Grant calls out front office on his radio show

[NewArena]

You need to catch up on stuff. PDA reached out to Dave and is going to take fan calls on Monday on Dave's show. This all took place on Twitter. Cousins made a point to applaud PDA for doing it and was complimentary in the process. I believe Cousins is more angry with the members of the team who aren't pulling their weight than he is with the firing.

thank you for that. I actually agree with you on that last line of your post, although many might not. It was clear as day
(to me) that he didn't care about anything other than what was going on, on that court last night. He's not the type of player that
gives up and makes excuses for why he chose to do so, so im sure it's very hard for him to understand how anyone else can comfortably be this way.

Some of this roster isn't mentally strong enough to go to war night in and night out, and im glad we're discovering it now,
rather than in a playoff situation when we need them most.

 

[NewArena]

conspiracy theory:

LOL looks like Grant set Pete up perfectly, I knew it was too good to be true that Grant would act out like that without this being planned before hand. Grant is NOT the type to slam the organization like that, we heard him friggin support the Maloofs backing out of the greatest arena deal in history knowing full well the team was headed to Anaheim if it fell thru. He definitely knew this was going down before hand. Now depending on the answers which will be crafted carefully it sets pete up to improve his reputation amongst fans.

Notice how he reached out to Dave over Duece or Grant(who could have him on ASAP) in order to be fully prepped on corporate answers and give time for people to cool off before delivering his answers. Also he knows the fans love and trust CD so if CD is satisfied he can satisfy a good portion of the fans.

I am skeptical and very intrigued to hear what he has to say. Its going to take a home run to get fans off of his back and by more time.

i don't see fans cooling off any time soon, and certainly not in less than a week

 

[HereWeBoogie]

i don't see fans cooling off any time soon, and certainly not in less than a week

after we lose to the Celtics and Pistons fans will definitely not be cooling off

 

[kingjatt]

i don't see fans cooling off any time soon, and certainly not in less than a week

It feels like its already calming a bit knowing that pete is going to deliver answers. Its certainly got to be better than silence.

 

[B.O.B.]

I'm with kingjatt on this one - I too am EXTREMELY skeptical of this whole thing, but I'm also intrigued to see how PDA performs.

Quite frankly I don't expect a whole lot of real answers, I expect condescension, buzzwords, and vague/rambling answers, nothing direct.

My apologies to all of you good folks here, but I simply don't trust this process one bit. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[VF21]

I'm with kingjatt on this one - I too am EXTREMELY skeptical of this whole thing, but I'm also intrigued to see how PDA performs.

Quite frankly I don't expect a whole lot of real answers, I expect condescension, buzzwords, and vague/rambling answers, nothing direct.

My apologies to all of you good folks here, but I simply don't trust this process one bit. I hope I'm wrong.

You have every right to be skeptical. I think a lot of us are still unconvinced, but we're going to reserve final judgment until we hear what PDA has to say - and more importantly, what happens with the team. Bottom line, though? This is totally without precedent. We're at the beginning of something that's never been done before. I can wait until Monday to see what PDA has to say in answer to the questions. From what I'm seeing in the question thread so far, ours aren't going to be easy and I suspect the other boards will have more of the same. And the callers are not going to go easy...

 

[Big Cuz 15]

I'm with kingjatt on this one - I too am EXTREMELY skeptical of this whole thing, but I'm also intrigued to see how PDA performs.

Quite frankly I don't expect a whole lot of real answers, I expect condescension, buzzwords, and vague/rambling answers, nothing direct.

My apologies to all of you good folks here, but I simply don't trust this process one bit. I hope I'm wrong.

can't wait to hear the new buzzword of the day. i expect to hear the word compelling in one of his answers though.

 

[kingjatt]

I don't expect an "unveiling of the plans" I suspect the general message will be trust us please with some not so direct answers to some very direct questions. If that happens it wont fool most here on KF. I hope Pete understands that we have been given the company line with some cheerleading from Grant in the past and won't accept that kind of nonsense anymore.

 

[KingsFanGER]

It won't matter, what PDA gonna say on Monday. Most likely he has lost the trust of the fans in here. Question is, if KF is actually representative for the whole fanbase. To me this is very difficult to judge from Germany. But I know from experience, that in many cases uproars from social medias often don't translate into the real world and don't represent the majority of the fanbase, which in most cases is very passive and laid back.
I can only guess, cause on league pass I can't even see, if the arena is sold out or not, if there are critical signs or not or if there are any critical chants.
It feels bad to be so dependent on the internet to gather some of the atmosphere around the Kings right now.

 

[VF21]

It won't matter, what PDA gonna say on Monday. Most likely he has lost the trust of the fans in here. Question is, if KF is actually representative for the whole fanbase. To me this is very difficult to judge from Germany. But I know from experience, that in many cases uproars from social medias often don't translate into the real world and don't represent the majority of the fanbase, which in most cases is very passive and laid back.
I can only guess, cause on league pass I can't even see, if the arena is sold out or not, if there are critical signs or not or if there are any critical chants.
It feels bad to be so dependent on the internet to gather some of the atmosphere around the Kings right now.

This isn't just about KF. This is about Kings fans from all over. And it was because of social media that enough Kings fans got together to keep the team in Sacramento AND get the city council to approve the arena.

As far as the attendance at the arena, it has been very good this year and the fans there support their Kings. I don't know what you mean by critical chants. For the most part, other than "SAC-RA-MEN-TO" or "DE-FENSE" fans cheer as opposed to organized chanting.

 

[hrdboild]

The real test will be when they open the new arena downtown with more seats to fill and higher average prices. It's not like there aren't other things to do for entertainment. There needs to be a certain minimum level of interest to keep those Season Ticket Holders coming back. My extended family has had a ticket package since 1985 and they're considering pulling out. It's been a long hard stretch of losing basketball with no end in sight. Every fan makes the decision for themself how much they're willing to endure. I don't think they're in trouble though. They're going to sell bunches of tickets regardless. Kings fans as a group are a rare breed.

"Playing Style" is something us hardcore fans argue about. It's not so much about the style itself as what it represents. Fans come for winning teams however they win. If Malone's defense-first style didn't lead to wins, I don't think his firing would be seen in the same light. Those of us that believe running teams are at a disadvantage when it comes to winning games got that way by watching (and in some cases playing) a lot of basketball. But that's always up for debate. The truth, as they say, is in the pudding.

PDA perhaps mis-spoke when he said the decision was more about play style than wins or losses because he'd surely be slitting his own throat if that were actually the case. I think what he meant to say is that it's more about long-term win potential than short-term win potential. As armchair GMs and coaches we naturally reserve the right to disagree. But I think anyone can look at a team that's playing well and wonder why there was such an urgency about changing course. That we're not playing well now, after the fact, is more fuel for the fire.

 

[KingsFanGER]

This isn't just about KF. This is about Kings fans from all over. And it was because of social media that enough Kings fans got together to keep the team in Sacramento AND get the city council to approve the arena.

As far as the attendance at the arena, it has been very good this year and the fans there support their Kings. I don't know what you mean by critical chants. For the most part, other than "SAC-RA-MEN-TO" or "DE-FENSE" fans cheer as opposed to organized chanting.

Thank you for trying to give me more insight. But how do you know if this is about Kings fans from all over? Maybe this is a cultural difference, cause Twitter isn't used much in Germany and I'm used to be critical about opinions based on tweets.
Were there any fan protests outside of the internet yet?

 

[B.O.B.]

You have every right to be skeptical. I think a lot of us are still unconvinced, but we're going to reserve final judgment until we hear what PDA has to say - and more importantly, what happens with the team. Bottom line, though? This is totally without precedent. We're at the beginning of something that's never been done before. I can wait until Monday to see what PDA has to say in answer to the questions. From what I'm seeing in the question thread so far, ours aren't going to be easy and I suspect the other boards will have more of the same. And the callers are not going to go easy...

I want to believe, I really do. But your last sentence is what gives me hope. I have railed against what I call "the kool-aid" drinkers for a very long time, ad nauseum. The point here is that finally, the fans are standing up and going away from "group think" and that is the positive I will take from all of this.

 

[Chubbs]

conspiracy theory:

LOL looks like Grant set Pete up perfectly, I knew it was too good to be true that Grant would act out like that without this being planned before hand. Grant is NOT the type to slam the organization like that, we heard him friggin support the Maloofs backing out of the greatest arena deal in history knowing full well the team was headed to Anaheim if it fell thru. He definitely knew this was going down before hand. Now depending on the answers which will be crafted carefully it sets pete up to improve his reputation amongst fans. (Grant and Dave have us all rallied and amped up)

Notice how he reached out to Dave over Duece or Grant(who could have him on ASAP) in order to be fully prepped on corporate answers and give time for people to cool off before delivering his answers. Also he knows the fans love and trust CD so if CD is satisfied he can satisfy a good portion of the fans.

I am skeptical and very intrigued to hear what he has to say. Its going to take a home run to get fans off of his back and by more time.

If this road trip goes the way it feels like it's going to go at the moment, there will be no lack of anger on January 5th. Every loss leads to everyone getting a little more angry everyday.

Kings are 2-5 since the firing. That will fall to 2-8 if the free fall continues the rest of this road trip. That's with okc waiting for them when the road trip ends.

This is spiraling out of control very very quickly. By January 5th, realistically, things could be even worse. The team is showing very little in the way of "snapping out of it."

 

[VF21]

Thank you for trying to give me more insight. But how do you know if this is about Kings fans from all over? Maybe this is a cultural difference, cause Twitter isn't used much in Germany and I'm used to be critical about opinions based on tweets.
Were there any fan protests outside of the internet yet?

All I know is the Kings fans I know from here, from Twitter, from Sacramento, etc. I've been a fan of the Kings since 1985, a moderator of this board since 2001 and a moderator on another Kings board before that. During that time, I've developed a circle of people whose opinions are generally borne out by the truth.

Fan protests? We're not marching on the arena with pitchforks and torches ... yet. But the biggest fan protest will be the season ticket holders who simply drop off the earth and don't renew their tickets. And from what I'm hearing from people who are current STH, that is something they're truly concerned with. They do not want to commit to spending a large amount of money for a product that just isn't enjoyable. When you add the fans who simply find other things to do rather than buy the occasional Kings ticket as a special treat, you're talking a significant drop in revenue to the team. That's the ultimate fan protest.

Twitter is huge here. It's used for everything from social commentary to breaking news. In fact, during the Boston Marathon bombing, it was Twitter that lots of people turned to for current information. Of course, just like in real life, you have to be careful about who you choose to believe, but there are reliable sources. The same holds true for sports. Some Twitter peeps are very good sources while others are not so careful about what they say or what it's based on.

We're in a constantly changing world. I mean, face it. You're in Germany talking to someone who is currently sitting on her couch in her living room in the middle of a national forest in Northern California.

 

[KingsFanGER]

We're in a constantly changing world. I mean, face it. You're in Germany talking to someone who is currently sitting on her couch in her living room in the middle of a national forest in Northern California.

Nooo i ll keep it traditional. Twitter is witchcraft!!!

 

[HereWeBoogie]

For those of you who don't know, Devin used to work in Kings PR and was fired by Vivek when he took over. This says a lot about of Front Office:

Devin Blankenship ‏@Devin_Blankship 6m
When you continually screw over decent people for no reason, it usually comes back to haunt you ... #notnamingnames #karma

 

[Big Cuz 15]

grant is a mouthpiece. he's more objective when he is covering for jim rome.

 

[Merdiesel]

Firing PDA and Mullin then bringing back Malone is the obvious solution.

Malone is never coming back.

 

[BenThePizzaGuy]

It's nice to hear Napear speaking the truth without Jerry Reynolds the Apologist sitting beside him

 

[sdballer]

If you have twitter, now's a good time to blast Vivek and PDA.

 

[Swaze]

Malone is never coming back.

Agreed nor should he as a man with pride and dignity.

Nobody with any self respect would get fired the classless way that they fired him and want to come back.

In the end the one guy that comes out of all this smelling like roses is Michael Malone. With the team falling apart and playing so poorly that makes him look even better to other teams now and with Vivek and PDA handling the situation so poorly everyone will know that Malone was not the bad guy.

 

[Merdiesel]

Agreed nor should he as a man with pride and dignity.

Nobody with any self respect would get fired the classless way that they fired him and want to come back.

In the end the one guy that comes out of all this smelling like roses is Michael Malone. With the team falling apart and playing so poorly that makes him look even better to other teams now and with Vivek and PDA handling the situation so poorly everyone will know that Malone was not the bad guy.

We know the kind of guy Malone is just by the way his players felt about him. You know he is still following this team and I bet it kills him to see his guys reverting back.

 

[randymoss1881]

At this rate malone is gonna be the hottest name in the off season and become the highest paid coach.

 

[hrdboild]

At this rate malone is gonna be the hottest name in the off season and become the highest paid coach.

He'd be a great choice for Cleveland. That team has all the talent in the world, they just need strong leadership. And Lebron already endorsed Malone as a great coach when we hired him.

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

I'd be happy if Malone ends up in Cleveland; that team is going to win three, maybe four chips, tops. And they're in the eastern conference. If he goes to New Orleans, though...

 

[H_clark10]

Seeing the disfunction in years past has been difficult. Now, we have a team with potential and a bright future that fans can actually notice. I appreciate Grant calling out the FO and showing how upset people really are. Where the Kings are at is uncalled for, the recent games, especially the one today against the Celtics, should not be the way they are. The team, franchise, and fans deserve more and have some hope for the future, which we have none now.

 

[KingsFanSince85]

Vivek and Pete are running this team like a fantasy league squad where you make moves as if you are trading daily stocks.

I don't care what your "preferred" style of play is -- you don't fire your coach and break up team chemistry in the midst of your best season in nearly a decade. Worse yet, this "we know what we're doing" attitude has no merit. Neither guy has a proven track record, at any level, in the NBA. They do not and should not expect the benefit of the doubt -- especially when making such unconventional moves that have only made the team worse.

A couple weeks ago, PDA pointed to the Darren Collison signing and Rudy Gay trade as examples of personnel decisions that have worked out, but that the fans were initially upset about. That's how he is validating these most recent moves.

Truth is, these guys have made up their mind that they are smarter than everyone else and will pioneer a new way to do things a la Billy Beane and his moneyball technique. They aren't experienced or educated enough to know that all these "new" ideas have been tried and tested already. They do not work. Analytics has it place, most definitely, but the playing style they are desperate to employ has never worked despite smarter people and better people having tried their best at it.

I have heard PDA mention the early 2000's Kings as an example of what they want to do. Well, Pete, you do realize that your current offense has no resemblance to the Princeton offense and that those Kings teams - specifically 2002 - were in the top 5 in total defense?

And these guys believe that they are going to change the world ....

 

[HereWeBoogie]

uh oh, what's next?

Aaron Bruski @aaronbruski · 2h
Once again, the line between disaster and everything is awesome is hilariously thin in Sacramento.

Aaron DelBono @Sac_KingAaron · 2h
@aaronbruski honestly, Aaron…do you REALLY think we’re that dense? Give it a rest already…


Aaron Bruski @aaronbruski · 2h
@Sac_KingAaron wait until you see what you’re in for this week. Revisit this with me then.

 

[Livinthedream]

uh oh, what's next?

Aaron Bruski @aaronbruski · 2h
Once again, the line between disaster and everything is awesome is hilariously thin in Sacramento.

Aaron DelBono @Sac_KingAaron · 2h
@aaronbruski honestly, Aaron…do you REALLY think we’re that dense? Give it a rest already…

Aaron Bruski @aaronbruski · 2h
@Sac_KingAaron wait until you see what you’re in for this week. Revisit this with me then.

He's been hinting at something the last few days. Probably some sort of PR campaign.