AleksandarN
Starter
What sources are those?
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12834541p-13684519c.html
SEATTLE - There is only one place left to look now, one obvious move to make, and that would be to locate Phil Jackson and convince him to coach the Kings.
Yes, Phil Jackson would be interested. OAS_AD('Button20');
Yes, Phil Jackson would listen.
Could he be enticed? Who knows?
Unfathomable as this sounds, as abrupt as this appears, time is of the essence. The league isn't exactly overpopulated with unemployed superstar coaches. Someone within the Kings' organization should immediately - immediately - make an overture and ask the hard questions, because, well, because the guy has coached his clubs to nine NBA championships, and because the 2005 free-agent coaching market goes bust the minute one of his many suitors drops to bended knee, kisses the ring and makes an offer that causes him to retire the hiking boots and the scuba gear.
According to sources close to the situation, several of whom Tuesday confirmed Jackson's intrigue if the Kings' job were to become vacant, the longtime Lakers coach expects to reach a decision about his future within the next few days.
Yet as of late Tuesday night, while the Kings were engaged in an inspired, if season-ending, defensively challenged encounter with the Seattle SuperSonics, he continued to ruminate (no, we Sacramentans are not as unsophisticated as once accused).
All of which suggests that this little dance of his is about to proceed in one of three directions: 1) the Lakers, who have been pressing for a decision, will interpret his resistance as reluctance to repeat the been-there, done-that scenario and seriously look elsewhere; 2) the coach who dominated the 1990s and already would have eclipsed Red Auerbach had a certain high-profile couple (Shaq and Kobe) not split because of irreconcilable differences avails himself of all other opportunities; or 3) another extended vacation is placed on the 2005-06
calendar.
As it pertains to the Kings, to Geoff Petrie and Joe and Gavin Maloof, this is the time to jump through hoops again. To get goofy on us again. To make the hard decisions.
Thank Rick Adelman for seven franchise-transforming, mostly wonderful seasons, present him his check for the final year of service (2005-06) and then seriously pursue the coach who has caused this Kings franchise more pain than you-know-who's left knee. The community and celebrity coach already share a well-chronicled past: Jackson, 59, not only orchestrated that seventh-game Lakers victory in 2002, he reveled in Sacramento's misery. Publicly he sparred with the
Maloofs, chided Vlade Divac for his flops and ripped Chris Webber in his latest book.
But history is made to be rewritten, and privately, he has always held tremendous respect for Petrie, attends the mega-parties thrown by the Maloofs, and enjoyed the political, vibrant essence of Sacramento. Should he be successfully romanced, he could plot his post-
basketball future with the likes of Arnold and Maria. He could join the protesters outside the Capitol without leaving home. Additionally - and just a hunch here - but momentum for that new arena would receive a massive boost.
No, while not exactly a Las Vegas guy, approaching Jackson is hardly a major gamble, and several within the ownership group are strongly endorsing such a maneuver. Seriously, what have the Maloofs to lose besides a few millions? OK, more than a few millions? But who said winning comes cheap? Just open the checkbook, say, for $5 million of that small-market money, and placate Phil with a slice of the ever-
expanding, always-popular Palms casino.
"We'll do the same thing we do after every season," Joe Maloof said late Tuesday night. "We get together as a family, and, with Geoff, we analyze what we need to do, and how to go about doing it. That's the way we've always done it, and it works out for us."
Reaching out to Jackson at this point, however, makes sense for several other significant reasons: The Kings have better talent and certainly a preferable salary-cap situation than most of the competition, thought to be primarily the Lakers and New York Knicks, followed by the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
And Petrie has long been regarded as a personnel wizard; surely he has something in the works. The trades of Webber and Doug Christie provided flexibility, depth, and the potential to be better - not worse - defensively. Surely Jackson could squeeze more out of 7-foot-2 Greg Ostertag, the slumping if undersized Brian Skinner and shift the collective emphasis from offense to defense.
The market closes soon. Better act fast.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12834541p-13684519c.html
SEATTLE - There is only one place left to look now, one obvious move to make, and that would be to locate Phil Jackson and convince him to coach the Kings.
Yes, Phil Jackson would be interested. OAS_AD('Button20');
Yes, Phil Jackson would listen.
Could he be enticed? Who knows?
Unfathomable as this sounds, as abrupt as this appears, time is of the essence. The league isn't exactly overpopulated with unemployed superstar coaches. Someone within the Kings' organization should immediately - immediately - make an overture and ask the hard questions, because, well, because the guy has coached his clubs to nine NBA championships, and because the 2005 free-agent coaching market goes bust the minute one of his many suitors drops to bended knee, kisses the ring and makes an offer that causes him to retire the hiking boots and the scuba gear.
According to sources close to the situation, several of whom Tuesday confirmed Jackson's intrigue if the Kings' job were to become vacant, the longtime Lakers coach expects to reach a decision about his future within the next few days.
Yet as of late Tuesday night, while the Kings were engaged in an inspired, if season-ending, defensively challenged encounter with the Seattle SuperSonics, he continued to ruminate (no, we Sacramentans are not as unsophisticated as once accused).
All of which suggests that this little dance of his is about to proceed in one of three directions: 1) the Lakers, who have been pressing for a decision, will interpret his resistance as reluctance to repeat the been-there, done-that scenario and seriously look elsewhere; 2) the coach who dominated the 1990s and already would have eclipsed Red Auerbach had a certain high-profile couple (Shaq and Kobe) not split because of irreconcilable differences avails himself of all other opportunities; or 3) another extended vacation is placed on the 2005-06
calendar.
As it pertains to the Kings, to Geoff Petrie and Joe and Gavin Maloof, this is the time to jump through hoops again. To get goofy on us again. To make the hard decisions.
Thank Rick Adelman for seven franchise-transforming, mostly wonderful seasons, present him his check for the final year of service (2005-06) and then seriously pursue the coach who has caused this Kings franchise more pain than you-know-who's left knee. The community and celebrity coach already share a well-chronicled past: Jackson, 59, not only orchestrated that seventh-game Lakers victory in 2002, he reveled in Sacramento's misery. Publicly he sparred with the
Maloofs, chided Vlade Divac for his flops and ripped Chris Webber in his latest book.
But history is made to be rewritten, and privately, he has always held tremendous respect for Petrie, attends the mega-parties thrown by the Maloofs, and enjoyed the political, vibrant essence of Sacramento. Should he be successfully romanced, he could plot his post-
basketball future with the likes of Arnold and Maria. He could join the protesters outside the Capitol without leaving home. Additionally - and just a hunch here - but momentum for that new arena would receive a massive boost.
No, while not exactly a Las Vegas guy, approaching Jackson is hardly a major gamble, and several within the ownership group are strongly endorsing such a maneuver. Seriously, what have the Maloofs to lose besides a few millions? OK, more than a few millions? But who said winning comes cheap? Just open the checkbook, say, for $5 million of that small-market money, and placate Phil with a slice of the ever-
expanding, always-popular Palms casino.
"We'll do the same thing we do after every season," Joe Maloof said late Tuesday night. "We get together as a family, and, with Geoff, we analyze what we need to do, and how to go about doing it. That's the way we've always done it, and it works out for us."
Reaching out to Jackson at this point, however, makes sense for several other significant reasons: The Kings have better talent and certainly a preferable salary-cap situation than most of the competition, thought to be primarily the Lakers and New York Knicks, followed by the Portland Trail Blazers and Minnesota Timberwolves.
And Petrie has long been regarded as a personnel wizard; surely he has something in the works. The trades of Webber and Doug Christie provided flexibility, depth, and the potential to be better - not worse - defensively. Surely Jackson could squeeze more out of 7-foot-2 Greg Ostertag, the slumping if undersized Brian Skinner and shift the collective emphasis from offense to defense.
The market closes soon. Better act fast.
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