ESPN : The Madness of Kings

mmmmm... i love quality longform writing. it's such a rarity in sports journalism these days. actually, it's a rarity in most journalism in the online age, i suppose, which is a tremendous shame, given the opportunities that new technologies afford us. :(

anyway, arnovitz's piece is quite thoughtful and about as fair as you can imagine from an outsider who isn't aiming for the ugly, snarky middle of digital discourse. cousins and the kings have failed mightily in the last seven years because each needed the other to be a greater stabilizing force than they possibly could be. cousins was too young, and he needed the kind of mentoring, discipline, and structure that the kings couldn't offer with more pressing franchise concerns to manage. and the kings were embroiled in far too much upheaval to properly attend to the growth and maturation of their budding but temperamental superstar. it was a match made in nba hell, you might say, a perfect storm of superstar volatility and franchise instability.

that said, if demarcus cousins is going to remain in sacramento, then coach joerger must be given the time to build on his partnership with big cuz, and vlade must learn on the job very quickly, and vivek must learn to stay the f*** out of the way. as a fan, it's difficult to maintain long-term positivity in light of the challenges the kings must overcome at all levels of the organization, but maybe... just maybe... there's an honest-to-goodness "turn the corner" moment somewhere in this team's future...
 
It's sensationalizing the Kings a bit

I'm of the mindset that I just want this to die down into normalcy

Vivek has final say but claims to have given Vlade the reins, ok. DMC has had run ins in the past, ok.
 
Kingsfan23 said:
It's sensationalizing the Kings a bit

I'm of the mindset that I just want this to die down into normalcy

Vivek has final say but claims to have given Vlade the reins, ok. DMC has had run ins in the past, ok.
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Either Vivek thinks he has final say, or that's some vague story line he's maintaining for the facade of it. Vlade has the real power. If Vlade walks, he can get another job., If Vlade walks, Vivek is set back another two years and major, possibly irreparable damage to his reputation.

Vivek is in reputation repair mode.
 
It's bothersome to me that any time the Kings get a little momentum something like this comes out especially since there isn't any new information in it. We know Demarcus has his issues, we know that the Kings as an organization have made terrible decisions since drafting him, we know that Vivek is meddlesome and has crazy ideas. Are all the major sports networks just holding on to pieces like this just to let'em rip at the slightest sign of change on the court? My only hope is that Vivek reads it and gets introspective enough to realize that he doesn't really want to be a basketball executive if he hasn't already.
 
allrightythen said:
It's bothersome to me that any time the Kings get a little momentum something like this comes out especially since there isn't any new information in it. We know Demarcus has his issues, we know that the Kings as an organization have made terrible decisions since drafting him, we know that Vivek is meddlesome and has crazy ideas. Are all the major sports networks just holding on to pieces like this just to let'em rip at the slightest sign of change on the court? My only hope is that Vivek reads it and gets introspective enough to realize that he doesn't really want to be a basketball executive if he hasn't already.
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WE may know all these things, but I don't think this article was written for us, the hard-core Kings fan.

Even so, there were a few interesting nuggets I hadn't heard before.
 
The Hammer said:
Either Vivek thinks he has final say, or that's some vague story line he's maintaining for the facade of it. Vlade has the real power. If Vlade walks, he can get another job., If Vlade walks, Vivek is set back another two years and major, possibly irreparable damage to his reputation.
Click to expand...

I don't know about all that. Vivek could announce tomorrow that Vlade is being transitioned to "special adviser to the Chairman" and a new GM is taking the reins, and I doubt many around the league would bat an eye.
 
LPKingsFan said:
I don't know about all that. Vivek could announce tomorrow that Vlade is being transitioned to "special adviser to the Chairman" and a new GM is taking the reins, and I doubt many around the league would bat an eye.
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Doubt Vlade would accept that role. Vlade could literally run for president of Serbia. He wants purpose.
 
Ugolino said:
How about last night?
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last night was certainly a good win, and a good team win, at that, but there have been quite a few other moments like it at various stages of the franchise's pursuit of the playoffs since vivek was named chairman. i continue to appreciate that joerger's kings play with a lot of fight, and that they're rarely out of games as the fourth quarter progresses, but i'm not ready to say they've turned a corner, especially after half a dozen other failed instances when kings fans have collectively asked the question: "has this team turned the corner?"
 
Kinda crappy this article could come out a day after we get a huge win. ESPN crapped on us

But sadly, some of that stuff is things I have already posted on this board and heard there are serious internal issues with the Kings. A lot of the "Brass" don't think Vlade can get the job done and try to make moves around him, which is honestly isn't fair. It is a MESS and just let's you know again how great of a job Joerger is doing this year
 
The Hammer said:
Either Vivek thinks he has final say, or that's some vague story line he's maintaining for the facade of it. Vlade has the real power. If Vlade walks, he can get another job., If Vlade walks, Vivek is set back another two years and major, possibly irreparable damage to his reputation.

Vivek is in reputation repair mode.
Click to expand...
There isn't another NBA team in the league that would hire Vlade has their GM. Vlade has no leverage which is why he ends up doing everything Vivek wants apparently
 
KingsFan80 said:
There isn't another NBA team in the league that would hire Vlade has their GM. Vlade has no leverage which is why he ends up doing everything Vivek wants apparently
Click to expand...

Name one thing in the last year and a half Vivek has done, besides say yes to Vlade.

Vlade could do any number of things, including the highest levels of government in his home country.
 
King Baller said:
I saw Lebron screaming at the top of his lungs last night when called for the charge on Collison.

But he is a Superstar.
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What point are you trying to make? Cousins complains more than any current NBA player, and it's not even close. I think Kings fans have just been accustomed to it, so it's a normal to us. I have a casual fan who was watching a Kings game with me. During the game, his reaction was basically: "Wtf, Cousins complains after almost every other offensive possession, how do the refs not tech him?"
 
The Hammer said:
Name one thing in the last year and a half Vivek has done, besides say yes to Vlade.

Vlade could do any number of things, including the highest levels of government in his home country.
Click to expand...
Vivek is the owner, just like Jed York, he can do anything he wants. I thought you meant Vlade could get another good job in the NBA, not any random job
 
"VIVEK TRIES TO portray himself as one thing, but he's meddlesome and it's hurting the basketball," says a high-level source who knows the Kings operation. "It was a mess [under the Maloofs], and it's still a mess."
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There is little optimism that Ranadive will voluntarily step back from basketball operations. Though he insists in conversations that Divac has been empowered to make player personnel decisions -- he told one source that the only decisions he has made are trading for Gay and refusing to deal Cousins -- not a single league source for this story outside of Sacramento said that ultimate authority resides anywhere but with Ranadive.
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Vivek really needs to stop. He's worse than Jed.

Amazing article. There aren't any bias to this..so the whole "national media vs. little us" really doesn't apply at all. Really worth the read.
 
KingsFan80 said:
Vivek is the owner, just like Jed York, he can do anything he wants. I thought you meant Vlade could get another good job in the NBA, not any random job
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Thoeretically he can, but not in practice... he can't get away with it anymore, due to ownership group.

He literally has not made one basketball related decision in a year and a half.
 
Gilles said:
That's why tanking this season is a no-no.
Click to expand...

I don't know if I agree with that. I mean, finishing 10-13 and not getting a pick? That would hurt. If the 8 seed isn't immediately in grasp, which is the key, I don't know if I'd keep the full court press on. Why reward vets who couldn't get it done?

It's also about not putting needless miles on Cousins while watching some of the youth develop.

But I know the org doesn't agree :)
 
The Hammer said:
Thoeretically he can, but not in practice... he can't get away with it anymore, due to ownership group.

He literally has not made one basketball related decision in a year and a half.
Click to expand...

Does this count?

Multiple sources say that Gay, who tore his left Achilles tendon on Jan. 18, has remained with the team rather than being dealt away because Ranadive believes deeply that the small forward would not leave Sacramento; this despite Gay's stated decision -- before his current injury -- to opt out of his contract next summer and his desire to be elsewhere as soon as possible, a sentiment expressed to the organization repeatedly.
Click to expand...
 
That part about Vivek blocking any Rudy Gay trades are crazy. I never know whether to believe this t
LPKingsFan said:
WE may know all these things, but I don't think this article was written for us, the hard-core Kings fan.

Even so, there were a few interesting nuggets I hadn't heard before.
Click to expand...

True. If his "sources" are reliable then Vivek really hasn't stepped back and apparently has some crazy notion that Rudy will stay despite public and private statements that suggest otherwise.
 
Good article.

Paints Cuz as a complex, self aware guy who's making strides with his 'tude.

Portrays Vlade as a terribly ill conceived public relations hire that might actually work out with time as he gains more experience in his role.

Lambasts Vivek as the awful, delusional, disruptive little goblin he is. Lawrd I hate Vivek. We're screwed for as long as he lurks here.
 
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