Theus not too pleased with the Artest trade?

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#31
This would in no way be a surprise -- Theus has been blathering about playoffs since the moment he got here, and in all ways has seemed like an oddly bad coach for a rebuild. As a college guy, I thought he might be more rah rah kids, but in reality he is desperate to pad his win %.

In any case after he spent the enitre last month of the season blowing atrocious amounts of smoke up Ron's butt (possibly with Brad's herbals ;)) you knew he was not going to be happy about the team committing to a rebuild.

The other interesting thing is how wide a gulf emerged between Theus and Petrie/the front office. He was largely defying them down the stretch fo the season, and you get the feeling Geoff is making these moves now with almost no reference to what Reggie wants at all. He is going to build the team his way, and Reggie is just going to have to live with it. If he can't he is in the last year of his contract and there are lots of guys looking for an NBA head job.
I sort of wondered about this marriage from the beginning. We all know what kind of team Geoff likes. One that passes the ball, has good outside shooters and runs the game through the center. Basicly, a half court type of team. Reggie is the opposite. He's more like Nelson. He likes to run and gun. Go one on one, something Geoff despises. It was probably only a matter of time before they butted heads. Particularly, if Reggie wasn't Geoff's choice in the first place.

Too bad if it doesn't work out. I agree with you. Young team, young coach fresh from the college atmosphere. You would think it would be a perfect match.
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#32
Again, I think people are putting the cart way before the horse, especially if they're basing their opinions on those vague blog mutterings.

While Theus did seem interested in "padding his win %," the idea it wasn't okay with Petrie is NOT substantiated anywhere else than here. Granted, he could/should have played the kids more at times, but he's the coach and TPTB will let him make his own mistakes as long as he learned from them, which I have every faith he did.

Don't sell Reggie short. He may have his idiosyncracies but I think we're going to have a lot of fun this year.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#33
Again, I think people are putting the cart way before the horse, especially if they're basing their opinions on those vague blog mutterings.

While Theus did seem interested in "padding his win %," the idea it wasn't okay with Petrie is NOT substantiated anywhere else than here. Granted, he could/should have played the kids more at times, but he's the coach and TPTB will let him make his own mistakes as long as he learned from them, which I have every faith he did.

Don't sell Reggie short. He may have his idiosyncracies but I think we're going to have a lot of fun this year.
Reggie does seem to have one trait, in that, he is a surviver. If he doesn't say the wrong thing and burn bridges, I'm sure he's smart enough to bend to the will of management. And, if not, well that would be a mistake. So I hope he and the team have a chance to grow together. Its a great opportunity for him.
 

Entity

Hall of Famer
#35
.... the Bulls could be looking to take advantage of the Kings' apparent desire to unload contracts by offering Nocioni to Sacramento for Brad Miller, a second person familiar with the situation said. Kings coach Reggie Theus is said to be none too pleased with the organization's decision to trade Ron Artest to Houston, because he knows that signals the end of trying to compete for a playoff spot and the beginning of another potentially ugly rebuilding period. Hey Reggie, now you know how Knicks fans feel ...

Full Article can be found here:
http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/basketball/nba/blog/2008/07/nocioni_on_the_move.html

what do they mean ANOTHER. Does this writer not know that this is Reggie's 2nd year in the NBA. he doesn't know what its like to rebuild. Its perfect for him. He can grow with the team.
 
#38
Seriously, to quell this rumor, my good friend was recently part of a dinner group with Theus about a month ago...mostly business partners, etc. One of the guys asked Theus his opinion on a possible Artest trade, and his response was pretty neutral...that it had its pluses and minuses...factors that we're all well aware of as fans.

I've been apprehensive to post this as I'm not one to gossip, but hopefully this sheds some light on Theus's actual sentiment towards the trade.
 

Spike

Subsidiary Intermediary
Staff member
#39
Seriously, to quell this rumor, my good friend was recently part of a dinner group with Theus about a month ago...mostly business partners, etc. One of the guys asked Theus his opinion on a possible Artest trade, and his response was pretty neutral...that it had its pluses and minuses...factors that we're all well aware of as fans.

I've been apprehensive to post this as I'm not one to gossip, but hopefully this sheds some light on Theus's actual sentiment towards the trade.
So what you're saying is that Theus DID have negative sentiments towards the trade - A HA!
 
#40
Seriously, to quell this rumor, my good friend was recently part of a dinner group with Theus about a month ago...mostly business partners, etc. One of the guys asked Theus his opinion on a possible Artest trade, and his response was pretty neutral...that it had its pluses and minuses...factors that we're all well aware of as fans.

I've been apprehensive to post this as I'm not one to gossip, but hopefully this sheds some light on Theus's actual sentiment towards the trade.
Worry not, the initial information that spawned this thread came from a blogger citing an unsubstantiated, anonymous secondary source.

You have at least as much credibility as that.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#41
Reggie does seem to have one trait, in that, he is a surviver. If he doesn't say the wrong thing and burn bridges, I'm sure he's smart enough to bend to the will of management. And, if not, well that would be a mistake. So I hope he and the team have a chance to grow together. Its a great opportunity for him.

I think Reggie's one trait is that he's an arrogant self-centered ***.

But I think he's a reasonably smart arrogant self-centered ***, and I think he has solid coaching skills when he's not tripping over his ego. He could survive this season and even look good doing it. But whether he can do it without rubbing everybody the wrong way and getting himself canned for being that arrogant self-centered *** that nobody wants to deal with is another question. All too often last season the brains got overruled by the ego, and the ego was writing checks...well you know the cliche. Like Ron before him, he needs to shut up and get with the program. When he was hired my assumption was that he had slimed his way into the job as an unqualified shallow creampuff of a salesman. I was wrong. After seeing him in action I think that he can in fact hack the job, but rather than a shallow salesman, he seems to be suffering from a bad case of swollen headedness normally reserved for coaches who have actually accomplished something. If he fails it is not on anybody but himself -- and it will be a waste.
 
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Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#42
Seriously, to quell this rumor, my good friend was recently part of a dinner group with Theus about a month ago...mostly business partners, etc. One of the guys asked Theus his opinion on a possible Artest trade, and his response was pretty neutral...that it had its pluses and minuses...factors that we're all well aware of as fans.

I've been apprehensive to post this as I'm not one to gossip, but hopefully this sheds some light on Theus's actual sentiment towards the trade.

Okay, I'm not going to question the validity of this or anything -- its already been noted that the intial report wasn't actually rock solid either, and both seem possible.

I will just note that both your story AND the blog could be true, for this simple reason: Remember all the talk of trading Ron for Lamar Odom or something like that? Well Reggie, as in must win now to pad my stats Reggie, might have ben willing to equivocate if he were going to get another major player in return. A Lamar Odom, a Shawn Marion, whoever. But when he sees that its a true rebuild deal, that's its Ron for picks and kids, well then win now Reggie has been dealt a blow, and a disappointing one from his mindset. Hence he might have been ok with trading Ron for an equal player, but still be upset as the newspaper implied about trading Ron for no immediate help.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#43
I think Reggie's one trait is that he's an arrogant self-centered ***.

But I think he's a reasonably smart arrogant self-centered ***, and I think he has solid coaching skills when he's not tripping over his ego. He could survive this season and even look good doing it. But whether he can do it without rubbing everybody the wrong way and getting himself canned for being that arrogant self-centered *** that nobody wants to deal with is another question. All too often last season the brains got overruled by the ego, and the ego was writing checks...well you know the cliche. Like Ron before him, he needs to shut up and get with the program. When he was hired my assumption was that he had slimed his way into the job as an unqualified shallow creampuff of a salesman. I was wrong. After seeing him in action I think that he can in fact hack the job, but rather than a shallow salesman, he seems to be suffering from a bad case of swollen headedness normally reserved for coaches who have actually accomplished something. If he fails it is not on anybody but himself -- and it will be a waste.
You've got to be more careful Bricky. You left yourself wide open with that opening statement. Not from me, but as you know, you have some close friends out there that would jump on it. Anyway, I sort of agree with you. He does at times come across as a little arrogant. Not unusual for ex-athlete's that reached a certain level of stardom. I've never met a star athlete that didn't seem to have a large ego. Its part of what made them who they are. It helps them deal with occasional failure. But I agree, I think he proved he can coach and not lose the team in the process. At least not so far.

I hope that he realizes that a young team is the best thing to happen to him. Maybe not in the short team as far a wins and loses go, but in the long term, where he can put his stamp on the team and perhaps on his future legacy.
 

Entity

Hall of Famer
#44
I think Reggie's one trait is that he's an arrogant self-centered ***.

But I think he's a reasonably smart arrogant self-centered ***, and I think he has solid coaching skills when he's not tripping over his ego. He could survive this season and even look good doing it. But whether he can do it without rubbing everybody the wrong way and getting himself canned for being that arrogant self-centered *** that nobody wants to deal with is another question. All too often last season the brains got overruled by the ego, and the ego was writing checks...well you know the cliche. Like Ron before him, he needs to shut up and get with the program. When he was hired my assumption was that he had slimed his way into the job as an unqualified shallow creampuff of a salesman. I was wrong. After seeing him in action I think that he can in fact hack the job, but rather than a shallow salesman, he seems to be suffering from a bad case of swollen headedness normally reserved for coaches who have actually accomplished something. If he fails it is not on anybody but himself -- and it will be a waste.
OK for those of you that don't know Brick. That is the biggest compliment I have EVER seen him give Reggie. No no the arrogant self-centered *** part. It was hidden deep in his message he stated he thinks Reggie can be a capable NBA coach. Wow honestly my optimism of Reggie just reached its ceiling.