http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14283657p-15091320c.html
Marcos Bretón: Kings bank on link to the Bay
By Marcos Bretón -- Bee Columnist
Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, July 30, 2006
If history is any judge, Eric Musselman will be a great Kings coach because the Golden State Warriors didn't want him. And everybody knows the Kings have built a perennial winner by doing the opposite of the wretched Warriors on key personnel issues.
It's somewhat like George Costanza of "Seinfeld" and how he was an unemployed loser until executing the opposite of all his loser impulses. Then he became a New York Yankees executive.
How else to explain Chris Webber as the Antichrist in Oakland and as the Messiah in Sacramento?
There was also Rick Adelman, the fired Warriors coach, who led the Kings to eight consecutive playoff appearances while the Warriors chased sewer rats en route to 12 successive losing seasons.
Now comes Musselman, another exiled Warriors coach, who was slimed by creeps under Golden State's leaky roof after getting fired in 2004.
In the process, Musselman was branded as a bad guy, while the Warriors hardly upgraded by replacing him with the befuddled Mike Montgomery.
It wasn't even about that. It was about a new Warriors top dog in Chris Mullin wanting his own coach, so Musselman was out.
Ironically, that's exactly how Musselman came to Sacramento.
The Kings' owners, the Maloof family, didn't directly hire Adelman, couldn't connect with him personally, were frustrated by his methods -- so out he went.
All of a sudden, Musselman wasn't the odd man out who had been sacked for the flavor the month.
He was the flavor of the month, though he's looking to make his tenure last much longer and is aware that coaching opportunities eventually disappear.
Chance No. 1 came and went. Now here is chance No. 2. There may not be a third shot if the personable, engaging 41-year-old can't make it work with the Kings.
There is much in Musselman's pedigree to suggest that he will win.
But is Musselman an upgrade over Adelman right now? Only the most die-hard Kings fanatics would say yes.
To the Kings, it's not even a relevant question.
"Eric will be different," said Geoff Petrie, Kings president of basketball operations. "It can be better, it can be the same. Some people will perceive it as not as good, but at the end of the day, it's really about winning games."
On that subject, you'll recall that last season, the Kings woefully overestimated the talent on their team. They wrongly saw a plus 50-game winner and top Western Conference hopeful.
The team won 44, grasped the eighth seed in its conference, but only after "one of the most unusual seasons I ever been around," Petrie said.
What would have happened without getting Ron Artest in a late-January trade? No one at Arco Arena wants to think about it, though the experience clearly has chastened everyone in a position of authority in Kings Nation.
Consequently, you get a much more cautious take about the coming season. The expectations wrongly placed on Adelman's head won't be foisted on Musselman.
Petrie is quick to point out how the Western Conference will be tougher with improved squads in Houston, Utah and New Orleans. Are the Kings a playoff lock?
"I hope so," Petrie said.
Being the Maloofs' guy, Musselman will get a fair shot. And what's not to like so far? He had the Kings' summer-league team playing a hard-nosed game in Las Vegas, where players were noticeably aggressive, creating scoring chances by pressuring offenses.
Kevin Martin is working like a madman under Musselman. According to the new coach, Artest also is working like a beast, going so far as to call Musselman to make sure he's fit enough to play in the new coach's system.
Then there is Musselman's legendary work ethic, his willingness to shake hands all over town, to show up at River Cats games as a big baseball fan, to be an energetic face of a Kings franchise that places a huge value on image.
Will all that turn into victories that are now expected by the fans in Sacramento?
Hey, if the Warriors didn't want Musselman, he must be a winner.
About the writer: Reach Marcos Bretón at (916) 321-1096 or mbreton@sacbee.com.
Marcos Bretón: Kings bank on link to the Bay
By Marcos Bretón -- Bee Columnist
Published 12:01 am PDT Sunday, July 30, 2006
If history is any judge, Eric Musselman will be a great Kings coach because the Golden State Warriors didn't want him. And everybody knows the Kings have built a perennial winner by doing the opposite of the wretched Warriors on key personnel issues.
It's somewhat like George Costanza of "Seinfeld" and how he was an unemployed loser until executing the opposite of all his loser impulses. Then he became a New York Yankees executive.
How else to explain Chris Webber as the Antichrist in Oakland and as the Messiah in Sacramento?
There was also Rick Adelman, the fired Warriors coach, who led the Kings to eight consecutive playoff appearances while the Warriors chased sewer rats en route to 12 successive losing seasons.
Now comes Musselman, another exiled Warriors coach, who was slimed by creeps under Golden State's leaky roof after getting fired in 2004.
In the process, Musselman was branded as a bad guy, while the Warriors hardly upgraded by replacing him with the befuddled Mike Montgomery.
It wasn't even about that. It was about a new Warriors top dog in Chris Mullin wanting his own coach, so Musselman was out.
Ironically, that's exactly how Musselman came to Sacramento.
The Kings' owners, the Maloof family, didn't directly hire Adelman, couldn't connect with him personally, were frustrated by his methods -- so out he went.
All of a sudden, Musselman wasn't the odd man out who had been sacked for the flavor the month.
He was the flavor of the month, though he's looking to make his tenure last much longer and is aware that coaching opportunities eventually disappear.
Chance No. 1 came and went. Now here is chance No. 2. There may not be a third shot if the personable, engaging 41-year-old can't make it work with the Kings.
There is much in Musselman's pedigree to suggest that he will win.
But is Musselman an upgrade over Adelman right now? Only the most die-hard Kings fanatics would say yes.
To the Kings, it's not even a relevant question.
"Eric will be different," said Geoff Petrie, Kings president of basketball operations. "It can be better, it can be the same. Some people will perceive it as not as good, but at the end of the day, it's really about winning games."
On that subject, you'll recall that last season, the Kings woefully overestimated the talent on their team. They wrongly saw a plus 50-game winner and top Western Conference hopeful.
The team won 44, grasped the eighth seed in its conference, but only after "one of the most unusual seasons I ever been around," Petrie said.
What would have happened without getting Ron Artest in a late-January trade? No one at Arco Arena wants to think about it, though the experience clearly has chastened everyone in a position of authority in Kings Nation.
Consequently, you get a much more cautious take about the coming season. The expectations wrongly placed on Adelman's head won't be foisted on Musselman.
Petrie is quick to point out how the Western Conference will be tougher with improved squads in Houston, Utah and New Orleans. Are the Kings a playoff lock?
"I hope so," Petrie said.
Being the Maloofs' guy, Musselman will get a fair shot. And what's not to like so far? He had the Kings' summer-league team playing a hard-nosed game in Las Vegas, where players were noticeably aggressive, creating scoring chances by pressuring offenses.
Kevin Martin is working like a madman under Musselman. According to the new coach, Artest also is working like a beast, going so far as to call Musselman to make sure he's fit enough to play in the new coach's system.
Then there is Musselman's legendary work ethic, his willingness to shake hands all over town, to show up at River Cats games as a big baseball fan, to be an energetic face of a Kings franchise that places a huge value on image.
Will all that turn into victories that are now expected by the fans in Sacramento?
Hey, if the Warriors didn't want Musselman, he must be a winner.
About the writer: Reach Marcos Bretón at (916) 321-1096 or mbreton@sacbee.com.
