Defending the Maloofs

S

SURVIVOR

Prospect
I am disgusted by the wide-ranging Maloof-bashing occuring in the Sacramento media. Joe and Gavin, hands down, are the best owners in the National Basketball Association, and it seems they can do no right anymore in the community's collective mind. Did it ever occur to anyone, "Wow, this team quite literally was a doormat just a handfull of years ago." And, upon completing that thought, "Wow, I should pray to the temple of Maloof, and thank them everyday for the endless joy I bask in daily knowing our team is a perennial playoff contender." And what are they bashed for? Only having a poor relationship with Rick Adelman. Relationships are a two-way street, and from what I gather in the sports media, Adelman wasn't very communicative with the team's owners. Despite that, they employed him for eight consecutive seasons - one of the longest tenures of any coach in the NBA. They made him one of the highest paid coaches in the league. Adelman is a multi-millionaire. In an era when sports is a business, Adelman was granted (albeit not in his final season) a respect nearly unparalleled by his peers. But like most business arrangements, the Maloofs felt a change was necessary and vital. They tried to secure Phil Jackson...who wouldn't? Understandably, Adelman's feeling were hurt...but it's just business. And yet still, the Maloofs did not fire Adelman...they allowed him to finish the remainder of his contract. And when the decision was made to change coaches? The Maloofs acted swiftly and granted Adelman the opportunity to coach for another team. Again, despite the rocky relationship, they never bad-mouthed Adelman, never disparaged him, never fired him.

Although the Maloofs made some missteps in attempting to discharge Adelman and replace him with someone more communicative, more willing to take slacking players to task, more willing to fight in the media for the team's respect...they tried to bring to an end the offensively-oriented Sacramento Kings era, and usher in a more defensive style, with grace. And what else could you ask for?

I am proud of the owners, and I respect them immensely.
 
Agreed.

But here in Sac, we are so used to the Maloofs handling business within "the customer friendly atmosphere" that is based in communication and trust. With the whole uncertainty of the arena and the unseen/unheard threat of moving, the media as well as the fans are all on edge.

I like the Maloofs. I think that they have been wonderful for this city. But their legacy has now been tied to working with civic leaders in getting the arena built and the new direction of the franchise. If both are failures, it could get very ugly in the future.
 
You basically said the exact same things as most of the people who've been criticizing the Maloofs, only you did it with a different tone. Most people's opinions aren't as extreme as you think.
 
I was pretty mad about the Adelman situation when it happened. A week later I'm fine. The Maloofs are doing what they feel is the right thing for the franchise. They haven't made many bad decisions these past 8 years. I'm going to stand behind them every step of the way.
 
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I've been saying this for a week. I wonder if the poster is Grant Napear?? This sounds like one of his rants. He ranted against the Maloof bashing on the radio.
 
You can be very happy with the type of owners the Maloofs are and still be a little disappointed in something they DID. Key word: DID. Most of us have moved on. The media has moved on.

They're human. They make mistakes. This was one that turned into a maelstrom. One thing about the Maloofs, though, is that they're good businessmen and I think they'll make very sure nothing like that happens again.

Bottom line is Kings fans want their team to do well. They want the owners to do what's best for the team. They're passionate about what happens. For some of us, the Adelman situation was mishandled but, as I said above, we've moved on...

The Maloofs don't need defending. People keep confusing disappointment with how something was done with dissatisfaction about what was done.
 
I was REALLY mad at them right after it happened. I've moved on though and think they are getting a bit too much heat for this. Oh well, just gotta find a new coach and keep going.
 
The thing that really bothered me were the personal attacks thrown their way, things like "that was a boneheaded move" wear off quickly but when you start leveling personal attacks those sentiments tend to linger longer. I'm glad most of the press has gone back to writing articles about the future of the team rather than lingering in the (not so distant) past.
 
Although the Maloofs made some missteps in attempting to discharge Adelman and replace him with someone more communicative, more willing to take slacking players to task, more willing to fight in the media for the team's respect...they tried to bring to an end the offensively-oriented Sacramento Kings era, and usher in a more defensive style, with grace. And what else could you ask for?

I am proud of the owners, and I respect them immensely.[/quote]Adelman has made slacking players play Harder, Bonzi wells had probably his best post season because of the way adelman coaches Basketball. I don't think you bring in anyone else and you have bonzi play at the level he played in that first round, From my perspective you can attribute 50 percent of this to rick adelman with the way he coaches hoops. Just a season ago last years playoffs you had a media favorite coach in mike fratello who had a slacking bonzi wells whom they told to stay home during the playoffs.


As far as fighting for Team Respect, Rick is one of the Best there is fighting for calls through the media for his players, He gives eloquent basketball descriptions on what is going on out there on that floor, maybe not off the court fund raising, but on the court knowledge of the game he is one of the best out there as a coach.
 
These guys have had the Midas touch since coming to Sac, but I guess this whole Adelman thing has helped us realize that they truly aren't perfect.

If I had to describe them as anything at all it would be impatient. Since Mark Cuban took over the Mavs, he and the Maloofs been competing with each other like Homer and Flanders. Both owners are young, energetic, and highly visible withing their organizations. They also turned teams famous for their losing ways into contenders.
Both ownerships want a title, and the Maloofs see that Cuban's squad is winning the race towards a title right now, whereas the Maloofs were winning 2-3 years ago. However, with our window having bee closed now for about a year or two, the overall consensus is that it is about to be re-opened, and the Maloofs are impatient to not just open it, but smash the dang thing into oblivion. Therfore, they made a gutsy move, and didn't do it with the normal down-to-earth charm that they've been known for. Instead they made a statement that (as quoted in the Bee) this is their team, and they are going to take control of it and (if necessary) will it to a title.

Like I said before, they've had the Midas touch so far...until they fail us, I'm gonna continue to trust them.
 
Amanjoy said:
These guys have had the Midas touch since coming to Sac, but I guess this whole Adelman thing has helped us realize that they truly aren't perfect.

If I had to describe them as anything at all it would be impatient. Since Mark Cuban took over the Mavs, he and the Maloofs been competing with each other like Homer and Flanders. Both owners are young, energetic, and highly visible withing their organizations. They also turned teams famous for their losing ways into contenders.
Both ownerships want a title, and the Maloofs see that Cuban's squad is winning the race towards a title right now, whereas the Maloofs were winning 2-3 years ago. However, with our window having bee closed now for about a year or two, the overall consensus is that it is about to be re-opened, and the Maloofs are impatient to not just open it, but smash the dang thing into oblivion. Therfore, they made a gutsy move, and didn't do it with the normal down-to-earth charm that they've been known for. Instead they made a statement that (as quoted in the Bee) this is their team, and they are going to take control of it and (if necessary) will it to a title.

Like I said before, they've had the Midas touch so far...until they fail us, I'm gonna continue to trust them.
Click to expand...
They have the midas touch as an organization,The GM deserves some credit as well, Geoff petrie spending the time looking at players around the globe, Going to camps and games, meshing different talent together. The coaching staff Deserves some of that midas touch, Rick adelman studying hours of film, Hours of preperation, getting the team ready to play basketball.
 
Amanjoy said:
Like I said before, they've had the Midas touch so far...until they fail us, I'm gonna continue to trust them.
Click to expand...

The Midas touch wasn't a gift; it was a curse. EVERYTHING - including food, his own daughter, etc. - that Midas touched turned to gold. It was given to him by the gods to punish him for his greed... he was able to eventually wash his hands in a river (I forget the name) and remove the curse, but not before he learned that the gods had played a cruel trick on him.

Other than that, however, I think you made a really good point about the competition between the Maloofs and Mark Cuban.
 
VF21 said:
People keep confusing disappointment with how something was done with dissatisfaction about what was done.
Click to expand...
Thank you VF. Only time will tell if it was the Maloofs made the right move. I support the fact that they certainly had the right to make the decision they did. I just was not happy with how it was handled.

Do I want different owners? Heck, no! The Maloofs have been mostly great and I think we're lucky to have them. But I can still dislike some of the things they do. I get very mad at my son on occasion, but I'm not demanding a different son either.:D
 
I will never lose respect for the Maloofs. If they have to make a few shrewd moves along the way to get us to the promised land, then so be it. As long as they have a plan and stick to it, such has been the case since day one when they got here in the 97'-98' season. Does anyone remember the Jim Thomas years?? I do, and they were some of the stingiest, cheapest years that I can remember, as far as pro sports owners go. He was right up there with Donald Sterling in LA when he didnt care about winning(until this year, of course) and sat on his phat azz every season for 25 years.
 
You are falling into the same trap the Maloofs are falling into themselves. Their great contribution was 1) enthusiasm; and 2) opening the pocketbooks. The latter of which of course they kind of quit doing several years ago.

Geoff Petrie built the teams that won. He was not their hire. Rick Adelman coached the teams that won. He was not their hire either.
 
Brick, I still take exception to the comment that the Maloofs quit paying just because they let some free agents walk and got out from under what was turning out to be a bad contract.

What free agents should they have kept? Vlade? Jim Jackson? Keon Clark? Cuttino Mobley? Because those are the only serviceable players they have let walk in the past 3 seasons, unless I'm forgetting something.

I don't blame them for trying to keep the payroll under $80 million, which is were it was in the 2003 season. I wouldn't want to write an annual $25 million luxury tax check to the League to be split up among a bunch of tightwad owners (Donald T. Sterling, etc.) who aren't trying to win. Especially seeing as how we didn't manage to get the trophy in any of those years when the payroll was out of control.
 
Take all the exception you want -- they quit paying after 2003.

The Webber knee injury was the beginning of the end -- actually really the end of the end. What it apparently proved to our neophyte owners was that dishing out big $$$ for a deep bench was wasted money if your main man went down. And so they retrenched. Which is another way of saying that the days of spending whatever it took to bring a title to Sacto were over. Fiscally responsible? Sure. But also the end of our serious push.

Its funny how people can talk about how much the Kings as a team have changed, and then turn right around and discuss the Maloofs as if they have not. They are NOT the same owners who offered to mow Webb's lawn. Not even close. Enthusiastic happy go lucky spend whatever it takes to win goofballs. They too got worn down, by the disappointments, by the bruising local politics, retrenched financially, retrenched emotionally, got a bit hardened, a bit wary, a bit deluded, a bit full of themselves, largely disappearing from the Sacto landscape for a long time before reemerging here as impatient "hands on" owners who just weren't going to take it anymore. Entirely different ownership.
 
^I think the Maloofs were willing to open up the checkbooks because the Kings were really close to a championship, and that extra money they spent on Keon Clark and Jim Jackson could have been the difference between winning a championship or not winning. There's no such choice facing the franchise right now. Splurging on Cuttino Mobley wouldn't have gotten the team anywhere -- I don't think that what you're seeing right now is a different ownership or an unwillingness to spend money to get the team closer to a championship, I just think you're seeing smart fiscal responsibility, which is a trait I'm glad the team possesses at the moment. The Maloofs are very likely going to go out and hire a more expensive head coach, and I still believe that if the Kings were just one move away from winning a championship they would make that move regardless of the fiscal ramifications.
 
shaka zulu said:
They have the midas touch as an organization,The GM deserves some credit as well, Geoff petrie spending the time looking at players around the globe, Going to camps and games, meshing different talent together. The coaching staff Deserves some of that midas touch, Rick adelman studying hours of film, Hours of preperation, getting the team ready to play basketball.
Click to expand...

I shoud have mentioned Petrie as well...you're right. But I give credit to the MAloofs in the fact that they have sat back so far and let the basketball people handle the basketball affairs of the organization with little to no input until recently. They have also been willing to shell out all the money necessary to get the players we need whereas past ownership hasn't done that. Petrie wouldn't be able to do what he does without the $$$ and support of the Maloofs.
 
VF21 said:
The Midas touch wasn't a gift; it was a curse. EVERYTHING - including food, his own daughter, etc. - that Midas touched turned to gold. It was given to him by the gods to punish him for his greed... he was able to eventually wash his hands in a river (I forget the name) and remove the curse, but not before he learned that the gods had played a cruel trick on him.

Other than that, however, I think you made a really good point about the competition between the Maloofs and Mark Cuban.
Click to expand...

Good call on the Midas touch thing. I think that term gets used in the wrong context many times, and even though I know the history behind it, even I sometimes get caught up in it. (With the history of the saying in mind, it's an interesting advertising pitch by "Midas" in saying with their little jingle to "Trust the Midas touch.")

But anyways, as for my support of the Maloof's, it stays the same. Until they fail me and make the wrong move, I'm going to trust them because everything they've done has worked out positively for this organization.
 
nbrans said:
^I think the Maloofs were willing to open up the checkbooks because the Kings were really close to a championship, and that extra money they spent on Keon Clark and Jim Jackson could have been the difference between winning a championship or not winning. There's no such choice facing the franchise right now. Splurging on Cuttino Mobley wouldn't have gotten the team anywhere -- I don't think that what you're seeing right now is a different ownership or an unwillingness to spend money to get the team closer to a championship, I just think you're seeing smart fiscal responsibility, which is a trait I'm glad the team possesses at the moment. The Maloofs are very likely going to go out and hire a more expensive head coach, and I still believe that if the Kings were just one move away from winning a championship they would make that move regardless of the fiscal ramifications.
Click to expand...

Instead of being one move away, I would say 14 missed FT's, and two missed wide open 3's away. We had the talent in 2002, and the players themselves blew it.
 
Last edited:
Bricklayer said:
Take all the exception you want -- they quit paying after 2003.

The Webber knee injury was the beginning of the end -- actually really the end of the end. What it apparently proved to our neophyte owners was that dishing out big $$$ for a deep bench was wasted money if your main man went down. And so they retrenched. Which is another way of saying that the days of spending whatever it took to bring a title to Sacto were over. Fiscally responsible? Sure. But also the end of our serious push.

Its funny how people can talk about how much the Kings as a team have changed, and then turn right around and discuss the Maloofs as if they have not. They are NOT the same owners who offered to mow Webb's lawn. Not even close. Enthusiastic happy go lucky spend whatever it takes to win goofballs. They too got worn down, by the disappointments, by the bruising local politics, retrenched financially, retrenched emotionally, got a bit hardened, a bit wary, a bit deluded, a bit full of themselves, largely disappearing from the Sacto landscape for a long time before reemerging here as impatient "hands on" owners who just weren't going to take it anymore. Entirely different ownership.
Click to expand...

I agree with everything you stated. I disagree that the Maloofs have decided that they don't want to pay. I don't think there's been anyone to pay.
 
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