http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/238937.html
Analysis: Theus just was last man standing
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, June 24, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
If Reggie Theus wins, none of the complexities about how he became the Kings' coach will matter.
Even if Theus doesn't win, he still might spend the next few seasons as a champion of a different kind. His charge is to develop the young talent, keep harmony in the locker room and maintain competitiveness on the floor. And, oh yeah, smile big and sell some season tickets with those looks and charm, would ya?
The Kings, for those who haven't noticed, are in rebuilding mode, a reality that has been apparent for some time but just now is becoming official. Just minutes after announcing Theus' hiring, co-owner Joe Maloof talked of the likelihood of the 2007-08 campaign being a 40-win season. Theus signed on for three years and $6 million. And if there's a clause in his contract regarding the playoffs, it's surely a bonus.
Though the Kings did well to explain the Theus hiring Wednesday, from the impact of the Rick Pitino reference from Louisville to Theus' history with the organization to the appeal of his self-made story as a coach, no one could proclaim with cheer, "We got our man!" Theus was merely their man at the end, with no lack of twists and turns before then.
The beginning of the search was far from the actual beginning. By April 20 -- when coach Eric Musselman was fired after one season -- the Kings were not only despondent over their 33-win season but reeling from the way in which their season had been one long public relations debacle. Publicly, there was the auspicious beginning with Musselman's arrest on a charge of driving under the influence, Ron Artest's legal troubles and the latest failed arena plans. Privately, Musselman's managing of the team on and off the floor left management wary of making another messy mistake.
Though it has been widely perceived that Musselman was a Maloof pick, there was no previous connection between the owners and Musselman. The then-41-year-old was a young, energetic coach who came out of his 2004 firing as Golden State's head coach unscathed from the national perspective, having had more success with the Warriors than any coach since Don Nelson in the early 1990s. Musselman had spent the two previous seasons as a Memphis assistant and was known as a hard worker with coaching lineage as the son of former NBA and college coach Bill Musselman. More importantly to Petrie, Musselman and fellow candidate Mario Elie weren't John Whisenant, the then-Monarchs coach who came close to landing the job in 2006 and was the Maloofs' top pick.
One year later, there would be another surprise finish. From the final weekend of interviews, it appeared Los Angeles Lakers assistant Brian Shaw was leading the pack after he and Theus had the final round of second interviews (and the only interviews without Petrie). Simultaneously, there was the Larry Brown sideshow, as the Hall of Fame coach expressed his interest late in the process and the Maloofs were seriously intrigued but Petrie disinterested.
As Petrie said Wednesday, he was swayed by numerous lengthy conversations with Pitino, a coach he holds in high esteem who praised Theus and his coaching ability to no end. Yet the same day, former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian entered the always intriguing debate about the Kings' decision-making process by attempting to take credit for the hiring of the former UNLV star.
"I think I got Reggie the job," Tarkanian told Yahoo sports. "Joe (Maloof) told me (that) he, his brother and mother were really strong on Reggie, but Geoff still liked Shaw. I told Joe, 'This comes down to you and Gavin (Maloof) if you don't win. How come you aren't making the choice?' "
Joe Maloof, however, discredited Tarkanian's claim.
" 'Tark' doesn't know," he said. "The truth of the matter is, you're going to have one day where you feel good about one guy, and then the next day you feel good about the other guy. I went back and forth a hundred times (between Theus and Shaw). I liked some things about Scotty Brooks. That's why it's better not to rush to a decision. We've done it both ways. We took our time this time.
"We have a lot of respect for 'Tark,' always have. We like him a lot, but I listen to a lot of people. You go back and forth on every guy you're about to hire."
Reached one day after the hiring, Tarkanian changed his stance in an interview with The Bee.
"I totally supported Reggie when he got involved, but I recommended (Houston assistant and Kings candidate) Tom Thibodeau," Tarkanian said by phone. "(Hiring Theus) was Geoff's decision, but I told them I was real pleased and real happy that they got Reggie."
Asked about his earlier comments regarding his influence on the Maloofs, Tarkanian waffled.
"Who said that?" he asked about the Yahoo story. "Oh, no, I think I recommended Reggie. That's what I did. But I recommended Thibodeau first. It was Geoff's choice."
Stan Van Gundy will go down as the only other candidate to have actually won the job. The Kings, quite simply, were used as leverage for Van Gundy, who refused to let go of either his Orlando or Sacramento opportunities and bolted when the Magic job was finally his during his Sacramento visit June 6. His exodus might have helped Theus' cause, as the Maloofs began to speak of the importance of a candidate truly wanting the job.
Brooks appeared to be the next closest candidate behind Shaw, yet his best chance to replace Musselman was actually lost during the season. The Kings contemplated firing Musselman, but Petrie -- as he would later say -- deemed it unfair to not let him finish at least one season. Brooks, meanwhile, privately boiled at Musselman's management of the team. The two did not speak for much of the season, and Brooks -- according to numerous sources -- did not approve of, among other things, the extent to which Musselman socialized with players on road trips.
Having served for three seasons under George Karl in Denver as an assistant, one season under Musselman and two seasons coaching in the American Basketball Association, Brooks had more coaching experience than all of the post-Van Gundy finalists not named Larry Brown. Former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said Brooks' reputation as an overachiever and his personal skills would have made him a good fit.
"He was a guy I coveted (as a player) because I just think you have to have the superstar, have the talent, but you also have to have the nuts and bolts, the foundation, the salt-of-the-earth-type people," Tomjanovich said the night of Brooks' second interview. "Scotty made (then-starting Houston point guard) Sam Cassell a better player because of the way he was. He took no crap, and he was going to go out there and he was going to play if Sam didn't grow. I see the same thing as a coach. He works at it, and he has something inside of him where I think he can relate to people."
The Maloofs gushed about Brooks following his second go-round, and it remains unclear what steered them back toward Shaw and Theus. But by the next day, there seemed to be a new focus, a need for more pizzazz and market appeal than the Maloofs felt Brooks could provide.
"You caught us right at the end of the interview, which I told you went really, really well," Joe Maloof said of an interview in which he and Gavin Maloof spoke highly of Brooks on June 11. "We have a lot of respect for Scotty and what he's been able to accomplish... . He's got a good future. But you go back and forth in your own mind (when choosing a coach)."
For Petrie's part, the length of the coaching search was problematic. With Thursday's NBA draft approaching, there was the increased importance of the highest pick since 1998 (No. 10) coupled with less time with which to research prospects. Whereas draft workouts could begin with the end of a team's season previously, a rule change dictated that workouts could not begin until June 5.
And if Petrie was growing weary of the coaching search, who could blame him? The candidate he was high on from the beginning -- Detroit assistant Terry Porter -- never received a serious look because of his ties to former Kings coach Rick Adelman and his association with the glory days in Portland.
Joe Maloof confirmed that Porter was on the original list, and The Bee learned during the coaching hunt that Porter even had a hotel reservation at the Maloofs' Palms Casino on June 3 that went unfilled. The relationship, or lack thereof, between the Maloofs and Adelman remains a point of contention among the family, with hard feelings remaining to this day. With the Maloofs, Petrie and Theus optimistic about the future that starts now and the reaction seemingly split between the fans and the cynics, another new era begins.
"If it doesn't go well, everybody will run for the hills and the only two guys will be me and Gavin," Joe Maloof said. "We understand that's the way it works."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
Analysis: Theus just was last man standing
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, June 24, 2007
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
If Reggie Theus wins, none of the complexities about how he became the Kings' coach will matter.
Even if Theus doesn't win, he still might spend the next few seasons as a champion of a different kind. His charge is to develop the young talent, keep harmony in the locker room and maintain competitiveness on the floor. And, oh yeah, smile big and sell some season tickets with those looks and charm, would ya?
The Kings, for those who haven't noticed, are in rebuilding mode, a reality that has been apparent for some time but just now is becoming official. Just minutes after announcing Theus' hiring, co-owner Joe Maloof talked of the likelihood of the 2007-08 campaign being a 40-win season. Theus signed on for three years and $6 million. And if there's a clause in his contract regarding the playoffs, it's surely a bonus.
Though the Kings did well to explain the Theus hiring Wednesday, from the impact of the Rick Pitino reference from Louisville to Theus' history with the organization to the appeal of his self-made story as a coach, no one could proclaim with cheer, "We got our man!" Theus was merely their man at the end, with no lack of twists and turns before then.
The beginning of the search was far from the actual beginning. By April 20 -- when coach Eric Musselman was fired after one season -- the Kings were not only despondent over their 33-win season but reeling from the way in which their season had been one long public relations debacle. Publicly, there was the auspicious beginning with Musselman's arrest on a charge of driving under the influence, Ron Artest's legal troubles and the latest failed arena plans. Privately, Musselman's managing of the team on and off the floor left management wary of making another messy mistake.
Though it has been widely perceived that Musselman was a Maloof pick, there was no previous connection between the owners and Musselman. The then-41-year-old was a young, energetic coach who came out of his 2004 firing as Golden State's head coach unscathed from the national perspective, having had more success with the Warriors than any coach since Don Nelson in the early 1990s. Musselman had spent the two previous seasons as a Memphis assistant and was known as a hard worker with coaching lineage as the son of former NBA and college coach Bill Musselman. More importantly to Petrie, Musselman and fellow candidate Mario Elie weren't John Whisenant, the then-Monarchs coach who came close to landing the job in 2006 and was the Maloofs' top pick.
One year later, there would be another surprise finish. From the final weekend of interviews, it appeared Los Angeles Lakers assistant Brian Shaw was leading the pack after he and Theus had the final round of second interviews (and the only interviews without Petrie). Simultaneously, there was the Larry Brown sideshow, as the Hall of Fame coach expressed his interest late in the process and the Maloofs were seriously intrigued but Petrie disinterested.
As Petrie said Wednesday, he was swayed by numerous lengthy conversations with Pitino, a coach he holds in high esteem who praised Theus and his coaching ability to no end. Yet the same day, former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian entered the always intriguing debate about the Kings' decision-making process by attempting to take credit for the hiring of the former UNLV star.
"I think I got Reggie the job," Tarkanian told Yahoo sports. "Joe (Maloof) told me (that) he, his brother and mother were really strong on Reggie, but Geoff still liked Shaw. I told Joe, 'This comes down to you and Gavin (Maloof) if you don't win. How come you aren't making the choice?' "
Joe Maloof, however, discredited Tarkanian's claim.
" 'Tark' doesn't know," he said. "The truth of the matter is, you're going to have one day where you feel good about one guy, and then the next day you feel good about the other guy. I went back and forth a hundred times (between Theus and Shaw). I liked some things about Scotty Brooks. That's why it's better not to rush to a decision. We've done it both ways. We took our time this time.
"We have a lot of respect for 'Tark,' always have. We like him a lot, but I listen to a lot of people. You go back and forth on every guy you're about to hire."
Reached one day after the hiring, Tarkanian changed his stance in an interview with The Bee.
"I totally supported Reggie when he got involved, but I recommended (Houston assistant and Kings candidate) Tom Thibodeau," Tarkanian said by phone. "(Hiring Theus) was Geoff's decision, but I told them I was real pleased and real happy that they got Reggie."
Asked about his earlier comments regarding his influence on the Maloofs, Tarkanian waffled.
"Who said that?" he asked about the Yahoo story. "Oh, no, I think I recommended Reggie. That's what I did. But I recommended Thibodeau first. It was Geoff's choice."
Stan Van Gundy will go down as the only other candidate to have actually won the job. The Kings, quite simply, were used as leverage for Van Gundy, who refused to let go of either his Orlando or Sacramento opportunities and bolted when the Magic job was finally his during his Sacramento visit June 6. His exodus might have helped Theus' cause, as the Maloofs began to speak of the importance of a candidate truly wanting the job.
Brooks appeared to be the next closest candidate behind Shaw, yet his best chance to replace Musselman was actually lost during the season. The Kings contemplated firing Musselman, but Petrie -- as he would later say -- deemed it unfair to not let him finish at least one season. Brooks, meanwhile, privately boiled at Musselman's management of the team. The two did not speak for much of the season, and Brooks -- according to numerous sources -- did not approve of, among other things, the extent to which Musselman socialized with players on road trips.
Having served for three seasons under George Karl in Denver as an assistant, one season under Musselman and two seasons coaching in the American Basketball Association, Brooks had more coaching experience than all of the post-Van Gundy finalists not named Larry Brown. Former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich said Brooks' reputation as an overachiever and his personal skills would have made him a good fit.
"He was a guy I coveted (as a player) because I just think you have to have the superstar, have the talent, but you also have to have the nuts and bolts, the foundation, the salt-of-the-earth-type people," Tomjanovich said the night of Brooks' second interview. "Scotty made (then-starting Houston point guard) Sam Cassell a better player because of the way he was. He took no crap, and he was going to go out there and he was going to play if Sam didn't grow. I see the same thing as a coach. He works at it, and he has something inside of him where I think he can relate to people."
The Maloofs gushed about Brooks following his second go-round, and it remains unclear what steered them back toward Shaw and Theus. But by the next day, there seemed to be a new focus, a need for more pizzazz and market appeal than the Maloofs felt Brooks could provide.
"You caught us right at the end of the interview, which I told you went really, really well," Joe Maloof said of an interview in which he and Gavin Maloof spoke highly of Brooks on June 11. "We have a lot of respect for Scotty and what he's been able to accomplish... . He's got a good future. But you go back and forth in your own mind (when choosing a coach)."
For Petrie's part, the length of the coaching search was problematic. With Thursday's NBA draft approaching, there was the increased importance of the highest pick since 1998 (No. 10) coupled with less time with which to research prospects. Whereas draft workouts could begin with the end of a team's season previously, a rule change dictated that workouts could not begin until June 5.
And if Petrie was growing weary of the coaching search, who could blame him? The candidate he was high on from the beginning -- Detroit assistant Terry Porter -- never received a serious look because of his ties to former Kings coach Rick Adelman and his association with the glory days in Portland.
Joe Maloof confirmed that Porter was on the original list, and The Bee learned during the coaching hunt that Porter even had a hotel reservation at the Maloofs' Palms Casino on June 3 that went unfilled. The relationship, or lack thereof, between the Maloofs and Adelman remains a point of contention among the family, with hard feelings remaining to this day. With the Maloofs, Petrie and Theus optimistic about the future that starts now and the reaction seemingly split between the fans and the cynics, another new era begins.
"If it doesn't go well, everybody will run for the hills and the only two guys will be me and Gavin," Joe Maloof said. "We understand that's the way it works."
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
