http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14263959p-15076772c.html
They found their mate in the final hours, left John Whisenant at the altar for a sweetheart of a deal. In a sense, they found three for the price of one. Joe and Gavin Maloof found someone to talk to. Geoff Petrie found someone with a defensive mentality and passion for fast-paced offense. And together they found someone who, in his spare time, is willing to sign autographs, kiss babies and mingle with the most important people in town -- all those Kings fans who might threaten divorce, but when it comes down to signing the papers, invariably sign the checks for another set of season tickets.
"That was one of our top three questions," said a visibly exhausted Kings co-owner Joe Maloof. "Eric understands how important (community presence is). We're a one-horse town. We've got one team. The Kings are very important to people. He doesn't have a problem with that."
Small market, large market.
Every coach and every city has issues.
In Oakland, Musselman was asked to change a losing culture. In Sacramento, he is being asked to improve on eight consecutive playoff appearances and change the way Rick Adelman conducted his off-court business. Musselman also is being asked to peacefully and successfully coexist with Ron Artest and Bonzi Wells, prevent Kenny Thomas and Shareef Abdur- Rahim from exchanging blows, coax Mike Bibby into defending, extract more production out of Brad Miller, develop youngsters Kevin Martin and Francisco García … and whistle while he works.
Well, he's young. He's also the best choice for the job. The eminently capable Whisenant never would have had a chance. The distance between the Monarchs' coach/GM and Petrie is the equivalent of a cross-country expedition, without the benefit of a road map. If the boss doesn't want you -- and Petrie remains fully and firmly in control -- it's simply best to move on, or as Whisenant did, return to the Monarchs.
The younger, feistier Musselman, by contrast, is stepping right into a lovefest. He not only impressed the cerebral Petrie with his thick basketball textbooks, individual scouting reports and overall hoops acumen, he dazzled the Maloofs with his energy, enthusiasm, aggressiveness and overwhelmingly upbeat personality.
The family wanted change, wanted a familiar presence, someone cut from the on-the-edge, over-the-top Maloofian mold. And there is a bit of a resemblance. Dressed in a stylish tan suit, the Kings' new coach, in fact, struck Arco Arena on Saturday like an electrical storm, and true to both his word and his nature, he departed the news conference and never stopped moving. Accompanied by Petrie and the Maloofs, he then was whisked to Arden Fair mall for a meet-and-greet session with fans.
"That was Gavin's idea," added Joe Maloof. "We want to do more of that, be more involved in the community."
Left unsaid was this: the Maloofs never connected with the introverted Adelman, the coach they inherited, twice retained but never really adopted into their family. Indeed, as much as anything else, their decision not to retain their longtime coach is attributable to the lack of anything resembling a genuine relationship. Thus, the selection of the extroverted Musselman is a total switchback; the only thing the former and current Kings coach have in common, in fact, is the local zip code. Musselman, 41, is a stickler for fundamentals, is huge on the details and discipline, and as demanding as Pat Riley when it comes to conditioning, preparation and motivational tactics. Gone are the days of Kings players strolling into the locker room 35 minutes before playoff games (see Vlade Divac). A former point guard at the University of San Diego, Eric is a more polished version of his father, the late Bill Musselman. Combative. Intense. Inexhaustible. Irritating on occasion, too, according to some of the Warriors. Several veterans weren't so enamored of their former coach, and apparently, neither was Warriors GM Chris Mullin.
"When you go and try to change the culture, it's not easy," said Musselman. "This culture here has been set up. It's a winning culture. I went into a situation where things had to change, and sometimes with change, there is resistance. You have to keep pushing, you have to keep prodding." He better not stop now. Maintaining the status quo only helped get Adelman fired. The Maloofs are an emotional, hard-driving bunch, and they envision Musselman as the coach who delivers them an NBA championship. Fortunately for him, he's their guy.
They found their mate in the final hours, left John Whisenant at the altar for a sweetheart of a deal. In a sense, they found three for the price of one. Joe and Gavin Maloof found someone to talk to. Geoff Petrie found someone with a defensive mentality and passion for fast-paced offense. And together they found someone who, in his spare time, is willing to sign autographs, kiss babies and mingle with the most important people in town -- all those Kings fans who might threaten divorce, but when it comes down to signing the papers, invariably sign the checks for another set of season tickets.
"That was one of our top three questions," said a visibly exhausted Kings co-owner Joe Maloof. "Eric understands how important (community presence is). We're a one-horse town. We've got one team. The Kings are very important to people. He doesn't have a problem with that."
Small market, large market.
Every coach and every city has issues.
In Oakland, Musselman was asked to change a losing culture. In Sacramento, he is being asked to improve on eight consecutive playoff appearances and change the way Rick Adelman conducted his off-court business. Musselman also is being asked to peacefully and successfully coexist with Ron Artest and Bonzi Wells, prevent Kenny Thomas and Shareef Abdur- Rahim from exchanging blows, coax Mike Bibby into defending, extract more production out of Brad Miller, develop youngsters Kevin Martin and Francisco García … and whistle while he works.
Well, he's young. He's also the best choice for the job. The eminently capable Whisenant never would have had a chance. The distance between the Monarchs' coach/GM and Petrie is the equivalent of a cross-country expedition, without the benefit of a road map. If the boss doesn't want you -- and Petrie remains fully and firmly in control -- it's simply best to move on, or as Whisenant did, return to the Monarchs.
The younger, feistier Musselman, by contrast, is stepping right into a lovefest. He not only impressed the cerebral Petrie with his thick basketball textbooks, individual scouting reports and overall hoops acumen, he dazzled the Maloofs with his energy, enthusiasm, aggressiveness and overwhelmingly upbeat personality.
The family wanted change, wanted a familiar presence, someone cut from the on-the-edge, over-the-top Maloofian mold. And there is a bit of a resemblance. Dressed in a stylish tan suit, the Kings' new coach, in fact, struck Arco Arena on Saturday like an electrical storm, and true to both his word and his nature, he departed the news conference and never stopped moving. Accompanied by Petrie and the Maloofs, he then was whisked to Arden Fair mall for a meet-and-greet session with fans.
"That was Gavin's idea," added Joe Maloof. "We want to do more of that, be more involved in the community."
Left unsaid was this: the Maloofs never connected with the introverted Adelman, the coach they inherited, twice retained but never really adopted into their family. Indeed, as much as anything else, their decision not to retain their longtime coach is attributable to the lack of anything resembling a genuine relationship. Thus, the selection of the extroverted Musselman is a total switchback; the only thing the former and current Kings coach have in common, in fact, is the local zip code. Musselman, 41, is a stickler for fundamentals, is huge on the details and discipline, and as demanding as Pat Riley when it comes to conditioning, preparation and motivational tactics. Gone are the days of Kings players strolling into the locker room 35 minutes before playoff games (see Vlade Divac). A former point guard at the University of San Diego, Eric is a more polished version of his father, the late Bill Musselman. Combative. Intense. Inexhaustible. Irritating on occasion, too, according to some of the Warriors. Several veterans weren't so enamored of their former coach, and apparently, neither was Warriors GM Chris Mullin.
"When you go and try to change the culture, it's not easy," said Musselman. "This culture here has been set up. It's a winning culture. I went into a situation where things had to change, and sometimes with change, there is resistance. You have to keep pushing, you have to keep prodding." He better not stop now. Maintaining the status quo only helped get Adelman fired. The Maloofs are an emotional, hard-driving bunch, and they envision Musselman as the coach who delivers them an NBA championship. Fortunately for him, he's their guy.
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