I still can't believe there are people on this board who still think the Maloofs weren't doing EVERYTHING in their power to sabotage the team, drive down attendance, and try to move. That includes signing crappy players, not staying RIGHT at min salary but close, and more than lilely meddling even in coaching strategy. I can't for the life of me understand how anyone who watched this Malooof debacle, believe for a second they were letting Petrie try to build a legit team.
ESPN: Chris Wallace leader for Kings GM
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Well I don't actually.
The money thing yes to some degree, but they were also broke which can explain the cheapness too.
The coaching thing to some degree, but they were also stupid, not trying to force losses. Emotional children with delusions of grandeur.
This was more a case of not so benign neglect. We aren't spending anything we don't have to, and just let 'er drift. Do the bare minimum to meet ownership criteria, tell Geoff hey, if you can get it done without costing us a penny go ahead.
The money thing yes to some degree, but they were also broke which can explain the cheapness too.
The coaching thing to some degree, but they were also stupid, not trying to force losses. Emotional children with delusions of grandeur.
This was more a case of not so benign neglect. We aren't spending anything we don't have to, and just let 'er drift. Do the bare minimum to meet ownership criteria, tell Geoff hey, if you can get it done without costing us a penny go ahead.
I think it's too bad the "real" Petrie couldn't be kept on. Think about it, he was financially handcuffed, restricted in what he could do, instructed on what to do, meddled with and undermined FOR NEARLY A DECADE. We have NO idea what he's capable of on a level playing field in the current NBA, nor does he, as he hasn't seen a level playing field for most of his career. I'd personally rather have "Unrestricted Petrie" as a GM than 99 percent of the "candidates" thus far. Just my $0.02, though.
As regards your first sentence - I don't believe that about ths Maloofs but I do believe is that they were broke and stayed in the league beyond good or reasonable judgement and were single minded and successful at jacking up the price of the franchise by showing utter disrespect for this community and the FANS. Just to be clear.
I doubt we'll ever get the full story of what was going on with the Kings front office these last few years. My educated guess/belief is that the Maloofs weren't necessarily trying to sabotage the team so much as simply putting heavy restrictions on Petrie and co while also slashing the front office/scouting budget. I think Geoff legitimately believed that Outlaw might be a great bargain signing. And he's always liked Aaron Brooks so it's no surprise that he signed him either.
But whatever anyone believes, at the end of the day Geoff Petrie had his hand on the wheel as this Kings ship became rudderless and started taking on water.
At his best Petrie could be frustrating. Very rarely making huge deals (I always likened him to the Poker player that took small pots when he knew he had the cards rather than a gambler willing to go all in) and NEVER changing draft slots even as some guys he really liked (Kobe, Noah etc) were taken just before his pick. Still, outside of salary dumps he almost always got the better end of trades and outside of the last two years his eye for talent in the draft is as good or better than anyone else's. I was a big Petrie fan for most of his tenure and defended him long after many started souring on him.
But Geoff has clearly written his own ticket out of town over the last few seasons. How much of that is directly his fault and how much is due to the conditions he was working under is a mystery. But he stayed in his role and performed his duties which means he has to accept the blame. He should be let go to make room for a dynamic GM that will move the Kings into a new era.
But I'm not seeing that guy. I'm seeing Chris Wallace, David Morway and worst of all Scott Layden being mentioned. Even without purple tinged glasses and solely based on their track records I don't know how many people wouldn't name Petrie the best of that bunch. If we're not upgrading the position then what is the point?
The potential move to Seattle was the crossroads of crossroads and everything else pales in comparison. But that doesn't mean this summer isn't hugely important. What the team does this offseason not only has huge implications for the next few years but it sets the tone for Ranadive's ownership. And so while I can understand the drawn out GM search, it means that at the moment we have a rookie head coach working out draft picks in a wildly hard to gauge draft while the franchise lacks direction with free agency rapidly approaching.
We'll see.
But whatever anyone believes, at the end of the day Geoff Petrie had his hand on the wheel as this Kings ship became rudderless and started taking on water.
At his best Petrie could be frustrating. Very rarely making huge deals (I always likened him to the Poker player that took small pots when he knew he had the cards rather than a gambler willing to go all in) and NEVER changing draft slots even as some guys he really liked (Kobe, Noah etc) were taken just before his pick. Still, outside of salary dumps he almost always got the better end of trades and outside of the last two years his eye for talent in the draft is as good or better than anyone else's. I was a big Petrie fan for most of his tenure and defended him long after many started souring on him.
But Geoff has clearly written his own ticket out of town over the last few seasons. How much of that is directly his fault and how much is due to the conditions he was working under is a mystery. But he stayed in his role and performed his duties which means he has to accept the blame. He should be let go to make room for a dynamic GM that will move the Kings into a new era.
But I'm not seeing that guy. I'm seeing Chris Wallace, David Morway and worst of all Scott Layden being mentioned. Even without purple tinged glasses and solely based on their track records I don't know how many people wouldn't name Petrie the best of that bunch. If we're not upgrading the position then what is the point?
The potential move to Seattle was the crossroads of crossroads and everything else pales in comparison. But that doesn't mean this summer isn't hugely important. What the team does this offseason not only has huge implications for the next few years but it sets the tone for Ranadive's ownership. And so while I can understand the drawn out GM search, it means that at the moment we have a rookie head coach working out draft picks in a wildly hard to gauge draft while the franchise lacks direction with free agency rapidly approaching.
We'll see.
I'm sure they were. But they point is, GP was part of that. If he was handcuffed, if the Maloofs were making all the basketball decisions, then why did Petrie allowed this to happen? He had 2 choises: 1 - resign as GM, saving his face and be forever remembered as the best GM the Kings have ever had. 2 - be the Maloofs' puppet, just for his checks at they end of the month. He decided for option number 2, and now he has to take his part of blame.
We can't keep making up excuses for him. In the last years, he's been one of the worst GM in the league.
We can't keep making up excuses for him. In the last years, he's been one of the worst GM in the league.
I don't think he's necessarily been one of the worst GMs. I think he's been a GM in the worst situation in the league. Now, I do agree it was his choice to stay on under those circumstances, so it's his own fault for tarnishing his legacy. However, I don't think there is necessarily someone better out there. Just someone different. I like Petrie, but ready to move on. It will be hard to convince free agents and their agents that things are different and better in Sacramento when they would be dealing with the same GM that's been in place for the last 20 years. For that reason alone, Petrie has to go.
this sound like the same stuff ppl said when adelman was on the way out. we haven't had a better coach since and because of that we blew plenty of opportunities for player development. i'm all for releasing petrie if there is a better candidate. i don't like shuffling the deck just for the sake of shuffling the deck.
Adelman was still winning when he was stupidly removed.
Petrie deserves the criticism he gets. This rebuild has been so sloppy in ways beyond the Maloof's lack of funds. It's easy to blame them and we all know they sucked. But it's crazy to act like the current Petrie is some sort of prime candidate we can't get rid of. Some of the names mentioned for this job are dissapointing but Layden is really the only one with a current worse track record than the last 7+ years of Geoff. I'd even prefer Wallace over keeping Geoff.
Petrie's time is done.
Petrie deserves the criticism he gets. This rebuild has been so sloppy in ways beyond the Maloof's lack of funds. It's easy to blame them and we all know they sucked. But it's crazy to act like the current Petrie is some sort of prime candidate we can't get rid of. Some of the names mentioned for this job are dissapointing but Layden is really the only one with a current worse track record than the last 7+ years of Geoff. I'd even prefer Wallace over keeping Geoff.
Petrie's time is done.
To be fair to Geoff, some of these moves boil down to fate. The best you can do is due your due diligence and analyze all angles before you make moves, but moves either pan out or they don't, and sometimes it can't be controlled.. In terms of the draft failures, I've explained how I feel about the T-Rob pick, but the Jimmer pick was a high upside/high downside pick that just went the other way.. I'm sure a lot of us felt as if C-Hayes was a solid enough big man at the time of that signing if we dig up that thread, and Salmons/Outlaw were solid all around 3's at one time before they arrived.. I feel as if luck and happenstance play a factor in which GM's succeed/fail a lot of the time. With that being said I support his being let go, provided we acquire who we need in the front office
7 years of increasingly poor moves are more than fate. There was no vision. No thought. No strategy.
We just collected redundant parts. Made poor draft choices. Random trades. Overpaid pieces we didn't need.
Honestly, where were people the last 7 years? Listing Geoff's moves over that time period is embarrassing. You chalk a few moves up to bad luck. When 80-90% of your moves were panned AT THE TIME by knowledgeable fans and the media, that isn't bad luck. It's a GM hampered by cheap owners who doesn't have it in him to work around that challenge.
I feel like I'm at some jerks funeral where suddenly everyone fondly remembers what a great guy they're burying.
Geoff should always have our greatest admiration for the amazing team he put together, our sympathy for dealing with the Maloofs and our disappointment that he wasn't able to rise to the challenge the last few years.
Raise your glass for Geoff. Now call him a cab and send him home.
We just collected redundant parts. Made poor draft choices. Random trades. Overpaid pieces we didn't need.
Honestly, where were people the last 7 years? Listing Geoff's moves over that time period is embarrassing. You chalk a few moves up to bad luck. When 80-90% of your moves were panned AT THE TIME by knowledgeable fans and the media, that isn't bad luck. It's a GM hampered by cheap owners who doesn't have it in him to work around that challenge.
I feel like I'm at some jerks funeral where suddenly everyone fondly remembers what a great guy they're burying.
Geoff should always have our greatest admiration for the amazing team he put together, our sympathy for dealing with the Maloofs and our disappointment that he wasn't able to rise to the challenge the last few years.
Raise your glass for Geoff. Now call him a cab and send him home.
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Point is, NONE of us have any idea how bad it was behind the scenes or what mandates were put to GP. My previous point was only that we have no idea how good/bad GP would have been had he had a level playing field to the rest of the GMs in the league. We all know he was financially handcuffed and restricted in what he COULD do, we don't know to what degree or what else may have been going on. GMs of his caliber/talent don't simply lose their abilities. My $0.02.
That's how I see it. It's really easy for some to say that Petrie should have just walked away if he couldn't do things his way, but that's just not realistic. He had a contract to do a job, regardless of how horrible the bosses were. I truly believe he did the best he could within the parameters he was given.
Those are pretty incredible exceptions. He's been bad except for when he picked the ROY, the next best center in the NBA, and got a starter with the 60th pick. I may resume being a GP apologist. As a matter of fact, I would love to retain him in a different position to work with a younger GM in training. This is especially with who else seems to be available. Give him back a staff including a normal number of scouts and he may be able to function better. Let us say, as we approach the draft, I hope he is in charge and not some one who will have trouble finding his own office much less scouting data.
The GM search seems like it will drag on until no one of quality is left. I am not comfortable at all with having a rookie coach and a rookie GM.
The GM search seems like it will drag on until no one of quality is left. I am not comfortable at all with having a rookie coach and a rookie GM.
3 good moves in 7 years, including picking the best available with 2 guys. He then spent the rest of the time and available cap space surrounding those two guys with pieces and coaches that didn't compliment them, couldn't be easily moved and created one of the more dysfunctional and toxic environments in the league. At the same time, there was constant rumbling around the league that he had mailed it in, didn't explore options and basically allowed the Maloof challenges to completely sidetrack our rebuild.
Barring some very difficult to pull off moves, we could still be 2-3 years away from the playoffs, which will mean 10 years between playoff performances. Now if some people want to write that all off as Maloof influence, have at it. They certainly didn't give him much funds to work with but the reality is he spent that money unwisely, which is his primary job. He failed.
Barring some very difficult to pull off moves, we could still be 2-3 years away from the playoffs, which will mean 10 years between playoff performances. Now if some people want to write that all off as Maloof influence, have at it. They certainly didn't give him much funds to work with but the reality is he spent that money unwisely, which is his primary job. He failed.
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