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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12216739p-13080806c.html
Ailene Voisin: Don't kid yourself - reprieve is temporary
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, February 2, 2005
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This was the right thing to do. This was also the smart thing to do.
On bonus points alone, Rick Adelman, who is virtually assured now of completing a full seven years of hard labor in Sacramento, earned his 2005-06 salary months ago, largely by doing something very few NBA coaches ever accomplish: He rescued his players, revived their season, yanked them from the depths of despondency, disarray and a miserable opening stretch.
He came close but never lost the team.
He lost games but never lost his players.
He survived, they thrived.
And in today's NBA, which chews up mediocre coaches and icons alike (see Rudy Tomjanovich in Los Angeles), there is something to be said for compassion in the front office and continuity in the locker room, especially when the move - relatively speaking - presents little risk to Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie or co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof. Peace, bro. In essence, this is a one-year cushion, comparable to rewarding a loyal, longtime employee with a bonus while at the same time failing to commit long term.
Traditionally, few owners hesitate to swallow the final year of a coach's contract if a more attractive candidate emerges. (Translation: Expect the Maloofs to pursue Phil Jackson during the offseason if the Kings fail to advance deep into the playoffs; some already have been wondering aloud about the Zen Master's asking price.) So if not quite a desperation heave from halfcourt, Adelman is being given one last shot, one final chance to produce that championship ring. One more year of paychecks.
"The boys have trouble saying no to Geoff," said someone close to the situation, noting Petrie's palms were splayed all over the fine print.
But as Joe Maloof suggested, "Rick has done a great job for us. We haven't won a title, which is what we all want, but injuries have played a big part in that. Either Peja (Stojakovic), Chris (Webber) or somebody else has always been hurt. And we're playing better now than we were."
While substitution patterns and philosophies will forever be debated, NBA coaches ultimately are judged by two factors: 1) whether they maximize their talent, and 2) whether their players provide the quality of effort that lures fans into seats, or, for those without deep pockets and six-figure salaries, onto the cushions in front of the television.
Adelman, who is being paid $2.7 million this season and $3 million next season, unquestionably has excelled at 2).
Throughout his tenure, he has culled consistent, if consistently sporadic, defensive performances out of a roster that remains gifted in spite of its repeated revamping.
Since replacing Eddie Jordan before the 1998-99 season that coincided with the arrivals of Vlade Divac, Webber and Stojakovic, Adelman has guided the Kings to the Western Conference finals once, the semifinals four times, and, earlier this year, extracted the Kings from a potentially fatal funk. With each victory, Adelman pads his lead among the organization's all-time successful coaches, and he deserves kudos for implementing an offensive style that can be pleasing to the eye. Few teams these past six seasons moved the ball better, or have been this entertaining.
But few teams have been this defensively bereft. Or this disappointing in the postseason. The defense/defensive rebounding deficiencies dog Adelman like a young Gary Payton. His job security also has been undermined by his curious decision to stick with the ill-fated Webber experiment late last year - the root of considerable offseason discord and angst - as well as his ongoing reluctance to press his power forward to accept his status as the team's best player but not its only prolific scorer.
The Kings at their best adhere to a very simple, balanced, familiar formula. All five players are involved offensively, with no individual dominating the ball, with Mike Bibby and Stojakovic in particular afforded opportunities to display their own versatility. The ball moves. The shots are released in rhythm. The defense is lively, aggressive, committed to the common cause.
"I felt I had his (Petrie's) support, but I think we both knew it was really in the
Maloofs' hands," noted Adelman. "It was up to them. Did they feel I deserved to come back next year or not?" Check back in June.
Ailene Voisin: Don't kid yourself - reprieve is temporary
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, February 2, 2005
Get the latest news in sacbee.com's Kings Alert newsletter. Sign up here.
This was the right thing to do. This was also the smart thing to do.
On bonus points alone, Rick Adelman, who is virtually assured now of completing a full seven years of hard labor in Sacramento, earned his 2005-06 salary months ago, largely by doing something very few NBA coaches ever accomplish: He rescued his players, revived their season, yanked them from the depths of despondency, disarray and a miserable opening stretch.
He came close but never lost the team.
He lost games but never lost his players.
He survived, they thrived.
And in today's NBA, which chews up mediocre coaches and icons alike (see Rudy Tomjanovich in Los Angeles), there is something to be said for compassion in the front office and continuity in the locker room, especially when the move - relatively speaking - presents little risk to Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie or co-owners Joe and Gavin Maloof. Peace, bro. In essence, this is a one-year cushion, comparable to rewarding a loyal, longtime employee with a bonus while at the same time failing to commit long term.
Traditionally, few owners hesitate to swallow the final year of a coach's contract if a more attractive candidate emerges. (Translation: Expect the Maloofs to pursue Phil Jackson during the offseason if the Kings fail to advance deep into the playoffs; some already have been wondering aloud about the Zen Master's asking price.) So if not quite a desperation heave from halfcourt, Adelman is being given one last shot, one final chance to produce that championship ring. One more year of paychecks.
"The boys have trouble saying no to Geoff," said someone close to the situation, noting Petrie's palms were splayed all over the fine print.
But as Joe Maloof suggested, "Rick has done a great job for us. We haven't won a title, which is what we all want, but injuries have played a big part in that. Either Peja (Stojakovic), Chris (Webber) or somebody else has always been hurt. And we're playing better now than we were."
While substitution patterns and philosophies will forever be debated, NBA coaches ultimately are judged by two factors: 1) whether they maximize their talent, and 2) whether their players provide the quality of effort that lures fans into seats, or, for those without deep pockets and six-figure salaries, onto the cushions in front of the television.
Adelman, who is being paid $2.7 million this season and $3 million next season, unquestionably has excelled at 2).
Throughout his tenure, he has culled consistent, if consistently sporadic, defensive performances out of a roster that remains gifted in spite of its repeated revamping.
Since replacing Eddie Jordan before the 1998-99 season that coincided with the arrivals of Vlade Divac, Webber and Stojakovic, Adelman has guided the Kings to the Western Conference finals once, the semifinals four times, and, earlier this year, extracted the Kings from a potentially fatal funk. With each victory, Adelman pads his lead among the organization's all-time successful coaches, and he deserves kudos for implementing an offensive style that can be pleasing to the eye. Few teams these past six seasons moved the ball better, or have been this entertaining.
But few teams have been this defensively bereft. Or this disappointing in the postseason. The defense/defensive rebounding deficiencies dog Adelman like a young Gary Payton. His job security also has been undermined by his curious decision to stick with the ill-fated Webber experiment late last year - the root of considerable offseason discord and angst - as well as his ongoing reluctance to press his power forward to accept his status as the team's best player but not its only prolific scorer.
The Kings at their best adhere to a very simple, balanced, familiar formula. All five players are involved offensively, with no individual dominating the ball, with Mike Bibby and Stojakovic in particular afforded opportunities to display their own versatility. The ball moves. The shots are released in rhythm. The defense is lively, aggressive, committed to the common cause.
"I felt I had his (Petrie's) support, but I think we both knew it was really in the
Maloofs' hands," noted Adelman. "It was up to them. Did they feel I deserved to come back next year or not?" Check back in June.
