings are just starting.

Right now the Kings are a better team than the Magic, but the Kings play in the West and the Magic play in the East...huge difference. I would wager that the Kings would make the playoffs in one of the top 4 spots in the East. The Magic might be able to contend for an Eastern Conference Finals spot next year while the Kings are easily three years away from that in the West.

 

[Bricklayer]

Yes - this is a sidebar, but,

Dude, pull it in a bit would ya. Not even close to "quite possibly." Red is the greatest NBA coach ever, followed by a clear second place in Phil Jackson. Riley is among those jockeying for third place - a looooooooong way from 1st place.

Oh no, it was no accident. I have good reasons for calling Riley possibly the greatest, aside form the superior win total.

Red won with one team. They had overwhelming talent year after year after year in a league with about 12 teams. It was his team, and he obviously did a trememndous job with them. But he never had to coach with less than an overwhelming edge and probably had something like 10 HOFs roll through during his tenure.

Phil has won 9 titles, which is great. But the 9 titles he has won have always come with an incomparable duo on the floor, and the most dominant player in the game on the floor for him. Makes it a lot easier. And they have all been with the same system, the same structure. We have seen how he has done once that overwhelming talent edge is removed. Just human after all.

But Riley's greatness lies in precisely the fact that he has won with radically different syles in a varity of locales. With Red, you knew he could win with his dynasty. With Phil, he won so long as he had the greatest player in the league on hs team, with another Top 50 (or better) teammate. Both had their systems that they relied on.

But Riles, he started off winning with Showtime. With the overwhelming talent, but not the unchallenged talent. He had a great foe in the Celtics out there with a player as great as anything he had. But they ran and gunned, and racked up title after title anyway. And then, in a move that firmly established him as an all timer, he goes to New York, finds a completely different situation persoinnelwise, and RADICALLY changes his coaching style. And wins big again (although coming up one miserable quarter from John Starks form nabbing a title on that run). Its as if Mike D'Antoni woke up one day and just for kicks decided to show you that he could win 60 games walking it up and slugging it out ala Jeff Van Gundy. And then of course Riles goes to Miami, and AGAIN revives a franchise and takes them near the top. Before of course getting the cherry on top last year with yet another title.

He has proven more, IMHO than the other top guys. He can win with differnt styles. He can win with less than ideal personnel. That's something Red never had to face. And something that when Phil has faced, he has been merely motal with. The biggest uniting thing with Riles is that he wants/needs a great center to anchor his teams, of whatever style, in whatever locale. But once he has that, he just finds a way.

 

[KevinSalvadori]

I respect SVG and think he's handled the situation just fine, but I'm a Kings fan first and foremost. I think SVG is the best coach we could get and even if this is his second choice I still would want him. However I see where he is coming from especially if he is from Florida. The Magic are in a much better place to contend right now, they've been through the rebuilding phase and are coming around while the Kings are just starting.

Right now the Kings are a better team than the Magic, but the Kings play in the West and the Magic play in the East...huge difference. I would wager that the Kings would make the playoffs in one of the top 4 spots in the East. The Magic might be able to contend for an Eastern Conference Finals spot next year while the Kings are easily three years away from that in the West.

I wouldn't go that far, since no one can see into the future, but one thing I would be interested in, at least if I were SVG, is estimating how much money the ownership in Orlando might be willing to commit to the team in the future, especially when you consider that Howard will become a massive contract eventually (judging by all estimations). The Maloofs have, at the very least, shown a commitment to investing into the team when they feel we are close, and biting the bullet on the luxury tax if need be to send the team a little further. Of course, that's all relative, and we have seen them shave that off recently, but it would be important to me....I really know nothing about the Magic ownership.

 

[Jerichoholic]

I wouldn't go that far, since no one can see into the future, but one thing I would be interested in, at least if I were SVG, is estimating how much money the ownership in Orlando might be willing to commit to the team in the future, especially when you consider that Howard will become a massive contract eventually (judging by all estimations). The Maloofs have, at the very least, shown a commitment to investing into the team when they feel we are close, and biting the bullet on the luxury tax if need be to send the team a little further. Of course, that's all relative, and we have seen them shave that off recently, but it would be important to me....I really know nothing about the Magic ownership.

This is one spot where the Kings could actually have the advantage. From what I've read about Orlando's owners and front office they really haven't been something to brag about for awhile. You bring up a good point about financial commitments because even though they have a couple of young talents, Howard is that team. He will get a max deal somewhere and if it isn't from the Magic they are back to square one, or close to it.

 

[Bricklayer]

This is one spot where the Kings could actually have the advantage. From what I've read about Orlando's owners and front office they really haven't been something to brag about for awhile. You bring up a good point about financial commitments because even though they have a couple of young talents, Howard is that team. He will get a max deal somewhere and if it isn't from the Magic they are back to square one, or close to it.

Oh, the Magic will max out Howard. That you can bank on. How high they are willing to go for the rest of the team remians in question, in partiucualr with their own arena thing going on. But their front office has been really good the last few years, done a beautiful job assembling that young team, and now with Hill coming off the books get to add riches to riches with a ton of cap room.

 

[kennadog]

If Orlando is smart, they will give Donovan a break - let him skate scott free.... and ink SVG today.

I think if we don't announce SVG as head coach today - we never will. Hopefully he has a "take it today or leave it forever" offer on the table from the Maloofs, and tomorrow we can either embrace him or drop him from our radar alltogether.

Well if there is an actual signed contract, its not that easy. Remember the contract binds Orlando to pay millions of dollars to Donovan. Both sides want to "break" the contract while ensuring that nobody gets hit with a lawsuit or ends up paying an amount they never expected.

 

[kennadog]

On the other hand the other way to go is for the GM and coach to work together on the rebuild and if thats the case you need a guy inplace before the players are selected and trades go down. I'm not sure if this fits into Geoffs style or not but if they want Vangundy to be part of this kind of rebuild process then time is of the essence.

GP was quoted as saying he wanted a coach in place no later than mid-June. Too lazy to go back and find it, tho.

 

[nbrans]

More from the Orlando Sentinal:

Magic Risk Losing S. Van Gundy Over Billy Mess
Posted on Jun 5, 2007 5:17:18 PM

Stan Van Gundy is the Magic's choice to coach the team, but he doesn't want to come until the Billy Donovan mess is resolved, at least contractually.

If you thought the Donovan debacle was a soap opera, listen to this:

The Magic are under a deadline and need Donovan to do the right thing (this time) in breaking his contract with the club. But the way I understand it, if Donovan's attorney's stretch this thing out (i.e.e Donovan balks at agreeing to some of the penalties the Magic want enforced in the contract), the Magic could lose Van Gundy.

Van Gundy also has a wink and a nod to coach the Sacramento Kings. He has them on hold, in effect, because he wants to Magic job.

He figures if he takes the Kings' job in the Western Conference, he could be fired in three years or less.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2007/06/magic_risk_losi.html

 

[Ryle]

He figures if he takes the Kings' job in the Western Conference, he could be fired in three years or less.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2007/06/magic_risk_losi.html

And he couldn't in the East if the team doesn't improve?? Makes no sense at all.

 

[KevinSalvadori]

More from the Orlando Sentinal:

Magic Risk Losing S. Van Gundy Over Billy Mess
Posted on Jun 5, 2007 5:17:18 PM

Stan Van Gundy is the Magic's choice to coach the team, but he doesn't want to come until the Billy Donovan mess is resolved, at least contractually.

If you thought the Donovan debacle was a soap opera, listen to this:

The Magic are under a deadline and need Donovan to do the right thing (this time) in breaking his contract with the club. But the way I understand it, if Donovan's attorney's stretch this thing out (i.e.e Donovan balks at agreeing to some of the penalties the Magic want enforced in the contract), the Magic could lose Van Gundy.

Van Gundy also has a wink and a nod to coach the Sacramento Kings. He has them on hold, in effect, because he wants to Magic job.

He figures if he takes the Kings' job in the Western Conference, he could be fired in three years or less.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2007/06/magic_risk_losi.html

That's quite possibly the dumbest, most worthless thing I have ever read. Purely speculative, no journalistic duty, and the author should be reamed for being so irresponsible.

I know we're in an era of "e-publishing" and what not, but that sort of thing is dangerous. What does this moron base this on? Garbage.

 

[hoops4kings]

If SVG doesn't want us to be his first choice then it's time to move on.

 

[Bricklayer]

He figures if he takes the Kings' job in the Western Conference, he could be fired in three years or less.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2007/06/magic_risk_losi.html

Wow, that's an interesting revelation. Perhaps true too.


Difference with Orlando is that they have the young core intact and should naturally improve. In a weak conference that should result in a slow ascent up the playoff ranks even without extra help arriving. We...could wallow. And in a brutal conference and with impatient owners...

 

[Bricklayer]

If SVG doesn't want us to be his first choice then it's time to move on.

Hardly. None of this classic Kings fans "he doesn't love us so he can go to hell" pouting stuff. Of course he doesn't love us. Nobody loves us, or should, in our current state. We just happen to have one of the few spots open out there for guys looking to be an NBA coach. Just so happens this particular guy has options. But there's a reason for that -- he has the best resume. And you don't drop kick that because you are feeling rejected. If he ends up here, no matter how it works, he will coach his *** off ot amke the best of it. All that matters.

 

[KevinSalvadori]

Wow, that's an interesting revelation. Perhaps true too.


Difference with Orlando is that they have the young core intact and should naturally improve. In a weak conference that should result in a slow ascent up the playoff ranks even without extra help arriving. We...could wallow. And in a brutal conference and with impatient owners...

I don't buy it. Again, we stand to free up just as much cap room as they do in the next few years, and this Conference is dotted with a few established stars that are in the back stages of their primes. Not that it will dip to the East anytime soon, but again, this crap about him having a guaranteed easier time with the Magic is pure hogwash. People said the same thing about Larry in NY. These sorts of statements are crap, and faulty journalism in my book.

 

[Jerichoholic]

That article makes no sense, if SVG wants the Magic job so badly then they aren't going to miss out on him while the Donovan is being worked out. They are his first choice and now he would be their first choice then he'll just wait until the Donovan thing is done and then sign with them. It may take a few hours to get the thing done or perhaps a few days, Donovan may get penalized or maybe not, but we know for sure that he won't be coaching the Magic next year so that spot is essentially SVG's right now.

 

[PoundForPound]

i hope the Kings next coach will be stan van gundy. the Maloofs want him, the maloofs want to win, they're probably the best owners in the NBA. now, the kings do have some room to make moves and trades this offseason so that should even lure him some more. problem is, so do the magic. they have a LOT of room. the quality of life down in orlando is probably betterthan Sacramento, and remember that this guy is a family man with kids. In the end i believe it will come down to the Maloofs making him an offer he can't refuse.

 

[Jerichoholic]

Wow, that's an interesting revelation. Perhaps true too.


Difference with Orlando is that they have the young core intact and should naturally improve. In a weak conference that should result in a slow ascent up the playoff ranks even without extra help arriving. We...could wallow. And in a brutal conference and with impatient owners...

I agree that they should improve for those exact reasons, but for some reason I could also see a Clippers-esque collapse as well...anything is possible. After finally making the 8th spot they just fall out the next year, after all there were a lot of teams competing for that spot. If that did happen or they didn't improve fast enough whatever coach they have is likely to get fired. It's just too hard to predict that far into the future.