Asking the question many are thinking...

H

hoserama

Prospect
So I agree with many folks here that Westphal will not be fired immediately (for fear of appearing like he's appeasing certain players), but his days are likely numbered barring a miracle. Seems to me like some ugly loses could pile up, and he gets Reggie Theuses'ed out of here.

So it begs the question...who replaces him? The logical conclusion is Keith Smart. Head assistant coach under Don Nelson for several years, groomed as the heir-apparent coach, got the gig for a year, then fired. That's the extent of my knowledge. I'm assuming part of it could have been an attempt by GSW new owners to clean shop, or some of it could have been job dissatisfaction.

Who else knows anything about Keith Smart? How was he as a head coach in Golden State? Anybody know how he relates with younger players? And probably most importantly, how has he related to Kings players in his short tenure here?
 
I poked around on the realgm GSW forum for old posts on Smart. Seems like they were generally okay with him--the fans didn't think he was a great coach, but certainly a good-decent coach in his own right. Emphasized defense, sometimes whacky rotations (where have we seen that before?), but generally seemed to have an operating system.

He was the defensive coach under Nellie, but that's like oil and water. Nellie let Smart run the defense for five games and then went back to smallball havoc.
 
I honestly don't think it matters. If they ship Westphal out it will be a we gotta get rid of this guy before he causes anymore damage to the team type of move. In a case like that you just hand the reigns over to Smart and let the chips fall where they may, figuring that even in a worst case scenario, he couldn't muck things up any worse than Westphal has.
 
RookieOfTheDay said:
I honestly don't think it matters. If they ship Westphal out it will be a we gotta get rid of this guy before he causes anymore damage to the team type of move. In a case like that you just hand the reigns over to Smart and let the chips fall where they may, figuring that even in a worst case scenario, he couldn't muck things up any worse than Westphal has.
Click to expand...

100%. Fire him now. This season is already lost, simply by getting him out the players can start mending whatever wounds there are in the locker room and get ready for the future.

Maloofs need to hand the reigns to Petrie and give him a full year to do a thorough coaching search. Petrie can build a great team and has a blueprint in mind, and it's pretty clear that PW has no intention of molding the players into the team that they can be. I have faith that GP could find a competent coach who can implement the Princeton while keeping Cousins and Evans happy.
 
hoserama said:
So I agree with many folks here that Westphal will not be fired immediately (for fear of appearing like he's appeasing certain players), but his days are likely numbered barring a miracle. Seems to me like some ugly loses could pile up, and he gets Reggie Theuses'ed out of here.

So it begs the question...who replaces him? The logical conclusion is Keith Smart. Head assistant coach under Don Nelson for several years, groomed as the heir-apparent coach, got the gig for a year, then fired. That's the extent of my knowledge. I'm assuming part of it could have been an attempt by GSW new owners to clean shop, or some of it could have been job dissatisfaction.

Who else knows anything about Keith Smart? How was he as a head coach in Golden State? Anybody know how he relates with younger players? And probably most importantly, how has he related to Kings players in his short tenure here?
Click to expand...

Not going to be a Kenny Natt situation if that's what you're thinking. Smart took over another team in shambles after a syphlitic old man ravaged it and improved it, though that may have more to do with the fact that they signed an actual big man than anything else.
 
captain bill said:
Maloofs need to hand the reigns to Petrie and give him a full year to do a thorough coaching search. Petrie can build a great team and has a blueprint in mind, and it's pretty clear that PW has no intention of molding the players into the team that they can be. I have faith that GP could find a competent coach who can implement the Princeton while keeping Cousins and Evans happy.
Click to expand...
The owners probably have the final approval on every decision made on this team. We need a very good GM who would influence the Maloofs in making the right decisions. Petrie as our GM had failed in this very important responsibility for many years now. The dysfunctional organization and the poor product on the court speak for itself.

Hire a good GM and the whole situation will change.
 
Prince_XY said:
The owners probably have the final approval on every decision made on this team. We need a very good GM who would influence the Maloofs in making the right decisions. Petrie as our GM had failed in this very important responsibility for many years now. The dysfunctional organization and the poor product on the court speak for itself.

Hire a good GM and the whole situation will change.
Click to expand...

I don't think Petrie is a bad GM but sometimes when things stagnate long enough, you just need a change. The Maloofs had it right last year when they allegedly said "it's time to hit the reset button". The only part they left out is that the reset should include new owners as well...
 
Prince_XY said:
The owners probably have the final approval on every decision made on this team. We need a very good GM who would influence the Maloofs in making the right decisions. Petrie as our GM had failed in this very important responsibility for many years now. The dysfunctional organization and the poor product on the court speak for itself.

Hire a good GM and the whole situation will change.
Click to expand...

easier said than done. who do you recommend? and how many good gms are out there? i think he's done an admirable job considering the limiting factors given to him.
 
captain bill said:
100%. Fire him now. This season is already lost, simply by getting him out the players can start mending whatever wounds there are in the locker room and get ready for the future.

Maloofs need to hand the reigns to Petrie and give him a full year to do a thorough coaching search. Petrie can build a great team and has a blueprint in mind, and it's pretty clear that PW has no intention of molding the players into the team that they can be. I have faith that GP could find a competent coach who can implement the Princeton while keeping Cousins and Evans happy.
Click to expand...

You just put a slight twist on what everyone is saying and it is a valid point. Fire immediately to give a new coach a chance to do his thing and let the players regroup.

I don't think there are many people who think this is a wrong approach because it gives the impression that Cuz got the coach fired. It has been clear for a long time that the coach should be fired and it has nothing to do with Cuz.

The relationship between the Maloofs and GP isn't clear but I'd love it if Petrie was handed the keys to the car and allowed to succeed or fail. Seems to me there are Maloof finger prints all over everything and although it is their right, I suspect it is causing problems for GP. That is only a guess.
 
gunks said:
Pritchard
Click to expand...

You mean the guy who got canned in Portland for giving Brandon Roy a maximum extension after the ownership specifically told him not to because Roy had bad knees and they knew it? You want THAT guy?
 
Would love Sloan or Coach Cal but I doubt the Maloofs would pay them what it would take to pry them out of retirement or Kentucky, respectively. Larry Brown might be an interesting choice, given this prior success in dealing with hotheaded big men (Sheed in Detroit) and shoot-first point guards (Iverson in Philly)(but... there was also Marbury in NY). It didn't seem like Brown would work before because he usually wants to be coach-GM, but it seems like Westphal has had significant say in personnel decisions, so maybe Petrie is not adverse to such an arrangement anymore. Further, Brown seems to always be desperate for the next gig, so maybe he'd be willing to take what the Maloofs would offer.
 
The Melindas are cheapskates and will never fork out money for a good coach while they remain the owners of the Sacramento Kings.


However, if they do, I will eat my hat.
 
TehSwimGuy said:
The Melindas are cheapskates and will never fork out money for a good coach while they remain the owners of the Sacramento Kings.


However, if they do, I will eat my hat.
Click to expand...


You guys remember how they went about interviewing our coach ? They made them agree to a contract offer first BEFORE offering the job. Look where and who it got us. It's not good having BROKE owners.
 
Hey, quit bagging on the Maloofs, its not like theres some billionaire out there who wants to take this team off their hands!



...Oh wait.
 
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