http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/11408336p-12322657c.html
Ailene Voisin: Poor start to season has many concerned
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, November 13, 2004
The clock no longer ticks rhythmically, in quiet time. These upcoming games screech with significance. If the Kings continue straddling the boundaries of an old/new world, intent on revisiting an era when franchise victories were few, changes are inevitable. One week, two weeks at best.
This is the NBA.
There is a predictability in the league's coaching cycle of madness, the rules of succession often having more to do with emotional swings and player psyche than X's and O's or scientific formula.
And for whatever reasons -- and there inevitably are mitigating circumstances -- unless the Kings quickly re-establish themselves as one of the league's successful teams, Rick Adelman very likely becomes the first casualty.
"We're not going to sit back and let this continue," said Kings co-owner Joe Maloof, referring to his club's 1-4 start, and adding that he is most distressed about the lackluster performance in Wednesday's blowout loss in Seattle.
"We're not happy about what's going on, and I know Mr. Geoff Petrie is not happy, either. We have too much talent for this. We can't panic. That's the one thing you don't want to do. But this just can't continue."
Any decision, of course, rests with Petrie, the highly regarded basketball president whose insistence on organizational secrecy borders on paranoia. Regardless of what transpires during the next few weeks, rest assured, he will not be providing bold headlines for the tabloids (see Lenny Wilkens' situation in New York) or engaging in a public debate with his head coach (see Jeff Bzdelik in Denver) about the best use of personnel.
Nonetheless, the sluggish start is wearing. His voice thick with stress, Petrie on Friday allowed that, "The bottom line is that we're not playing as well as we can. Our depth isn't what it used to be. That's true. But our starting five is very good. I'm confident that we're going to play better. If that doesn't happen, I'll be wrong."
And if he's wrong?
"That's a question for another time."
But know this: Petrie has no desire to trade Mike Bibby, Brad Miller or Peja Stojakovic, and given the unlikelihood of unloading Chris Webber's hefty contract, his options are limited. The decision to keep the team largely intact during the offseason -- coupled with the refusal to extend Adelman's contract beyond the current season -- in essence shifted the onus squarely onto the head coach.
He sinks or he swims.
He also will be thrown a life raft.
Petrie never acts impulsively, and if anything has a reputation for being intensely loyal and even overly protective of his coaches. Before the Maloofs purchased the team from Jim Thomas, one might recall, Petrie adamantly opposed the former owner's desire to replace Eddie Jordan with a more experienced coach.
That more experienced coach became Adelman, who in his six seasons has overseen the Kings' transformation, guiding his club to the conference finals once (2002) and semifinals on three occasions. The only thing missing from his résumé is a ring, no small omission for the hyper-competitive Maloofs.
"We have a great thing going here," Joe Maloof said, "and we don't want to stop. We want a championship."
The standards and expectations remain increasingly high. Kings fans similarly don't merely expect to compete; they expect to contend. There is also that politically sensitive matter of maintaining the momentum and community support needed for the construction of a new arena.
"People here have always appreciated that we play hard," Bobby Jackson said. "That's been who we are. We just have to get back to that."
More troubling than the raw numbers is the collective funk and frustration that has stripped an energetic squad of its energy and enthusiasm. And while perplexing, the emotional dip can't simply be blamed on Doug Christie's foot injury, Jackson's shaky return, Greg Ostertag's broken hand or Webber's physical limitations.
Additionally, there has been a dramatic thaw in Stojakovic's once-chilly relationship with Webber. The two forwards, noticeably estranged during the opening weeks of camp, now engage in lengthy, playful conversations and often are seated together on the bench -- in no small measure because of Webber's concerted effort to soothe his younger teammate's bruised feelings.
Stojakovic, who in fact took his Granite Bay home off the market several weeks ago, recently has been helping his mother, Branka, search for a house in the area.
Some within the organization in fact suspect Stojakovic's shooting woes are attributable to lifestyle change and family/cultural pressures; he and his Greek girlfriend, Aleka Kamila, recently became the parents of a son, Andrej.
Whatever the cause of the Kings' individual and collective skid, the bosses are becoming as restless as the fans, and the individual with the clout, with the clipboard, is also the one under pressure.
This is the NBA, this is how it is. You win or you leave.
Ailene Voisin: Poor start to season has many concerned
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Saturday, November 13, 2004
The clock no longer ticks rhythmically, in quiet time. These upcoming games screech with significance. If the Kings continue straddling the boundaries of an old/new world, intent on revisiting an era when franchise victories were few, changes are inevitable. One week, two weeks at best.
This is the NBA.
There is a predictability in the league's coaching cycle of madness, the rules of succession often having more to do with emotional swings and player psyche than X's and O's or scientific formula.
And for whatever reasons -- and there inevitably are mitigating circumstances -- unless the Kings quickly re-establish themselves as one of the league's successful teams, Rick Adelman very likely becomes the first casualty.
"We're not going to sit back and let this continue," said Kings co-owner Joe Maloof, referring to his club's 1-4 start, and adding that he is most distressed about the lackluster performance in Wednesday's blowout loss in Seattle.
"We're not happy about what's going on, and I know Mr. Geoff Petrie is not happy, either. We have too much talent for this. We can't panic. That's the one thing you don't want to do. But this just can't continue."
Any decision, of course, rests with Petrie, the highly regarded basketball president whose insistence on organizational secrecy borders on paranoia. Regardless of what transpires during the next few weeks, rest assured, he will not be providing bold headlines for the tabloids (see Lenny Wilkens' situation in New York) or engaging in a public debate with his head coach (see Jeff Bzdelik in Denver) about the best use of personnel.
Nonetheless, the sluggish start is wearing. His voice thick with stress, Petrie on Friday allowed that, "The bottom line is that we're not playing as well as we can. Our depth isn't what it used to be. That's true. But our starting five is very good. I'm confident that we're going to play better. If that doesn't happen, I'll be wrong."
And if he's wrong?
"That's a question for another time."
But know this: Petrie has no desire to trade Mike Bibby, Brad Miller or Peja Stojakovic, and given the unlikelihood of unloading Chris Webber's hefty contract, his options are limited. The decision to keep the team largely intact during the offseason -- coupled with the refusal to extend Adelman's contract beyond the current season -- in essence shifted the onus squarely onto the head coach.
He sinks or he swims.
He also will be thrown a life raft.
Petrie never acts impulsively, and if anything has a reputation for being intensely loyal and even overly protective of his coaches. Before the Maloofs purchased the team from Jim Thomas, one might recall, Petrie adamantly opposed the former owner's desire to replace Eddie Jordan with a more experienced coach.
That more experienced coach became Adelman, who in his six seasons has overseen the Kings' transformation, guiding his club to the conference finals once (2002) and semifinals on three occasions. The only thing missing from his résumé is a ring, no small omission for the hyper-competitive Maloofs.
"We have a great thing going here," Joe Maloof said, "and we don't want to stop. We want a championship."
The standards and expectations remain increasingly high. Kings fans similarly don't merely expect to compete; they expect to contend. There is also that politically sensitive matter of maintaining the momentum and community support needed for the construction of a new arena.
"People here have always appreciated that we play hard," Bobby Jackson said. "That's been who we are. We just have to get back to that."
More troubling than the raw numbers is the collective funk and frustration that has stripped an energetic squad of its energy and enthusiasm. And while perplexing, the emotional dip can't simply be blamed on Doug Christie's foot injury, Jackson's shaky return, Greg Ostertag's broken hand or Webber's physical limitations.
Additionally, there has been a dramatic thaw in Stojakovic's once-chilly relationship with Webber. The two forwards, noticeably estranged during the opening weeks of camp, now engage in lengthy, playful conversations and often are seated together on the bench -- in no small measure because of Webber's concerted effort to soothe his younger teammate's bruised feelings.
Stojakovic, who in fact took his Granite Bay home off the market several weeks ago, recently has been helping his mother, Branka, search for a house in the area.
Some within the organization in fact suspect Stojakovic's shooting woes are attributable to lifestyle change and family/cultural pressures; he and his Greek girlfriend, Aleka Kamila, recently became the parents of a son, Andrej.
Whatever the cause of the Kings' individual and collective skid, the bosses are becoming as restless as the fans, and the individual with the clout, with the clipboard, is also the one under pressure.
This is the NBA, this is how it is. You win or you leave.
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